Ruth hauled the tub of dirty dishes toward the kitchen while Talley dragged the trash can behind a tall utility fence. This part of the property wasn’t painted in pretty colors but was a pocket of concrete grays and rusted metal.

Ruth nudged open the kitchen’s screened back door with her foot and then kicked it open wide enough to get herself inside before the door slammed shut. She stepped inside and set her tub of dirty dishes down. When she turned, she saw Carlotta facing Mama. Neither was talking, but each had a strained expression that said neither one of them was enjoying each other’s company.

Mama was wearing an older gray work dress and over it an apron stained from cooking and damp from dish washing. Carlotta wore blue capri pants with polka dots, a white halter top, a wide-brimmed hat, and open-toed wedge shoes. Fingernails and toes were painted a bright red.

Both turned quickly as she stared at them from behind the wooden prep table.

“Ruth,” Mama said, clearing her throat. “Did you get all the dishes picked up?”

“I did, and Talley’s dumping the trash.” Ruth smiled at Carlotta. “Hey, how are you?”

“I was just returning a few dirty plates. Thank you again,” Carlotta said.

“Oh, sure,” Ruth said. “No problem.”

Mama had not grumbled about Carlotta’s lunch plates and today had even placed an extra wedge of cheese next to the sandwich. “Why don’t you take a few hours off, Ruth?” Mama asked. “Enjoy the day.”

“Don’t you want me to set up for dinner?”

“I’ll take care of that.”

Mama had been clear this morning she needed help with the dinner service. Ruth wasn’t sure why her mother had changed her mind. Mama never changed her mind.

Seeing that she appeared in more of a flexible mind right now, Ruth figured nothing ventured, nothing gained. “Could we have a bonfire by the shipwreck? We could roast marshmallows, and when Henry comes tonight, he could tell ghost stories.”

Mama’s eyes widened, and Ruth imagined her vetoing the idea as fast as she was rethinking what it would take to make this happen.

Carlotta remained silent but watched their exchange closely.

“People could bring their blankets.” Ruth noted the gleam in her mother’s eyes and kept selling. “And it looks like it’s going to be a real pretty night.”

Carlotta’s brow arched. “That sounds like fun. It’s going to be nearly a moonless sky tonight. And I hear,” she said, dropping her voice a notch, “that the veil between the living and the dead is thin on nights like this.”

Ruth grinned. “And there’s the shipwreck. I bet you Henry has all kinds of stories about it.” She looked at her mother, summoning her most pleading expression. “What do you think? No other hotel in Nags Head is doing something like this.”