Josh sniffed and nodded. “I’m really sorry,” he said.

“It was an accident,” Alex assured him.

“But now you won’t let me go fishing.”

And risk losing him again? Alex thought. Not a chance. “We’ll talk about that later, okay?” Alex said instead.

“What if I promise to let go the next time?”

“Like I said, we’ll talk about it later. For now, why don’t you eat something?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I know. But it’s lunchtime and you’ve got to eat.”

Josh reached for a French fry and took a small bite, chewing mechanically. Kristen did the same. At the table, she almost always mimicked Josh. It drove Josh crazy, but he didn’t seem to have the energy right now to protest.

Alex turned to Katie. He swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

She stood up from the table and he led her away from the kids. When they were far enough away that he was sure they wouldn’t hear, he cleared his throat. “I want to thank you for what you did.”

“I didn’t do anything,” she protested.

“Yes,” he said. “You did. Had you not been looking at the monitor, I wouldn’t have known what was happening. I might not have reached him in time.” He paused. “And also, thank you for taking care of Kristen. She’s the sweetest thing in the world, but she’s sensitive. I’m glad you didn’t leave her alone. Even when we had to go up and change.”

“I did what anyone would do,” Katie insisted. In the silence that followed, she suddenly seemed to realize how close they were standing and took a half step backward. “I should really be going.”

“Wait,” Alex said. He walked toward the refrigerated cases at the rear of the store. “Do you like wine?”

She shook her head. “Sometimes, but—”

Before she could finish, he turned around and opened the case. He reached up and pulled out a bottle of chardonnay.