"Is that a question or is it already decided?" I asked.
He looked at the message again. "Decided, probably."
"Then yes," I said.
Lucian arrived at the park at ten forty-five, which was five minutes early, which I was learning was simply how Lucian operated—he was early in the way that some people were always slightly late, not because he was anxious about time but because earliness was how he organized his relationship with it. He had a bag over each shoulder and Lake on his heels narrating their arrival in real time.
"We're here," Lake announced, to the park in general. "We got here early. Dad said we should get a good spot before all the good spots are taken by others.
The spot is good." He surveyed the area with the authority of someone confirming that advance planning had paid off
