Ardis stood beside me on the walk with her suitcase parked by my boots.
Through the glass of the storm door, I saw somebody come up the front hallway.
Not Brett.
A young man. Maybe late twenties. Dark T-shirt and jeans. His hair was all mussed up on one side, like he’d been asleep on the couch.
I’d never seen him before in my life.
He looked at me. He looked at Ardis beside me. He looked down at the suitcase by my boots.
Then he pushed open my storm door, and the cold came in around him.
“Can I help you folks?” he said.
“I’m Gordon Brekke,” I said. “This is my house.”
I watched it happen on his face.
First nothing. Then confusion. Then the color went right out of him. All at once. From his forehead down to his chin. Like somebody had pulled a plug.
“No,” he said. “No, sir. This is Brett’s house.”
“Brett is my son.”
“He said his folks gave it to him,” the young man said. His voice was getting faster. “He said you moved to Arizona for good. He said you signed it over to him when you retired.”
Behind me, I heard Ardis let out a long breath.
“We didn’t sign anything over to anybody,” I said. “We spend the winters in Mesa. We were due home in May.”
He put one hand flat on the door frame. Like he needed it to keep standing up.
“Oh, man,” he said. “Oh, man. Mr. Brekke, I am so sorry. I’m Austin. Austin Kessler. I’m Jade’s brother. I swear to God, I thought this was his place. I’ve been paying him on the first of every month. Cash, in an envelope. I’ve got a little notebook where I write it all down.”
“I believe you,” I said.
And I did. Nobody can fake that color.
“I’ll get out,” he said. “I’ll pack right now. I can be out of here tonight.”
“It’s March,” I said. “And it’s going to be nine degrees tonight. Nobody’s going anywhere tonight.”
He looked at me like I’d said something in Norwegian.
“Can we come in?” Ardis said from behind me. “My feet are cold.”
Austin jumped out of that doorway like the step had caught on fire.
“Yes, ma’am. Of course, ma’am. I’m sorry. Come in. It’s your house. I mean, I know it’s your house. Obviously. Come in.”
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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