The locks slid and the door swung open to reveal a very tousled, very pale Sebastian yanking a T-shirt into place.

“Dad!” Matty lunged forward and hugged Sebastian around one thigh before he dropped to his knees and let himself get completely tackled by Crabby. The ecstatic dog trounced the kid, covering him all over in licks and face rubs. Sebastian weakly smiled at the boy’s wild yelps of delight and sagged against the doorjamb as he looked down at the two ladies.

“Hi.”

“You look awful,” Sadie said candidly, taking a step backward like she could catch germs from ten feet away.

“I feel awful. I just took another round of medicine. I can’t believe this was how Matty was feeling. I give him a lot of credit.”

Sebastian’s eyes found Via’s and she found herself stepping up the stairs to the porch. His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale, there was a sheen of sweat covering all the skin she could see. He really did look awful.

“Seb, maybe I should take Matty out for dinner. Give you a few more hours on your own to rest?”

Matty looked up. “But it’s my cheese night! I wanna go but only if I can get mac and cheese and a grilled cheese and a cheese stick like I would have here.”

Sebastian groaned and leaned his clammy forehead against the door. “Matty, you’re not supposed to tell people about cheese night.” He looked up with one cracked eye, his hair sticking up in a hundred directions. “I swear we eat vegetables on every other night.”

Via couldn’t help but laugh. But her mirth dissolved when Sebastian wiped the sweat off his forehead with one shoulder and looked exhausted at the simple motion.

“No judgment about cheese night. But, Matty, I make a mean grilled cheese. I really think I should help.”

Sebastian looked like he was going to argue, and Via took another step up the stairs.

“Come on, Seb. It’s no trouble. And don’t act like Mary wasn’t going to stick around and help for a few hours. Let me fill in for her, okay?”

“Looks like you guys have it covered!” Sadie called from twenty feet away. Apparently, she’d been slowly backing away from the house of plague this entire time. “I’m gonna hit the road but, Via, just call me if you need something, okay? See you tomorrow, Matty! Feel better, Sebastian!”

With a brisk wave and a backward skip or two, Sadie was jetting down the sidewalk toward the school.

Sebastian lifted his eyebrows and gave a little chuffing laugh. “I look that bad, huh?”

“You’ve looked better,” Via observed dryly. “Come on, Seb. Let me help.”

He gave a deep sigh and stepped backward, letting her come in. “You’re right. I need a hand. Matty, you wanna show Via your puzzle collection? I’ll be right back out.”

He closed the door behind Via and she hung her bag and coat on the hooks in the front hall. She noticed they were his copper-and-wood signature style. Sebastian disappeared down the hall, and she took the opportunity to really look around.