I ran my fingers along their patterns, then sat down with my back to the rocks that held them. The view was still spectacular—more so, or maybe just differently so in this eerie starlight—but all I did was stare at my shoes and start running all my worries through my head again.

I know. A pointless endeavour. But did you ever try to not think about something?

I was so caught up inside myself that I never heard Lizzie and Timony return until Lizzie spoke.

“Earth to Geordie,” she said.

I started at the sound of her voice. Then the words sank in, and I realized she must have called me a couple of times before I’d finally heard her.

“You’re back,” I said, looking up.

“And successfully, too,” she said. She held a fiddle case in either hand and lifted them to emphasize her point. “We even got food that Timony didn’t have to make.”

I dredged up a smile. “What? Somebody opened up a pretzel stand on that impossibly desolate seashore?”

“No, we went back to the hotel. I wanted to get my fiddle, too, and let the band know we were doing okay.”

There was enough light for me to see the worry crease between her eyebrows.

“What happened?” I asked.

“They weren’t there. Eddie couldn’t tell me where they’d gone except that the last time he’d seen them, they were with Cassie.”

“Then they’ll be okay,” I told her. “Cassie’d never let them get into any trouble. They’re probably out in the woods, still looking for us.”

“I guess. Eddie got weird about the rooms, so I put another night on my charge card for all three of them.”

I nodded. “That’s good. I’ll give you some money when we get back.”

“Don’t worry about it. Are you hungry?”

I wasn’t, but I knew I should eat. The way things were going, who knew what was going to happen next? Better to eat while I could to keep up my strength.

“Sure,” I said. “What have you got?”

Timony opened the paper bag he was carrying and the smell of fish and chips filled the air. He handed us each a package of them, then reached into the bag again and brought out a large Styrofoam cup of coffee.

“Lizzie said you’d like this,” he told me as he handed it over.

“You,” I told her, “are an angel.”

She smiled. “Aren’t I, just?”

Timony lit the fire I’d laid—I’ve no idea how because I wasn’t watching—and we sat around it, eating the meal they’d brought. Lizzie wanted to play some tunes then, but I begged off, telling her to go ahead. Instead, she poked at the fire with a stick and looked at me across the flames.

“I take it you’re not holding up so well,” she said.