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Back The Summer Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. About the Author
  6. Dedication
  7. Quote
  8. Prologue
  9. Part One
  10. ONE
  11. TWO
  12. THREE
  13. Part Two
  14. FOUR
  15. FIVE
  16. SIX
  17. Part Three
  18. SEVEN
  19. EIGHT
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. Part Four
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. THIRTEEN
  26. Part Five
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. FIFTEEN
  29. SIXTEEN
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. Part Six
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. TWENTY-ONE
  36. Part Seven
  37. TWENTY-TWO
  38. TWENTY-THREE
  39. TWENTY-FOUR
  40. TWENTY-FIVE
  41. Part Eight
  42. TWENTY-SIX
  43. TWENTY-SEVEN
  44. TWENTY-EIGHT
  45. TWENTY-NINE
  46. Part Nine
  47. THIRTY
  48. THIRTY-ONE
  49. THIRTY-TWO
  50. THIRTY-THREE
  51. THIRTY-FOUR
  52. Part Ten
  53. THIRTY-FIVE
  54. THIRTY-SIX
  55. THIRTY-SEVEN
  56. THIRTY-EIGHT
  57. Part Eleven
  58. THIRTY-NINE
  59. FORTY
  60. FORTY-ONE
  61. Part Twelve
  62. FORTY-TWO
  63. FORTY-THREE
  64. FORTY-FOUR
  65. Part Thirteen
  66. FORTY-FIVE
  67. FORTY-SIX
  68. FORTY-SEVEN
  69. EPILOGUE
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. AUTHOR NOTE
  72. Reader’s Guide
  73. Questions for Discussion
  74. The Heirloom Garden
  75. Abby

Goose bumps. Again. “I can’t believe you remember watching those old shows with your grampa,” I say. “I can’t believe you remember all of the things he used to say.”

There is silence for a moment before Evan says, “Isn’t it better to remember the good things than the bad? Say good-night, Gracie.”

“Good night, Gracie.”

I put the cell back in my pocket, put my mom’s book back on the shelf and walk over to retrieve the pills the vet gave me for Sonny from my coat pocket. I make him an early dinner, hiding his pills in his food, take him back out for another potty and then head upstairs, where I take a long, hot shower. I pull on some comfy pj’s and pull out the diffuser I still have stashed in a recyclable grocery bag on the floor. I fill it with water, plop in a few drops of lavender and clary sage for relaxation and peaceful sleep, and then choose a soothing blue color, a small ring of light that encircles the diffuser and radiates color like an orb.

Though the day is gray, the white of the snow makes it bright, so I close the curtains tightly. The room is dark but glows in glacial blue.

Instant midnight, I think. My way.

I turn on the electric blanket I found, pull the covers back and crawl into bed, Sonny following. For a moment, I feel incredible guilt.

I haven’t done this since I was a girl. I remember my life before: rushing to meetings, rushing to get Evan to practice, rushing to the store.

Do entrepreneurs take naps? I wonder.

There is so much to do, but I suddenly feel as though I can’t keep my eyes open. Sonny is making a nest at the end of the mattress, circling round and round, digging this way and that, nudging the blankets into a little pile. He finally finishes and looks up at me, happily panting, having worked himself into an excited lather, and thumps his tail.

“Say good-night, Sonny,” I say.

He lifts his head and gives a little bark.

I blink hard, once, twice, and then I fall asleep where I dream I am on a wonderful vacation in Michigan taking a nap in the middle of the day.

Part Four

Rule #4:

Wake Up Smiling

ELEVEN

March

I am singing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” at the top of my lungs and dancing around a bedroom on the second floor of the cottage just like I did when I was a girl. I immediately think back to my Chicago school days when I used to watch the older girls dance in the gym at school dances. There was an art to ’80s dancing—a mix of pop and punk, lots of arm movement and leg twisting—which I picked up from watching those girls and, of course, MTV.