“It’s all diabolical,” Caroline chirped. “And I love it. I’m in.”
Ginny chuckled and buried her head in her mom’s lap, taking comfort in the feel of her Mama’s fingers running through her hair and her sisters planning ways to make Ryan at least minimally uncomfortable. She knew they wouldn’t go through with it but loved their wily plans just the same.
Ginny had successfully evaded her family, and Ryan, by not attending church service the morning after the best kiss of herlife—and her biggest heartbreak to date. She'd been sick with embarrassment and opted instead to spend the morning at home. Before calling Sadie like she wanted or rushing to For the Record as she was prone to during hard moments, Ginny prayed.
She prayed, cried, worshiped, and ate her weight in pralines all on her own. She took comfort in the Word and specifically the verse she’d shared with Melody Man:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
And only then did she let herself call Sadie and confess the whole sordid tale over FaceTime. A call where Dakota, not unlike their sisters now, threatened to drive up from Florida and start a cake fight to defend her honor.
That same afternoon, at Sadie’s urging, Ginny marched into the record store and left a note for Melody Man. She was going to meet him. She felt rash and emotional, but also fully assured by her friend that meeting Melody Man didn’t mean she was pursuing a romanticanythingwith him. She was just opening herself up to more. More to someone who clearly showed interest in her. Or, as Sadie so lovingly referred to him, someone who wasn’tanemotional dumpster fire.
It’d felt cathartic and exciting to leave that note and to receive his reply and friendship bracelet the next day, but that had only momentarily eased the bruising on her pride from the weekend before.
She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, turning over to stare at the rafters on the ceiling. “I’ll probably just send him a glitter bomb and call it a day.”
“That might be for the best, Baby Girl,” her mama said, rubbing her thumbs over her cheeks. “It must have been some kiss.”
Ginny groaned. “It really, really was.”
“And you don’t think,” she continued, still delicately soothing Ginny with her touch and wisdom, “that maybe you jumping on the man’s face had anything to do with how squirrely he got after?”
“No way!” Caroline argued. “Kiss and runs have no excuse!”
Georgia took a sip of her tea and leaned back with her feet on the table. “Unless they have an underlying heart issue that makes them feel as if they aren’t worthy of your love or maybe they’ve been hurt in the past and are scared they might get hurt again or—”
Caroline chucked a pillow at her. “Alright, alright. I get it. Not every kiss and run is equal…”
Joan Remillard, with a single, piercing, silent stare down, hushed her eldest daughters and brought them all to attention—a seasoned veteran of motherhood. “Listen up, Sugar Plum,” she said, tapping Ginny’s forehead with her index finger.
“Ow!” Ginny whined and rubbed the tender spot.
“We have known that man for too many years to let one bad call discredit him completely. Was it a terrible, awful thing he did? Yes. But, would you do it again? Kiss him good, out in the yard…”
Ginny chuckled, resigned. “Yes.” And she would. Even if it all turned out the same, she wouldn’t give up playing that miniature version of Seven Minutes in Heaven with Ryan for anything.
“And more importantly, are you seeking out the Lord’s wisdom in all circumstances? Lining up the desires of your heart with His?”
“I’m trying to,” she answered honestly. “But where do I go from here? I feel so silly. I thought… Ryan’s given me so many indications that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way, and now I don’t know where that leaves us. I mean, I seriously mauled him with my mouth, y’all. We’re talking a mind-blowin’, life-changing, ruin-me kiss. If we’d been in a regency era romance,he would have had to duel Dakota or marry me. Period. It was gooood.”
“Spare us the details, Gin. I don’t wanna think about Ryan kissin’ anyone into oblivion, much less my little sister.” Caroline blanched and gagged, but offered Ginny a knowing grin.
“Yeah… objectifying our very good friend is creepy and inappropriate,” Georgia parroted, using Ginny’s own words against her, but winking at her playfully as she did so.
“Well I, for one, adore that boy and, of course, I love my girl here,” their mama said, pushing Ginny into an upright position and grabbing her chin. “But I’m gonna give ya three truths, and ya better listen good, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she answered, cheeks smushed by her mother’s fingers.
“Number one. I don’t ever wanna hear that you skipped a worship service to avoid an uncomfortable situation again. Ya need fellowship. One of the greatest lies the enemy will tell you is that you’re alone in this world. And you, Virginia Maple, are not alone. Not a bit.” She kissed her nose and continued. “Number two. There’s a clear call on the believer for forgiveness. There’s a time for friendship. And always, always grace. You need to pray, sweetheart, about which of those things the Lord would have you offer Ryan.”
“And the third thing?” Ginny asked.
Her mama’s light brown eyes, so much like her own, glistened with mischief. “I think the glitter bomb is the only way to go. He’ll never see it comin’.”
Ginny spent the remainder of the week finalizing details on the Bicentennial designs and coordinating with Lake on the town-wide voting set to take place at the Celebration kickoff that weekend. Georgia had sent her on various errands to help with festival prep: ensuring local businesses were prepared and ready for the big day, picking up the official flag football team uniforms, and enjoying one babysitting gig where Davey spent the evening cuddled up in Ginny’s lap drinking hot cocoa, eating as many marshmallows as she could hold in her precious cheeks, and choosing the same three books to be read over and over again, with Ginny doingall the voiceseach and every time.
It’d felt sweet to be a part of her sister’s team. To feel a sense of purpose and pride with the responsibilities Georgia had given so freely.
