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“That about sums it up,” I reply.
Ana’s lips twitch, but I can see she’s puzzled. “Dad wouldn’t be happy knowing you’ve let him on the premises,” she says.
Scarlett looks down at her sandals for a moment. Then she lifts her chin and says, “Well, Dad’s not here anymore, and we’ve got to get on without him.” She marches past her sister toward the central buildings.
I give Ana a quick smile and say, “It was nice meet you,” and stride out after Scarlett.
She’s walking quickly, and I fall into step beside her.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine.” She slows down, then stops. “Would you rather my sister shows you around?”
I stop too and frown. “No, why?”
“I just wondered. I don’t mind.”
“I don’t want your sister. I want you.”
She meets my eyes again. We study each other for ten seconds. Then she drops her gaze and starts walking, and I join her.
She clears her throat. “So this is the main communal area around the green. This is the Haven.” She stops outside the building that looks like a chapel.
“It’s a place of worship? For what religion?” Dad has inferred they follow some kind of New Age wacky paganism here.
But Scarlett says, “Anything and everything. We’re not a religious-based commune. Any faiths are welcome. We have Christians of all denominations, a few Muslims, one Jewish family, pagans, a Hindu couple, several Buddhists… Many aren’t religious at all.”
“What about you?”
“If I tell you, will you mock me?”
“Almost certainly.”
She gives me a wry look. “I’m guessing you’re not religious?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“My dad is far too practical to have faith in anything or anyone except himself.”
“What about your mother? Was she?”
I look away, across the green. “She was Anglican. She told us some of the Bible stories when we were young. But Dad didn’t want us to go to church—he said we should make our own minds up when we were adults.”
“I can understand that,” she says, surprising me. “When you’re not religious it makes sense to feel that you shouldn’t force children to think the way you do. But religion brings a lot of people comfort. And it’s good sometimes to give children structure and a strong moral code.”
“You don’t need religion to do that.”
“No… that’s true. But most people are comforted about the thought of there being more than what we can see around us.”
“I dunno. What’s around us is pretty amazing. Snowflakes and sex and all that. I don’t know why there has to be more.”
Her lips curve up. “Snowflakes and sex?”
“First amazing things that came to mind.”
“Well at least you put snowflakes first.”