Ray frowned down at Henry. “That’s not your bear. You need to give it back.”
Henry’s bottom lip began to tremble.
Sonia opened her mouth to intervene, but Jessica beat her to it. “I gave it to him. He can keep it.”
“That’s … very kind of you,” Ray replied in a hesitant tone. “If you’re sure—“ He trailed off, raising his brows at Sonia, who nodded in approval.
“See you tomorrow, Henry,” Jessica chirped, letting go of his hand and bending over to hug him.
A solitary tear trickled down his pale face.
Sonia winced as though she’d taken a punch, the feeling in her gut that something was terribly wrong clamoring for her attention.
“Thanks again,” Ray said, swiftly scooping Henry up in his arms. He gave a curt nod and shut the door on them.
“That was nice of you to give Henry your bear,” Sonia said, as she and Jessica walked back home. “I know Fudge was your favorite. Aren’t you going to miss him when you go to bed tonight?”
Jessica looked pensive. ”Henry needs him more than me. He’s not allowed any toys of his own.”
3
“Did you have fun playing with Henry today?” Evelyn asked when they sat down to dinner that evening.
Jessica nodded, a forkful of chicken halfway to her mouth. ”Uh-huh. He liked my Legos but he wasn’t very good at building stuff. I had to help him.”
“Did he talk to you much?” Sonia asked.
“Nope. He mostly nods and points.”
Evelyn doused her dinner vigorously with pepper. ”Poor little mite just lost his mother. He’s still traumatized.”
Jessica puckered her brow. “What does traum—what does that word mean?”
“It means he misses his mom,” Sonia said.
Jessica gave a pensive nod. “He didn’t want to go home. He crawled under my bed and kept saying, I want my mommy. I want my mommy.”
Sonia raised her brows a fraction, exchanging a furtive look across the table with Evelyn. It troubled her to hear that Henry’s plea for his mother had been triggered at the thought of returning home to Ray.
“Maybe you can invite Henry over to play again soon,” Evelyn said, patting Jessica on the hand. “He really likes you.”
“It was good of you to take him under your wing, sweetie,” Sonia added. “I know sometimes little kids can be annoying when they go through all your stuff.”
“Henry’s not annoying! He’s cute!” Jessica said. “I wish I could have a little brother. Can he have a sleepover, Mom?”
“It’s a bit early for that. I know he’s missing his mother, and he likes being with you, but we need to support his relationship with his dad too.”
Jessica took a gulp of her milk and set the glass down with a thunk. “Mom, you should tell his dad to buy him some toys. He only has one little Matchbox truck.”
“I’m sure he has plenty of toys, Jess,” Sonia soothed. ”They’re probably in a box somewhere. Maybe his dad got them out this afternoon while Henry was over here.”
Jessica shook her head. ”He doesn’t even have any stuffed animals to sleep with.”
“Not to worry. I bet the next time you go over there his bedroom will be all set up with his toys,” Evelyn chimed in.
“Speaking of bed, it’s time you washed up and got your jammies on,” Sonia said. She got to her feet and began clearing the table, trying to quash the lingering feeling that something was off about the relationship between Ray and Henry. Ray had totally overreacted when he saw Henry with Jessica’s bear. Was he really not allowed any toys? As she scraped the dishes into the garbage disposal, she mulled over all the little things that were bugging her: Ray’s close-lipped conversation, the fear in Henry’s eyes, his aversion to his father, the price tag hanging from his sweater, Jessica’s insistence that he had no toys, even the nagging suspicion that Henry looked vaguely familiar—what did it all mean, if anything?
She wanted to give Ray the benefit of the doubt. His world had been turned upside down, after all, with the loss of his wife and his mother. He had to be under a lot of stress, coupled with the recent move. It wasn’t all that surprising that he and his son were floundering in their efforts to find a new normal in their relationship with one another. She sighed as she set the dishwasher to run. She’d invite them over for dinner next week and try to get to know Ray Jenkins a little better. If they were to be neighbors, she needed to be sure she could trust him. And as things stood, she didn’t.
It took several attempts before Ray finally committed to dinner the following Friday. Sonia settled on cooking a pot roast, carrots and mashed potatoes, figuring it was something Henry would eat. Evelyn hadn’t been too thrilled at the prospect of entertaining Ray, but despite her misgivings, her curiosity about him won out. She had even deigned to make her famous brownies and homemade ice cream for dessert.
When the doorbell rang, Sonia stiffened momentarily, before reminding herself that the simplest explanation was usually the right one. Ray might hold his cards close to his chest, but it was highly unlikely he was a serial killer—more likely a lost soul struggling to cope with the double whammy of losing his wife and mother within weeks of each other and facing the unenviable challenge of raising his young son alone.
Sonia pasted a smile on her lips before pulling open the door. “Welcome!”
“Thank you,” Ray replied, tugging Henry after him as he stepped through the door, clutching her platter in his other hand.
Henry peered around his legs, a hopeful expression on his face.
“Someone’s been waiting very patiently for you to get here, Henry,” Sonia said, ushering him and Ray into the kitchen.
Jessica jumped to her feet and ran to squeeze Henry, before dragging him off to play with the Lego town she’d spent the afternoon assembling on his behalf.
“So, Ray, are you
