Chapters (75)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- About the Author
- Dedication
- Quote
- Prologue
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- Part Two
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- Part Three
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- Part Four
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- Part Five
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- Part Six
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- Part Seven
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- Part Eight
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- Part Nine
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- Part Ten
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- Part Eleven
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- Part Twelve
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- Part Thirteen
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- AUTHOR NOTE
- Reader’s Guide
- Questions for Discussion
- The Heirloom Garden
- Abby
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t want any part of this, and I certainly don’t want to hurt you.”
“What’s this all about?”
Cissy turns toward the water, sighs and then turns back to me. “Trey says Nate misses you.”
“He what?” I ask, my voice suddenly bellowing over the roar of the lake, loud enough to cause guests to look at us. “What about Fuschia?”
“I think they didn’t work out,” she says, adding with an eye roll, “Shocker. According to Trey, Nate wonders if he made the right decision. Between us? I think he’s kicking himself, and he wanted us to gauge if you were truly happy.”
I turn toward the lake, and it suddenly begins to spin.
Did I give up on our marriage too soon? No, I think. He gave up on me, though.
I feel dizzy, and I think of Evan. What does this even mean? Would he be better off with his parents back together?
“Whoooop!”
I turn and see Steve running toward the water, shucking his coat and gloves as he does. He runs directly into the lake, screaming, and dives in, headfirst.
“What’s going on?” I yell.
He emerges, his face blue, his lips trembling. “I’ve always wanted to do that!” he says, shaking his arms. “Polar bear plunge!”
“Are you crazy?” Steve’s wife says, bringing him his coat and gloves. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No,” he says, laughing and turning to the group. “When did we lose our sense of adventure? When did we stop being kids?”
Steve looks at me and says as his teeth chatter, “What rule of the summer cottage is that, Adie Lou? Go jump in the lake?”
“Number 10,” I say.
All of a sudden, my eyes well with tears.
“Are you okay?” Steve asks.
Before I can answer, Mildred kicks off her shoes, rolls up her pants and takes a few clumsy steps into the water. “It’s cold!” she yells.
“Mildred,” Mark says, approaching the water. “Get out of there. You’ll catch your death of cold.”
“Nonsense,” Mildred says with a yelp, before leaning down and splashing her husband with water. She wades out of the lake and calls to me, “Time I have a little fun, right?”
I nod, seeing Mildred—like I now do Iris—in a completely different light. And then I think of what Evan’s teacher had told me.
I didn’t give in to the 10 percent, I think, a smile emerging. These guests have honed in my joy rather than my negativity and stress.
I turn to Cissy. “I made the right decision,” I say. “I love my new life.”
I stop and look at Steve and Mildred, who are giggling like children.
“You can tell Nate to go jump in a lake,” I continue. “He never did.”
Part Eleven
Rule #11:
Build a Sandcastle
THIRTY-NINE
June
“Fantasma! Fantasma!”