The Johnson family never knew how to host anything quietly.
Even a child's birthday party had turned into a full gathering, with cousins spilling across the garden, more senior ladies claiming the best chairs as if they had won them in battle, and more aged men speaking loudly enough for the entire neighbourhood to know which football club had ruined whose peace.
The long table near the patio sagged under trays of food, the scent of grilled meat and buttered bread hanging in the warm evening air, while balloons in too many colours bobbed lazily above the children's heads.
Nelson stood near the drinks table with a glass in one hand, though he had barely touched it. His thoughts seemed distant.
"You vanish in crowds exactly the same way you did when you were sixteen."
Nelson turned at once, only to find his elder brother, David, smiling at him.
