Jo knew her husband well enough that she could tell when something was bothering him. "What's wrong?" she asked as he walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.
Doug sighed. "I just got off the phone with Randy. He's coming here for Christmas this year."
"Well, to me that sounds really nice!" Jo smiled. "You haven't seen him in so long. I think it's great that he's visiting for the holidays."
Bethany toddled over to Doug and patted his knee. "Da da."
"Come here, sweetie!" He picked her up and held her in his lap. "Perhaps," he said to Jo. "It's just that it's been so long, and so much has happened, that I just don't know what it will be like to be around him again. Besides, he said he's bringin' somebody important for me to meet. He wouldn't tell me who. He just said somebody important."
Jo frowned. "That does sound strange. Well, I suppose you'll find out when they get here."
A freshly fallen snow lay on the ground on the day Oklahoma High ended classes for the holidays. Jamie was walking to the bus when she felt a soft wetness against the back of her head and turned to see Clay and a couple of his friends doubled over with laughter. Furious, she scooped up a glove full of snow and began to mold it into a ball, but by the time she'd made it, Clay and the others had run far ahead.
With a sigh of frustration, she joined the other students who were boarding the bus. She had to walk past Clay on the way to her seat. "I'm gonna get you!" she told him.
"For what?" he asked, feigning innocence.
They arrived home to find Jo sitting on the sofa, watching Bethany play with her blocks. "Kay Kay!" the little girl cried when she saw her older brother.
"Hey there." Clay picked her up and gave her a hug.
"We're going to the airport tomorrow to meet your Uncle Randy," Jo told the two teenagers.
"Uncle Randy?" Jamie was surprised. "I didn't know we had an Uncle Randy."
"Dad's mentioned him to me before," said Clay. "I think he lives in California."
"I know I don't have to remind the both of you to be on your best behavior," said Jo.
"You don't have to talk to me like I'm twelve," Clay grumbled.
The following day, they watched as a middle-aged man who slightly resembled Doug, accompanied by a man about twenty years younger who resembled Doug even more strongly, walked toward them. "Doug!" cried the older man.
"Randy!" Doug replied. The brothers embraced and greeted one another warmly.
"How ya doin', man? It's been forever, hasn't it?" asked Randy.
"It really has," Doug replied. "Good to see you again, little bro. This is my wife Jo, my son Clay, and my daughters Jamie and Bethany."
"Great to meet you all." Randy grinned. "I'd like you to meet my son, Travis."
"Your son?" Doug was taken aback.
"He found me on Facebook earlier this year," Randy explained. "Patty's his Mom. She told him my name, and he looked me up and we started communicating. Turns out he lives in California now too, only a three-hour drive away from me. We've visited back and forth a few times, and I invited him to come along with me back to my old stomping grounds."
Doug looked a bit unsettled. "When's your birthday, Travis?"
"January 16, 1973. Why?"
Doug visibly paled. "No particular reason. I was just curious, that's all."
The family journeyed back to the Normans' house, where Jo had prepared a delicious meal. Everyone was eager to learn more about Travis and asked him many questions. "Are you married?" Jo wanted to know.
"Divorced," Travis told her. "I have two little girls. Katelyn's ten and Kimberlyn's six. They live with their Mom in a neighboring county, and I see them every other weekend." He passed around a photograph of his daughters, and everyone commented on how pretty they were. Jo immediately noticed how closely Kimberlyn resembled Bethany but didn't comment on it. Doug was unusually quiet the entire time, and seemed to be carefully studying Travis.
Travis established a good rapport with Clay and Jamie, asking them many questions about school and their extracurricular activities. They told him about the Police Explorers, and he talked with them about his own high school years. Bethany stole the show, of course, but Travis didn't seem to mind at all. "Your little girl is so precious," he told Jo and Doug. "How old is she?"
"She just turned a year old," Jo told him.
"It seems kind of strange to have a first cousin so much younger than me," Travis remarked. "But that's all right. She's absolutely adorable."
As Jo came to bed that night, she saw that Doug was staring at the ceiling like he did when he was deep in thought. He didn't even notice when she walked into the bedroom. "Penny for your thoughts," she said lightly.
"Oh." He seemed startled for just a moment but quickly recovered. "I can't get it out of my mind, Jo. As soon as Travis told me his birthday, I knew that he wasn't Randy's son. He's mine."