“Oh, here and there,” said her mother. Alexa felt her mother pause in the doorway but she didn’t move her head from the comforter. “Alexa? Are you sure you’re okay? About Tyler and . . . Cam? Is there anything you want to talk about? Or maybe something not related to Tyler and Cam? Just . . . anything at all? You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

“Nope,” said Alexa. “I’m good.”

Since her trip to Cam’s lake house, Alexa and Cam were hanging out a lot. They did an old-person walking tour through Maudslay State Park, where the rangers told them all about the home that used to sit on the grounds. They kayaked down the Merrimack all the way to Amesbury and back. Seen through Cam’s eyes, even this tired town had begun to send out fresh green shoots of appeal or attraction. Her mother’s request to spend the day with Morgan failed to provoke the irritation it might have earlier in the summer. Was there a chance that spending time with Cam had made her nicer? Was niceness contagious?

Her mother was still standing there. “Maybe do something with Morgan, okay? Don’t just let her sit around on her phone.”

“Got it,” said Alexa. She peeked out from under the comforter. “No sitting around on her phone.” In fact she thought it might be fun to do something special with Morgan, which was not a thought she would have had in June. It was therefore confirmed. Niceness was contagious.

“I can leave you some money to go to lunch if you want. A burger and a shake at Lexie’s, maybe?”

“Not necessary,” mumbled Alexa. Her bank account was, to put it mildly, robust. Besides that, Lexie’s was great, but a burger and a shake seemed sort of ordinary. If she wanted to show Morgan a good time, she was going to take her someplace nicer. She was going to get her an experience, not just a burger.

Her mother was still standing there, as if she had something more to say.

“What?” said Alexa irritably.

“Nothing,” said her mother. She looked at Alexa for another long moment and then she departed, closing the door behind her.

Alexa decided on the Deck, because it was a beautiful day, and they could sit outside and look at the water. She let Morgan ride in the front seat of the Jeep, even though technically she was supposed to keep her in the back because she was still too small to withstand the crush of the airbags should they deploy. But they didn’t have to drive far, and they didn’t have to drive on the highway, so Alexa felt okay about it. “Don’t tell Mom,” she told Morgan.