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“I was on the porch,” he began, “conducting surveillance⁠—”

“He was sulking,” Nate said.

“—when the animal, which I had believed to be an ally, approached under false pretenses⁠—”

“They were allies,” Jonah relayed to the table. “The seal and the fox were in it together.”

“That’s not what I SAID!”

They weren’t listening anymore. Sophie wanted to know if the fox had rabies. Claire wanted to know if the seal had been damaged, and Miriam lifted one hand slightly off the table without looking up from her plate, in a way that meant that topic would be handled later. Nicky, who had not said a word all dinner, wanted to know how fast the fox was.

“Fast,” Nate said. “It made me jump over a fence too.”

“Cool,” Nicky said, with feeling.

“And then,” Sally demanded. “And then what?”

“Then it took him to its den,” Nate said, “and I bought him back.”

A pause, all down the table.

“He gave the fox a protein bar,” the ghost announced, to whoever could hear him. “One protein bar. Something that smells like glue and probably tastes like a shoe.”

“He’s saying something,” Jonah said. “He sounds upset. Something about shoes?”

“The fox had a shoe in its den,” Nate said. “He’s still processing it.”

“I’m not processing.”

“A whole shoe?” Sally asked, thrilled.

“A child’s shoe,” Nate confirmed, which got Sally so excited that her mother had to announce that no one was going near any dens. Into the resulting noise, Claire asked if anyone else remembered the raccoon situation of some prior year, which apparently everyone did, because three people groaned at once.

The ghost sat behind his empty plate and thought.

What a weird family.

Nicky looked at him as if he’d picked up on the ghost’s thoughts. There was a question on his face even before he voiced it. “He can’t eat. Why does he get a plate?”

“We always set a place for a spirit under this roof,” Miriam replied. “That tradition is older than me.”

Nicky nodded, satisfied, and went back to his food.

“So where is this house, anyway?” Richard said, down the table. “Must be a nice place if working on it is more important than helping out your family.”

“You wouldn’t know the place,” Nate said without turning to his uncle.

Richard huffed. “Your mother has to hear from Jonah what you’re working on.”

“I’m aware.”

“It’s been years, Nate. Don’t you think it’s time to stop this rebellious phase?”

Nate set his fork down. “I’m not rebelling. I’m working.”

“Working.” Richard shook his head. “Filming your little videos for YouTube. You call that working?”

“In fact, I do.”