“Who taught you?”

“I learned to sew in school. I begged Mama for a sewing machine for Christmas freshman year in high school. She bought me a classic Singer and I just took to it.”

“I used to knit, back when the boys were little. Might take it up again someday.”

“I have the time to sew now,” Linnea said.

“What’s the matter, honey? You look a bit down.”

Linnea set down her turtle team backpack and rolled her shoulders. “I guess I’m feeling a little sorry for myself today. I’m watching everyone else head out to work in the morning.… I loved my job at the aquarium. I miss it.”

Flo took a step closer. “What do you miss most?”

Linnea was surprised by Flo’s question. She looked into the old woman’s cloudy blue eyes and saw a spark of clarity. “I love to teach,” she answered honestly. “I want to bring people closer to the natural world.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Flo asked pointedly.

“Flo, they laid her off,” Emmi tried to explain.

“Call them up. Tell them you want to work,” Flo said. “Just do it.”

Emmi rolled her eyes apologetically, but Linnea heard wisdom in the old woman’s words. She thought of Anna’s response to the flood crisis and felt her own blood stir.

“You’re right, Flo. Thank you. I will. In fact, I’ll do it right now.”

AN HOUR LATER, Linnea lowered her phone, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Then she fist-pumped the air. She pushed back from the table and hurried out the door on a beeline for John. She rushed next door and knocked on the kitchen door. John smiled when he opened it.

“Hello, neighbor,” he said, drying his hands with a towel.

“John!” Linnea exclaimed, excitement bubbling in her veins. “Do you have a minute?”

“Yeah, good timing. I just finished fixing a leak in the sink. Come in.”

Linnea started pacing the room, her mind firing ideas.

John tossed the towel on the counter. “What’s got you all fired up?”

“I just got off the phone with Kevin Mills at the aquarium. I wanted to talk to him about volunteering to help the education department. You’ll never guess. He said he was going to call me. The education programs are all virtual now. With school closed, their classes were wildly successful. And… the aquarium got some grant money. They’re developing programs for kids online, and he wants me to be part of it. Habitat, food chains, watersheds—I’m so excited I could burst! This is what I love to do. And for kids! Teach them young, and they’re stewards for life.”

John studied her face.

Linnea looked at him askance. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just so great to see you excited again. I missed seeing that.”

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I know.”

“When do you start?”

“Immediately. I mean, I got my job back! I’m getting paid.” She clasped her palms to her cheeks. “My mind is spinning with ideas. I have so much to learn. That’s why I’m here.” She dropped her hands and looked at him pleadingly. “I need your help.”