I Invited My Coworker to Our Fourth of July Barbecue Because He Had Nowhere Else to Go — But the Moment He Saw My Wife, He Turned Pale

around the patio table. “My mother told you I died?”

“She cried in my arms, Joan. She said you were gone.”

Eva passed the tray to my cousin and stepped between the guests and us.

“Kids by the fence,” she said. “Adults, back up. This isn’t for everyone.”

I kept my eyes on Gabriel. “You and Joan are coming inside. Now.”

Gabriel nodded, pale and unsteady.

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