“Of course,” Hanna said. “You take your time. I’ll be right back.”

Hanna hurried into the workroom. She opened one drawer, then another, and found the length of red ribbon she had put away weeks earlier.

Back in the shop, Hanna held out the ribbon. “Here, Pearl, this is for you,” she said.

Seeing the joy on Pearl’s face was by far the best moment of Hanna’s day.

“A ribbon!” Pearl exclaimed, reaching eagerly. “Will you tie it for me, miss?”

“Of course,” Hanna said. Pearl turned around, and Hanna began tying the ribbon to join the ends of Pearl’s two little braids.

A pang of yearning surprised her.

Because Mama had been sick for nearly as long as Hanna could remember, another child in the family had never been a possibility. As Hanna tightened the red bow, she realized for the first time what a sister or brother would have meant to her: someone with whom she could have shared memories of Mama.

Someone else who would have been half-and-half.

Pearl pulled one of her braids to the side so she could see the cheerful red bow. Over her head, Sam and Hanna exchanged smiles.

“I heard you graduated,” Sam said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Hanna said.

Pearl returned to her perusal of the button box. Sam beckoned Hanna surreptitiously, and they stepped a few paces away.

“I’ll be back soon, without her,” Sam whispered. “It’s her birthday next month, and I was wondering if you could make some doll clothes for her.”

“Such a lovely idea!” Hanna exclaimed. What fun it would be to design and make little doll clothes. “Bring the doll with you, if you can. Or at least measure her? And bring Pearl for a visit whenever you like.”

That bright smile of his. “I will,” he said. “It’ll be something for her to look forward to.”

Me, too, Hanna thought as she waved goodbye to them. I’ll look forward to seeing you again, Sam Baxter.

Could she learn to enjoy his company without thinking too far ahead? It now seemed possible—as if, in a single stroke, the success of the shop’s opening had altered her view of the future. She might well be in charge of the shop in the years to come, but today it seemed more than enough to know that for the next few weeks, she would be sewing.

She had been wrong earlier, when she thought that her work as a seamstress would endear her to all of LaForge. There would always be those she would never win over, no matter how many fine dresses she made.

But she realized now that she no longer needed the approval of the whole town. She had a home with Papa, work that she loved, and a few good friends.

Tea with friends is a feast for the spirit.