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"He's sixteen. May was ten last month."

"I bet she's a good student," Mommy said, struggling for conversation. Aunt Sara raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, but she goes to the special school, you know. Cary sees

she gets there all right and home all right. He's devoted to her. I think more so since Laura. . since Laura's been gone," she said.

Again, I looked at Mommy. She shifted her eyes away. "You don't like the clams, dear?" Aunt Sara asked me, poised to be disappointed.

"What? Oh, yes," I said and dug my fork into another.

"How are Samuel and Olivia?" Mommy asked Aunt Sara. I knew those were my grandparents so I stopped eating again to listen.

"They both suffer from arthritis now and then, but otherwise they're well. I told them you were coming," she said, almost as an afterthought.

"Oh?"

Aunt Sara said nothing more about them. The topic disappeared as quickly as a popped soap bubble, but neither Mommy nor Aunt Sara seemed unhappy about that. I wanted to know more. They had never seen me. Were they curious about me as I was about them?

The door opened and closed. Uncle Jacob appeared, a rag in his hands. The shape of his chin and mouth resembled Daddy's, but he had a longer, sharper nose and larger ears. His eyes were more hazel than green.

"Clams are sweeter this year," he said.

"They're great," Archie said. Uncle Jacob finally considered him.

"This is my friend Richard, Jacob. He drove us here."

Uncle Jacob just nodded and then looked at me.

"She's not as tall as I thought she'd be," he said. The way he said it made me feel as if I had failed at growing properly.

"Melody, this is your Uncle Jacob," Mommy said, her eyes on him.

"Hello," I said, my voice cracking.

He didn't smile. He wiped his hands and stared at me. "Plenty of time for us all to meet later," he declared. "I got to do some work on the boat right now. Sara, send Cary down as soon as he's home." He left through the rear of the house.

"It's very important to look after the boat," Aunt Sara explained, with another quick smile. "Well," she continued, "I imagine you plan on staying the night, Haille."

"No," Mommy said quickly. "We have a tight schedule."

"Oh."

Why had we come so far if we were going to leave so quickly? I wondered. Mommy had talked about showing me Provincetown. Before I could ask, we heard the front door again.

"That should be Cary and May," Aunt Sara said. A few moments later, my cousins appeared in the dining room doorway.

Cary was tall and did indeed take after his father. He had the same dark complexion as Uncle Jacob only he had a more sensitive face with much softer features. He had green eyes like Daddy, but because his hair was darker, almost coal black, his emerald eyes seemed brighter. He wore his hair rather long, almost to his shoulders. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Beside him, still clinging to his hand, was my cousin May. She was small, birdlike for ten, diminutive except for her round, very bright hazel eyes. Her hair, the same chestnut shade as Aunt Sara's, was cut short in a pixie style. She wore a light blue dress with an embroidered bodice and saddle shoes. Her feet were so small, they made her look like a doll. She smiled, but Cary kept a very serious expression on his face, his gaze quickly moving from Archie to Mommy to me. When he fixed his eyes on me, I thought his look softened.

"Well, now, say hello to everyone," Aunt Sara said. "This is your aunt Haille, her friend Richard, and your cousin Melody."

Cary immediately turned to May and began to move his hands. She watched him and nodded when he stopped. Then she turned to us and said, "Hello." She stretched the syllables so that it sounded mechanical.

I couldn't help my look of surprise, but I saw it displeased Cary.

"Yes, she's deaf," my cousin said sharply to me.