And, Marissa asked herself, how relevant is this line of thought? Linda had full red lips, tawny brown eyes, yes, but she wasn’t exactly gorgeous. Good-looking, okay, but . . . not a movie star. Not quite. Okay, she was gorgeous, but not because Marissa had some sort of crush on Xena, which she didn’t. At least not since the show went off the air. Besides, Linda was a real thirty-something woman, not some ageless creation of fantasy.

She watched Linda’s muscles ripple and decided the entire situation was freakish enough without hallucinatory ramblings.

Dear Ocky:

I want to thank you for the bon voyage party. It was a lot of fun.As it turns out, watching a movie about a shipwreck wasn’t perhaps the highlight of the party, but I know you were trying to give everybody a laugh. So far, this vacation has had adventure! adventure! adventure! just like the brochure promised. There’s even a raven-haired warrior princess. I’d introduce you to her but she’s busy saving the world, which, for the moment, is this life boat.

Love, Marissa

P.S. There may be some delay before I can enhance the database refresh speeds.

P.P.S. I am thinking over our questionnaire item about “What would you bring to a desert island?” Answer forthcoming.

Their approach to the island was like the ball dropping in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Wait, wait, wait, then suddenly everything seemed to be happening at once. Far to their left they could see a long, inviting beach dotted with palm trees but their boat seemed magnetically drawn toward worn, dark gray cliffs studded with green plants. Marissa had only taken in how sheer the cliff face seemed when she saw that the ocean below it was broken by big rocks. Pointed rocks. Certain Death kinds of rocks.

Linda, who had moved to the bow with Gregorio, gave a shout and pointed. “There’s a little beach.” Gregorio added a shout of his own and the rowers turned the boat into the current.

Dear Aunt Rill:

Let me apologize for being such a pain about going to church when we visited with you. I felt silly praying, since I never seemed to get an answer. However, I think had I learned to pray I might be better able to cope with—

Something submerged scraped the side of the boat as it crested a swell then dropped hard. Marissa fully expected sharp teeth of rock to pierce the hull. The rowers made little headway against the current. There were several people talking at once, then Gregorio and Linda joined the two rowers on the left, pulling hard.

—stressful situations. I’d pray right now if I knew how. In fact, I’m going to forget my lack of expertise and go for it. If I end up in heaven with you, I’ll let you know how it turned out.

Love, Marissa.

P.S. I’m a lesbian but you knew that, didn’t you?

There was a loud crunch that shocked a scream out of Marissa and she wasn’t alone. Fear, like whining, sounded the same, regardless of language. The man in the bow leapt to solid footing on the shallow beach and turned to pull hard on the boat. It nosed firmly into a bit of sand not much wider than it was.