Page 101 of The Silence Between

“Yeah,” he agreed, watching his siblings interact with the art teacher. “It is.”

That's when I heard the voice that made Leo's shoulders tense immediately.

“Mr. Reyes, Mr. Webb. What a coincidence running into you both here.”

Townsend appeared from behind a nearby booth, wearing his fake politician smile. His eyes scanned our group like he was cataloging evidence, taking in how close Leo and I stood, how comfortable the kids seemed with me.

“Mr. Townsend,” Leo said, his voice carefully neutral. “Enjoying the festival?”

“Indeed. Community events like this really highlight Riverton's family values.” The way he emphasized 'family values' made my skin crawl. “I see you have all the children with you today. How... convenient that Mr. Webb is here to assist.”

The implication was crystal clear: Leo couldn't handle his siblings alone, needed help, wasn't capable of managing on his own.

I stepped forward slightly, putting on my brightest smile. “Actually, I'm just lucky they invited me. The Reyes family outings are considered the premium social events in Riverton. Very exclusive guest list.”

Sophie giggled behind her hand while Diego's eyebrows shot up, surprised by my joking tone. Mari, who was always quick to read a room, jumped in immediately.

“Absolutely. We're very selective about who makes the cut,” she said with fake seriousness. “Background checks, references, the works.”

Townsend's face went tight, clearly not enjoying being the butt of teenage humor. “How amusing,” he managed through gritted teeth. “Well, I won't keep you from your... fun. Mr. Reyes, I understand the custody review is progressing smoothly?”

“Completely standard procedure now,” Leo replied smoothly. “The accelerated review was deemed unnecessary after further consideration.”

Townsend's smile looked painful. “Indeed. Well, enjoy the festival.”

After he stalked off, Leo's shoulders dropped back to normal. “That was well handled,” he said quietly. “All of you.”

“Team effort,” Mari replied, giving Leo and me a knowing look. “Right, Mr. Webb?”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. As we started walking again, I noticed Leo didn't put the same distance between us that he usually would after an encounter like that. If anything, he stayed closer.

“Can we get that funnel cake now?” Sophie asked, apparently unbothered by the weird adult interaction.

“Definitely,” I said. “I think we've earned it.”

At the food truck, we ordered a massive funnel cake covered in enough powdered sugar to put us all in diabetic comas. Diego tried to act too cool for it but grabbed the biggest piece when he thought no one was looking. Mari critiqued the oil temperature and frying technique until Leo told her to just eat the thing already.

“This is so good,” Sophie mumbled through a mouthful of fried dough, powdered sugar all over her face.

“You look like you have a beard,” Diego told her.

“You have sugar on your nose,” she shot back.

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Children,” Mari said in her best mock-parent voice. “Behave yourselves in public.”

Leo caught my eye and we both tried not to laugh. This felt so normal, so easy. Just a regular family outing, except I was part of it. Not intruding or forcing my way in, but actually invited and wanted there.

As the sun started setting, they turned on the string lights hanging between lamp posts, making everything look magical. A local band started playing covers on the small stage, and Sophie immediately started dancing in place.

“Oh no,” Diego groaned. “She's going to embarrass us.”

“She's thirteen,” Mari pointed out. “Embarrassing you is basically her job.”

We wandered through more booths, Sophie dragging us to look at handmade jewelry while Diego suffered through it with exaggerated sighs. Leo bought Mari a cookbook from the library's used book sale after she spent ten minutes flipping through it.

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