Fuchsia opens the door and crawls over Jax as if he isn’t even there. “Where is my baby?Where is Nix?”

Bren says, “Oh my God, Fuchsia! He is in the back.”

She huffs and crawls back out straightening her blouse. Fuchsia looked back down at Jax who was giving her an irritated look. She smiles big and laughs and says, “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place hun? I wouldn’t have crawled all over you.” She opens the back door and pulls a disgruntled Nix into her arms saying, “You poor baby you must have been so lonely in the back.” She cuddles him and chats away as she walks back toward Sina.

Fuchsia spins around again and says, “Why are you guys taking so long, let’s get unloaded and get some food. I’m starving!”

Jax gets out of the car and grabs his bag and a couple of boxes. Bren has his bag and a couple of other smaller bags. Bren was in the lead and Fuchsia, Nix and Sina were close on his heels. Jax is in the back and extremely distracted by the sounds and smells all around him. Surprisingly, he seems ok even though there are many new sensations.

Bren sits a couple of bags down at the door and reaches for a key card. Even though the cottage looks old, it apparently had some modern upgrades. He slides the card, the lock releases and they enter. Surprisingly, the place seems clean, as if someone had recently been there.

Fuchsia looks around, noticing how clean the place is. She asks, “Does someone take care of this place in your absence?”

Bren flips the remaining lights on around the cottage and says, “Yes, I have one of the locals clean and check on the place at least once a week. I need to contact them and let them know I am here.”

Bren turns around and finds Sina and Jax both staring at a painting on the wall. Sina asks, “Did your grandmother paint this?”

Bren walks closer to the painting and says, “Yes. She was very talented and the locals filled their businesses and homes with her art.”

Jax stares at the painting, lost in what is in front of him. The moon reflects down into the restless water in the distance and the foreground holds a brilliant campfire with a long piece of driftwood nearby. A woman sits atop the driftwood, her long white hair falling to one side, her arms wrapped lovingly around a small child who wears a bright happy smile.

Fuchsia walks up behind the group and says, “Awww, Bren you were such a cute little boy and you and your grandmother look so happy together.”

Bren just smiles as he continues to look at the painting.

Sina turns around and says, “Your grandmother was very talented, this is a beautiful painting!”

Bren smiles and says, “Thank you!”

Bren places a hand on Jax’s shoulder and says to everyone “Let me show you where your rooms are and you can put your stuff down. Bren opens the first two doors and tells Sina and Fuchsia they pick from those two. He and Jax continue down the hall and stop at the next door. He taps the door with his hand and says “This was my grandmother’s studio. They walk on and stop at another door. Bren pushes this one open and tells Jax to put his stuff in the room as he sits his bags on the floor. Bren looks up to see Jax looking out the large window at the view. He has looked surprisingly calm since they arrived, which is great considering how their morning went. He calls out to Jax, “We can unpack later, come on.”

They meet Fuchsia and Sina in the hall and Bren says, “Let’s finish unloading and get some food before it gets too late.”

Jax turns around and follows Bren back outside the cottage. It would take several trips, but they can get it unloaded quickly.

***

Jax was unloading the last couple of boxes when Nix darted in front of him, causing him to drop one of them. Luckily, it doesn’t spill but the smell is oddly familiar. The rusty scent penetrates his nose and he feels nauseous. He reaches down to pick up the box labeled Bit Box 327, but Fuchsia intervenes.

She nonchalantly says, “I meant to carry this one in, sorry”

Jax has come to accept Fuchsia’s strange ways, but this even seems odd for her. He was about to ask her why a rusty box of parts was important when Bren and Sina returned to the cottage with their last load of boxes.

Bren says, “We are finally finished. Let’s go get food and supplies.”

Jax’s stomach growled as if in response to the suggestion of food and he decides he can ask about the box later.

The group loads into Bren’s car and heads into the little seaside town.

They decided to order food to-go from a seafood restaurant so they could get back to the cottage sooner. Bren and Jax stayed at the restaurant while Sina and Fuchsia ran across the road to a store and got some supplies. They were all exhausted but wanted to have time to visit the beach before it got dark.

Bren and Jax sit on the barstools waiting for their food to come out. Bren had ordered a coffee and was sipping on it. He had started his day without caffeine, and he was feeling pretty tired as a result. Bren looks at Jax who is staring out the window and says, “I know it is getting late. Do you still want to walk to the beach when we get back?”

Jax looks back towards Bren and nods. “Yes, If you aren’t too tired it would be nice to go for a walk.”

Bren sees Fuchsia and Sina through the restaurant window. They were loading the car with bags. He hears paper rustling and realizes the bags had been set in front of him. Jax reaches for the food saying, “Let's go, I'm really hungry.”