Michael reached out and touched her shoulder. Sarah had never said anything so glorious in all the time he’d known her.

“What else is there to discuss?” Bryson asked. “Are we going to tell each other our favorite childhood memories or something?”

“Yes, actually. That’s a great idea,” Sarah said, suddenly cheery. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. You first, Bryson.”

“What? Serious?”

“Totally.”

Mostly dressed in shadow, Bryson swung his legs around and sat up on his cot, leaning forward with elbows on knees. “All right,” he said. “You asked for it. But it’s going to shatter your illusion that I was a childhood prodigy, well on my way to becoming the smartest man alive.”

“We’ll risk it,” Michael muttered.

Bryson rubbed his hands together, then started in. “Okay, I was…five years old, I think. So I was a little kid, but that still doesn’t excuse how stupid I was. I mean, seriously, I had to have been one brainless child. Maybe I had an implant later in life. Or hey, maybe I’m a Tangent!”

“Not funny,” Sarah said. “And would you please get on with this amazing story of what an idiot child you were?”

It didn’t faze Michael. He’d long since accepted that he was a Tangent. The lighter they could make of it, the better. It was a huge, and relieving, change for him.

“Christmas,” Bryson said. “Snowing outside, sparkly lights everywhere, a real tree in the living room. Man, that thing smelled good. My dad chopped it down himself while I watched. I’m pretty sure we stole it off some dude’s land, but that’s another story. Anyway, I was the youngest kid, three brothers and a sister. They were all at school and my mom had gone upstairs to take a nap. And there I was, poor little baby brother, sitting in the living room, staring at a mound of wrapped presents under the tree. So inviting. It was like the paper could talk, telling me I should take a peek, see what everyone would get from Mom and Pop.”

“You sneaked a look at some Christmas presents?” Sarah asked. “That’s it? What kid in history didn’t do that?”

“Well, I didn’t,” Michael said. “I’m Jewish.”

Sarah laughed. “What? You are? How’d I not know that?”

“My parents weren’t the most religious people on the block.”

“Excuse me?” Bryson interrupted. “Can I finish?”

Sarah laughed again, and Michael’s heart felt just a little lighter. He hadn’t realized how great that sound was and how much he’d missed it.