When Zadie woke, she thought that she had traveled back in time. She peered down the length of the couch and saw Joel dozing at the other end, just as she had the morning they’d met. She could even feel the traces of a hangover and the gummy sensation of day-old makeup on her face, of which only the latter was possible. Their feet were intertwined like a dance frozen mid-step. Zadie delicately slipped hers free and swung her legs over the side of the couch.
She snuck another glance at Joel and realized, with some consternation, that he’d gotten better-looking with age. He’d talked about growing a beard when he was younger, but always quit a couple of weeks in out of insecurity about its lack of fullness. She thought the beard he had now suited him. In fact, she would have told him so were she not concerned he would read too much into it.
I’m flattering myself,she thought. Joel wasn’t interested in her romantically anymore. They were friends… kind of. And she could use a friend, especially during the times she was worried about Finn or—
The baby.
The Star formerly known as Ladybug sent out a small flare.
I will,she replied.I’m just waiting for the right moment.
She would wait to tell her sister about the pregnancy until they got home, she decided. Finn already had enough on her mind as it is.
It was almost nine. Finn was usually up before her, but the door to the bedroom was still closed. Zadie padded across the hardwoodfloor and carefully opened the door so it wouldn’t squeak. “Finn?” she whispered as she entered. But not only was the bed empty, it was still fully made up as if Finn hadn’t slept there at all.
“Oh no,” she muttered, then ran back into the living room. “Joel! Joel, wake up!”
Joel lifted his head, groggily. “Huh? What’s up?”
“Finn’s gone,” she said breathlessly, while cramming her feet into her sneakers.
More alert now, Joel sat up, his hair squished to one side. “She’s what?”
“She’s not in there and the bed’s made.”
“Maybe she made it?”
“Finnnevermakes the bed.” She grabbed Joel’s shoes and tossed them to him. “Will you help me look for her?”
“Yeah,” he said, rolling off the couch. “Yeah, of course.”
Within seconds, they were out the door and jogging down the stairs to Myron’s workshop. Finn was not in the barn, so they continued outside. The morning was brisk for summer and scented with pine. The mist that had hovered over the treetops the day before had dissipated and had been replaced with a lemon slice of sun. Zadie shaded her eyes with her hand and looked around. “You check the house,” she instructed Joel. “I’ll look out here.”
“No problem,” Joel said and ran toward the Van Houtens’ porch.
Zadie began circling the barn.I shouldn’t have left her alone,she thought. She hadn’t meant to. The couch was just so comfortable and Joel—
No. This isn’t Joel’s fault,she rebuked herself. Finn was her responsibility. If anything happened to her, she was to blame.
Once she had circumnavigated the barn, she checked the goat pen and the detached garage. With no Finn in sight, all that was left was the forest. Zadie froze, staring into the deep green shadows shaped like trees. This wasn’t the woods behind their old house, nor was it the sparse landscape of the desert, where you could see fifty miles in every direction. This was real wilderness, forest so densethat millions of people believed that it could hide an eight-foot-tall primate for generations. If she went in there alone, she’d likely never find her way out.
Where was Joel? She’d assumed he would come back outside and fill her in once he’d finished searching the house. He’d probably gotten distracted and forgotten why he was there.I guess I’ll have to do it myself,she thought.
When she opened the front door, not only did she find Joel, but Finn as well, seated around the dining table with Myron’s daughters, happily stuffing fresh-baked banana-nut muffins into their mouths. Not bothering to swallow first, Joel exclaimed, “I found her!” and pointed to Finn.
Her sister looked up and smiled. “Hey, Zadie. Did you need something?”
Zadie did her best to hide her irritation. “Nope. I’m good,” she said, clipped, and took a seat at the table.
“How about a muffin?” Joel held one out to her, oblivious to Zadie’s indignation. She wordlessly accepted the muffin and began picking at its paper wrapping.
Myron whipped out of the kitchen carrying a pan of scrambled eggs. “Ah, you’re up.” He sat the pan on a trivet along with a spoon so people could help themselves. “I’ve got bacon going, too, and OJ in the fridge.”
“Dad always burns the bacon,” Juniper said matter-of-factly while plucking nuts from her muffin and dropping them onto her plate.
“I don’tburnit,” he contested. “I make it crispy.”
“Burnt.”