“He’s the best plastic surgeon,” Ober’s mother explained.

“This place is unbelievable,” Lisa said, looking around. “I’ve seen suburbia and it’s driving a Volvo.”

After dropping off Eric and Nathan, the Oberman shuttle pulled up to Ben’s house.

“So what are the sleeping arrangements for tonight?” Ober asked as he opened the door.

“Funny,” Ben said as he and Lisa climbed out of the van. “Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Oberman.”

“You’re welcome. Tell your mom I say hi.”

“I definitely will,” Ben said. “And by the way, I’d watch your son while he’s home. He’s been so busy at work, he hasn’t been eating well.”

“I knew you looked skinny!” Ober’s mother said as Ben shut the door and Ober scowled out the window.

“Now that was downright mean,” Lisa said.

“He deserved it,” Ben said as he walked up the path to his house.

Lisa looked up at the modest Colonial-style home. “Nice place.”

As they approached the front steps, the front door opened. “Benjamin!” his mother said. She opened her arms and gave him a long embrace. “You look terrific,” she said. “A bit thin, but otherwise terrific. And you must be Lisa,” she said, extending her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Lisa said.

“In case you didn’t guess, this is my mom,” Ben said. “She’s the malevolent evil one I was telling you about.”

“Don’t be such a smart-ass,” Ben’s mother said. “I’m trying to make a good impression.” Without question, Ben had inherited his mother’s features: her strong eyes, her quizzical eyebrows, the way her nose crinkled when she laughed. Even their mannerisms seemed to mirror each other. For every quick remark Ben had, his mother had a stronger retort.

Carrying his packed-to-capacity nylon bag, Ben followed Lisa and his mother into the house. When they reached the living room, Mrs. Addison called out, “Michael! They’re here!” From out of the kitchen, Ben’s father appeared, dressed in jeans and a beat-up old Michigan T-shirt.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Addison. I’m Lisa.”

Taking Lisa’s hand, he said, “Please, call me Michael. Mr. Addison’s my dumpy old dad.”

His hair was longer than Lisa had expected. It must be the old-hippie thing, she thought.

“Why don’t you bring Lisa’s bags upstairs,” Ben’s mother said to Ben. “I wasn’t sure how you two wanted to do the sleeping arrangements, so…”

“Mom, we’re not even dating,” Ben said.

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Bachelor,” Ben’s mother said. She turned to Lisa and added, “He says you two aren’t dating, but he hasn’t brought home a woman since Lindsay-what was her name?”

“Lindsay Lucas,” Ben and Lisa said together.

Smiling, Ben’s mother said, “I see you’ve already had this discussion.”

“I refuse to explain,” Ben said. Grabbing Lisa’s bag, he walked toward the stairs. “I’ll be right back.” Walking up to his old room, Ben inhaled the smells of his childhood. It felt good and familiar and safe to be back, he decided. As with every other visit home, he marveled at the illusion that everything around him had gotten smaller-from his old bed, to his old desk, to the Albert Einstein poster on his wall. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he put Lisa’s bags in the guest room and then walked down to the kitchen.

“Awwwww,” he heard Lisa say as he entered the room. “You were so cute!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ben said. “Baby pictures already? What’d it take, two whole minutes? That’s a new record for you, Mom.”

“Leave her alone,” Lisa said, still engrossed in the photos.

“You should see some of the home movies we have,” Ben’s father added.

“Don’t even think of it, Dad,” Ben warned. “Home movies have at least a one-night waiting period.”

“So tell me more about Ben as a little kid,” Lisa said.

“Tell her about the time I lit Jimmy Eisenberg on fire.”

“Oh, shush,” Ben’s mother said. Turning back to Lisa, she continued, “He was so bright. He learned to read when he was two. And by the time he was four, he used to read Michael’s articles.”

“He found a spelling mistake in one of my final drafts,” Ben’s father said proudly. “Tell Lisa about the time you found him up on the roof.”

“Now that’s a story,” Ben’s mother said. “When Ben was five, it was late one night, and I couldn’t find him. I was frantic-”

“Mom, you were frantic?” Ben asked.

“I was frantic, looking everywhere for him. I was pulling my hair out. Suddenly, I hear this sound on the roof. Let me tell you, my heart dropped. I ran up through the attic and opened the door to the roof, and there’s Benjamin, wearing his little pajamas and holding a rope in his hand. So I scream, ‘Benjamin, what the hell do you think you’re doing out here?’ And he says to me, ‘Mommy, I was just trying to lasso the moon.’”

“Awwwwww,” Lisa said. “Ever the little over-achiever.”

“Oh, well-show’s over,” Ben said, leaving the kitchen. “Good night.”

“Benjamin, come back here,” Ben’s mother said.

Scanning through the pictures, Lisa looked up and asked, “Is this little guy your brother?”

“Yeah,” Ben said with a smile. He then looked over at both his mother and father.

Confused, Lisa was silent.

“That’s Daniel. He passed away when he was twelve,” Ben’s father said. “He had leukemia.”

“I’m sorry,” Lisa said. “I didn’t know.”

“And now you do,” Ben said, trying to make Lisa feel comfortable. Standing behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. It’s okay.”

“He was a terrific young man,” Ben’s mother said proudly. “You would’ve really gotten along.”

“Thanks,” Lisa said, unsure of what else to say.

“Maybe we should call it a night.” Ben looked at his watch. “It’s close to midnight.”

“That’s a good idea,” Ben’s mother said, stacking the photo albums in a neat pile. “What do you two have planned for tomorrow?”

“I think we’re going to spend the day in the city. Lisa’s never been to Boston. And we’re supposed to go over to Nathan’s house for dinner.”

“That’s right,” his mother said, getting up from her seat by the kitchen table. “Joan told me that. Just make sure we see you for at least a few hours.”

“We will, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Lisa said as she and Ben left the kitchen.

Neither Ben nor Lisa said a word until they reached the second floor. “I’m sorry about bringing up your brother,” Lisa finally said as they entered the guest room.

“It’s okay,” Ben said warmly. “It’s been a while, so we can handle it.”

“It must’ve been a painful loss.”

Sitting on the white Formica desk in the corner of the room, Ben explained, “It was really terrible. He was diagnosed with childhood diabetes when he was ten. And that just led to complications when the leukemia came. He was a medical mess.”

“How old were you when he died?”

“Fourteen,” Ben said, propping his feet up on the chair below the desk. “It was the worst time in my life. I couldn’t sleep for months-I had to start speaking to one of my dad’s friends who was a family psychologist. My mother was a wreck. In fact, if it wasn’t for my father, we’d probably all be in the nuthouse at this point. He really kept it together then.”

“Your parents are great,” Lisa said, sitting on the bed.

“They definitely are,” Ben admitted.

“I’m just surprised you turned out as well as you did,” Lisa added. “I mean, lassoing Earth’s favorite satellite-that can make you a little nuts.”

“Ho-ho. You’re a riot.”

Lisa kicked off her sneakers. “So tell me what happened with you and Eric on the plane. He didn’t say a word the whole way here.”

“Nothing. I told him off. I don’t want to have to deal with his crap anymore.”

“Good,” Lisa said. “I was worried you were going to actually forgive him over time.”

“No way,” Ben said. “I love my friends. I’d do anything for any of them. I’d do anything for you. But life is too short to waste your time on assholes.”