Tony was all over it. He picked up Ken’s luggage (expensive predistressed leather) and led him away. Two young women, workshop students, that Ken had been talking to stayed behind, giggling to each other.

Finally, in the late afternoon, after almost everyone else had checked in, Oscar and Barb arrived, weary and dragging.

“Is Viridian coming?” I asked.

“Nice to see you, too,” Oscar said. He plopped into one of the leather armchairs in front of the fireplace and tried to fan himself with a birdwatching guide. “Yes, she’s coming. Sacha and Anders are bringing her. They stopped for lunch, I expect they’ll be along soon.”

I said I didn’t think that Anders was a part of the conference. “Just try and keep him away from Sacha,” Barb said. “He got a motel room somewhere.” Barb was wearing a big wide-brimmed straw hat and a tie-dye tunic over skinny leggings. She saw me staring at her and I looked away.

“How is she, is she feeling all right?”

“Never better,” Oscar said. “To hear her tell it.”

I looked from Barb to Oscar, waiting. Barb said, “There are these little blips.”

“Hardly noticeable.”

“. . . when she might lose her train of thought.”

“It’s more like another train comes along and she hops on for a while. Nothing she’s aware of.”

“. . . and she usually ends up where she meant to go. But meanwhile—”

I raised a hand. Two of the gentlemen conference members had settled in rocking chairs on the porch, close enough to hear us. I lowered my voice. “What did the doctor say?”

“I think what he said was the medical version of ‘just one of those things,’” Oscar said. “He wants her to see a gerontologist when she gets back. Anyway, he didn’t say to keep her home.”

Barb said, “I’m in her workshop. I’ll help steer things if I have to. And Sacha’s in the same cabin. She’ll be right there. Her reading’s on the last night. By then we should know.”

“Good. Just don’t tell.”

“Right,” I said. We were all focusing on the short term, on getting through the five days of the conference. Anything much beyond that, we didn’t want to contemplate. Oscar said he was hungry, when did we eat? I said there was a wine and cheese reception at five-thirty.

“Vegan cheese and sulfite-free wine. How could I forget.”

We left Barb in charge of the welcome station in case Viridian or any other stragglers showed up. I took Oscar to the back door of the dining hall and told the staff that the señor needed something to eat. The crew was having their own early dinner, pork stew and rice. They served up a portion for Oscar. Really, these guys were the best. We sat at a table near the kitchen and Oscar polished off the food.