Page 56 of The Starfish Sisters

She wails, “I don’t want to go to London! It’s too far away!”

I lean my cheek against her hair. She smells of sunshine and wind and the untainted sweat of children. “She will come see you and you will come see her. And I promise, one hundred percent, that you will find magical things in London. So many magical things.”

“Like what?”

“Candy that’s not like the candy you get here, for one thing.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And there are castles you can visit, like so many of them.” I pause, trying to think what would appeal to a ten-year-old. “Oh! You might be able to have high tea, which is a bunch of tiny sandwiches and tiny desserts and tea served in beautiful tea sets, like the prettiest tea sets I’ve ever seen.”

“That sounds kind of good.”

“Maybe your mom will let you get a cat.”

“She won’t,” Jasmine says sadly. “She doesn’t like cat hair on things. She’s only telling me that she might let me have one so I won’t feel so bad about leaving Nana.”

“That’s a pretty dark thought from a kid.”

“Everyone tells me I’m old for my age.”

“You are that, kiddo. For sure.” On the horizon, a bank of clouds is gathering. We watch it for a few minutes. I wonder if I should tell Stephanie what Jasmine said, how much she’s dreading the move. But is that my business?

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go check out the tide pools before the rain comes.”

When we walk back up the hill, Maui is agitated and runs to the front of the house as we let ourselves in the back. “Stay here,” I say to Jasmine.

“What? Did something happen?”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Outside on the deck, I feel a sudden clutch of fear, and pause, listening. I can hear only the sound of the surf and a loud seagull. Maui has not come back, and I can’t leave him out here, so I round the deck and go down to the path to the front yard. My heart is pounding, my ears straining to hear anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing. Maybe he’s just being a silly dog.

When I emerge from the path to the front of the house, he’s sniffing the gravel of the driveway intently. No one is around. “Maui!” I cry. “Why did you run off like that?”

He looks up, tongue lolling, but abruptly, he turns toward the forest and lets go of a long howl. It’s a loud, eerie, protesting sound, and every hair on my body stands on end. I peer into the trees, but nothing looks strange. Frozen in place, I hold my arms and try to penetrate the darkness.

Nothing.

Maui returns his attention to sniffing the dirt, following some invisible trail, and I wonder if he’s smelling the squirrel that was left. Maybe itwaskilled by another animal.

Jasmine suddenly pops out the front door. “What are you guys doing?”

“Jasmine! I told you to stay put.”

“I was just curious,” she says.

Maui romps up the steps and slams into her legs as if he hasn’t seen her in forty-seven years. I pause for a moment and look around carefully. No footsteps I can discern in the gravel, but there wouldn’t be, would there? I turn in a circle, looking carefully, but I can’t see anything out of place.

I let go of my breath. “Inside, everybody,” I say with a confidence I don’t feel. When we’re safely inside, I lock the door and make sure the back is locked, too, and pull the shades. I wonder briefly if I should call the police, but what would I say?The dog was acting weird and howled at the trees?No. I’d feel obligated to call Phoebe, too.

She needs to enjoy her date night. It’s a little thing to give her.

“How about spaghetti?” I ask Jasmine.

“Yes! Can I help?”