Krista laughed and stepped back. “That’s okay, I can feel the love from here!”

“Cute,” Iris said.

A couple of other students came by—one brought crocheted slippers. A secretary from the school office brought brownies. Troy showed up and she asked him if he would mind bringing her the SAT prep course portfolio after school the next day. “I don’t dare show my face around there, looking and sounding like I do,” she said. “I bark like a seal!”

“You look great,” he said. “What else can I bring you? Do you have food? Juice? Soup? Everything you need?”

“I’m all hooked up,” she said with a laugh. “My neighbor has been making me dinner every night.”

“That’s a lot of trouble,” he said. “Can I bring you something from Cliff’s or Carrie’s?”

She shook her head. “Gwen is so happy to be doing it. She was my mom’s best friend and took me under her wing long ago.” And right as she said that, Seth came walking across the yard, wearing oven mitts, carrying a casserole. His department SUV was parked at his mother’s house and he wore his uniform.

“Hey, Troy,” he said cheerily.

“Seth,” Troy said. “Delivering dinner?”

“Chicken something,” he said. “Join us?”

“You’re eating, too?” Troy asked.

“Well, I guess I could go home and eat the same thing with my mother and Norm, but frankly, Iris is better company.” He smiled. “Even in her condition.”

“Very nice, Seth,” she said. And then, of course, she coughed.

“I’m doomed,” Seth said to Troy. “Pritkus is down with half his family, my other deputy has some variation on this bug, Iris already contaminated me, half the town is sneezing and everyone who goes to the clinic has time to stop by my office and list their symptoms for me. I’m so grateful.”

“I’ve been tempted to wear a mask to school,” Troy said.

“Want to join us for this chicken something?” Iris asked.

“I don’t know....”

“Make up your mind, man,” Seth said. “I only have a half hour for dinner.”

“I think I’ll pass,” Troy said to Iris. “You have the plague and I think Seth could be a carrier. I’m going to take my chances on Pizza Hut. I’ll bring you your SAT prep folder after school tomorrow. If you need anything else, text me.”

Like old roommates, Iris and Seth put out plates, flatware and napkins. The casserole sat in the middle of the kitchen table. She grabbed a little leftover salad in the fridge, something she’d thrown together for lunch, and Seth pulled two rolls wrapped in plastic wrap out of his jacket pocket, making her laugh. She remarked that the “chicken something” was wonderful and he said she sounded much better. Their conversation wandered, as it had the past few nights. She told him about some of the student issues—no names—that she’d been challenged with. He asked her what she’d been doing on holidays since her mom passed away.

“Various friends,” she said. “Last year Grace and I teamed up with a turkey breast and gravy from the jar, but the year before I drove to Eureka and spent three days with my college roommate and her family. What about you?”

“I’ve been a junior deputy, then a junior sergeant for as long as I can remember so I end up working most holidays. On the few I can sneak away, Boomer has it at his house in North Bend. He’s got two kids.”

“They still call him Boomer, do they?” she asked.

“Everyone calls him Boomer, even his wife and kids. I think he likes it.”

“And Nick?”

“New woman every time I see him. I don’t know if he’ll ever find one that sticks with him.”

“Really? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, but he’s a very sharp, good-looking guy and what a smile!”

Seth smiled. “Better than this?” he asked.

“Miles better,” she said. “Kind of crazy that all you boys have handsome smiles when old Norm last smiled a few years ago....”

“Was it that recently? Too bad no one got a picture. So, since I’m working in Thunder Point this year, Boomer’s family has agreed to come to town for Thanksgiving. I’ll have to work, but we divide up the day so everyone on duty gets turkey. I’ll at least get a long lunch break to have dinner with the family. Will you come?” he asked. “My mother would be thrilled. So would Nick and Boomer.”

“Ah, I don’t know, Seth. That’s very sweet, but I wouldn’t want to give the wrong idea to anyone. And there’s Grace. And Troy. Troy has family in San Diego but he hasn’t said anything about going home.”

“Bring them,” he said. “My mom would be so happy to pack ’em in for her holiday meal. She won’t admit it, but she hates it when her daughter-in-law is in charge—she wants to control the meal. And I don’t care what ideas they get—we used to have Thanksgiving together every year.”

“When it was me and Rose. It hasn’t been me and Rose in a long time.”

“I haven’t been in Thunder Point for a long time,” he said. He touched her hand.

“You’ve been here for an hour and a half,” she pointed out to him.

“Have I? Time flies...”

“You told Troy you had thirty minutes.”

“I lied,” he admitted with a shrug. “I’m the boss. I’m on the clock all the time. My phone is on. If the phone chimed, I’d have to leave in the middle of the chicken whatever-it-was.”

“I believe it was chicken tetrazzini.”

“You have amazing taste buds.” He smiled at her. “How about a game of Scrabble?”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“Sort of,” he said. “I’ve been in this uniform since six this morning. Believe me, they get their money’s worth. Hey, when everyone is over the flu, I’ll teach you to play chess. If you want to...”

“You play chess?”

“I learned when I was rehabbing my leg. I just didn’t have much stamina, especially after a really demanding session. But my brain needed to be kept busy, so I learned.”

She smiled sweetly. “You’ve changed so much.”

“I hope so. But I hope I’m the same guy in the good ways.”

* * *

On Halloween Seth called Iris. “Do you have something you can warm up for dinner? Because I’m afraid I’m not going to get over tonight until late and my mom didn’t cook. I forgot—Halloween is different.”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m snacking tonight. There are little goblins due any second.”

“And I have to keep an eye on the goblins around town.”

“You do that.”

Seth hadn’t been back in Thunder Point on Halloween since his senior year in high school. He didn’t remember it ever being a major holiday among the locals and yet, what he witnessed was an extraordinary display. On this clear and cold night, the town was alive with celebration. Everyone had their porch ornaments displayed, from corn stalks to pumpkins; there were witches and ghosts flying in the trees, orange and black candles lit the windows. Three separate neighborhoods had haunted houses or graveyards with spooks that jumped out at expectant kids. Seth’s mother was dressed as a scarecrow and was standing stone-still at the end of her sidewalk until a little one passed and then she suddenly came to life, startling them, sending them shrieking and giggling up and down the sidewalk and street.