“I still have my Princess Di doll I bought with the money you gave me. She’s probably worth a fortune now. So, what are you going to do with this place?”

Sherri shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m about to talk to Jerry, see what he thinks. Speaking of—” Sherri points at the ceiling. “Is he in?”

“He just left for a doctor’s appointment. He should be back in a few hours. He looks terrible. Breaks my heart.” She pauses. “It feels so good to see you, Sher. I always thought of you as the sister I never had. I looked up to you so much. I tried to walk like you, do my makeup the way you did. You gave me your bike.”

Sherri is touched. “Honey, I was just a goof.”

“I never thought so. You were my North Star. Nobody else paid any attention to me but you and your mom. You taught me math, made me cookies, let me bang on the organ. Without you, I probably would have never left my house or made friends.”

“You’re hard to resist,” Sherri says, and she means it. She’d always had a feeling Raylee would come into her own. “Do you have a family?” She feels like Val asking that question.

“I guess so, if you count goats and chickens. My husband Dave and I, we’ve got a little farm on Carver School Road. Can you believe it? Now I’m the one in the country.”

Sherri could believe it. Raylee’s hands are muscular and weathered, and her face is ruddy from time spent outdoors. Every muscle in her body looks like it is regularly put to productive use. “I love the farm. It keeps us busy. We’re growing hemp now. It’s good business. And I shear my sheep and sell the wool on the internet. I hardly have time for yoga, but I need it. It’s my touchstone. Speaking of—” Raylee reaches for one of many stone pendants hanging from leather cords on a display stand on the information desk. “I want you to have this. It’s black obsidian, a spiritual protector.”

Before Sherri can refuse, Raylee slips it over her neck. “It looks great on you.” She beams. “Just great.”

A young woman with colorful tattoos up and down her arms walks into the studio, her mat tucked under her arm. She’s followed by a man with a long beard. Hipsters! In East Troy!

“Darn, I’ve got a class starting in a few minutes. I could talk to you all day. You haven’t even told me what you’ve been up to. Come back, OK? There’s a class tomorrow morning at eight. We could have coffee after at the café. I can have you to dinner at the farm. You can meet Dave. God, it’s just so great to see you!” Raylee squeezes Sherri hard. “You’re still so beautiful.”