Half-time teaching meant moretime at the Shack. More time to be the steady presence they needed. More time to learn the rhythms Margo had been trying to teach them all summer.
More time to actually be here, instead of always rushing somewhere else.
“You’re thinking loudly.”
Anna looked up. Stella had appeared beside her booth, laptop tucked under her arm.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t. I was taking a break anyway.” Stella slid into the seat across from her. “What’s going on? You’ve got that face.”
“What face?”
“The one where you’re doing math in your head and not liking the answer.”
“I’m liking the answer fine. That’s the problem.”
Stella raised an eyebrow—a very Tyler expression, Anna noticed. “Explain.”
So, Anna did. The email, the extended lease, the half-time possibility. The idea that had been forming, slowly, over weeks of working shifts and covering gaps and learning to be someone the Shack could count on.
“I could be the anchor,” she said, the words coming out before she’d fully decided to say them. “That’s what we’ve been missing. Margo was the anchor for fifty years—always here, always steady, always the person everyone could rely on. And when she stepped back...”
“Things got wobbly,” Stella finished.
“Things got wobbly. Because nobody steppedinto that role. We were all just... covering. Taking shifts when we could. Squeezing the Shack around our real lives instead of making it part of our real lives.”
“And you want to make it part of yours.”
Anna looked at her niece—this girl who had appeared from nowhere and somehow become essential to all of them.
“I think I already have,” she said. “I just didn’t realize it until now.”
Stella was quiet for a moment, processing. Then she smiled.
“You should talk to Meg.”
“About what?”
“About the house situation. If you’re keeping your renters, you and Bea need somewhere to live. And Meg’s been basically living at Luke’s for weeks now.” Stella shrugged. “Maybe it’s time to make it official. Both ways.”
“Both ways?”
“Meg moves in with Luke for real. You and Bea take over Meg’s place for real. Everybody stops pretending they’re in temporary situations when they’re obviously not.”
Anna stared at her. “When did you get so observant?”
“I’ve always been observant. You lot just weren’t paying attention.” Stella stood, tucking her laptop more securely under her arm. “Talk to Meg. I bet she’s beenwaiting for someone to give her permission to do what she already wants to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Stop managing everything and just be happy.” Stella headed for the door, then paused. “Also, tell her I said the pesto grilled cheese is better than the original and she should stop being modest about it.”
“I am not telling her that.”
“Your loss. It’s true.”
The door swung shut behind her.
