We returned to the dining room separately, where our son was waiting for two people to help with a problem small enough to fix.

PART 8 — What Could Wait Until Monday

By early afternoon, the work guests were leaving.

Ethan thanked them at the door.

A few were visibly uncomfortable; most behaved with ordinary kindness.

One woman told Noah she hoped the castle survived the rest of the day.

He said it needed engineering, a word he had recently learned and intended to use often.

Nobody announced that Ethan’s business was ruined.