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Lund saw Cassie nod at this.
“And I didn’t know what had happened to you,” Izzy continued. “But I wanted to make sure you could find us. So everywhere we stopped I sent you a photo of the door. I didn’t know if you would come, but I hoped...”
“How did you find us here?” Lund asked. “On the beach?”
“I asked at the motel. They said you were still booked in. So I justwandered out from the motel, followed the noise and the activity. Where else would you go in a town like this, in the evening?”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Izzy gushed, reaching forward to hug Cassie again.
Lund sipped his Coke, letting them have their moment.
Lund listened for a while as Cassie told Izzy about her ten years in the past. It sounded unbelievable, but he had seen so many unbelievable things he was no longer incredulous.
“So, what,” Izzy asked, frowning, “you’re now eight years older than me?”
“That’s right,” Cassie said. “Old and sagging and gray. I am your future.”
“Where did you go?” Lund asked, somehow feeling like he wanted to cut across their happiness. He didn’t know why he felt that way. “From the ballroom? Where have you been all this time?”
Cassie didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes glazed over as she stared into the fire, and then her brow knitted briefly. “I went somewhere else,” she said. “I was nowhere, a place where humans don’t go.”
“What do you mean?” Izzy asked.
Cassie shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. When I thought you were dead, I just wanted to run away, I wanted to be nothing, nowhere. So I opened a door, and I went there. To... nothingness.” She shook her head. “I don’t even really remember it. It’s like dreaming, maybe... you know you had a dream but as soon as you wake up it fades away.”
Lund could make no sense of it. He glanced across the fire and saw Izzy studying Cassie.
“And then, at some point, I realized I wanted to come home. A doorway appeared and I stepped through it. And here I am.”
Izzy nodded slowly. “Well,” she said. “Wherever you were, I am glad you came back.”
“Maybe I’ll tell you more about it someday,” Cassie said. “If I ever understand it myself.”
“What are you going to do now?” Izzy asked.
“I don’t know,” Cassie admitted. “But I don’t want to spend my life running away from that woman.”
Izzy threw Lund a glance. That was exactly what they had been doing.
“Who is she?” Izzy asked.
“No idea,” Cassie said. Izzy looked back to Lund and he shrugged.
“Are you going to try to stop her?” Lund asked, drawing Cassie’s eyes to him. She watched him silently for a moment and then shrugged too.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I was focused on finding Izzy first.”
“We’ll help,” Lund said, and now both women looked at him. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll help.”
“Since when do you speak for me?” Izzy asked, but there was humor in the question. Lund thought that maybe she was pleased with what he had said.
“Sorry,” he offered. “I mean, I’ll help. I can’t speak for Izzy.”
“Thank you,” Cassie said, smiling at him. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re not alone, Cassie,” Izzy said, reaching forward again. “You’re with friends now.”
Lund fetched some more drinks and chips from the store a few streets back from the beach. He took his time, letting Izzy and Cassie have a few minutes alone. When he got back the beach had grown quiet, and the wind from the ocean had a sharper edge. He played with the fire for a bit, coaxing flames and warmth from it, and passed beers to Izzy and Cassie.
