Quite a place to grow up. Eternal summer. Kane thought of the exercise book and imagined children trying to make a world out of the stark landscape—a world of adventure in which you were explorers navigating your way out; a team, shipwrecked here together, learning how to survive. And the island, becoming smaller by the day, would eventually banish you. Everyone is ejected from childhood, but few with such geographical finality. How did it feel, knowing this fate was on the horizon? People think they are returning you to a larger world, but they haven’t felt the trade winds in their hair as they cycle down volcanic slopes. Kane thought of Connor, with all his awkward adolescence, coming of age here, the volcanic peaks sharpened with new desire.

Kane ducked into the store again, grateful for the cooler air. The two men, old and young, remained as they had been, one with his crossword, one beside the shelves. Kane picked up more water and some snack bars. As he was paying he heard a familiar voice.

“Any chance of leaving these leaflets here? Almost turtle season. Need all the volunteers we can get.”

Kane turned to see Connor’s father in the doorway, holding a stack of leaflets.

“No, thank you,” the shopkeeper was saying—saying it as soon as Thomas came in so that their voices overlapped. “No, thank you. Not today. Not here.” The man didn’t look at Thomas Lindgren. For a second, Thomas seemed stunned. In that moment he looked around the place as if seeking support, noticed Kane. A rapid sequence of expressions followed: recognition, then blankness. Kane realized Thomas was doing him a favor.

“Okay.”

When he’d left, the shopkeeper shook his head. The shelf stacker dropped his empty boxes by the counter.

“Does he really think ​—?”

“Either he does or he doesn’t. Or he won’t admit it. Not to himself, maybe.”

“We’re expected to pretend like it’s not happened?”

“No.”

Kane cleared his throat.

“Isn’t he with the conservation center? I saw him in Georgetown.”

“That’s right,” the shopkeeper said.

“What’s the problem?” Kane asked.

“No problem,” the man said. “No problem at all. Have a good afternoon.”