Page 127 of The Fallen Man

“I was going to have Jackson…” Aiden looked around the room and nodded as if his sentence had been either finished or responded to. “Ah. You’re Caitlin. Well, damn. You are having a rough month. I’m sorry. Are you doing OK? Is Jackson taking care of you?”

“Does everyone here already know my girlfriend?” asked Jackson, sounding annoyed. “And what were you going to have me do?”

“There was a guy at Katie’s work,” said Ella. “He attacked her. I know you didn’t want to press charges, Katie, but I also thought that maybe Jackson could look into it. It wasnotOK.”

“Um. Jackson took care of it,” said Katie.

“I did?”

“Yup,” said Katie, giving him the eye.

“Oh. That guy. Well, I mean, technically you…” Caitlin glared at him. She did not want to talk about ice picks or dead bodies in front of the entire Deveraux family. “OK, well, let’s just say it’s taken care of and we will leave it at that.”

Caitlin looked around the room. “You’re all Deverauxes?” she asked realizing how often she’d met them previously.

“Well, just us,” said Dominique. “And technically, just those two,” she said, pointing at Evan and Jackson.

“Yes, but…” Caitlin wasn’t sure what to think. “You’re all…” Then she laughed and looked at Jackson. She was at a loss to explain how much she owed his family.

“We’re all what?” asked Jackson.

“Annoying?” suggested Aiden.

“Charming and wonderful?” suggested Dominique.

“Strange and in desperate need of help?” offered Evan.

“Thoughtful and kind,” said Caitlin.

“Mmm, no,” said Aiden. “That doesn’t sound like us at all.”

“I told you she needs to sit down,” said Dominique. “Head injury.”

Caitlin looked in frustration at Jackson. “But they are.”

“Yes,” he agreed, smiling at her, and it was the softest smile.

“But don’t tell them that,” said Max. “They get confused.”

“That’s true,” agreed Olivia. “I’ve tried, but they just wander off.”

“That’s when I hug them,” said Ella. “It completely short-circuits their brains.”

“Ha!” exclaimed Max.

“Are they allowed to gang up on us like that?” asked Aiden.

“Yes,” said Jackson. “They are.”

The door opened, and Theo looked in. Caitlin liked Theo. He seemed so incredibly reassuring and stable.

“Dinner is served,” said Theo.

“Thank you, Theo,” said Jackson, holding out his arm to her as if they were in a period drama. Caitlin took his arm and they paraded across the hall to the dining room. She couldn’t believe the acres of food on the table. There was a genuine Christmas goose and she felt like she’d wandered into some sort of fairy tale as the table seemed to spring to life with food and laughter. She wondered when she’d wake up.

But by the end of the meal she hadn’t woken up and everything had taken on a warm glow, tinted rosy by a glass of wine. Caitlin looked around the table. The couples had all started out sitting together, but then the coffee cups had come out and as if that was the signal everyone had rearranged to make conversations easier. Eleanor and Caitlin were the only ones who hadn’t relocated. Eleanor was at the head of the table, sipping tea, andpicking at a serving of the blueberry tart. Jackson was arguing with Evan about something, both of them falling in and out of Ukrainian. He was also trying to steal the last of the mashed potatoes from Aiden. Max and Aiden were talking law and also negotiating the mashed potato issue. Dominique was on the other side of Caitlin with her elbows on the table to discuss the potential impact of a new law on the tech industry with Ella across the table. Caitlin looked at Olivia who was on her left and looked up from her phone with a smile. She and Olivia had been talking earlier, but there had been some sort of work email that had required a response. Caitlin hadn’t minded. She was happy for the break. Olivia hit send and leaned over to speak to Caitlin without being overheard by the rest of the table.

“Feeling overwhelmed?”