When I get inside, I set Sofia down and help her out of her coat, stacking it on top of Uncle Dan's and Aunt Suki's on the staircase.

     "Everyone's in the living room," I say as Sofia grabs a hold of my hand.

     She's shyer than Maddox, who ran into the room the moment Suki took his coat off. Grandma and Pop are first to hug the kids as mom takes Lily from Uncle Dan and hugs him. Suki kisses her on the cheek as my mom makes googly-eyes at the baby. Mom and Uncle Dan look alike, but not the way Dres and Amelia do. Maybe that's something that changes with age.

      Sofia runs back to me after Grandma lets go of her and clings to my leg. I bring her over to Dres and Amelia, where Maddox is already hounding them. I get there just in time to hear him say, "Are you Cas's boyfriend and girlfriend?"

     "Okay!" My face heats as I grab Maddox and pull him back into me. "It doesn't work that way, Maddox."

     "Why?" he asks, looking up at me.

     I'm still flushing and Amelia's laughing in a way that just makes it worse. "I mean, it can be like that, but it's not—that isn't. You know what? Forget it. Maddox, this is Dres. And this is his sister, Amelia. Sofia, can you say hi?"

     Amelia crouches down so she's level with Sofia and says, "I like your dress, Sofia."

     Maddox goes, "You guys are like Poe and Finn. Here. You be Finn," he shoves an action figure at Dres, "and you be Poe." He shoves the other at me. "You guys can fight storm troopers!" he exclaims, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards Dres. His face is pink as he says in Chinese, "And kiss like momma and dad."

     I respond in Chinese, telling him we should stick to English when others can't understand. "It's not polite," I add.

     "Sorry," Maddox says. "I forget sometimes and it just comes out."

     I look up, meeting Dres's gaze. He's staring at me hard, an expression I can't decipher. I don't have time to make out the code.

     Mom comes up and says, "Excuse me, Maddox, aren't you going to give your Aunt a hug?" Maddox spins out of my arms and crushes my mom.

     Aunt Suki and Uncle Dan circulate back towards us. Dres still hasn't stopped giving me this look, but he smiles at them, in a way he really only reserves for rare and fleeting moments. "Aunt Suki, Uncle Dan, this is Dresden and his sister, Amelia."

     Uncle Dan shakes Dres's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about your place, Private Weston. A lot of people in my office frequent there."

     "Oh, where do you work?" Dres asks.

     "Prestige Builders. Our main offices are in the city, but I work for their Northeastern branch. Actually, I think one of my teams did work on your place over the summer."

     Dres nods enthusiastically. "They did. Gutted and designed the whole kitchen. Did a really great job. So you're an architect, then?"

     The thing about Uncle Dan is once you get him started on a topic he can go for days. Aunt Suki shoots me a knowing look. Dres has been commandeered by my Uncle's clutches.

     Mom gives Lily to Suki, announcing, "I'm going to check on everything. But we should be ready to eat soon." She turns to me, touching my forearm. "Would you mind finishing the table?" I nod, following her into the dining room. She stops in doorway of the kitchen, stares at me but doesn't say anything.

     "What's up?" I ask as I pull glasses from the china cabinet.

     "I'm just looking," she says smiling.

     I raise an eyebrow, confused. "Looking for what?"

      She shakes her head. "It's a mom thing. You wouldn't understand."

     I laugh but I'm still confused. "Okay, weirdo."

     I go back to setting the table. As I arrange the glasses, stuffing linen napkins into them like they do in fancy restaurants, I contemplate seating arrangements. 

     Mom will most likely sit at the head of the table, and grandma at the other end. Aunt Suki will want to sit between Sofia and Maddox. If Uncle Dan sits across from Pop, Dres can sit next to him, I'll sit between Dres and Amelia, and Dolores can sit between Amelia and my mom. Or Uncle Dan can sit on the other side of my mom, next to Maddox or Sofia, which would be good reinforcement for the kids. Or—

     "What're you doing?"

     I look up, quickly setting down the fork I was fidgeting with while I thought everything through. I regret it, nearly immediately. It's just Dres in the doorway. I get this strong urge to cross the room, and tear his shirt open. Literally send buttons flying, that's how much aggression I'm imagining in my head.

     I clear my throat. "Nothing. I was just uh, you know, setting the table."

     One side of his mouth lifts, something less than a smile but softer than a smirk. He steps into the room and leans against the back of the chair. "You never told me you could speak Chinese."

     I try to keep my voice cool, level. "I don't really speak Chinese, not the way Suki can, anyway." Dres makes this sound that's the equivalent of a 'bull shit.' "Ok, so I can speak a little Chinese. Is that a big deal?"

     "It's not a big deal. It's just — I didn't even know you had this family and you speak Chinese."

     Dres is flustered. I'm not really sure what's doing it – that I can speak some Chinese, or that I have Chinese in my family, or the combination of all these revelations.

     "If it helps, I can't read or write it," I say, unhelpfully.

     "No, that doesn't really help."

     "Yeah, I didn't think it actually would." I laugh. "I forget that I can speak it, really, until I get around my cousins."

     "Did your Aunt teach you?" he asks, genuinely curious.

     I nod. "Yeah, my dad lost his job one summer. That's when he started drinking, so my mom sent me to stay with Suki and Dan. I asked Suki to teach me a few things. I wouldn't say I'm fluent or, you know, trilingual, or anything."

     Dres blinks slowly, like this is all news to him, which it is. Well, not really the dad drinking part. He knew about that, but the language thing. "Bilingual," he says finally.

     "Hm?" I ask.

     "You said trilingual. It's bilingual."

     "Well, no, I'm fluent in Spanish. So, trilingual."

     His jaw loosens a little, lips parting around empty sound. "You're full of surprises, you know that." It's not really a question.

     Pop interrupts us, then, popping up in the doorway. Maddox runs ahead of him. Pop goes, "I tried to hold him back s'long as I could."

     I grin as Maddox tackles Dres's leg saying something about what color light saber Dres would have if he could have any color in the world. Dres says, "Chartreuse."

     Maddox goes, "That's not a color."

     Dres nods enthusiastically. "It's a shade of green."

     "It sounds funny," Maddox says.

     "I know, that's why I like it."

     I go, "It sounds like something French. Like a cheese or white wine.."

     Dres glances at me, grinning playfully. "Close."

     I make a face because I don't know what it's close to and Pop says, "It's a French liquor."

     "Why do you know that?" I ask him, incredulously. That's such random knowledge and I'm like king of random knowledge. I'd know.

     Dres looks at Pop like he knows exactly why he knows it. And pop says, "It was the drink of choice in the barracks."

     Mom walks in then, carrying the turkey, sliced already on an ornate platter. She says, "Cas help me bring the food in." This is the only time I'm allowed into the kitchen and really this is tenuous trust.

     Maddox follows me into the kitchen saying, "I wanna help."

     I look around and then point to the island. "Alright, buddy, why don't grab that pitcher of iced tea? But you've gotta carry it with two hands, okay?" I grab a bowl of string beans, and another of mashed potatoes. Dres and Pop walk in and grab different dishes, as well.

     Once everything's at the table, Mom calls the rest of everybody into the dining room. Dres is beside me, close enough that his warmth radiates into my side, and asks, "Where am I sitting?"

     I grin happy he's going to respect my seating arrangement. I point to a seat, and then gesture Amelia over to the one beside me. Maddox goes, "I want to sit next to Dresden!" He says his name choppily, sounding more like Dres Then instead.

     Dres laughs as Suki gets ready to tell Maddox no. He steeples his hands and starts begging so finally she says, "Only if you're going to be a good eater tonight. No playing with our food."

     "Yes." He fist pumps the air before grabbing the seat next to Dres. Like I suspected mom takes the head, and Grandma sits beside her, with Sofia and Suki going down the row. Pop sits at the bottom of the table with Uncle Dan on his right, and Dolores sits next to Amelia. Close enough to what I would've done.

     "S'not how you saw it in your head, huh," Dres whispers into my ear. It's the closest we've been since he got here and it gives me goose bumps down my neck.

     "Not at all," I say back, not quite a whisper because I suck at it.

     Amelia says into my other ear, "Secrets, secrets are no fun unless you share them with me."

     "I don't think that's how that one goes," I tell her. "And anyway. I have no secrets. I'm an open book. The openest of books, if you will."

      "You're gonna regret that," Dres says the same time Amelia goes, "Oh really?"

     I don't have to worry about whatever implications my response has given. My mom stands, quieting the table with a look, before asking everyone to hold hands so we can bless our meal. I shrink into my seat, wishing this wasn't a thing we did. It's not really a thing we do, except when we're around my grandparents. I don't think Pop cares all that much but Grandma would have words with my mom for not saying Grace.

     I'm holding Dres's hand on one end, there's a callus under his middle finger that presses into my palm, and Amelia's hand is in my other hand, dainty and nothing like Dres's. I am overly conscious of the fact I'm starting to sweat.

     Maddox insists on leading the prayer and starts to recite one he learned in school, "Bless us oh lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from our bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen."

     "Amen," everyone repeats back and I realize, looking over at Dres, that I have no idea if Dres is religious. He could be Jewish for all I know. He could be non-denominational or unobserving, like me. Saying Grace could have totally offended him — and not just him, I realize belatedly. But his mom and sister, too. My face pinches in distress.

     Dres says suddenly, "Relax."

     I roll my eyes. "How do you know I'm not relaxed?"

     "I'm looking at your face?" I frown at him. Because Dres reads minds, he says, "It's fine. We're Protestant. Technically, anyway. I don't really practice."

     I can breathe easy now, knowing I didn't just inadvertently force prayer on Dres and his family. We've let go of each other's hands and I wipe my sweaty palms up and down the tops of my thighs. Hosting is stressful. I would prefer not to do it, decidedly.

      I glance over at him, aiming for my most quiet voice when I ask, "Can you read everyone's mind? Or just mine?"

      Dres smiles, but doesn't answer. So it's just my mind, apparently.