nickalus rupert deadman’s island toby and lick come ashore in a Boston Whaler crewed by all four daughters, three of them Lick’s. Sixteen years since Toby set foot on Deadman’s. Without Clifford to help exaggerate it, the island reminds Toby of unleavened bread. When they camped here as boys, the territory seemed endless, but now it’s little more than another Florida sandbar with some trees. “Bowline,” Lick says. His daughter Lindsay grabs the line, jumps overboard, and hauls them to the shallows. Lick wears his hair close-cropped now, and his eyes never stop moving. His belly is starting to moon, like Toby’s. They’ve got dad bodies. Lick says he’s a firefighter, and although he must’ve saved many homes and forests, Toby can’t help thinking that the old Lick would’ve wanted
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