Lucy nods very solemnly. "They do 'match.' Good eye, captain."

She pokes him again, then retreats, looking away to the water again. Dustin didn't respond to half of what was said, which means she shouldn't supply anything more important. It's a good and faultless excuse, yet another moment in ten thousand similar moments: Lucy's tendency to use imperceptible cues, tiny, tiny feelings, to excuse herself from doing things that are difficult. They form a beautiful lens for framing past acts (and non-acts) in justification. It always looks enough like genuine instinct, not emotional self-harm.

"I think," she offers, watching tiny waves peak and crest, "you look fine anyway."