Benjamin was nothing like Mr. Caleb. Where Mr. Caleb was contained, Benjamin overflowed. He was a big man with broad shoulders and a wide smile, the kind of laugh that came from the belly and had no interest in being quiet. He was wearing a bright open-collared shirt and carrying a leather travel bag, which he dropped in the middle of the hallway without a second thought. He had the easy, comfortable energy of someone who had spent many years moving between countries and had stopped being surprised by anything.
He and Mr. Caleb were standing in the hallway when Rebecca came around the corner from the kitchen, a small tray in her hands.
“Sir,” she said, looking at Mr. Caleb, “would your guest like something to drink?”
Benjamin turned, and he stopped.
Not dramatically. Not the way people stop in films with wide eyes and sharp breaths. Just a pause, brief and quiet. His smile stayed on his face, but something behind it shifted, the way a light flickers once and then steadies.
He looked at Rebecca. His eyes moved slowly across her face, the way you look at something when your brain is doing a calculation it has not told you about yet. Her eyes, her cheekbones, the shape of her jaw, the way she held herself.
Then the smile came back fully. He shook his head almost imperceptibly, as if answering a question only he had heard, and turned back to Mr. Caleb.
“Water is fine,” he said. “Thank you.”
Rebecca nodded and went back to the kitchen.
Behind her, she heard Benjamin say something quietly to Mr. Caleb. She could not make out the words. Then she heard Mr. Caleb say, “She started last week. Grace recommended her.”
Benjamin gave a short sound, half laugh, half something else she could not read at all.
Rebecca filled 2 glasses of water and carried them back out on the tray. Neither man was looking at her strangely when she returned. Benjamin was already talking about his flight, waving his hand, launching into a story about the airport. Mr. Caleb was listening with the particular expression he used when he was being patient.
Rebecca set the glasses down and left them to it.
Benjamin stayed for lunch.