“Mama?” Lily’s voice was clearer now, and Sarah assumed she had just entered the bedroom.
“Lily, love, what are you doing here?”
The strain in Beth’s tone was audible, and Sarah couldn’t help but bury her head in her hands. Beth had never been good at lying, especially under pressure.
“Did you see my text? Dylan and I decided to do a yoga class at the lavender farm…” Her voice trailed off, and Sarah held her breath as she pressed her hands to the door, listening.
“I missed your text, love. I was in the shower,” Beth explained, her voice far too high and airy for the situation.
Another pause before Lily spoke again. “You’re being really weird right now.”
“No, I’m not.”
Sarah grimaced at Beth’s quick response, which did nothing for her argument.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked skeptically. Another pause. “Oh my god. Oh my god!” Embarrassment laced Lily’s words as she asked, “Do you have—is someone over here—you know, like, with you?”
Sarah pressed her hand to her mouth, holding back her laughter as she clearly imagined the look of shock that was likely painted across Lily’s face at the moment, made only funnier by the thought of how red Beth must be right now.
“Yes, Lily. I have someone over. Is that so hard to believe? You weren’t supposed to be here at all today. You were supposedto be at Dylan’s all weekend before going to your mom’s,” Beth said, surprisingly calmly for her, given the unexpected nature of this conversation.
“So no to yoga then?” There was a cockiness to Lily’s question that Sarah recognized because they shared it.
“No yoga today.”
Another pause before Lily’s voice came out, quieter this time. “I’m really happy for you, Mama,” preceded the sound of her footsteps retreating down the stairs.
A moment later, the sound of the front door opening and closing was followed by a car engine coming to life in the driveway.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Beth slid back into the room.
“Do you notice she’s really been testing that not being where she says she’s going to be boundary a lot more these days?” Sarah asked, biting back her smile at the look of panic mixed with horror still present on Beth’s face.
“Her timing has always been impeccable.” Beth grinned. “How do you think she’s going to take the news when I tell her that you’re the someone who was hiding in the bathroom?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, I think we’ve earned the right to hang out in our bliss bubble a bit longer. What do you think?”
“Bliss bubble sounds pretty good right now,” Beth agreed.
SIXTEEN
LILY
APRIL
The weather was a tease this time of year, notorious for gracing the people of the PNW with one week of blissfully sunny weather when everyone seemed to prioritize standing outside for a few minutes to feel the sun on their skin, which was exactly what Lily was doing as she waited for Wren. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the way the air smelled alive as everything slowly came back to life following the winter reset.
Lily squinted, the sound of squeaking brakes pulling her attention. The bus rolled to a stop, Wren already waving excitedly behind the closed doors.
“Hiiii!” Wren exclaimed as Lily joined her on the crowded bus—standing room only, apparently. Luckily, they only had three more stops to go.
“Happy birthday!” Lily said excitedly.
“Thanks! The big two-one!” Wren grinned.
The bus jostled and lurched forward, nearly taking Lily with it as she lost her balance momentarily before Wren caught her, wrapping a protective arm around her that Lily sank into.
“If you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask,” Wren teased.
