Anne smiled wide when she realized her friend loved doing the same kind of game. Whatever unease she had felt before, it almost visibly fell off of her. Once again, Mable seemed full of excitement and said and asked more than Anne could respond to. "I would love to play it together sometime! Mont Blanc is a mountain in the Alps, the highest mountain of Europe. It would be an adventure to climb it, wouldn't -"

She was distracted by a wave crashing onto the beach particularly loudly and a sudden fierce wind that nearly made her lose her balance. She dropped her basket from fright and looked out across the water. She brought her hands up to her chest like a silent prayer.

Anne wanted to play with her!  Mable could jump with excitement, especially as Anne continued to talk about mountains.  That was something Mable was familiar with, if just as scenery, and was about to say when a wave crashed into the beach.

The sound of it made Mable flinch, and she did again when Anne dropped her basket.  "Oh!" she couldn't help exclaiming as the driftwood spilled out.

"That was terrifying," she said, just to herself.  Her arm unlinked with Anne's and she leaned down to collect the wood, looking back up at Anne when she had a few in her arms.

"Are you alright, Anne?  I thought the weather should have been getting better, but the ocean might not agree."

Anne was pulled out of her anxious visions when Mable spoke. She stared at the wood in the girl's arms bewildered. "What? Oh... aye..." She reached out to grab the girl's arm for emotional support. "Me father and brother are out there. It terrifies me when they go out in bad weather."

Mable was shocked by what Anne told her.  "Out - on the ocean, you mean?  In a ship?"  With the wind so strong and the waves so high?  No wonder her friend was worried.

"But why would they do that?  I mean... I'm sure they'll be alright, Anne, but isn't it dangerous?  Why not wait until tomorrow?"

Anne looked out across the water. "It wasn't so bad this morning..." said Anne miserably. It hadn't seemed too bad anymore in the morning the day Tom drowned, a cruel voice in her head reminded her. She turned back to her friend. "A lost day is lost pay."

Behind Anne, out on the water, little dots came into view, white against the dark sea. They grew into little boats that ran for the safety of the Whitby harbour.

Mable watched the ocean, squinting as little boats grew bigger and bigger.  Which one of them was Anne's father and brother on, she wondered.  They would be coming back with the rest of these ships, too, surely.

"I see," she said, but she was frowning.  Wasn't the loss of life much worse than the loss of a day's pay?  Mable patted Anne's hand where it rested on her arm.

"Well, like I said, I'm sure they'll be alright.  Is one of those ships theirs?  Maybe they're on their way back right now, and they'll come and say, 'well Anne!  That ocean is very busy, but nothing we can't handle.  Let's treat ourselves to some candy and dance our way home!'  Won't that be nice?  Would you like to wait for them closer to the piers?"

Anne turned. The sight delighted her, though she knew those boats were not yet out of danger. "Oh! Oh yes, it must be! Come on!" She began to run in the direction of the pier, but stopped after a few steps, when she realized Mable was carrying the wood and she had forgotten the basket. She turned. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me carry that! I forgot!"

Mable shook her head with a wide grin.  Anne was so excited, and she could understand why!

"You've been carrying it all day, let me have a turn!"  Mable adjusted her grip on the handle, setting it in her elbow.  "That way, you'll be able to wave properly to your brother and father from the pier.  Let's go, Anne, let's go!"

Anne wanted to hug Mable in that moment. There was so little kindness in her life these days, and she felt like since Alice had left and she wasn't allowed to speak to Mrs. Blacke anymore, there was no one who looked after her. Since the girl was holding the basket in her arms, Anne gave her a watery smile instead. "Thank you."

She made her way to the pier as fast as she felt Mable could keep up with the basket. By the time they had made it up the slipway and to the far end of the pier, the boats were close enough to get a proper view. There were three of them and one of them was the one carrying her father and brother. The sails had been lowered and the oars were out. The boats were bobbing up and down on the violent waters, but they were not moving forwards. They were waiting for a surge to carry them over the bar safely. Anne knew these waters were often more dangerous than the ones further out, and that the boats were not out of danger yet, especially in this weather. "They have to wait for a wave that doesn't break," she explained nervously.

By the time she and Anne made it to the piers, the boats were close, and much bigger than dots on the horizon, but they were not getting bigger as the girls watched them.  Mable's confusion must have shown on her face, but it did not disappear with Anne's explanation.

"But they have oars, don't they?"  Mable could see them from here.  Or, she thought she could, but she might also be wrong.  "And how does a wave break anyway?  Water can't break, can it?"

If it could, it was not surprising that Mable didn't know.  Her schooling was not normal, she knew.  But she didn't have time to think about that now!

"Waves are plenty right now, Anne, I'm sure one will come along to bring them home.  All the way to the pier, even!  Do you think they can see us from here?  Should we wave?"