Being only a little girl ought to make her attention span shorter, but maybe it's all different when she's in a seal shape. Nor can Greta easily begrudge her a swim she plans to return from in the first place. It's so much better than the alternative. But the alternative is starting to loom large in her thoughts in spite of herself, and she can't manage more than a brief, preoccupied smile when Thomas helps her to her feet.

He's probably right. It's probably fine.

Sadie and Cu both tag along as they head to the water, though Greta manages to catch Sadie's leash before she actually wades in (having to give Cu a bath is more than enough). Cu bounds into the surf, though, barking at the waves. Greta hesitates to just start calling Saoirse's name -- that might alert other bathers, and the next thing you know they'll be forming a human chain and trying to dredge up something that isn't there -- but Cu's barks must carry. Doesn't sound carry better through water, anyway? Saoirse ought to hear him.

But if she does, she doesn't resurface. Greta squints out at the water, her arms tightly folded, as if to ward off a chill. "I don't see her," she says. "Do you?"