She’d ended up essentially running, because she really, really wanted to tell Bob . . . whatever it was she was going to tell him. She could have called him, of course, or texted, but she was hoping that the time it took to find him would give her the time she needed to work out what to say. She was overwhelmed with the desire to tell him right now, before he went away and buried himself in soil additives, so to speak. What if he met someone else? What if his feelings simply faded as hers grew stronger and their diverging paths took them farther and farther apart forever?

“Hey,” she said to Maggie as she caught up to her, panting a little.

“Hi there,” said Maggie, smiling. “Do you like my giraffe? I decided to take your suggestion, and this was the biggest thing they had at the store.” She paused. “I could have ordered something bigger online, but then I wouldn’t have been able to feel it, and I think you should feel . . .” She stopped. “Sorry, you’re politely waiting for me to finish, what’s up?”

“Is Bob still here?”

“No.” Maggie shook her head. “He left a while ago. He told me to say goodbye.” She opened the front door and let the giraffe go first, sliding its hooves across the wooden floor. “Did you need him for something? I assume they’ll have phone service on the East Coast.”

“No,” said Laura. “I mean, yes, but no. I wanted to say goodbye in person.”

Maggie preceded her down the hallway, having parked the giraffe. “Did you ever get around to telling him you’re falling in love with him?”

Laura paused. “I . . . No.” She sighed. “Does everyone know about this but me?”

Maggie turned on the kettle, which Laura had come to realize was her signature move. “Well, everyone who’s ever spent longer than ten minutes with the two of you. And why not? You get along super well, you like the same things, you’re both doers, not sayers, if you know what I mean.” She leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “You like to go out and do stuff instead of simply talking about it. That’s as good a foundation for a relationship as any.”

Laura stared at her. She had never thought of it like that.

The kettle clicked and Maggie smiled. “Tea? I think I have a to-go cup somewhere.” She looked at her watch. “His flight doesn’t leave for another couple of hours, you can probably catch him if you hurry.”

“I don’t have a car,” said Laura. She blushed bright red. “And if I did, I probably couldn’t get up the nerve to drive it anyway.”

Maggie frowned. “I thought you’ve been driving Bob’s truck with him?”

Laura got even redder. “How did you know about that?”