For a moment Joel is distracted, watching the nymphs, but when they fall back, he pauses and then carefully gets into the canoe with Nerium. He has no idea what he expected when he came looking for her, but he can't pretend he isn't enjoying the conversation in a strange way. She understands the power he has better than most and she knows what he can and can't do. More than that, in her own way, she's very separate from the rest of the town and that's something Joel understands.

At the mention of Spencer, he smiles, genuine and unguarded. "Always," he says simply. There is no doubt that Spencer will always give him faith in a whole host of things, not only the rest of humankind. For all the horrible things people can do, there will always be Spencer. "Other than that, he's good. He quit the library, he's working at the bookstore with me now."

He pauses, watching the water for a moment before asking, "How are you?"