Ray Carter stared at the handsome young man who had just casually insulted his frugality. The voice, the cadence, the easy confidence—it hit him like a jolt of electricity. He scanned Ethan's face, focusing on the sharp wit and familiar challenge, trying to reconcile the image before him with the memory of the skinny kid.
"Ethan?" Ray whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief. He scanned Ethan's face, his eyes lingering on the barely visible scar above his eyebrow, a mark he remembered treating after a botched repair job a few weeks ago. "Ethan Blake? Is that really you?"
Ethan dropped the playful facade, his smile softening into something genuine and warm. He knew his transformation was radical, but he hadn't realized how shocking it would be to those who knew the "old" him.
"The one and only, Ray," Ethan confirmed, pushing off the counter and extending his hand. "It's good to see you, old man. Business looks exactly the same, which means you're still doing something right."
