“Thank you, Percy,” my mom said. “Once we get to Montauk, we’ll talk more about…whatever you’ve forgotten to tell me, okay?” For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I’d seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air. But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.
