“It was washed away,” Daniel said, lowering his eyes. “All of it. Everything. Washed away. Samuel and I, we watched it go.”
Samuel nodded.
“And you have no one? You’re all alone?” Lea realized she was repeating herself. She didn’t want to believe it.
“Just our friend.” Samuel spoke up for the first time. He had a high, little boy’s voice like Daniel.
“Friend?”
Daniel stepped in front of his twin. “He means me, mum. I’m his only friend.” He gave Samuel a scowl. “His brain right now is kind of like shepherd’s pie. You know. Everything all mixed together like.”
Lea waited for Samuel to reply. But he lowered his eyes again and remained silent.
Ira and Elena flashed into her mind. She pictured them getting ready for school. The gulped-down breakfast. The yawns and groans and protests. The lost homework. The wrestling with Axl, Roz’s funny child. Axl liked to jump on their backs and ride them around the room, especially when they were in a hurry and had no time for him.
Was Roz worried about Lea? Thinking about her right now?
Mark should be home from his book tour by now. Would he drive the kids to school or leave it to Roz? Or did he keep them home to watch the hurricane news on TV? Were they suffering? Not knowing if she’d survived. .
Were they trying to reach her online? Her laptop was buried somewhere in the wreckage of the rooming house. Wreckage.
“Can you help us, mum?”
Daniel’s tiny voice broke into her thoughts. He stepped forward and took her hand. His hand felt soft and cold in hers. He gazed up at her with pleading, wide eyes.
“Can you help my brother and me?”
Lea squeezed his tiny cat’s paw of a hand. And she felt something.
She didn’t know what it was at first. She was trying hard not to think about what had happened here and what she saw all around her. But holding the boy’s soft hand, she felt a strong connection.
It was so sad. So sad and overwhelming. She didn’t want to think at all. She wanted to push it all away. Yesterday. Today. This dreadful morning. Push it away forever.
But she felt a powerful attraction to this boy and his nearly silent brother. Something warm and soft and real. Two creatures who really needed her. And this crazy feeling that
“Yes. Yes, I think I can help you.”
16
Later, Martha warned her that she was being too hasty. “You don’t know anything about these boys. You are acting on pure emotion. You need to wait till you can think about it clearly. Do some research. Try to find out something about them.”
“They’re so sad and alone, Martha. They break my heart. Really.”
“All the more reason to take it slow,” Martha insisted. “I know you said you feel a connection, but-”
“Not just a connection. I can’t describe it. It’s something like love, I guess. I mean, love at first sight. No. That’s crazy. But I just feel. I don’t know what I feel. I just feel I could be a good mother to them and-”
“Look how mixed up you are, Lea. At least let me do some research. That’s what I do, you know. Let me see what I can find out before you take them home with you.”
But Lea, not persuaded, couldn’t wait to talk to Mark.
“Mark, it’s what we wanted.”
“You’re breaking up, Lea. Are you on your cell?”
“No. The national guard set up some special lines. I had to wait in line an hour. No one has phones or internet or anything.”
“I read online they’re working on it. They’ve got the coast guard and the national guard and-”
“I only have a few minutes, darling. We don’t have time to discuss the news. These two boys-”
“You can’t just snatch them away from their home. I don’t understand-”
“I’m not snatching them. They don’t have a home. They lost everything here. Their family. Everything. They’re adorable, Mark. They will fit in fine in Sag Harbor. They-”
“I know you want a big family. You always said it. And we talked about adopting. But this is different, Lea. This is too weird. I mean, to come home with two strange boys. I don’t like it. I really don’t.”
“They’re not strange. They’re frightened and confused. But they’re so sweet, Mark. They-”
“There are laws, Lea. The authorities there in Le Chat Noir-”
“What authorities? There aren’t any. The island governor was killed in the hurricane. They found his body a few hours ago. There’s no government here. There’s no police. No offices. Nothing left.”
“Lea, I’m sorry, but I really think this is insane. I think-”
“Mark, I’m taking them to safety. You can’t imagine what it’s like here. It’s Hell. It’s really Hell. I’ve got to make sure these boys are safe. We can search for relatives after I bring them home. But I feel something for them, Mark. It was this instant thing. I can’t leave them here to die.”
“I suppose we could talk to people here. Immigration people? What country are they from?”
“Country? They’re from here. This island. They’re American. We don’t need immigration people.”
“I don’t want to do this, Lea. You’re upset. You’ve had a terrible scare. You’re not thinking clearly. You sound to me like you might be in a little bit of shock.”
“Stop it, Mark. I’m not in shock. These two boys need us. They-”
“But we don’t know anything about them.”
“Mark, what do you want to know? They’re adorable little twelve-year-old twins. Blond and blue-eyed. I’m not bringing home two-headed aliens from another planet. What are you afraid of? Think they have some kind of flesh- eating island disease? They lost their family. They’re orphans. Someone has to adopt them. So-”
“It’s going to be a hell of a shock for Ira and Elena. And Roz. And-”
“They all know we want a big family.”
“But it’s so sudden, Lea.”
“So you’re agreeing? I can bring them home?”
“No. I’m really opposed here. Bringing two island boys to Sag Harbor and expecting them to fit in with our family? No, Lea. Really. Think about it. Wait till your mind is clearer. You know. Calmer. Sleep on it.”
“Sleep on it? You’re joking. Don’t you want me to come home? I have to get off the island. Today is the last day for the rescue boats. Tomorrow will be too late.”
“But Lea-”
“Listen, honey, it could be your next book. Really. Two orphaned boys from a tiny island are taken to live with a middle-class family in Sag Harbor. Think of the possibilities, Mark. A study by you of how the boys adapt. What challenges them and what changes them and how they fit in with a family of strangers-and how they change the family. It could be a terrific follow-up book. And don’t tell me you already have an idea, because I know you don’t.”
Silence.
“Well? You know it’s a good idea, don’t you, Mark? Think of the wonderful anecdotes-”
“Anecdotes? It’s our
“They’re sweet and sad, Mark. It’s so tragic. They saw their parents carried away by the floodwaters. They lost everything. But they’re adorable. I’m not exaggerating. When you see them, you’ll fall in love with them, too. They’re going to change our lives. You’ll see.”
“Daniel, you have to tell the woman about Ikey.” Samuel stood at the open doorway of the fisherman’s shack,
