Lincoln broke into helpless giggles. “Mommy! Mommy! You look like Santy Claus!”

“Ho! Ho! Ho!”

Tears welled up in Renee’s eyes as she plopped on the wooden bench in her side yard and picked up a tiny stone bridge from the ground. It was part of Tansy’s childhood fairy garden, which Renee still tended to with such devotion, one would have thought she was caring for Versailles.

She fished around in her purse until she located her cellphone.

The phone rang four times before Tansy picked up with a breathless “Hey.” Music thumped in the background.

“What’s up?” Tansy shouted. “Whatcha need?”

“Hello to you, too.” Renee arched a brow. “I was just checking to see what you were up to.” Clearly not hitting the books.

“It’s the Final Four tonight!” Tansy’s voice muffled as she pressed her lips too close to the mic. “Um, sorry it’s sort of loud! We’re getting ready to watch the game.”

Renee flipped through her limited sports knowledge. Final Four, so that meant…

“Basketball?”

“Ding! Ding! Ding!”

Renee bit her thumbnail, an awful habit she’d carried all the way from girlhood into middle age. “Since when are you into basketball?”

“Whatever. It’s fun.” Tansy sounded a little loopy, a little too carefree. A distinctly male voice murmured in the background, right as her daughter gave a coy giggle. “Hey look, I’ve gotta run! Doing anything fun tonight?”

“You bet,” Renee lied. “Off to Bree’s. We’re…um, making Italian. Lasagna, in fact. And we’re going to check out that new Rebel Wilson movie.”

“Oh, haven’t heard of it, but sounds awesome!” Tansy accepted the fib easily, readily. “Give Aunt B a squeeze for me!”

The subsequent silence was somehow even worse than before. A caterpillar crawled near the toe of her shoe. She watched its painstaking journey with a small frown. What would it be like to encase herself in a cocoon and emerge as a beautiful, bold butterfly?

She lingered on the bench long after the caterpillar disappeared into the undergrowth, not quite sure what to do with herself. She didn’t even jump when a clap of thunder erupted in the sky. Not until the first raindrops started to hit her cheeks did she finally stir, gathering her purse to head inside her empty house, where she would eat leftover chicken pot pie and binge Netflix until it was late enough for bed.

Tansy was off tailgating. Sadie was soon to be snuggled up with her handsome husband and sweet toddler as they read one final bedtime story. Bree was undoubtedly knitting while gossiping with her bestie, Jill. And Dr. Dan was definitely sharing a bottle of red with a gorgeous, fascinating woman.

God she was lonely.

Chapter Three

Sadie sat on the edge of the bathtub and slow blinked at the double pink lines.

But…how? She was on birth control, took her pill religiously as soon as she woke up. She’d sit up in bed, set the tiny pill on her tongue, and wash it down with an entire glass of water.