Of course, finding the right tchotchkes, as Earl called them, would be important. Especially since she didn’t want the Inn to look like a souvenir shop. After he left, Annie took a quick shower, dressed, and headed to the On Time ferry in her Jeep, grateful that because it wasn’t summer yet there would be room in the parking lot. Tradespeople often parked their trucks on either side and shared ferry ticket costs for vehicles; many of the workers were those who Earl and Kevin said were few and far between now, though Annie wondered if they simply lacked the funds to hire them. At least her new idea might free up a small part of the budget.

As she waited for the “little ferry,” as her friend Francine liked to call it, Annie thought about how much she missed Francine and baby Bella. But Francine had reconnected with her aunt and uncle who lived in the Midwest. They had offered Francine and Bella free room and board, and, “Get this!” Francine had cried to Annie one day late last summer. “They want to pay for me to go to college! I can major in hospitality. Maybe I can come back to the island for the season if you’ll have me—if you’ll have us, Bella and me. By the time I have my degree, The Vineyard Inn will be in demand, and I can run the whole place if you want!” Annie hoped that Francine and Bella would be able to make it at some point over the summer. A room had already been earmarked for them, no matter if they made it that year or the next. After all, Francine and Bella were special to their small island family; they would always have a home at the Inn, whether or not money was tight.

The On Time arrived; an SUV and a dump truck drove off; the captain signaled Annie to walk on. She sat on one of the long benches and closed her eyes, a jumble of have-to-do’s and want-to-do’s spinning in her mind like a child’s kaleidoscope. By the time they reached the other side, she’d resolved one thing: she’d wait to contact the artists until Donna was there. That way mother and daughter could share something more genteel than making soap.