She was a sweet girl, really. It had been a great idea to bring her along to the estate sale. Gemma enjoyed it, and Celeste had the satisfaction of getting to act like an aunt for the first time in far too long. Still, she was ready for things to get back to normal. She was glad she’d made the offer for Gemma to stay but, at the same time, was a little relieved she insisted on leaving tomorrow morning. The ugliness of the conversation at Liz’s Café was bad energy that she didn’t want to be around. The sooner Gemma and Elodie went back to their own lives, the sooner she could return to her own.

All around them, nocturnal insects clicked and hummed in the bushes. Something scurried nearby, and she wondered if it was one of the baby rabbits she’d seen nibbling in the grass earlier.

“So what did you two ladies get up to today?” Jack said. His tan had deepened after a day on the boat. He’d gone out to the oyster beds with Manny’s son, Marco. Lately, he seemed more interested in spending time on the water than at the store, and Marco’s nascent oyster farm seemed to tap into Jack’s nostalgia for his seafaring days. It was fine—the store was really her baby and she didn’t mind doing most of the work. But until they replaced Alvie, he might need to be more hands-on. It was a conversation for later.

“We went to an estate sale in Wellfleet,” Celeste said.

“You didn’t buy more, did you?”

“I did. Why?” She knew why: Sometimes she spent too much and they didn’t sell-through by the end of the season.

“Celeste, we have a ton of inventory. Please: No more buying until after the Fourth of July. Then we can at least see where we’re at.”

He was right. Always so maddeningly practical. She knew opposites attracted, and opposites balanced each other. But sometimes it was irritating.

“They had beautiful things,” Gemma said, clearly trying to be on Team Celeste. “I couldn’t resist buying a few pieces myself.” She went on and on about the remarkable costume jewelry selection, 1940s pieces by designer Miriam Haskell and a 1950s brooch designed by Elsa Schiaparelli.

“Well, I hope you snatched them up,” Jack said. “Not all sales are treasure troves. We’ve gone to more than our share of duds, right, hon?”

Celeste nodded. “That’s true.”

“Sadly, no,” Gemma said. “They were too expensive. But I did find some collectible pieces that I can use in my own jewelry designs and I bought those.”