“Well, not exactly,” said Dad. “This isn’t a pity party. And it’s not even just about one person. It’s about feeling bad that someone we love can’t be here. Yes, we all feel bad about that. And we feel bad that you’re missing Mom. But that’s compassion. It’s different from just feeling sorry for you. When you’re in a family and someone is struggling or feeling bad, your family does everything they can to try to make it better. That’s really what this party is about.”

“Well, now I feel bad that I just made a scene,” I said. “I’m really sorry.”

“You didn’t make a scene,” said Dad. “If you want to do that, just drop a full tray at lunch like your cousin Lily.”

I giggled. “Daaaad!”

“I know,” said Dad. “It’s not nice. And Lily is so kind, so it’s especially not nice. But speaking of being nice, you should apologize to Kelsey.”

“Why would I apologize to her?” I asked. “She made me feel awful!”

“She didn’t mean to,” said Dad. “You have to understand that no one has ever really dealt with something like this before in our family. There’s no guidebook to say, ‘When someone feels like this, you should do that.’ People are trying and doing the best they can. Your cousin Kelsey did a lot of the organizing for the party, and she’s the one who helped Mimi choose the dresses. She’s been working on this for the past month. She really wants it to be a special day for you.”

“She has?” I asked.

Dad nodded. “She managed to keep that a secret, which is a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Especially in this family.”

Dad laughed. “You’re right. You can’t hide anything in this family, that’s for sure. Speaking of hiding, what do you say we get back to work before Grandpa sends out a search party for us?”

I sighed. It was nice just sitting outside.

Dad reached over and pushed my hair off my face. “You okay?”

I nodded and stood up.

When we went back inside, Nans looked up from where she was in the kitchen. I saw Dad nod to her and she nodded back. She didn’t say anything, but she watched me walk to the floor. I passed Jenna, who blew me a kiss. Lily tugged on my apron bow as she passed by.

I looked at Grandpa, who was reading something at the podium. He wiggled his finger at me, and I thought he was going to give me the business for leaving the counter. Instead he gave me a giant hug.

“Remember how loved you are,” he whispered. Then he went back to reading. “And now get back to work!” he said, without looking up.

Kelsey was reaching for a glazed donut when I got to the counter.