Passionate thanks to my talented and wondrous writer friend Robin MacArthur for reading and commiserating, and all that help with the bad list. Thank you to Ann Cardinal for daily pep talks and for inspiring me with your unrivaled work ethic; so glad we could write our predawn, naptime, lunch-break novels together, my writing sister. Thanks to Dan Torday, who I call almost daily with questions, who always has an answer and who works so hard he makes me want to work harder. My friends, I’m a better person because of you, and this book certainly couldn’t have been written without your help.

Thanks to the Fournier and Hodgson clans, especially Dot and Bernie, Bub and Meg, Aaron, Darcy, Lucy and Rebecca. Thank you a million times over to my family, who fostered my love of art, filled my life with books, built me a writing shed on Oyster Pond and encouraged all my ambitions: Mom and Tom, Mary Jo and Peter, Dad, Auntie Ann and Aunt Mollyann—and Grandma Mary, who said, “Hitch your wagon to a star.” So I tried to. Thanks to Teddy and River for their endless curiosity and love of a good story. Thanks to Lily, who once when she was little gave me a (step)Mother’s Day card that said, “I love you like a magisine loves its edidor.” And finally, thank you, Jeff, for your patience and hard work, for believing in me, believing in us. But mostly, thank you for defying expectations and breaking the rules. This book is actually a love story, and it’s for you.