Grace scrunched her nose. “I am sadly, pathetically, awfully hung up on my not-quite-ex. I can’t move on from him, and I know I should be able to, but there’s this part of me that clings to the shred of hope that he was having a midlife crisis, he’ll come to his senses, and I’ll get my family back. So, if a man so much as smiles in my general direction, I practically snarl at him.”

I laughed, and Alice said, “She’s not kidding.”

“What about you, Jules?”

“Oh, after Houston, what man could possibly live up to my expectations?” she asked dryly.

“So that thing on Juniper Shores Socialite about you getting back together with him…” I started.

She groaned. “Totally, completely false.” She paused. “But, seriously, I think I’d like to find someone, but I don’t have time to date.”

“We would all chip in more with the girls!” I said. They were adorable, and the more Iris’s social life and activities took over, the less time I got with her.

Julie shook her head. “No, no. You guys are rock stars. I think, deep down, I just can’t imagine someone taking me on with these three tiny children.”

“That is an awful thing to say!” Grace said. “You are a catch! Any man would be lucky to snap you up.”

Alice and I nodded in agreement.

“Nice cheerleading,” Julie said, “but I think we know that this presents a lot of added challenges. So, unless someone falls into my lap, I am ignoring that part of my life.”

There was such a lightness about now, despite the heaviness of some of our circumstances. Maybe it was the constant, soothing rhythm of the tide rolling in and out. Maybe it was the gentle noise of cicadas humming and grasshoppers singing, the way it always made me feel so at peace.

The sound of the porch doorknob turning silenced us all. My beautiful girl walked through the door.

“Hi, sweetheart!” I said, pulling her onto my lap.

“Hi, Mama,” she said.

I kissed her cheek. “How was soccer?”

“It was good.”

“Did you spy for me?” Grace asked. “Did Merit really sit out at football?”

She nodded. “He did. I walked down there with him and made Coach promise me that he wouldn’t let him play.”

I squeezed her to me.

“What a good little mother you are,” Grace said.

“Now that I have you…” I said, deciding to bring up something I had noticed a few days ago but hadn’t gotten around to mentioning. “How exactly, might I ask, did you manage to get the clothes and shoes you’ve been casually pulling out and hoping I won’t notice?”

Iris made her telltale face, the one she makes when she’s considering whether she’s going to lie or tell the truth.

“Iris…” I said. “I will know if you’re lying.”