There were a few things for Paul to note after those exchanges: One, he was really glad another girl would be coming along to even out the boy-girl ratio. Two, Paul was slightly embarrassed for having assumed Mélanie was French (her joke about being his Jeanne d'Arc, though it got a humorous chuckle out of him, did not help his confusion), though he was glad for not saying such assumptions out loud. And three, it appeared that the group would already be splitting up, if only for a short time, so that the second girl who was invited (Paul hadn't caught her name yet unfortunately) could come by to the cabin later with some company.

"Well, I guess we should finally get going then," Paul told the other two that were still there. He turned to Dominic, and asked, "You mind giving us a ride, big guy? If there's really bears in these woods and along the path, then I'd kinda rather be in the safety of a car than be walking down the road."