14
When Kire arrived downstairs, his mother was saying, “I’m so glad you came over, Mr. Burke. I just figured you might like to get out of the house. How are you today?”
“Fine,” Mr. Burke grunted.
“Good,” Emma said. “Well, you can have a seat if you’d like, and Kire can keep you company while I make our coffee.”
Mr. Burke shuffled over to a couch in the living room and fell onto it with a heavy groan. Kire perched on the cushion on the opposite side of the same couch Mr. Burke was on.
“How are you today, Mr. Burke?” Kire asked once his mother disappeared into the kitchen.
Mr. Burke screwed up his wrinkled face. “She’s asked me that already, your mother,” he said, “and you were right here when she did. So, you know the answer to that.”
Kire swallowed; though he knew Mr. Burke wasn’t
