And the two people who usually couldn’t stop talking seemed suddenly out of things to say. It felt perfect. We walked back into the house, into the kitchen with the others, holding hands.

Dabney noticed immediately. “So, is this a thing now?” she asked, pointing to our hands.

We looked at each other and shrugged.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It’s always been a thing. They just wouldn’t admit it.”

I wasn’t sure that was totally true. But it didn’t matter. I had been through the dark, scary part of my fairy tale today. So it seemed fair that now I would get my Prince Charming.

Alice The Most Roundabout Way

I knew that now was my time. Julie was moving in with her mother; Grace was, in all likelihood, getting back together with Troy, Charlotte was going back home—or, who knew, maybe even back to New York. And I loved Elliott; I did. I was ready to let go of this house, but it was hard too. It held so many memories for me.

I was sitting at the kitchen island after a night of sleep so good I couldn’t believe it. I could have slept later, but, well, it was a school day, and the show must go on. Grace was making pancakes, and I was sipping orange juice. She scrunched her nose. “It’s going to be weird, isn’t it? All of us living apart?”

I nodded. “It will definitely take some getting used to. How will I manage to feed myself?”

Grace laughed, and I heard footsteps down the stairs that I recognized as Julie’s. “Good morning, beautiful niece of mine!” I sang. But when she appeared, I could tell she had been crying.

“What’s wrong?” Grace asked, pausing her mixing and pouring and flipping.

“My own mother,” she said with a little heaving sob.

When it came to her mother, there was no telling what had happened. But I had guesses. “Your own mother what?”

“She just called to ask if she could borrow five thousand dollars to get things ready for us to move in!” she said, her sadness turning to anger. “Do you know how long it took me to save five thousand dollars? And we all know she’s never going to pay me back!”

“Oh, honey,” I said. “Sit down.” She was correct. Of all the times Delia had “borrowed” money from me, my sister had paid me back precisely never. But I knew the rule: never lend money that you expect to see again.

Her face was stony. “Now I know she only wants me to move in with her because she needs my rent money.” She shook her head. “I’m not doing it. I’m financially stable now. I can afford a small place of my own. And I don’t need help with the girls.” At that, she started crying again.