By the end of the day, Samantha felt as weary as if she'd been rowing the Primrose by herself all day. Molly and Becky agreed to share Molly's bedroom, squeezing into one bed until they could get another one. "Tell us a story," Molly said.
Samantha's tired brain struggled to think of a story. "Once upon a time there were two princesses. One named Molly and the other named Rebecca. The princesses were the most beautiful girls in the whole kingdom. Everyone loved them, except for a jealous old hag named-"
"Helena!" the girls said in unison.
"That's not very nice, but all right. Wicked Helena put a spell on the princesses to put them fast asleep until they were kissed by a true love. They slept for years and years until one day two handsome knights came along."
"Knights like Sir Francis?" Molly asked.
"That's right. Sir Francis and his brother Sir Joseph. They entered the castle and defeated the monsters wicked Helena had left there. They climbed up to the tower where the princesses slept and kissed them. The princesses woke up and lived happily ever after with Sir Francis and Sir Joseph. The end. Goodnight, girls." Samantha kissed each girl on the forehead and then went to Becky's bedroom, hers now.
She sank down onto the chair where she'd slept the night before. She wished Sir Joseph could ride up on his white horse like in the story so they could live happily ever after. I should have stayed with him, she thought.
On the floor next to the chair, she saw Joseph's parting gift to her. She picked up the cellular phone, flipping it open and finding the button to turn it on. She typed in Joseph's phone number and waited. The telephone rang six times before it picked up and she heard Joseph's sleepy voice say, "Hello?"
"Hello, Joe, it's me. Samantha."
"Samantha! I didn't think-"
"I wanted to let you know we made it back all right. And I wanted to say-" she stopped, unable to get the words out.
"Hello? Are you still there?" he asked.
"I'm here," she said. She closed her eyes and said, "I wanted to say I miss you."
"I miss you too," he said. "I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk before you left. I hope I didn't make you feel too bad."
"No, of course not." She tried to think of something else to say, but her mind had turned barren. "I wish you were here."
"You know, it's only two months until school lets out for summer. I could visit you up there-"
"I don't think that's a good idea," she said and then seized upon an idea. "But maybe I could go down there. I could bring my little cousins Molly and Becky along. They're both adorable. I'm sure Prudence and Wendell would come too."