he reached the group first and took a seat in their midst , waiting as emma and peter approached-hand in hand as they crossed the lawn , tired and happy as any two survivors of a great expedition-and then he lifted his head and let out a deep , echoing bark to welcome them home. < br/ > prologue from : sent : thursday , march 7 , 2013 11:33 pm to : to : to : most everyone in town waited eagerly for memorial day , when the seasons clicked forward and the usual three-month frenzy of boaters and fishermen and honeymooners and vacationers invaded .