"Above bees," Mathias repeats, as if he's committing this to memory for future reference, then smiles easily. It still feels strange, now and then, how easy his smiles come when he's around her. The last time things have been this simple, even though his nerves, had been with Ilyse and he barely even remembers the time when things had been good with her.

Letting go of Veronica's hand, Mathias spreads the blanket on the ground and sets the basket down beside it. "I truly hope you're not expecting gourmet," he says. "In fact, I'm not entirely sure the sandwich meat isn't dinosaur."