of them. Now that his ghost was finally at peace, she figured she would let it stay that way. Just in case.
Wanda arrived with a bag full of books and magazines for Alice. Janya had rooted cuttings for her, and they discussed the perfect windowsill. After they chatted for a while and watched Olivia feed the fish, Alice served coffee and tea on a lace tablecloth, along with the cupcakes, which were adorned with spiderweb frosting, and spiders made from gumdrops and licorice. The tablecloth had come from J.C. Penney’s, but the last time they were together, Alice had showed them the new pineapple tablecloth she was crocheting for Olivia. She had already made headway.
“Well, I got news,” Wanda said. “Kenny and I, we’re taking a cruise to Puerto Rico at Christmas. I know some of you’ve been everywhere, but I’ve never been squat. So this is exciting. It’s kind of like a second honeymoon.”
The room buzzed with suggestions for what to bring, things to do on board. When the buzz died down, Janya made her own announcement.
“I start work on the library mural in two weeks. They like my design and found me an assistant to help with some of the work.”
Again everybody talked at once. Tracy had seen the design. Janya had incorporated scenes from familiar adult and children’s novels. It was fabulous.
Katie described a letter she had gotten from her soldier husband. Olivia told them she was trying out for a play at the local community theater.
Tracy had nothing new to tell. Sherrie had come for a visit and pronounced a blessing on Tracy’s new life. Tracy liked her job more every day. The legal work was already in phase two with Wild Florida, and she and Marsh had moved on to a new phase of their relationship, as well, which held acres of promise—if they could figure out how two such different people could share a life. Living in Florida was a work in progress, but she had a million things to look forward to. She wasn’t sure that had ever been true before.
“I have something.” Alice got to her feet and disappeared down the hall.
“Your grandmother’s looking good,” Wanda told Olivia, who was down on the floor setting up blocks so Frankie could knock them over.
“She’s happy,” Olivia said.
Tracy thought that, despite missing her father, Olivia was happier, too. She had been to see Lee once at the county jail, but she had not asked to go again. Years would pass before Olivia dealt with all the things that had happened to her family, but she had a lot of people willing to listen as she did.
Alice returned with a shopping bag. She stopped in front of Tracy and pulled out a little bundle tied in ribbon. Tracy looked up to see if Alice was really serious. “No, you’ve got to be kidding, Alice. You have no idea how awful I am at things like this.”
Alice made tsking noises and went on to Wanda, who got the same bundle and made the same protests.
Janya took hers with a smile. “Oh, this will be fun.”
Alice passed out the last bundle to Katie.
“Olivia already—” Alice took her place again “—made a scarf. She’s only ten. None of you have excuses.”
Tracy looked down at her crochet hook and a glittery red ball of yarn. She tried to imagine an occasion when she would wear this scarf, and she couldn’t. She tried to imagine telling Alice she refused to learn to crochet.
She really couldn’t.
Alice held up her own hook. “We start by making a chain.”
Tracy thought the women had already made one, the very best kind, and every link was right in this room.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5603-7
HAPPINESS KEY
Copyright © 2009 by Emilie Richards McGee.
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