“What game?”

“We were playing the new Oculus. You here for breakfast?”

“I came to see you and everyone else before the assembly.”

“The one at New Horizons? You’re going?”

“I have to speak.”

“About what?”

“Art. What else? Mom set me up to teach a class the first block of next semester, and we’re awarding prizes for an art contest we sponsored.”

“Oh, that’s right,” he said. “I think she told me about that.”

Aiyana added a splash of cream to her coffee. “I definitely told you about that.”

Ryan opened the fridge and gazed inside. “What’s for breakfast, Ma?”

“Whatever you decide to make for yourself,” she replied.

He shot her a wounded look as he closed the fridge. “Really? I thought you’d make some French toast or something.”

Aiyana rolled her eyes in exasperation. “The assembly starts in twenty minutes, and I need to finish getting ready. Why don’t you grab a quick bowl of cereal and a shower and join us?”

“Not too excited about going to a high-school assembly,” he said.

“It’s more of a Christmas party for the kids who couldn’t go home. You know that. I’ve been sponsoring activities for them all week so they won’t feel left behind.”

“Is this the one where Sam Butcher shows up as Santa?” he asked.

Cal’s farmer friend, who had the right body type, had played Santa for Aiyana and the boys and girls at her school for years.

“No,” she replied. “That one was last week, before any of the students left. But today is still going to be fun.”

“Yeah. No, thanks,” he said. “I’m still tired. Think I’ll go back to bed.” He turned to face Seth before leaving the room. “Hey, when Eli picked us up at the airport last night, he said you were bringing Tia Beckett to Christmas tomorrow. That true?”

Seth poured himself a cup of coffee. “She says she’s coming, so...we’ll see.”

“That’s dope! I can’t believe I’ll get to meet her. She was so freaking awesome in Expect the Worst.”

“You saw that movie?”

“Everyone saw that movie.”

Seth took a sip of his coffee. “Well, try not to mention anything about Hollywood—the movie, the Oscars, anything—when you see her. Or the accident, either.”

Ryan grimaced. “Eli says she has a few scars on her face. How bad are they?”

“You can see them, but they’re not that bad.”

“Who would’ve guessed that the hermit in the family, a guy who will barely leave his house, would wind up dating a freaking movie star,” he marveled.

“Tia and I aren’t dating,” Seth clarified.

Aiyana sent him a glance. “Does she know that?”