Free Three Little Words by Harvey Sarah N. Page A

souvenir T-shirts, cameras, tourist maps.
    He needs to find some local teenagers, but right now he is content to wander. Just before it’s time to head back to Elizabeth’s, he goes into an art supply store and treats himself to a new set of colored pens and a small sketchbook. Megan had slipped him $ 200 before he left. For necessities or emergencies, she said. He left his sketchbook locked up at home, but now he wants to draw the blue bridge, the juggler, the monstrous ferry, the kayakers. He figures this counts as a necessity, if not an emergency. Around the corner from the art supply store is a bakery. He remembers that Megan always brings a small gift when she’s invited to someone’s house for a meal. He buys half a dozen cookies from a girl about his own age, with spiky platinum hair and a ring through one eyebrow. As she is counting out his change, he pulls out the picture of Wain.
    â€œHave you seen this kid?” he asks.
    She peers at the picture for a long moment and then says, “Who is he?”
    â€œMy brother. He’s missing.”
    â€œYou’re kidding.”
    Sid can’t tell if she’s responding to the fact that Wain is missing or that he’s Sid’s brother.
    â€œHalf brother, yeah. He’s been missing for a week.”
    The girl shakes her head. “Sorry, no. Haven’t seen him.”
    Sid pockets the picture and picks up his bag of cookies. He feels deflated, although he knows it’s ridiculous to think that finding Wain would be as easy as showing his picture to one person.
    â€œI’ll let you know if I see him,” the girl says.
    â€œThat’d be great,” Sid says. He turns to walk out of the bakery, and she grabs his sleeve, laughing.
    â€œName? Phone number?” she says.
    Sid blushes as she holds out a scrap of paper and a pencil. “My name’s Sid. I’m staying with my grandmother, Elizabeth Eikenboom. She lives over by that hotel on the harbor. I don’t know her phone number.” He feels like a dolt. He should have thought to get Elizabeth’s phone number before he left.
    â€œNo cell?”
    â€œMe? No. They don’t work where I live.”
    â€œWhere do you live? Outer Mongolia?”
    Sid laughs. “No. On an island up north.”
    The girl nods. “That explains it then.”
    â€œExplains what?”
    â€œYour air of—I dunno—mystery. Maybe a whiff of innocence.”
    Sid blushes again as the girl sticks out her hand to shake his.
    â€œI’m Amie. With an ie . Like French for friend,” she says, rolling her eyes. “My little sister’s name, Harmonie, also with an ie. I won’t tell you what my mother’s name is. It’s too embarrassing. I’m here seven to twelve, Wednesday to Sunday. If you bring me a copy of that picture, I’ll ask around. And we could look for him together too.”
    â€œYou’d do that?” Sid says. “Why?”
    Amie laughs. “Because you look lost. Because I’m a sucker for redheads. Because your brother is so young. Because I’m bored. Pick one. Anyway, it’s kinda tough if you don’t know the scene.”
    â€œThe scene?”
    â€œYou know. Where kids hang out. Where not to go. That kind of thing.”
    A customer clears his throat behind Sid, who steps aside to let him order.

When in Doubt
    â€œI made Wain’s favorite lunch,” Elizabeth tells him when he arrives back at the condo. “Cheese dreams and apple boats.”
    â€œSounds good,” Sid says, although he has no idea what a cheese dream is. “I brought cookies.” He holds the bag out to Elizabeth.
    â€œHow thoughtful,” she says. “Now go wash up and I’ll pop the cheese dreams under the broiler.”
    It turns out that cheese dreams are what Megan calls cheese toasties: English muffins, cheddar cheese and bacon broiled until the cheese melts and the bacon crisps. Bacon