“Because,” Lola said, waving her arms helplessly, “they love their boat. And they seem convinced that the boat is what brought us back together. Chip must have told her we went for a ride on it, you know, the night of the show. And she knows we took a ride on the boat before he left for school. They went out to the slip yesterday to take photos. This bakery’s claim to fame is that they can make anything—and it’s all edible. No posts or supports or plastic bits. It’s one big…”

“Boat cake.”

“Right,” Lola said.

“Just like every girl dreams of,” Scarlett said.

“It’s awful. And it’s going to cost about ten thousand dollars.”

On hearing that figure, Scarlett was struck silent. Lola went through the bags, trying to calm herself down.

“This isn’t a party for me,” Lola said. “It’s a party for them to show off and make it all official. All I have to do is be gracious. I picked these clothes out, though. Now look at this. It’s for you.”

She went over to one of the garment bags and unzipped it, revealing a dress. Even at a first glance, it was clear that it was perfect for Scarlett. It was midnight blue silk, with a fitted bodice and a full skirt, with a wide swath of steel-silver silk at the waist that wrapped around and tied at the front. At the very bottom, there was a fringe of silvery-gray tulle.

“It’s very Grace Kelly. And it will be amazing with your hair. And here are the shoes…and the purse…” Lola was already fishing around in a bag, producing silver shoes and a bag. “Now, if you don’t like this, it can go back, but I think you will…or I hope you will…and I have a seamstress who can do all alterations in twenty-four hours, and you don’t even have to go anywhere, she’ll come here, but I know your size so this should fit, but…”

“It’s amazing,” Scarlett said.

“And this is to go with it,” she said, handing Scarlett a small blue jewelry box from a shop on Madison Avenue that she had passed a million times but never been in. Scarlett took the box a bit warily and opened it. Inside, there was a heart-shaped platinum necklace set with a large blue stone.

“It’s a sapphire,” Lola said. “Take it out, look at it in the light. Go on!”

The chain of the necklace was very delicate, so Scarlett carefully removed it from the small velvet bindings that kept it in place. She held the heart up to the window, allowing the light to shine through it.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Lola asked eagerly. “I thought you would love it. If you don’t, they have loads of others, but I thought…”

“How much did this cost?” Scarlett asked.