The center of the island, at least Thanh assumes it’s the center of the island, is uphill. Laurel and pine. Loamy soil flecked with sand. There’s a sort of path, pocketed with roots, and Fleur tells them to stay on it. Poison oak, she says. Sinkholes. Pines crowd in until the procession must go single file. Thanh has to hold up the train of his awful borrowed dress. The path becomes slippery with old needles. There’s no breeze, just the medicinal smell of pine and salt. No one talks. The caterers are just in front of Thanh, Harper behind. He bets the caterers have a working phone. If the boat doesn’t come soon, he’ll figure out how to get it. Why did they sleep so late? Han will be no use to Naomi if things go wrong. She will be no use to Thanh and Harper. But then, what use would Thanh and Harper be? Nevertheless, they shouldn’t be here. Here is of no use to anyone. The wedding party emerges into a clearing. At the center is an indentation, a sunken pocket of what Thanh realizes is water. A pond? Hardly big enough to be a pond. There’s an algae bloom, bright as an egg yolk. So, Fleur says. We’re here! This is where David’s family comes every year, so they can each make a wish. Right, Sheila, Robert? She is addressing an older couple. Thanh hasn’t even noticed them until now, although they are the only people in the clearing who aren’t wearing wedding dresses. This should make them stand out, he thinks. They don’t. They could set themselves on fire, and you still probably wouldn’t notice them. There’s a cairn of pebbles and shells and bits of broken pottery. Fleur picks up a pebble, says, You make a wish and you throw something in. Come on, everyone gets a wish. Come on, come on. She tosses her pebble. Wedding guests gather around the mucky hole. Is it very deep? someone asks Fleur. She shrugs. Maybe, she says. Probably not. I don’t know. Someone picks up a shell and drops it in. People make wishes. Harper rolls his eyes at Thanh. Shrugs. Picks up a pebble. People are making all sorts of wishes. A man in a watered silk dress with a mandarin collar, really it’s the best of the awful dresses, wishes for a new job. Fair enough. The caterers make wishes, secret wishes. Even caterers get to make wishes. Marianne thinks, Let my mother die. Let her die soon. And Fleur? What did she wish? Fleur wishes with all of her heart, Please let him get here soon. Let him get here safely. Please let him love me. Please let this work. Thanh doesn’t want to make a wish. He is suspicious of wishes. Go on, Fleur says. She puts a piece of shell in Thanh’s hand. And then she waits. Should he wish that the baby inside Naomi stays inside a little longer? What would be the cost of that wish? Should he wish that the baby will live? If he lives, let him be healthy and strong and happy? He could wish that Naomi will not wish to keep the baby. He could wish to be a good father. That Harper would be a good father. Would that be a good wish? A safe wish? It seems dangerous to Thanh to make demands of God, of the universe, of a muddy hole. How can he anticipate the thing that he ought to wish for? Fleur is waiting. So Thanh throws the bit of shell in, and tries with all his heart not to make any wish at all. Even as he tries, he feels something—that wish, what is it, what is it?—rising up from his stomach, his lungs, his heart, spilling out. Too late! Down goes Thanh’s bit of shell with all the other pebbles and bits, the other wishes. Harper sees Thanh’s face. He wants that look to go away. What can be done? He wants to get back and see if the boat has come in. He’ll go over to the mainland again if Thanh will let him. Harper doesn’t believe in wishes, but he drops his pebble anyway. He thinks, I wonder what was making the noise last night? He holds Thanh’s hand all the way back down the trail. The dresses are ridiculous. The kind of fun that they used to have is no longer fun. Now it seems more like work. David’s parents are just in front of Harper and Thanh. They didn’t make any wishes, but perhaps they have everything they want already. Thanh wonders. What kinds of things did they wish for their son? Harper decides that if the boat isn’t back, he’ll swim over in the ridiculous dress. What a great story that will make. He isn’t thinking about Naomi and the baby. He is making every effort not to think about them at all. What a waste it will all be, what a disaster it will be if things go wrong at this stage. Will Thanh want to try again? They won’t be able to afford it. Somehow all of this will be Harper’s fault. They shouldn’t have come to the wedding.