At five she called the fish dock and talked to old man Nerby Billiot. “Hold on, chère,” he told her. “I’m goin’ take me a look down the river to see if they cleared the bend.”

She imagined the short man waddling out to the edge of the wharf, grabbing a piling, and swinging out as far as he could to look downriver. Soon she could hear him fumbling with the phone. He told her that he didn’t see them. “Have you heard them on the radio?” she asked. “Maybe you could try them with a call.”

“Okay, baby. Hold on while I go fuss with the set.” He was gone five minutes. Colette stared at the kitchen clock and at the pot of gumbo on the stove, wondering if she should add water. She was going to meet them and invite the crew to dinner, another attempt to chase the old ghosts from the house. Nerby came back on. “I tried to raise them, but they didn’t come back on me. Seem like they shoulda been here by now.”

“How powerful’s your set?”

“Aw, it ain’t too good, no, but it gets out ten mile.”

She patted her foot and looked at the floor tile. “They should be in that range. They’ve got to get in before you shut down at seven.”

“We’ll take them if they come in after that,” he said.

She fed Matthew, ate a bowl of gumbo, and by that time it was dark. She looked toward the rear screen door. Etienne didn’t like to run the Chieftan in the dark because the boat had a weak spotlight. At seven-thirty she called the fish dock and got Nerby again. He told her not to worry, that he would get up with the Coast Guard and have them call out on their powerful radio. She hung up and immediately the phone rang. It was Paul’s mother wanting to know how big the catch was.

Colette took a breath before answering. “They aren’t in yet,” she said. There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

“But baby, it’s after dark.”

“I know, Mamma. They probably had engine trouble. When they went out, I watched it smoke and smoke.”

“You know, the weather was real bad last night.”

“Mr. Billiot said he’d have the Coast Guard raise them. As soon as they get up with the boat, I’ll call you.” She tried to sound comforting, but at the same time she wondered who would comfort her.

“Please. I’m so worried I can’t eat.”

Colette hung up and thought of what she had heard in Mrs. Thibodeaux’s voice. She imagined what it would mean for the woman to lose Paul’s father. She had married him when they were both seventeen.