The whirlwind courtship of Miriam and Ben included Sadie, and she came to love Ben and was soon running to him and hugging him. Ben swung her in the air, and she laughed and laughed, her head thrown back, her eyes shining. When, after a week, Miriam and Ben told Sadie that they wanted to be married, if that was okay with her, she jumped up and down and yelled, “Yes. Yes.” Then she stopped and asked. “But where will we live?”

“We’ll buy a house on the very same street where Tyler and Melissa live,” Miriam replied.

There was no pressure to set a date for the wedding. Ben must return to Virginia, find a realtor, and put his home on the market. He must notify his clients and reassure them that he would continue to provide them with the same services they were accustomed to.

There were moments when Miriam was afraid, remembering her first experience of marriage. A chat with Hannah helped.

“It took me too many years before I opened myself to love again,” Hannah said. “I have loved two men since I fled Bill, and both were good, kind men. Ben is a good man. He’ll be good to you and Sadie.”

“Look at Miriam,” Grace said to Hannah. “She’s so happy. Remember when she arrived on our doorstep, scared to death of that dreadful ex-husband of hers? She looked so haggard. She and Ben seem so right for one another. They even fit, size-wise.”

Hannah looked at Grace. “How do you mean, size-wise?”

“You know, sometimes a tall, skinny man marries a tiny woman, and they never seem to, well, fit right. I always think, if he wants to kiss her he’s got to bend over like a pretzel.”

“Sometimes you have a weird way of thinking,” Hannah replied. Her eyes grew serious. “Grace, on another subject, I’m concerned about Sarina. She’s happy for Miriam, of course, but it’s got to be tough. So much is happening so fast, before she’s had a chance to come to terms with her own situation. It’s like a seesaw: one young woman’s joyful and celebrating life, the other is devastated, with hardly the energy to get about.”

“Sarina will come out of this stronger and with a new direction. I have high hopes for that young woman,” Grace said. “She sees a lot of Denny, don’t you think? I mean, other than her counseling sessions.”

“Don’t start that again. It’s enough we have that gossip, Alma, going about with stories. Unfortunately, she happened out of her house the moment Sarina ran into Denny. Alma saw them together on the grass and gave it her own narrow-minded interpretation.”

“I’ve explained what really happened to the women at the beauty parlor and anyone who actually asks me about it. You know how rumors spread faster than fire,” Grace said.