The Face Behind The Mask

25

"I smell food," Brick said when he burst into the house. Cameron met him in the living room. "Hey, bud. How was your day?"

"Meh. School. The usual." He dropped his backpack on the floor and started up the stairs with urgency.

"Brick. Your backpack."

"Gotta go to the bathroom." Cam shook his head and pushed his son's backpack out of the way with his foot. He looked up when Kelsey entered followed by Jonas and Skyden.

"Oh. Hi, Jonas," he said, surprised.

"Hi, Mr. McKenzie."

"I wasn't expecting dinner guests," he said. "I'll set another place at the table."

"I was gonna order delivery," said Skyden. She walked to the closet, took the jacket she had draped over her arm, and hung it on a hanger. "I didn't know you'd be cooking."

He emerged from the kitchen with a plate, a knife, and a fork in hand. "Sort of cooking. I stopped by Whole Foods and bought a rotisserie chicken." He set a place at the table for their guest. "I'm making rice and throwing together a salad. You like chicken, don't you, Jonas?"

"Yeah. For sure." He'd eat dirt and rocks if it provided an opportunity to sit across the table from Kelsey.

Skyden leaned in and gave her husband a quick kiss. He tasted like he'd been sampling the chicken. "Thanks for making dinner." He smiled. She stepped back. "Hey. Are you flying to Chicago?"

"Tomorrow morning. 6:45." He read her expression knowing there was a question beneath her question. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Not really." She couldn't get past his detachment, as if he was accustomed to cops and people trying to break in and old classmates under arrest for murder and at this moment he seemed like a stranger.

"Look, Sky. It's just two overnights. The client is going live with a system upgrade and someone from the team needs to be onsite. Drew's stuck in Kansas City and Kara is out on maternity leave. Two overnights and then I'll be back."

"When were you going to mention it?" She kicked off her shoes.

"I thought I did."

"Not to me you didn't."

Brick came down the stairs, hoisted his backpack from the floor. "Did you see Sadie in our backyard again?"

"I tried to wrangle her but she took off." Cameron went to the back window and looked out at the yard. "I think the Washington's gate might be broken. Maybe I'll go across the street after dinner and see if I can fix it."

Kesley said, "Can you fix my desk drawer while you're at it?" He answered with a gentle smile. "We might need to escalate to super glue." She replied, "Whatever works."

He returned to his kitchen duties.

"Thanks for letting me come over," said Jonas.

"You're always welcome here," said Skyden. She entered the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?"

"Can you check the rice?" Cameron chopped some vegetables. "I hope I didn't burn it."

She lifted the lid on the pot on the stovetop and stirred the rice. "Nope. I think it's done. Smells good." She opened the cabinet and reached for a bowl.

Jonas leaned against the doorway separating the kitchen from the dining room in a sullen childlike pose. "They're pressuring me to go hunting with them."

"Who is?" said Skyden.

"My dad and my brother." He glanced over his shoulder toward Kelsey who occupied a chair at the dining room table.

Cameron looked up. "They hunt?" He added the chopped peppers and carrots to the salad greens.

"Big time. My dad and my uncle are all about guns and deer hunting."

"Killing animals?" Kelsey said. "That's sick."

"A lot of people like to hunt," said Skyden.

"A lot of people are psychos."

"Right?" Jonas turned away from the kitchen, giving Kelsey his full attention. It was too late. She was on her phone, scrolling. He approached the table. "To be honest, shooting cans and bottles and targets is kinda fun. But I'm definitely not into killing animals." He paused for a reaction from Kelsey that didn't materialize. "I went with them last year. It was horrible."

"I thought you said it was fire," said Brick.

"I never said that. What're you talking about? My dad woke me up in the middle of the night to go freeze my butt off hiking around in the woods for six hours. It was the worst. All they brought to eat was some nasty canned chili."

"So fun." Kelsey grimaced.

Jonas grumbled. "My brother got a buck and that's all he talked about for months."

Kelsey's mouth twitched. "What do you mean he got a buck?"

Brick chuckled. "He didn't bring it home as a pet."

"My uncle has deer heads and antlers mounted all over his game room walls." His eyes dimmed with the thought.

"Oh, my god." Kesley's attention stayed on her phone.

"My mom won't have it," Jonas said. Brick rolled his eyes but Jonas soldiered on. "She told my dad if he mounts a trophy rack in her house, she's leaving."

Kesley put down her phone. "Deer heads hanging on the wall? Totally gross." She erupted. "But you know what's even more offensive? That people call it a sport. A sport? Seriously? How is hunting a sport? Somebody please tell me."

Jonas leaned against the back of the chair, not sure if he should sit down. He felt the jitters taking hold of his arm.

"You dress in camouflage to creep into the woods looking for defenseless deer. They don't even know they're being hunted. They're just standing there minding their own business, and BLAM! Somebody blows their f'in brains out. How's that a sport? Not seeing it."

Jonas nodded, mouthing the words, "I know."

Skyden had been listening from the kitchen and decided it was a good time to carry a platter of sliced chicken to the table. "Let's change the subject," she said as she came out of the kitchen. The conversation felt personal and she was glad to cut it short.