"They’ll find us," Nathan answered, sounding too confident. He cleared his throat and added, "Eventually."

Eric gave a hollow laugh. "That’s what my father said when I asked if he was gonna take me to a Lakers game. He said ‘eventually.’ "

"How long did it take?" Melissa asked, trying to sound upbeat.

Eric shrugged. "I gave up asking . . . eventually."

"What about that pilot person?" Taylor asked with a pout. "He could still find help. Right?"

"Yeah, eventually," Eric answered. "Which means ‘never,’ for those of you not keeping up."

Yep, the denial phase is definitely over, Jackson thought. We’re all in agreement on one thing . . . we’re in a mess.

Nathan broke the silence. "Can we talk about something less depressing?"

"Okay. I’m starving," Eric said.

Melissa peered at him and asked, "That’s not depressing?"

"Best I could do," he answered.

Grinning cheerfully, Daley walked up to them carrying a makeshift tray of little cups. "Dinner is served!" she announced.

All of them cheered and sat up in attention on the wing of the plane. "Mac and cheese. Food of the gods," she added. "Two hundred and fifty yummy calories made just the way Mom used to . . . straight from a package."

So that was it! Jackson wasn’t crazy after all. He really had smelled the stuff.