“Oh, people by the sea do all sorts of bizarre things,” agreed Molly with mock solemnity. “Let’s see, besides the occasional bout of donning men’s clothing, we also happen to be a very superstitious lot. No ladies on proper ships.” She rolled her eyes as commentary on that particular practice. “Redheads especially; they’re awful bad luck. And, well, wishing someone good luck invariably guarantees its opposite. You know, if this were the sea, we’d both be in a bit of trouble as dropping stones in the ocean will certainly cause great big waves.” Molly didn’t believe this last one, but she wouldn’t try it either.
Molly cautiously decided not to speculate as to how many things Rena had dropped in her time. There wasn’t a safe answer to that. Molly tossed the remaining stones one at a time. She was glad Rena was somewhat distracted from her panic, but she wished they could make even more progress. Hoping to help, she asked, “If you see any more rocks like this – smooth and flat – could you get those too?” Rena would have to take at least another step forward to manage it. But really, what was one more step?