“Jory had a date. She was going to cancel, but I forbade her from doing so,” Mama Ami said, taking a bigger helping of green beans.

“Mom went on a date?” Lou’s eyes widened. “She hasn’t been out in months.” She paused, spoon held in midair. “That I know of, anyway.”

“She’s busy—work, friends, us. Sometimes it’s hard to find time to go out and spend time with someone who more often than not disappoints her.” Mama Ami settled her napkin on her lap. “After Gerald, Jory has very high standards. As she should.”

Bjorn put one hand on his chest. “I would like to think that your standards were higher, too. After all, you married me.”

Mama Ami laughed, her eyes sparkling. “It would certainly be difficult to lower them.”

He held out a hand dramatically. “You flatter me so. I can’t stand it.”

She kissed his cheek. “You’re terrible.”

“You love me anyway.” He winked at the table, causing his children to groan.

“Ew, Dad, Mom, stop it.” Astrid pretended to gag. “No one wants to see you guys be cute.”

Tova rolled her eyes at her sister. “You should be happy they still like each other. Do you know how many of my friends’ parents are divorced?”

“Bayani Larsen, do not give that baby a lime to chew on. It’s bad for her teeth.” Mama Ami tsked. “I can’t reach him. Will, smack his hand for me.”

Will dutifully smacked Bay’s hand.

“But she likes it!” Bay argued.

“Babies like to chew on all kinds of things,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you give it to them. Be the adult.”

“But it’s funny,” Bay grumbled, though he took the lime wedge away from Savannah, causing her to pout. Will snickered.

I wanted to tell them how lucky they were. That not every family comes together like they have. Some fracture and nothing will bring them back.

“What about you, Declan?” Tova asked, stabbing a piece of tofu with her fork. “You have any siblings?”

“Three,” I said, pushing around some rice on my plate. Suddenly, I wasn’t very hungry.

Bay frowned. “Three? I’ve only heard you mention Zoey.”

I nodded, staring at my plate. “I haven’t seen the twins in years.” It wasn’t really breezy dinner conversation, but I kept talking. I never talked about the twins, except with Zoey, and even then, not very often. It hurt too much. And it kept us all safe. When you’re hiding, you don’t offer extra details about yourself if you can avoid it.

But Lou’s family…it would feel good to tell them. They already knew who I was, and it would be nice to talk about the twins. Sometimes it felt like they existed only in my head, because no one around me knew about them, and it hurt. For once, I wanted to talk about them, even if I didn’t have a whole lot to say. “I don’t know where they live, or what their names are now. I might not even recognize them if I saw them on the street.”