“Well, he was very handsome. I just was wondering.” And they all laughed.

“Like coconut,” Sarah confessed, and then opened up after another sip of her drink. “He was in date mode the minute we got to the car. He had flowers, a straw hat, and sunscreen for me!” Sarah, who was more accustomed to young men whose idea of romance was grabbing her a beer out of the cooler, was overwhelmed by Lloyd’s maturity. “His car was immaculate.”

“That says a lot about a man. My late husband’s Porsche was pristine. If you know what I mean,” Ming gushed.

They didn’t. But Sarah went on with the details, Ming added commentary, and Abigail practiced self-restraint. Normally not a fan of personal details revealed in public, she wanted to know what had happened between her daughter and this sudden suitor.

Sarah told them that first he took her to the university campus and they toured his lab. (“He’s letting you right into his world! That’s a wonderful sign!”) Then to the beach, where they swam in the Pacific, bought tacos at the beachside stand, and watched the sunset. (“Very spiritual. Water, heat, corn.”) Then they bought shrimp and fish at the market and he made her dinner at his place, a three-bedroom condo within walking distance of the beach that he’d recently remodeled. (“Ocean view! He’s a keeper.”)

And then Sarah explained away their night together in the politest terms. “We’d had some wine. So we didn’t think driving was a good idea.”

Abigail jumped in. “Very sensible. And I appreciated the text. You did the right thing.” She had no interest in hearing the nitty-gritty of what happened after the wine.

“Yes, you did the right thing,” Ming agreed with a wink and a lilt in her voice.

In the morning, they headed to the PSC, where Lloyd took to the water and Sarah ran on the beach. Afterward came the famed breakfast burritos, followed by a day at the zoo, where they held hands the whole time. “Mom, it’s not just animals. It’s the most beautiful botanical gardens, too. Imagine Connecticut, but totally different flora and fauna. You would love it.”

Abigail smiled at her daughter, for this gentle reminder of the interest they shared. They had spent so many mornings together out with the roses at Fair Harbor when she was little and through her teen years, working side by side trimming, weeding, feeding. Those were happy days. “Maybe I can get there on our visit. If not now, at the wedding for sure. It sounds like you had a very lovely date.”

“It was perfect,” Sarah said, glowing. The grown-up glow of a woman who’d met her match, not a schoolgirl with a crush.