“You’ve let him control your life in other ways. You’re doing it right now, all over again,” said Bree. “You just said it yourself—you’re watching these home movies to try and see how you were a bad wife. And you simply weren’t. You were an awesome partner, a wonderful wife. And as for your life being happy and content before Russell up and left you—do you honestly believe that was true?”

Renee thought of the weeks, the months, really, before Russell left. She remembered the quiet nights after Tansy had gone to bed, when her husband would veg with sports while she read a book or baked. She thought of the awkward twenty minutes they spent at the dinner table each evening, Tansy their sole source of conversation, and the strained arguments about Russell’s desire to leave Cranberry Cove. Most of all, she thought of her mother’s heartbreaking reaction to their engagement: “Are you sure about this?”

No, her marriage to Russell had been challenging from the start. But she would never regret it because of the beautiful, messy, perfect miracle of Tansy.

“Russell leaving was a blessing,” Bree said quietly. “I know it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, but my God, Renee. It showed you how strong you are. You never give yourself enough credit for that. And now that your pie shop is coming together and Dan has entered your life, I think it’s the universe’s way of rewarding you. You deserve this. You deserve all of this.”

Renee hugged her tight. “Thank you,” she said. “I needed to hear that.”

They found a Mary Tyler Moore rerun on TV, and both sisters settled deeper into the couch. They tried to ignore the elephant in the room, that big fat ugly elephant.

“Are you scared for the biopsy?” Renee finally asked.

“Terrified.” Bree kept her eyes on the TV, avoiding Renee’s stare at all costs.

“But we could find out it’s all okay.”

Bree swallowed. “We could also find out it’s not.”

“I know.”

“Yeah.”

They pretended to watch TV for an hour longer, though both were preoccupied with the impending future.

“What’s your happiest memory?” Bree asked Renee, taking her sister’s hand.

“Tansy’s birth,” Renee answered automatically. But inside she was thinking about the night of the hurricane. It was blossoming in her chest as a treasure, a shining gem to hold on to forever. “What about you, sis?”

“Being your sister has been pretty amazing,” Bree said and Renee felt tears spring to her eyes.

“You’re going to be okay. I just know it,” she declared fiercely. “I need to make many happy memories with you for years to come.”

“I guess we should go to bed,” Bree reluctantly suggested.

“I have melatonin tablets in the medicine cabinet.” Renee nodded her head toward the bathroom.

“Those never work for me.”