Dr. Ash Grove stood at the little kitchen stove, frying strips of bacon while five eggs boiled in a pan.
"Good morning," he called over his shoulder. "Ready to visit the beach today? I am sure the storm washed up plenty of new shells for us to find."
Madi sat down to the egg he placed before her and pursed her lips as she peeled it.
"Actually, Dad," she replied slowly, "I was wondering if we could all go into town together."
Ash set down the plate of breakfast before sitting, himself. He tilted an eyebrow at his daughter. "All?" he echoed.
Madi licked her fingers and nodded. "Celian can come too, can't he?" She smiled with pleading in her eyes. "Please? I want to show him the kite shop!"
Ash frowned and wagged his head. "Madi, I'm not so sure—we'll need to get him some new clothes, but even then there's no guaranteeing what might happen when people see him—"
"But Dad!" Madi protested. "We practiced! He'll be on his best behavior, I promise!"
Dr. Grove opened his mouth to protest, but just then, who should stride into the front room but Celian himself. He was still wearing the doctor's clothes, which looked almost comical, exposing narrow ankles and a good bit of forearm beyond the cuffs. He nodded to his hosts." Good morning, Doctor Grove," he rumbled. "Good morning, Madi." He gave a broad smile and the multi-colored eyes danced.
Ash nodded to the open seat at the table. "Good morning Celian; care to join us for breakfast?"
Celian stepped forward. "Of course," he responded. "Thank you." With measured movements, he pulled out his chair and lowered himself into it.
Madi grinned, but barely glanced at her father. "Celian, how would you like to go into town with us today?"
The lanky man stopped in the midst of trying to pry his egg out of the shell—succeeding only in getting the gooey, yellow yolk all over his fingers. He cast a worried glance at Dr. Grove, who absorbed himself in the newspaper next to him. "Madi," Celian tried to reason with her. "I don't think it—"
"Oh please!" She begged, "We practiced!"
A chuckle escaped the broad chest. "Talking with you is not like walking among strangers alone."
"But you won't be alone," Madi curled her fingers over his palm, heedless of the yolk. "I'll be with you the whole time." She glanced at her father. "We both will, won't we, Dad?"
Ash set down his paper and cleared his throat. "Madi, I know how much you like it here, but there is no need to—"
"It will be fun!" She turned back to Celian. "Have you ever seen a kite before?"
He tilted his head as the human instincts tried to form a comprehensive construct for this word. "Those are the colored cloths on strings that sail in the sky, correct?"
Madi nodded. "Yes; there's a store that sells them here in town. Perhaps we can pick one out and fly it on the beach!"
Celian's smile dimmed. "So far from the water? What if something were to happen?"
Madi frowned. "Like what?"
Celian fumbled with the bits of eggshell on his plate. "I really don't know," he admitted.
She patted the back of his hand. "Nothing will happen. We're just going to town is all. We can buy a kite, maybe try some taffy—"
"What is taffy?"
"It's delicious; you'll love it, I promise." She gave him her most winsome smile. "Please? Will you come with us?"
Celian heaved a heavy sigh. "Well... all right," he finally conceded.
Madi waved the piece of bacon in her hand like a flag. "Huzzah!" She cried.
The trio set off after they finished breakfast. Madi skipped along with Celian's lengthy strides, chattering away about all the different shops he would see.
They passed Dalton House on the way. Ash noticed that there seemed to be considerably less movement around the place. The curtains were drawn, as if the family had abandoned the place.
Madi saw the shingle proclaiming the family name and immediately turned to her father. "Do you think we might see Miss Agatha again, Dad?" She asked.
The doctor remembered the robbery that had happened their first night in Afton-By-The-Sea; were they actually the sort of people to pack up and go away after such an affront to the family's security?
"I'm not sure, Madi," he answered her. "It certainly does not appear that anyone is home."
Madi shrugged it off and skipped ahead alongside Celian, who had gone quite stiff and silent for some reason. As they entered the town, though, the lanky man relaxed and stared around him, eagerly exploring this world like a completely new dimension.
Madi proved a most capable guide, warning him about stepping into the street without paying attention, and encouraging him to walk past people without staring intently at them. She explained the concept of cars, how people rode in them and pressed one pedal to go faster, and the other to slow or stop—though she couldn't explain how that was possible, as thoroughly as he would have liked—and the way shops worked, how one could look at things, but in order to take them, one had to be willing to give money for the privilege.
Celian saw two young boys on bicycles, and he thought he had figured out how cars worked; he grew very confused as to why the people at the "food shop" would give some people plates heaped with delicious things, while others got only water. After his first bite of taffy, though, he readily accepted anything Madi wanted to tell him. She bounced down the street all the way to the kite store—but frowned when she saw the doors and
