As the boat began to move up the canal, Matt steering into the center, he finally started to hear the others talking in the cabin. They had been mysteriously silent in the period between Matt leaving and now, and he wondered what had been happening in there. Silent drinking, no doubt. Matt left the hatch closed. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, didn’t want to know if it was about him or not. He didn’t know which would be worse.

Matt accelerated, shifting his weight on the steering stick, preparing to steer into a slight curve. It was supposed to be relaxing, canal boating, and in a way, it did calm him down—to have something else to think about.

He went on for ten minutes, listening to the muffled conversation and the water parting as the boat cut through it. It seemed the atmosphere inside had changed as he heard laughing—including Edmund’s drunken laugh—and lighter voices. He wanted to open the hatch and forget everything and join in. He wanted to enjoy the last boat ride they had together.

Just as he was about to open the hatch, Rachel’s head popped out and she tentatively smiled at him. She had in her hands three cans of beer—not Edmund’s cheap stuff but her own slightly better quality stuff. She stepped through the hatch and Amy scampered out too, woofing delightedly and sticking her tongue out to lap at the fresh air.

“Thought you could use these,” she said, indicating the beers, and put two of them down by Matt’s feet. She held the last one out to him and he took it and smiled.

“Thanks,” he said, cracking it open and taking a swig. He glanced around the banks of the canal to see if anyone was watching. He might lose his job if anyone saw him, but for some reason, it didn’t seem incredibly important anymore. If everyone was going to leave Standedge behind, maybe he should too.

“No,” Rachel said, as if reading his mind, “you’re thinking too much. I can see it in your face.”

“What?” Matt said, wondering if he had been talking out loud.

“You screw your face up when you’re thinking,” Rachel said and then laughed. “Yeah, just like that.”

“Am I that easy to read?” Matt said.

Amy yapped, as if in confirmation. She started making laps of the small outside area, and poked her head under the railing to watch the world go by slowly. A cyclist was passing them on the bank and Amy barked happily at him.

“Well, kind of, yeah.” Rachel leaned against the railing. “But I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.” She tilted her can at Matt. “You know we all love you, right?”