Kaylee nodded. “Of course.” She unhooked Daniel from the carrier and handed him to Sky. Aaron took off the carrier and set it on the ground so Sky could use it if she wanted to. Before Aaron could accidentally say something else insensitive, Kaylee grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance area.

Nearby, Florence and Talon were dancing and gazing into each other’s eyes. Talon seemed good as new.

Sky held Alex’s young nephew close, her eyes shining. She began to sway, dancing with the baby as he pointed to the decorative lights. “S’at?” he asked. “S’at?”

“That’s called a light,” Sky answered.

“S’at?” asked the boy, pointing to another.

“That is also a light,” said Sky. She gave Thisbe a side-eye glance, and the two shared a tearful laugh.

Seth and Fifer looked at each other. Then Fifer pointed with her mask stick to the dance area. “Come on,” she said, and started toward it. Seth followed, while Thisbe stayed with Sky and Daniel.

On the dance floor, Seth turned to face Fifer. The slow music made things feel weird. He glanced around at the other dancers. Hesitantly he put his hands on Fifer’s shoulders like many of the other people were doing with their dance partners.

Fifer froze, arms stiff and straight at her sides. “What are you doing?” she said with a look of disgust. “This isn’t dance class.”

“Sorry,” said Seth, hastily removing his hands, and then, unsure what to do with them, he balled them and stuck them into his pockets. That made it really hard to dance, but he was committed.

Fifer frowned and crossed her arms in front of her. The two swayed side by side, a foot apart, to the music. Not looking at each other. There was nothing more awkward in all the land that day.

Fifer was desperate for the feeling of mortification in the air to dissipate. To help it along, she asked, “So, did you hear what that Frieda woman said about my mother? That she was a pirate?” It couldn’t be true, of course. The woman had also said some pretty horrible things about Aaron and the girls that weren’t true.

“I heard,” said Seth, relaxing a bit. “I hope Kaylee really pounded her.”

Fifer laughed uneasily. “Me too.”

“Don’t tell my mom I said that.”

“I won’t.”