By the time they’d settled Sylt in the garage and finished feeding the mare, Archie was already back to his old self. Seeing his smile as he moved around their small kitchen, making a large batch of pancakes, caused a great pang of sadness for Freya. Archie was running out of time, but he didn’t know it. ‘What day is it?’ he asked as they sat down to eat. ‘I seemed to have lost track of time.’ ‘It’s Sunday,’ Freya said. ‘You were in the hospital just over a week.’ ‘Really? I don’t remember a thing. Sunday, eh? We’ve only got a few more days to the dance. I can’t wait!’ Freya looked over to her sister, but said nothing. Later that day, Freya and Archie convinced Maya to join them going to Tamika’s house. Archie wanted to show them he was all right, and Freya wanted to introduce her sister. She also wanted to quietly thank Tamika and Alma for cleaning and repairing her velvet coat. With the bloodstains gone, she didn’t have to worry about Archie seeing and asking awkward questions.
