“Then we’ll ask her how she’s doing and offer her a towel and a cold soda,” Ruth said.

“You can’t do anything for a ghost,” Talley said.

“Why not? I bet they got wants and needs just like we do. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be wandering in the dark with glow eyes.”

“Don’t say that!” Talley gasped.

Ruth’s eyes widened, and she held up her hands and clawed at the air. “Gloooow eyes!”

Mama cleared her throat as she came up behind them, her arms filled with sandy blankets. “Ruth, looks like you’re scaring Talley.”

Ruth lowered her arms, pouting only a little. “Just talking about Francesca and everyone that died on that ship.”

Mama handed a corner of the blanket to Ruth and took the other end, and together they shook off the sand. “Don’t let Henry’s stories get into your heads, girls.”

“Do you think Francesca was real, Aunt Edna?” Talley asked.

“Henry loves a good yarn, and tonight he was showing off more than normal,” Mama said, folding the blanket.

For Carlotta, Ruth reasoned. He’d looked at the singer like a starving man stared at pork barbecue cooked on the spit all day.

“Don’t put any stock in his tall tales,” Mama added. “There’s no ghosts.”

“But the ship is here, and whoever was on it likely died, right?” Talley asked.

Mama shrugged. “Unless the surfmen on duty were able to save them.”

“Do you think they were saved?” Talley was determined to get her happy ending.

“Of course,” Mama said.

Ruth winked at Talley. “Definitely.”

“My mama always said spirits walk the earth because they’re trying to fix a mistake or they’ve lost something,” Talley reasoned.

“What kind of mistake did Francesca make?” Ruth asked.

“She went to that witch woman,” Talley said. “And she left her baby behind.”

“Sometimes a mother makes a hard choice out of love.” Mama handed the edges of another blanket to Talley and Ruth.

“Don’t matter why she left her,” Talley said as she shook the blanket. “The truth is she did, and it bothers her to this day.”

Pensive, Mama took the blanket and folded it. “You might be right about that.”

Ruth’s face burned as she stared at Carlotta. Had she come back to the Seaside Resort looking for her? Did she see traces of familiarity in Ruth’s eyes, recognize the shape of her ears or the slant of her nose?

While she gathered up the folded blankets, Ruth searched Carlotta’s smiling face as she chatted with a guest. She still saw no traces of herself, no matter how hard she searched. Carlotta liked taking her pictures, and Ruth enjoyed drawing. That could be a connection, but it was flimsier than eyes, noses, or even hands that looked the same.