Page 18 of Easton Island

“I bet.” Morgan started to wheel it toward the door.

Tristan stopped her. “I have to get something.” He darted over to a counter, grabbed a jug filled with water, and set it on the cart.

“This is everything.” He hummed under his breath, pushing the cart over the threshold and into the grass. “We can put it here.”

“I can’t wait to see it erupt.” Morgan rubbed her palms together.

“It’s not gonna blow like it did in my room.” Tristan told his aunt that he and Brett had tweaked the recipe. “It's only gonna gurgle and blub, blub.”

Morgan giggled. “Gurgling and blub-blubbing sounds intriguing.”

After adjusting the volcano, making sure it was perfectly centered, Tristan unscrewed the cap on the jug and carefully poured water into the top. “It takes a minute to erupt.”

Morgan stood at his side, eagerly awaiting the lava flow. As if by magic, black and red “lava” oozed out of the crater and ran down the sides. The oozing continued for a minute before slowing to a trickle.

“Do you want to see more?”

“Sure.”

Her nephew added more water. It oozed again, this time flowing within inches of the figurines.

“Good job.” Morgan clapped loudly. “I hope you get an A+++ for your project.”

“Me too.” Tristan poured water along the sides and base to rinse it off.

“Do you need to fill it with…volcano stuff?”

“Nope. Me ‘n Brett put a lot in there.” The boy, with Morgan’s assistance, wheeled his volcano back into the garage.

A dull thud echoed from somewhere near the overhead door. Brett appeared. “I heard Tristan was showing you his volcano. Cool, huh?”

“Very cool. I hope he wins an award for it,” Morgan said. “Do you need me to drive him to school in the morning?”

“I appreciate the offer. I was thinking it might fit better in the back of your SUV as opposed to the trunk of my car.”

Tristan tugged on her hand. “Will you come to the science fair, Aunt Morgan?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Plus Mrs. Arnsby and Ben,” Tristan said. “And Great-Grandmother.”

“We’ll bring the whole gang,” Brett said. “I’m not sure if Great-Grandmother will make it.”

“It’s okay. I know she’s busy.”

Back inside, Morgan went in search of her grandmother. She found Elizabeth and Prissy in the library, seated in front of the fireplace and talking in low voices.

Elizabeth noticed her first. “Hello, Morgan. I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

“I dropped Tristan off from school and checked out his volcano for tomorrow’s science fair.”

“Mrs. Arnsby claims we had lava all over his room.”

“You’ll be happy to know it’s been relocated to the garage.”

She leaned forward, a look of alarm on her face. “Near the cars?”

“On the other side, far away from any vehicles. According to Tristan, he and Brett toned it down. Having seen it firsthand, I can confirm it’s no longer spewing lava everywhere.” Morgan patted Prissy’s shoulder. “Are you settling in?”