The image almost made him smile—Anne, headed off in a tiny boat on some grand adventure, with the wind in her hair and no provisions.
His jaw locked. He grabbed another piece of treated lumber. He’d made a good life, a steady life, on solid ground. He didn’t want to leave it behind.
But he wanted more than to stare out at the fucking water.
22
Anne
The back porch of theMackinac Public Library overlooked the straits, with a view of the lighthouse. On the afternoon of the tea party, white clouds sailed in the blue, blue sky. White boats skimmed on the sparkling blue water. White Adirondack chairs dotted the lawn rolling down to a rocky beach. The sun shone, and the breeze off the lake scattered pink petals on the grass, and my heart soared like a gull on the wind.
“This is Liv,” Hailey said, grabbing a tall, fair girl by the hand and dragging her over. “She brought her sisters, too.”
I looked over their heads to the picnic table where two little blond girls sat making flower crowns with Zoe. “It’s so great to meet you,” I said.
Hailey rolled her eyes. “Don’t get weird. She thinks I need more friends,” she said to Liv. But she was smiling.
“Hey, somebody has to help us with all this food. Or we’re going to be eating leftover cookies for dinner.”
“I’d love cookies for dinner,” Liv said, and Hailey laughed.
“Cookies are the best,” I agreed. Mei-Ling and I had once made an entire dinner out of Girl Scout Thin Mints and red wine.
Although with the crowd our little party on the porch wasattracting, there might not be any leftovers. The hot July sun had brought the island out in force—library patrons browsing the stacks, summer people picking books from the sale carrel, day-trippers strolling and biking along the waterfront.
The girls wandered off to join the group around Zoe. My mother and Hailey’s mom, Nicole, hovered over the tea table, cutting cake and refilling platters of scones.
“Wonderful party,” Beverly Powell said, appearing at my elbow.
I flushed with pleasure. I guess you never got over the need to impress your favorite teacher. “Thanks, Mrs.P.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you called me Beverly?”
“I can’t. I mean, I’ll try. Thank you.”
She followed my gaze to the picnic table where Liv was balancing a daisy chain on her sister’s hair while Hailey took pictures. “Zoe told me you’ve really brought Hailey out of her shell. It’s nice to see the girls so engaged. What are they doing?”
“It’s the #GreenGablesChallenge.” Beverly looked blank. “For BookTok?”
“Ah, yes. Anne Shirley and her flower crowns.”
“I thought it would help Hailey find other Anne fans.”
“Very clever. We have story time for our youngest patrons, but we could really use more events for the upper grades. You should start a book club.”
“Oh my gosh, I would love to.”Let’s not go crazy, Hailey said in my head. “But I’m only here for the summer.”
“I didn’t realize.” She gave me a long, measuring look, as if she’d caught me reading Rainbow Rowell’sEleanor & Parkbehind the cover ofMoby Dick. Which, to be fair, she had. “How are you finding teaching in Chicago?”
I resisted the urge to squirm. “It’s fine. Not exactly what I expected, but…”
“In what way?”
“Well.” I was not blurting out my job woes to my teaching idol. “The whole Zoom thing, for starters.”
She smiled sympathetically. “Online teaching. That was an adjustment for everyone.”
“I felt really lucky to be hired at all,” I said. “Especially at Ravenscrest. I hoped…It’s a private school. Smaller class sizes. More individual instruction. Fewer restrictions, I thought.”
