“Since I would have said he wouldn’t sneak around all summer with a girl or take a bus out of town without telling me, clearly I’m no authority on what he would do. Doesn’t Mark have a boat?”
Winona nodded. “We spent all summer teaching them both how to run it.”
“She could drop him off at Water’s Edge and be back in ten minutes.”
“In the dark? Could they be that stupid?”
“A question that hardly needs to be answered. Come on, let’s wait at Mark’s house. We can scare the shit out of them.”
Vivi Ann, Aurora, and Winona all pulled into her driveway in a line. They parked on the shabby grass and walked next door through the hedge. Mark was pacing back and forth on the expensive flagstone path in his yard.
“Beautiful house,” Aurora said, looking around at the carefully planned landscaping and copper outdoor lighting.
Mark didn’t even acknowledge her comment. He just kept pacing and muttering to himself.
“This is pretty much a rite of passage, Mark,” Aurora said. “Every kid sneaks out at least once. Janie snuck out and went to the Tacoma Dome to see Britney Spears. I didn’t know whether to punish her for sneaking out or for making such a poor musical choice.”
Mark turned to her. “Do you really think that situation is like this one?”
Aurora frowned. “You’re right. My kid was driving. At least Noah and Cissy were smart enough to take the bus. Look on the bright side; they didn’t steal a car.”
“She’s fourteen years old, for God’s sake. We should be calling the police.”
“Calm down,” Winona said.
Mark wrenched away from her and called Cissy on her cell phone again. When she failed to answer, he walked up to the road and looked out. He stood there so long night started to fall. The sky turned orange and then lavender.
“Parenting is going to be tough on that one,” Aurora said, shaking her head. “He’s wearing a groove in the lawn.”
“Shut up,” Winona said. “He has reason to be upset.”
“Yeah, but . . . I’m afraid his head is going to pop off. Let’s hope she never tries drugs. He won’t be able to handle it.”
By the time Mark came back, Aurora was on the porch, sitting in a beautiful cushioned ironwork chair, Winona was standing by the custom stone obelisk fountain by the walkway, and Vivi Ann stood near the hedge. “It’s seven thirty-nine,” he said. “I think we should call the police.”
“They’ll be here within the hour,” Winona said reasonably. “If they aren’t, we’ll call Al.”
“People couldn’t wait to tell me what a bad seed Noah was, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt and look where it got me. He’s taken my Cissy God knows where. I’m afraid—”
Up on the road, a bus pulled to a wheezing, clanking stop and then started up again. Its headlights shone through the twilight.
Vivi Ann took a step forward. She noticed that Mark did the same thing.
Noah and Cissy were so intent on talking that at first they didn’t see the people waiting for them. Heads bent together, hand clasped, they walked down from the road.
“Cecilia Marie Michaelian,” Mark shouted. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Noah and Cissy stopped in their tracks.
Winona came forward first. “We’ve been worried about you guys.”
“I’m sorry,” Cissy said; her voice was barely a whisper.
“It showed really poor judgment, running off like that,” Winona went on. “Where did you go?”
Noah took a deep breath and looked from Vivi Ann to Mark. “We went to the prison.”
For a terrible moment no one spoke. The only sound was the sea, washing onto the pebbled shore and then retreating.