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complaining. The house is great and the island is beautifu l. Shaun loves it here so far.”
    “Good deal . Hey, I gotta run, there’s a client waiting in my office. I’ll give you a ring later.”
    “Okay, talk to you then.”
    Jason began speaking to someone else a second before the line disconnected, and Evan felt the warm glow he always did when he reflected on their friendship. There wasn’t another person in the world who knew him better. Now that Elle was gone.
    He swallowed and sighed before going to check on Shaun again. When he saw that the boy hadn’t moved a muscle, he turned and headed for the kitchen, mentally preparing himself for the cleaning session he was about to endure.
     
    ~
     
    It took him an hour to clean the fridge. Somehow, amongst three gagging episodes and two breaks to check on Shaun, he managed to evict all signs of the decaying food from the GE. After tossing two bags of refuse into a large garbage can outside, Evan finished putting away their food and separated Shaun’s clothes into the chest of drawers in his room. It was nearing five in the evening when Shaun awoke, and they sat down to a simple meal of canned soup.
    “Wanna go for a walk, buddy?” Evan asked , as he placed their dirty dishes onto the counter.
    Shaun nodded , and he smiled at how rested his little face looked. Sleep was his ally, and Evan tried not to wake him if at all possible, no matter the time of day.
    They left the house and made their way around the right side of the building , toward the heavy cover of trees, Evan walking backward and holding Shaun’s hands while Shaun tottered along, concentration etched across his features. Evan had him walk until they reached the boundary of the yard, and then picked him up, swinging him high in the air before depositing him on his shoulders. They threaded their way between the massive trunks and a few brambles that were beginning to sprout, into green foliage. A worn path no more than a foot wide appeared and he angled them toward it. The trail looked beaten, whether by animals or humans, he didn’t know. They followed the track as it snaked ever downward, over exposed rocks and roots. Eventually the wavering surface of the lake became visible. A small ring of rocks sat in a clearing above the waterline, the earth permanently black in its center.
    “Wow, nice party spot, buddy,” Evan said, holding Shaun’s hands. “Fire ring,” he annunciated, hoping that Shaun would mimic his words.
    “Help!”
    The cry was loud and came out of nowhere, turning Evan’s guts with icy surprise. He stopped, trying to determine where the call came from.
    “Help! I dropped my paddle in the water .”
    He hurried down to the clearing and caught sight of a woman in a canoe some fifteen yards offshore. Her hands gripped the sides of the little boat, and her dark brown hair was buffeted by the wind that pushed across the lake.
    “My paddle ,” she yelled, pointing toward a clump of reeds growing from the foremost tip of the island. A faded wooden canoe paddle floated there, its handle hooked on a bent reed.
    Evan glanced back at the canoe and saw the woman’s dilemma. The wind was gradually pushing her farther and farther away, turning her in a gentle circle. He moved to the nearest tree and took Shaun off his shoulders, setting him at the pine’s base with his back resting against its trunk.
    “You sit right here, don’t move. ”
    Evan jogged to the water’s edge and looked for a way to grab the paddle without getting soaked , but soon saw the canoe and the woman would be out of sight before he devised a plan. With a grimace, he waded into the water, the cold spring lake rushing in to fill his shoes and socks. Leaning forward, he reached out and snagged the paddle’s handle and drew it toward him.
    “I’m going to toss it to you, okay?”
    “Okay .”
    He took aim and launched the paddle over the water with an underhand push. It sailed up and flipped once, and came down