Chapter 8

I lookat my watch to see if I have enough time to read some more, but I hadn”t realized how much time had passed. I put down the diary and sit back, gazing far into the distance, across the sea.

My mind is racing with memories of Rose and Jacob, and I can”t stop wondering what happened to them. I turn the pages of the diary, resisting the urge to turn to the back. This time, I promise myself that I will not skip ahead to the last entry. At the very least, I hopednot to do so. I wasn”t exactly sure of my patience.

I gathermy belongings and strollback to the cottage to see if Thomas and Lucas had returned from their fishing trip.

It didn”t take long for me to walk along the quiet beach path, and when I enterthe cottage, I”mgreeted by an eager Lucas.

”Auntie Mack, you”ve returned. Thomas caught two yellow perch and I caught one, so Thomas is gutting them. Will you prepare them for dinner?” Lucas inquires, his face lit up as he dances impatiently from foot to foot.

I approach him and kiss his cheek.

”Yuck, Auntie.” He groans and rubs his face.

”How about me?I caughttwo, you know.” Thomas says, winking at me and pointing to his cheek.

I walk over to Thomas, grinning, and place a kiss on his weathered cheek, enjoying his delight. ”I appreciate you taking him fishing. He obviously had a great time.”

”He did that. I certainly did as well. I don”t think I”ve ever laughed so hard.”

”He can have that effect on people. Come on, Thomas, show me how to cook this fish because I have no idea.”

I quickly clean up the mess in the kitchen so I can start cooking, and when I turn around, Lucas is standing behind me. ”I”d like to help you, Auntie Mack.You know, I caught one of them.”

I ruffle his hair while laughing. ”I think we both need to put on an apron because fish can be smelly.”

”Yeah, it stinks in here.” Lucas squeezes his nose.

The smell is really bad, so I open the windows and the kitchen door to try to get rid of it.

”I think we”re ready now, Thomas.”

”You”re ready, but are the fish?” Thomas inquires.

Both Thomas and Lucas laugh like children.

”All right, guys, enough. At this rate, we”ll never get any dinner.”

* * *

Dinner had gone welldespite the fact that I had a few extra hands in the kitchen, and the fish had been delicious with the seasoning Thomas had asked me to make. Lucas had also cleaned his plate, which surprised me because he had previously turned his nose up at fish.

”Auntie Mack?”

”What”s up, Lucas?”

”Would you mind showing me some of the places Mommy and Daddy are going?”

I cast a glance at Lucas, who is dressed in his favorite Power Rangers pajamas and holding his new children”s atlas in the kitchen doorway.

He causes a lump to form in my throat. ”I certainly will. Please come over here.”

Lucas approaches and I lift him onto my lap as he places the book on the table.

”Let”s go to France. If I recall correctly, they”re supposed to arrive in Nice within the next few hours.”

”I”ll go find it.”

I sit and watch him flip through the atlas, biting my tongue when he gets to the next page.

”Found it!”

I lean in close and kiss the top of his head. ”Are you certain it”s France and not South America?”

”Auntie Mack.Are you sure it”s South America?” he complains.

”Well, then, you tell me what these letters are.”

While Lucas tries to focus on them, I reach around him and point out the large letters that represent a country.

“B…R…A…Z…I…L.” He looks at me, puzzled, as he begins to sound out the word. “Br…ah…Brazil. Ugh, gross. That”s where you get your bananas.”

Unable to help myself, I burst out laughing. ”Let me assist you in finding France. We might be here all night if Idon”t.”

I flip back a few pages and point out the large country of France. Lucas pulls his first sticker from the back of the atlas and, with my help, locates Nice. I stare longingly at the sticker, hoping that one day I”ll be able to visit, assuming I can get my head around a long flight.

”Let”s tuck you into your bed.”

Lucas leaps from my lap and dashes upstairs, leaving me behind with my usual hot chocolate and, of course, Rose”s diary.