North of Santa Cruz, the sun was setting on the Pacific Ocean. Inside Griff's beach house, while mushrooms simmered on the stove, Caydance was making a salad of mixed greens, pear slices, and roasted pecans. Outside, Griff was cooking fillet mignon on the grill. Wrapped in tinfoil, potatoes baked in the coals. Red wine, from a vineyard in the hills above Monterey, was open on the kitchen table.
Next Saturday, against the Sacramento Valley Harriers on home field Huygens would play the opening game of the season. In another two weeks, the first class of the semester would begin at art school in San Francisco.
Looking out the window at Griff -- in shorts and a venerable Raiders jersey -- Caydance remembered the day a few years ago when a walk on the beach ended at a blue-painted seaside cottage. "This reminds me of Cape Cod, where as a child I spent summers with my family," she said. "But it looks empty. Do you know the owner?"
From his pocket, Griff drew out a key ring. When he put the key in the lock, there was a satisfactory unlocking sound.