Hannah wondered if he was bipolar, the way his moods shifted from sunny and pleasant to gray and sulking. Whatever he was or was not, he made them all nervous.

“I feel as if I have to walk on eggs around Zack,” Sarina said. “I had such hopes for us, but now I do not know my husband any longer.” Tears welled in her eyes.

Hannah remembered feeling that way with Bill Parrish. She worried about Sarina and wished that Zachary would simply disappear.

Grace stretched the christening from a nice little affair attended by the extended family and a few friends into a party that included their neighbors on Cove Road. In preparation for the event, she cleaned for days, baked cakes, and made egg and tuna salad, ham and chicken finger sandwiches, and spreads.

Amelia, Miriam, and Sadie decorated the house with pink balloons.

“Aren’t you all going a bit overboard?” Bob asked.

“Sarina’s had little enough joy since she came here. I want this to be the nicest day for her, a very special occasion,” Grace replied.

On the day of the christening, Max helped his son into the ladies’ living room, settled him in the armchair, and pulled up the hassock to support his leg. Grace seated the reluctant Mike near Zachary, but with his back to the window. They can sit together and commiserate with each other.

“How are you doing, Zachary?” Mike asked.

“It’s Zack, not Zachary,” a sullen Zachary replied.

“Sorry.”

An uncomfortable silence followed. Then Mike said, “Sorry about your accident. Thank goodness it wasn’t your back. That would have been—”

“Hey, I know, worse, right? Well, this is bad enough, and who knows when I’ll be able to climb again.”

“These things heal. At one time or another, I’ve broken my leg and my arm and, see”—Mike stretched out and wiggled his left leg and right arm—“they’re good as new.”

The arrival of their neighbors saved Mike from pursuing further conversation with Zachary. When Amelia sat beside him, he whispered that she must find him another place out of the glare and away from Zachary, or he’d go back to his room. Amelia helped Mike change to a seat closer to Bob, by the fireplace.

Zack’s voice rose higher and higher. “Damn steep, that hill,” he said to Charlie, who took Mike’s seat. “Anyone could take a spill up there.”

“Right. It’s a darn steep mountain. Anyone could have taken a spill, “Charlie replied. “I used to do a bit of hiking when I was young, and that old hill of Anson’s was always a challenge. The higher you get, the steeper it gets.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell that to my father?”

Charlie frowned. “It never came up. I had no idea you were going on up there, or I would have.”

“Yeh, I just bet you would,” Zack muttered.