“What?”
“You shouldn’t wander in the woods alone. So if you want to search for Ents or just get out of the house, you know where to find me.”
“Ents?”
“Oh, Eleanor.” A lightning bug illuminated his face for a moment, making it glow. “You don’t know about Ents?”
“No,” I laughed.
“Well then, I know what we’re watching next time you’re over,” he said and lifted one shoulder casually. “Considering you like magic trees and all.”
“Okay, I’m in.”
I liked going over to the Londons’, so he didn’t need to do much to convince me. Especially if I got to visit Honey.
Which I did.
When I went over the following week to watch whatever movie he seemed certain I’d love, the beagle puppy was still there.
And she was there the next week, too, when he invited me to see the second movie (he’d been right; I loved the first one).
And when Sully and I sat on his mom’s rusty-red couch to watch the third and final film in the trilogy, Honey slept between us.
Honey never left Maple Street.
And for many years, I didn’t, either.
CHAPTER NINE
ellie
“I’VE BEEN THINKING…”
My mug of steaming hot coffee paused on the way to my lips as I looked at Anne London. She sat across from me in her kitchen’s breakfast nook, and behind her, the morning sun drifted across the lake, which was still and serene, lending me a bit of its calm.
Last week, I’d flown to Boston for Natalie’s custody trial. It had only been two days after the doctor appointment which confirmed I was pregnant, but I knew I needed to be there for my best friend. So I shoved down my nerves, put on my compression socks, anxiously pumped my feet the entire flight, and then caught a ride to the courthouse, where I’d been greeted by Anne London.
She had, of course, seen right through me. She could tell I was a nervous wreck for reasons other than the trial, and while I managed not to blurt out that I was pregnant with her grandchild, I had told her about transitioning to a remote position at work and my plan to move back to Minnesota.
Backhome.
When I’d said it aloud, my heart pounded louder at the word that I hadn’t known what to associate with for so long. What washome? It wasn’t where I lived in California, next to the tech bros on the outskirts of Silicon Valley, and it wasn’t the house my mom still lived in on Maple Street, the same one I resided in through high school.
But when I said I was movinghome, something ached in my chest.
Because also on Maple Street, there was a place that was the closest thing to home I’d ever known.
It wasn’t this house, this new lake home of Anne’s which I sat in now. But this place was still lovely, and I was grateful to be here. I felt safe here, with Anne. Which was why I hadn’t been able to say no when she offered to let me stay with her until I found an apartment to move into.
I set my mug back down, giving her my attention. I’d already taken two pretend sips, considering I hadn’t known how to tell Anne that I could no longer drink full-blown caffeine.
“Yeah?” I prompted when she still hadn’t said more, looking a little lost in her own thoughts.
Anne shook out of it, wrapped both hands around her cup of coffee, and shot me a small smile. “It’s just, I wanted to talk to you about something before you go out and put down a deposit on a new apartment. You can absolutely say no, of course, but I’m hoping you’ll at least consider.”
I gave a slow nod and tapped my fingers on the side of my mug, lightly tracing the outline of loons.
Anne loved loons. Along with this mug, she had loon-covered throw blankets and pillows and artwork on the wall. It was tastefully done, at least in this house, where I suspected she’d had some help from an interior designer, courtesy of Noah, who had bought this place for her a few years ago. The entire home had a lake theme, with serene blues and whites mixing with homey, timber accents.
