Still wondering why Papa had clearly wanted this girl to stay, Annie pushed open the door
When you grow up next to the sea as she had, Annie thought sleepily, the waves are your lullaby.
But if the sound of the waves dashing themselves angrily against the seashore had soothed her into slumber, it was the flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder that brought her to abrupt wakefulness just a few hours later.
Not that she minded. It had been such a full, emotion-laden weekend, with her brother Moey finally back at the hotel, sitting in his usual place and singing his stunning zemiros with Papa, that now, as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she welcomed the chance for a few moments of quiet thought.
But first, a mother’s task: Check on the children. Ruchele, next to her in bed, shifted slightly and snuggled deeper into her blanket. The twins, lying on mattresses on the floor, breathed evenly and quietly, clearly exhausted after a long day.
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