When she looked up she saw a figure with a familiar stride moving toward them on the other side of the street. Daniel. She tried to catch his eye and shake her head warningly, but he was smiling broadly and had his hand lifted in a wave. No, she thought. No, no, no. Then she realized he wasn’t looking at her at all. “Hello, Ms. Thornhill!” she heard him say in his teacher voice, and he moved on down the street without so much as a glance their way. (Even as she was relieved, Rebecca was also just the teeniest bit insulted.)

“It’s Alexa,” said Morgan. “Look, Alexa’s over there. Let’s go over.”

“Let’s stay here.” Rebecca didn’t want to risk Bernice recognizing Daniel; Bernice could be capricious and occasionally standoffish, but she and Daniel walked together in Maudslay often enough that she thought Bernice might greet Daniel with a telltale tail thump. A telltail thump.

“She’s with a boy,” reported Morgan. “She’s holding hands with a boy who isn’t Tyler. She’s holding hands with the boy we went to Canobie Lake with.”

“She broke up with Tyler,” said Rebecca. Alexa had told Rebecca the story—@silvergurl, the argument in the parking lot of the Cottage—but apparently she hadn’t told Morgan. She turned. It was all true. Alexa was holding hands with a boy who wasn’t Tyler.

“Over here!” Morgan called. “Alexa, come over here!”

Alexa crossed the street, dropping hands with the boy, who followed one step behind. The boy had blond hair. He wore khaki shorts and a golf shirt. In Rebecca’s day he would have been called preppy, but she didn’t know if that was a term anyone used any longer. Probably not. Most of the terms and phrases she had once used had sailed away on a stiff breeze. Cheesy. Dweeb. Nobody puts baby in a corner.

“Hey, Mom,” said Alexa. “Hi, Morgs.” She knelt down and greeted Bernice. “This is Cam,” she said, gesturing to the boy. She shot Rebecca a look that said, Not now, no questions, so Rebecca just smiled and shook the hand Cam held out. Cam looked directly at Rebecca when he greeted her, which she appreciated. Tyler had always looked down.

“Morgan and I are acquainted,” Cam says. “Nice to see you again, Morgan.”

“We’re going to get poke bowls,” said Morgan. “If you want to come.”

“We just had smoothies,” said Cam. “But I love the Kai bowl.”

“Did you get straws with your smoothies?” asked Morgan.

“Compostable,” said Alexa, and Morgan looked relieved.

“I’m trying to get this one to go to the driving range with me,” Cam said, pointing to Alexa. “But so far she’s resisting.”