We are doing a whole lot more stopping than sailing on this trip. It’s as if Uncle Dock doesn’t really want to get under way. I think there’s something funny about all this stopping. Maybe there’s something seriously wrong with this boat and only Uncle Dock knows it.
Today I asked Uncle Dock if he knew what had happened to Sophie’s parents.
“Nothing,” he said. “They’re back in Kentucky—”
“Not those parents,” I said. “Her real parents.”
“Ah,” he said.
“Do you know what happened to them?”
“Yep,” he said.
“You gonna tell me?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Not a pretty story,” he said.