The new Mystery Shack owner and his wife, Soos and Melody Ramirez, had thrown a party for the younger Pines twins, and they were having a huge party inside the house. Ford, not being that good at parties, had managed to evade Stanley and got outside.

Outside standing in the grass, he was thinking about a person he had seen in the party. They had been on the outskirts of the party, not seeming to really talk to anyone and not really seeming to have any particular purpose in being at the party in the first place. Ford didn't know who they were, but they were probably among most of the town's residents.

Ford had a glass of wine in hand and was looking up at the stars. The cool night air nipped at his exposed neck above the red turtleneck, while crickets chirped in the darkness around him. He had on a soft red turtleneck sweater, black pants, and brown muddy boots that still held traces of his earlier expedition. His glasses were cracked on one side and occasionally he pushed them back up his nose with a gloved hand.

Ford eventually caught them staring at him from the porch. After a few minutes of their gaze lingering, he looked over, knotting his brow. "Excuse me, can I help you?" He raised his glass as well as his eyebrow, the faint clink of ice in his wine glass breaking the evening silence.