couldnât find you after he got home?â Aaron asked.
âThatâs still another part of the story,â Gran said, smiling at him. âIâll tell you another time.â
âI was so fortunate in my parents,â Mrs. Herkimer said with a long, gratified sigh.
âYes,â Deirdre snapped. âYou might have been born in an old trailer and had some lady swear your mattress was full of money when you couldnât afford to buy one of your own lobsters!â
âDeirdre, that will do!â said Mr. Herkimer sternly.
âI think the sky is so starry tonight we might not need our flashlight,â Gran said quickly.
His mouth full of dessert, Aaron said to Elizabeth, âLetâs go back to the cemetery tomorrow.â
âWeâll see,â she replied.
âYou sound like one of them ,â he complained.
She started to protest, but Gran, Deirdre, and the Herkimers were moving into the entrance hall. Aaron stayed in his chair, picking blueberries out of the dough squares and stuffing his mouth with them. Elizabeth joined the others. Mrs. Herkimer drew her aside at once.
âAaron really does like you,â she said. âIf you could keep him company once in a while, you could think of it as a summer jobâweâd pay youââ
âYou wonât pay her,â Gran said, walking to where they were standing.
Elizabeth felt a flash of resentment. It wasnât up to Gran. At the same time, she knew she was right. And in any case, she didnât want to be a baby-sitter on Pring Island.
Deirdre was gesturing at her. She went to the staircase, where the girl was leaning against the newel post, holding the teddy bear in one hand. She didnât seem to be aware of how fiercely she was clutching it.
âYou really are lucky,â she said in a low voice. Her face worked as though she were thinking very hard. Then she said, as Elizabeth stood there awkwardly, âYour luck is that you werenât born into a family that thinks itâs more wonderful than any other family in the history of the world.â
Elizabeth still felt the surprise of Deirdreâs words as she and Gran walked through the meadow. When they were well out of earshot of the Herkimer house, she said, âThatâs some bunch of people! They all seem crazy except Mr. Herkimer, and heâs like their keeper.â
Gran laughed and the sound of her laughter was comforting in the cool dark night. She had turned on the flashlight after all. The vast sky glimmered through a thin cloud cover. âFamilies are pretty crazy when you see them close up,â she said.
They had reached the stony beach. Water lapped softly.
âIs Deirdre always so angry?â
âWhen I first knew her, she was like a sweet bird playing in the meadow. A merry little girl. Growing up is hard, and then thereâs their absorption in Aaron.â
âIâll never be like Deirdre,â Elizabeth said.
âDonât say ânever,â Elizabeth,â Gran said.
They rounded the sand spit. The cottage rose before them, a small, black cliff. Grace meowed nearby.
âOh!â Gran exclaimed. âI locked her out!â
âWhen you came home that morning in Hollywood, what did your parents say?â
âAs I recall,â Gran said, âthey didnât notice Iâd been gone.â
7
El Sueño arrived at the Herkimer dock, which was larger and sturdier than Granâs, early the next morning.
Everyone gathered in silence, after muttered âgood mornings,â to observe the boatâs slow approach into the cove. Elizabeth thought, Weâre just like the birds that come to sit on the sand spit in the late afternoons.
They all came closer to the dock as a thin boy of fifteen or so moved quickly to tie up the boat and began to unload boxes and bags of groceries and bundles of mail. Old Jake Holborn would point wordlessly to a box. The boy would