“Well, that’s just remarkable,” Owen said. “What an amazing mind he has.”

“I know. He’s teaching me things every day. I think he’s done letting me see him in his underwear now.”

“Kind of sounds like it,” Owen said.

“I have a huge, huge favor to ask you.”

“No, I’m not going to explain the sperm bank to Noah...”

“Not that,” she said. “Even though I didn’t get a clear job description, I know what I have to do. No, my girlfriends, Sharon and Kate, they want to see us and get a look at you. Can you stand a lot of company? I could ask them to wait until you go to Vietnam but Sharon doesn’t have much time to screw around. She’s due to have a baby in about six weeks. And they do want to get to know you.”

“Bring them on,” he said. “How many of them?”

“Kate, Phil and only two of their kids—Phil’s three kids from his first marriage will be with their mom. Sharon, John, their three-year-old and Sharon’s big belly. So, not counting the belly, seven.”

He smiled reassuringly. “If I pass this test, can I keep you awhile?”

“You might be stuck with me either way.”

“I can do that,” he said.

* * *

Hannah was conscious that for the first time she was not at all nervous at the prospect of introducing her best friends to her boyfriend. Not only was she completely confident in Owen, she also didn’t care what they thought—she adored him.

The third weekend in June would bring the friends for a long weekend—from Thursday to Tuesday. Owen asked her to go shopping with him to stock up. He wanted to fill up the kitchen with food, drink, plenty of ice cream and needed her input. The kids were three, four and seven. Add in Noah, who was five. When she tried to help pay, he wouldn’t have it. “Come on, let me play the host. Unless my sister or ex-wife visits, I’m mostly alone or on the road.”

“You must make sure Sheila and her kids come soon,” Hannah said. “I can’t wait for that.”

“I have a feeling the two of you will roast me.”

“But not badly.”

He also wanted to make sure there were plenty of fishing poles, life vests, floaty toys and games. He dragged out cornhole boards and beanbags for pitching games, the small firepit with a screen cover for safety and to keep sparks at a minimum, some fireworks and sparklers.

“Are you going to buy a boat?” she asked him.

“I wish I had a boat,” he said. “The truth is I have no interest in a boat, but just now I wish I had one.”

He complained that he’d gone through a lot of wine since meeting Hannah and he usually ordered his wine from various vintners but this time he had to make do with a case from the liquor store, along with beer and sodas.

There were plenty of towels, since he was set up as a rental home. Mrs. Bourne with her daughter and daughter-in-law came to give the place a freshening and Hannah couldn’t help herself. She pitched in, cleaning with them. Mrs. Bourne chattered the whole time.

“So you’ve been here over a month, is it? And staying on, are you? With that cute little boy of yours? You and Mr. Owen must be working out just excellent then, if you’re still here. I’ve been looking for a woman for that kind man and I have to say, he did right well with you! And little Noah will go to school in Timberlake? And maybe take some trips with Mr. Owen, I suppose. And I guess I’ll be cleaning up for a wedding one of these years! No pressure—you should be sure—but I don’t know how much better you can do but Mr. Owen!”

Hannah found if she said nothing at all, Mrs. Bourne didn’t notice. At one point her daughter, Rebecca, said, “Mama, stop talking before her ears fall off!”

“Was I talking? Oh, never mind, Hannah don’t care. Do you, Miss Hannah?”

Everyone arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday. They’d had an easy flight from Minneapolis to Denver and rented a van large enough for all of them and their luggage. Owen and Noah had been hanging out on the dock fishing to pass the time, and at the sound of a horn and Romeo’s welcoming bark, Noah got himself up and made noisy running thumps down the dock. He was getting steadier and faster by the day. They might as well have been aunts, uncles and cousins, there was so much hugging going on.

Hannah glanced over at Owen and saw that he hung back a little. She smiled at him, for no one could look quite so alone in a crowd as Owen. His hands were sunk into his pockets and he had this little bit of errant hair that fell over his brow. He tended to always look like he could use a haircut. Today he was clean-shaven, probably in deference to guests, but usually he was just a little scruffy and Hannah loved it. She gestured him over.

John was first, grabbing Owen’s hand. “How you doing, man? I’m John. This is Sharon and the bump, and this is Mandy,” he said, picking up a three-year-old girl.

Then Phil stretched out a hand. “Hey, this is great of you, Owen, letting us invade like this. Kate, my wife, Jess and Alexa, our daughters aged four and seven. I guess the first thing to do is get the luggage in, then you tell us what to do and we’ll do it. Chop wood? Hunt for food? Fish for dinner?”

Owen just laughed. “We get luggage in, then break out snacks. Hannah will show you which rooms she picked out for you. After that, the kids might want to swim or fish. I have plenty of life jackets and poles.”

“Look at this place,” John said. “It’s a resort. You have ponies in the barn?”

“Unfortunately, Romeo is the only pony. That’s my shop, where I work. If you’re interested, I’ll show you later.” Romeo was in the middle of four kids, tasting each face. “Don’t worry, he’s had his shots,” Owen said.

“He’s very nice but a little clumsy,” Noah told them. “He knocked me off the dock and I almost drowned.”

“You didn’t almost drown,” Hannah said. “Come on, you guys, let’s get you moved in.”

Chips and salsa, potato chips and dip, and a big bowl of fruit were put out for everyone to put a dent in their hunger so they could play. The kids chose swimming over fishing while the sun was out and Romeo was happy to join the kids, chasing his ball out into the water. Everyone wore their life vests even though Alexa was becoming a pretty good swimmer.

Noah showed them his stuff. With the buoyancy of the water and since this wasn’t exercise time, he had flippers on his feet. He was doing some powerful kicking, chasing Romeo through the water. He might be slow on land but he was as fast as any fish in the water. Owen and the dads were in the lake, too, tossing kids around, throwing the ball for Romeo, laughing and taking revenge when they were splashed.

Owen put chicken and corn on the grill while Hannah managed deviled eggs. There were what Owen called high-density beans in the slow cooker—baked beans doctored with onion, peppers, bacon and mystery meat, which turned out to be leftover flank steak from the night before. With plenty of brown sugar and barbecue sauce, they were guaranteed to produce tons of calories and gas.

“Oh, man, we’re all going to know each other very well by bedtime,” John said.

“How about an after-dinner libation?” Owen asked. “Ladies?”

“I’ll have a glass of any red you like,” Hannah said.

“And I’ll just take the whole bottle,” Sharon said. “Oh, that’s right—I get nothing until the bump arrives.”

“Here’s to Sharon and her many sacrifices,” Kate said, raising a glass. And they all said, “Hear, hear!”

“You’re too kind,” she said, glowering at them.

The kids were bathed and settled in their beds, exhausted and asleep in no time. The adults enjoyed a soft summer night on the porch with the lapping of the lake and breeze through the pines as background music. Owen pulled out the firepit and lit a log and Romeo lumbered into the house to find Noah and curl up with him for the night. The adults stayed up talking, learning about each other. As many questions as the men had for Owen, he had as many for them, interested in their work as a teacher and airplane mechanic. Sharon was the first to head for bed. Owen was the last.

He curled his long body around Hannah and said, “Your friends are great. It’s comforting. If for some reason I can’t watch over you, I know they will. They’re good people. They love you and they’re committed to Noah.”

“You’re good people, too, Owen. You’ve made them feel very welcome.”

* * *

As had become typical, Noah was awake first, raring to go. He had the other kids and their parents up with the sun. Their days were filled with swimming, fishing, food and fun. They all went to visit Sully and Helen and exclaim over their garden, the women went to town to poke around one day and then the whole crowd had burgers at the pub followed by ice-cream sundaes. They spent most of one afternoon looking through Owen’s books and pictures, and from that point on someone always had one of his books in hand. Every evening found them on the porch with a fire.

“This is the life, Owen,” Phil said.

“I know it’s hard to believe but I actually do work. In fact, sometimes it feels like I work hard. But I admit, it’s fun.”

“What’s the best part?” John asked.

“There are so many best parts,” he said. “The freedom to wander. Discovery. Every time I go after some shot, some scene, some experience, something I never expected pops up and usually sets me off in a whole new direction. The reunion collection started when I saw a clip on the news of a wrongfully convicted prisoner released from prison, his entire family waiting outside for him. I can’t even remember the details but he served something like twenty years and then new DNA testing proved his innocence, and I wondered, was his family there because they never lost their belief in him or were there some in that big crowd who would ask forgiveness for not believing in him? I thought there are a million stories of reunions waiting for me. One sixty-second film clip and I put a lot of miles on. It grew like moss on the back of a tree. Soldiers reunited with their families, or how about their war dogs? But usually one photo per story. Never more than two. Photo stories.”