“He’ll laugh about it one day. I had to keep him out of trouble somehow.” She took in a deep breath. “The weather is changing. Things are settling down. You’ll see a fall this year.”
“Oh, that’s good news,” Skylar said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the leaves change.” She sat next to Ocean. “Boy, it hasn’t been easy knowing you.”
Ocean gave her a look.
“I’m just saying,” Skylar said.
“I’ll give you that,” Ocean said. “But I’m fire, and when the student is ready, they jump into that fire, to be refined and remade into something better. I dare say, you are something better. And you are better for having known all the people in this house.” She waved her hand over her shoulder. “We are all the sum of those we surround ourselves with. You add to their lives as much as they add to yours.”
Skylar looked at her.
“Yes, grasshopper, you have added to my life,” Ocean said.
“My parents are getting a divorce.” Skylar stared out at the trees.
“I heard,” Ocean said. “I’m sorry.”
Skylar shrugged. “I get it. And maybe now they can find happiness somewhere else.”
“Maybe,” Ocean said. “Hey, how’ve the memories been? Getting a break from them all?”
“A break?” Skylar’s mind came to life with the vivid details of important moments she never wanted to forget: Cassie brushing her hair; Joel and the horses; Argan at age eleven; Argan now. Meeting Suki, Ronnie, and Rhia; laughing with Britt in Cabin 3A; the birds in the trees of the greenhouse; all of the trees of the Great Mothers—the Silverwood tree, Beatrice’s maple, Vivienne’s kelp tree, and lastly, Ocean’s black tree. “There are things I never want to forget.” She smiled. “What will happen to you now? What will you do?”
“Anything I want.” Ocean winked. “Actually, if Joel’s single … I thought maybe …” She shrugged suggestively.
Skylar’s eyes widened.
“What?” Ocean asked defensively. “He needs a bit of loosening up.”
Skylar’s forehead rose high. “You think you’re the one to do it?” She laughed at the idea. Then her thoughts turned to the day she met Ocean in the Round Room at Rosen a few short years before. The Book of Sophia had been foreign to her then, but it had called for her to make a choice of destiny.
“It’s gone,” she said out loud.
“Yes,” Ocean said. “In physical form. But it’s returned to the sea, gone back to the shelves of Sophia’s temple, where it belongs.”
“Isn’t it Milicent’s temple—or should I say castle—now?” Skylar asked, and they both chuckled at the thought. “She didn’t need the Quine re-created after all. Now she has all the knowledge she could possibly want for eternity.” Skylar thought it would be fun to get a glimpse into Milicent’s new world, but she was in no rush to return to the land under the water.
“Not all of it,” Ocean said. She stood up, reached deep into her jeans pocket, and pulled out a handful of wrinkled pages.
“The last three pages,” Skylar said with a smile. “I should have known you’d have them.”
Ocean handed them to her. “Perfectly preserved, for the end of your story.”
“There is no end,” Skylar said. “It’s all one big circle.”
Ocean smiled again. “Now you truly know everything.” She went to hug Skylar but stopped herself and patted her on the head instead.
Rhia came running outside, carrying an extremely tolerant Michael. Ronnie followed. They both smiled at Skylar and ran into the yard to play.
“There’s proof of your work, right there,” Ocean said. They watched Rhia dance in a circle, barefoot in the grass.
“Well, of all the endings I predicted, I didn’t see this one coming,” Argan said from the doorway.
“No?” Skylar asked.
He walked down the steps and sat next to her. “We’re back where we started and the world isn’t in ruins—in fact, it’s better than ever,” he said, looking at Rhia. “None of us are dead, especially me, and now we get to think about our next chapter.” He looked at her.
She nodded. Joshua was dead, but she had to accept that she couldn’t save the whole world. Rhia was certainly enough. “I’ll start with these.” She held up her pages.
Suki walked out and squeezed in next to them, making it very tight on the steps of the porch.
“When do you have to get back?” Skylar asked her.
“Tonight,” Suki said. “This country needs me.”
“I can’t believe you’re working in DC,” Skylar said. “You’re practically president. It’s a far cry from the barn, but that place was always too small for you.” She put her head on Suki’s shoulder. “Thanks for making the time for me.”
Rachel and Leonora peeked their heads out the door. “It’s time for cake,” they said as a pair.
“Be right in,” Skylar said. She looked at Argan. “They’ve certainly hit it off.” He nodded.
“Happy birthday, Sky,” Suki said, handing her a small white box with a red bow.
Skylar untied it. “No way! My magic rock!” She looked at Argan. “Did you know?”
He shook his head no.
“This is amazing!” Skylar said. “You got it back from Britt? Did she come back here?”
Suki inhaled. “Funny story …”