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"Good evening, Oliver," said the fussy littleis incredible You have no idea how ht now"

But of course he did Friedle had been watching out for Oliver and Collette for years, keeping them out of too much trouble He seemed always to knohat they needed, and to be there when itthe tray fro it on the coffee table

"You’re very welcome"

Oliver took a sip from his cup A smile creased his lips Perhaps Jack London’s stories were no longer enough to transport him back to his childhood, but here in this room--which he would forever think of as hisand the taste of that cocoa on his lips, he reic in his hands, or that which had returned to the world…the ic that only existed on the inside

Friedle started to withdraw Oliver glanced at him They kne, that Friedle had never been his real naendary Melisande--his mother--was called Robiquet But frogy bluff overlooking the ocean, Oliver and Collette had persisted in calling him Friedle For his part, the fussyhad changed, save for the absence of his former employer, Max Bascombe

"I miss him," Oliver said

"Pardon?"

"My father It’s strange, don’t you think? I spent so et out froone, I want him back"

Friedle nodded "We all one He wasn’t a bad man, your father He was just afraid for you"

Oliver took another sip "I never thought of hi"

"For hihtened Max Basco to one of his children"

The cocoa tasted sweet as ever, thick on his tongue In his entire life, he had never invited his father to join hihts when he would retreat here The old man would have declined, he was sure Still, Oliver wondered

"Thank you, Friedle"

"I’oblin said "Good night, Oliver"

"Night"

After Friedle had gone, he sat with his finger still holding the page in The Sea Wolf and sipped his cocoa until only traces were left at the bottoain, but after ato mark his place

"Hello, little brother"

Startled, he looked up Collette stood in the doorway in blue flannel pajamas covered with monkeys She looked adorable as hell, but he wouldn’t ht you’d gone to bed"

As he spoke, Julianna appeared in the hallway behind Collette in a burgundy terry cloth robe that usually hung on the back of Oliver’s bedroom door but was rarely worn

"We couldn’t sleep," Julianna said

Mischief sparkled in her eyes and her shtened his heart

"Excited about tomorrow, or nervous?" he asked

Collette came in and sat on the sofa beside his chair "What about you, Ollie? You’re not nervous?" She picked up his cup and peeked inside, disappointed to find it eht the toht

Oliver held out his hand to Julianna "Not at all"

She wrapped her fingers around his and he pulled her onto his lap on the chair A stranger would not have seen the tiny wince at the corners of her eyes, but Oliver felt what she felt The scar on her abdoer Ovid Tsing had stabbed her with But, all these months later, it still pained her sometimes when the weather was damp and cold He suspected it alould

"Are you sure?" Julianna asked, touching the s their tione since June