Edna had barely slept more than three hours a night since Beth Ann and Carol had arrived at the Seaside Resort. It had never been her intention that the two would ever be here at the same time. In fact, she’d never thought she’d see Carol again. But when Carol had written and asked for a summer job, she couldn’t keep herself from saying yes, even though she’d be here during Beth Ann’s two weeks.

Since Carol had arrived, they hadn’t hugged or really said much to each other beyond what was necessary, but just having her close, even for a short time, confirmed in Edna’s mind that she had done right by the girl.

Beth Ann, on the other hand, was a worry. She’d been the prettier of the two girls from the day they were born. But she was small boned and delicate, and for the first three days of her life when they’d been together, she’d cried constantly.

When Beth Ann had shown up on her doorstep thirteen years ago, looking for summer work, Edna had been nervous and excited all in one instant. She’d told Jake who the girl was, and he’d suggested she hire her for the summer. “You deserve to know her,” he’d whispered in her ear while they’d lain in bed. “Have you talked to her about who you are?”

“I don’t have the words to do it,” she said softly.

Her Beth Ann had become Ann by then, and she seemed happy to be working as a waitress. She loved the sun, the beach, and the steady stream of new faces coming in and out of the hotel.

Henry, on leave from the navy, drove down from Norfolk and flirted with Ann, who answered all his compliments with a smile. The two talked a lot, but Edna never saw anything to cause her worry.

Then Peter Manchester and his family arrived in early June of 1937. He was vacationing with his family, and Edna heard Ann tell Peter she was an orphan and then watched with growing worry how the two grew close. As he and his family were leaving, they promised to write and keep in touch.

And then the summer ended, and her girl left for a typist job in Elizabeth City. They wrote once or twice, but neither spoke about their own relationship or the baby. She learned about it the day Ann showed up at the Seaside Resort near New Year’s, shrugged off her jacket, peeled back her girdle, and revealed her rounded belly.