in a corner of the biggest couch, a wooden tray with a teapot and a cup in front of him. As soon as he lifts his eyes, I can see the difference from the guy we met downtown. His gaze isn’t sharp, exactly, but it’s a lot more focused. “Granddad, the Story kids are here,” Hazel says, crossing in front of him and pouring more tea into the cup. “This is Aubrey, Jonah, and Milly.”
“So nice to see you again, Dr. Baxter,” Milly says brightly. Aubrey echoes her greeting, while I shove my hands in my pockets and look at the floor. Operation Invisible, commenced.
“My goodness.” Dr. Baxter’s voice is faint. “I thought I must have misunderstood you, Hazel. But they really are here.” I look up then, catching an expression of mild alarm on his face before he forces a stiff smile. “How wonderful. Please excuse me for not getting up to greet you properly. I’m not as steady on my feet as I once was.”
“Do you guys want anything to drink?” Hazel asks. I shake my head as Milly and Aubrey murmur “No thanks,” and Hazel gestures around the room as she settles in next to her grandfather. “Have a seat wherever.”
I sit as far from Dr. Baxter as I can manage, but Aubrey does the opposite. She perches at the edge of the sofa that’s at a right angle to Dr. Baxter’s, so there’s just an end table between them. “I’m Adam’s daughter,” she says with a friendly smile. “He talks a lot about how you helped him get back in shape after he blew out his knee in high school.”
“Oh well.” Dr. Baxter wets his lips. “Adam was a very determined young man. Yes. He certainly was.”
Aubrey looks like she wants to say more, but Hazel picks up a notebook from the cushion beside her and speaks first. “So, I’m really curious,” she says, flipping the notebook open and pulling a pen from its spine. “What was it like growing up knowing that you would’ve had a completely different life if your parents hadn’t been cut off?”
“Wow.” Milly blinks, giving the full Milly Story-Takahashi eyelash effect. “You’re getting right to it, aren’t you?”
Hazel smiles apologetically, but keeps her pen poised. “It’s really interesting, from a sociological perspective, how the knowledge of a theoretical parallel life might affect the goals and aspirations of a new generation.”
I slouch deeper into the armchair, but Milly straightens beside me. “You know what else is interesting?” she asks. “What people on Gull Cove Island think about what happened between my grandmother and our parents. I’d love to know what the local theories are.”
“Oh gosh.” Hazels lets out a guilty little laugh. “Do you really want to know? Some of the things people say are pretty out there.” There’s a clattering sound to my left as Dr. Baxter, who just took a noisy sip of tea, puts his cup back down and almost misses the saucer.
“I really do,” Milly confirms.
Hazel tugs at her earring. “Well, the most common theory is that your grandmother had a breakdown after your grandfather died. Like, she was practically a hermit for a while, refusing to see anybody except her kids. And then she wouldn’t see them, either. But Granddad has known Mrs. Story for years, and he never thought she was actually unstable,” Hazel adds, turning to Dr. Baxter. “Did you, Granddad?”
“Well, no,” Dr. Baxter says hesitantly. He looks even more uncomfortable than I feel, which is…interesting. I forget my disappearing act and lean forward for a better look at his face. The motion makes him turn my way, and his forehead creases in a deep frown. “You look nothing like Anders,” he says abruptly.
Shit. I slouch right back into the shadows as Milly quickly says, “What are some of the other theories, Hazel? The ones that are ‘out there.’ ” She puts the last two words in finger quotes.
Hazel glances my way, and I rub a hand over my face like I’m thinking. Even though what I’m really doing is hiding. “Well, it’s funny what Granddad said about Jonah,” she says slowly. “He doesn’t look like Anders, does he? And Anders never looked like anybody else. Some people think Anders wasn’t actually Mildred’s son, that Abraham had a love child he forced his wife to raise as their own.” Aubrey’s eyes pop as Hazel adds, “They say Mrs. Story tried to disinherit only Anders when her husband died, and the other kids left the