“We should probably get used to it,” said Derek. Arin opened a cabinet and collected some cups. He handed them out, and set one on the counter for himself. Then he opened the bottle of dark liquid and poured some of it into his cup, which he drank. He handed the bottle to Derek. The message was clear enough: I can understand you don’t know what this is. But be assured it is safe.

Everybody looked at Beth. What did she think?

Derek filled his cup, lifted it about halfway, and waited for the verdict.

“We probably don’t need to worry about it,” she said. “We’re not likely to get poisoned or anything like that. The biggest concern is that we may not get any nutrients.”

“Which means what?”

“Gone in three weeks.”

“You’re not serious?”

“It’s probably not a problem. In any case, we don’t have an option.”

Derek raised his glass to her. “The eternal optimist. Here’s looking at you, kid.” He tasted it. Then drank it down.

“Alcohol?” asked Ken.

“I don’t think so. But it provides something of a lift.”

Beth filled her cup and tried it. “Tastes okay.” She raised the drink to their host. “Thank you, Arin.”

They all joined in, and obviously enjoyed the drink. When they finished, Arin demonstrated how the lamps worked, as it became apparent the cottage was going to be offered to them as a temporary home. It might take a little getting used to. They would, for example, have to push buttons to get the lamps to turn on and off rather than simply tell them what to do or touch them.

Arin provided towels and made a phone call. A few minutes later two of his friends showed up with boxes of clothing. They set the boxes on a table and the sofa, and Arin indicated the clothing was theirs. He pulled out a light blue shirt and held it up for Beth. It was considerably larger than she would have worn normally, but she accepted it gratefully. Arin smiled and signaled that there would probably be other size issues and he was sorry, but he just had no alternatives at the moment.

He waited while they picked out what they could use. They’d have to manage without socks during whatever time they’d be on the island, but they were otherwise able to make selections that would work, though everything was several sizes too big for them. Even Derek looked overwhelmed measuring himself against a pullover shirt and shorts that reached almost to his shins.