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“I’m so proud of you, Paige. I can’t wait to see your plans succeed.”
Paige’s heart glowed over her sister’s words. “Thank you, Josie. I can’t wait to see you and Wesley have all kinds of cute babies and move into your dream home together.”
Josie laughed. “Me either. Although I have to admit, I’m pretty content with how things are right now. Life feels extra sweet now that he’s my husband.”
“Aww, cheesy.”
“Mm, I’m not sorry. Hey, speaking of sweet things, did you talk to Michael about selling your bakery at Tidal Wave Coffee again once you get back?”
“Not yet! Well, not officially—we talked about it last time I was there and he said he definitely wants me to bake for the coffee shop again. But we haven’t discussed the actual business details yet.”
“You should—you should talk to him about the drinks he’s planning on showcasing over the summer. Then you can see if you can kind of follow those themes a little with your baked goods.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Thank you.”
“Of course! And the other thing is, Caitlin’s wedding is coming right up. Do you want me to ask her if she has someone lined up to make the wedding cake yet?”
“Oh, wow.” Paige’s stomach flopped in nervousness at the thought. A wedding cake was a big deal—she’d made big cakes before, and they’d studied wedding cakes in her classes at Flourish Baking School, but it was the kind of thing that she felt an enormous amount of pressure to get just right. And she was very fond of Caitlin, and of Michael—she would want any cake for their wedding to be nothing short of perfect. “Yeah, you can ask her.”
“I can hear how nervous you are. Your voice went up almost a whole octave.” Josie chuckled. “Don’t sweat it. I know you would knock a cake out of the park, and I know Michael and Caitlin think highly of your baking already. It’s up to them. If she says yes, I know you can do it.”
“Okay.” Paige smiled, still feeling nervous but grateful for her sister’s encouragement. “Thanks, Josie.”
“Absolutely. Oh, wow, it’s later than I thought it was. I’m still on honeymoon time. I should get going, I’ve got to start making dinner in earnest.”
Paige laughed. “Me too. Talk to you soon?”
“Yes! Good luck with all your classes!”
“Good luck with being married!”
The sisters both laughed again, said an affectionate goodbye, and hung up. Paige set her phone down on the counter and began to grate cheese for her pasta. As she worked, she saw her phone light up with a text from her mother. She grinned and picked it up, reading the text eagerly.
MOM: Hey, sweetheart! How are things going at school?
Paige shut her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to feel a rush of relief and hope. After her mother had been sent to rehab, she had made vast improvements in her life. It was clear that she was taking her sobriety journey seriously, and she was putting in the work to be better.
After Paige had chosen to live in Blueberry Bay instead of return home to continue living with their mom, she’d been worried that her relationship with her mother would fall apart. Instead, the opposite was happening—her mother was becoming more dependable and supportive. Her mother had gone to Josie’s wedding, and the three of them had gotten to spend a lot of sweet time together. Things between the daughters and their mother were improving, and it gave Paige a great deal of joy.
She smiled as she texted her mother back, feeling glad that her mother wanted to know about her life. She felt as though she wanted to type out every single detail of what was happening, so that her mother could hear about all of her good news.
PAIGE: Hey, Mom! Things are going great. I just made a successful soufflé earlier, so I’m glad that challenge is in the books! And I just talked to Josie too. Sounds like you might be a grandmother pretty soon!
She knew her mother would respond again in a moment, but for now, she needed to get her food cooked. After dinner, she planned on baking, and then bringing her peanut butter cookies to the movie night with her friends. She set her phone back down on the counter and hummed to herself as she continued her preparations for dinner.
Isaiah muttered enthusiastically to himself as he laid down materials for the new play structures on the Little Clams playground. The pieces were painted a bright blue and they reminded him of when he had been a little kid, rushing around being hyper on the playground with his friends.
He stood up straight and stretched, looking up at the clear blue sky. It seemed to be a lighter echo of the blue of the new playground equipment, and he smiled to himself as he thought about how nice the new playground would look on clear summer days.
“Hey, you! Are you hungry?”
He turned and saw his sister, Olivia, walking toward him, carrying a tray of food. He grinned at her and gave her a sideways hug as she reached his side.
“I sure am. How can you read my mind like that?”
“I’m your sister, I grew up alongside your stomach.” She laughed. “This is left over from the kids’ lunch. I hope you don’t mind peanut butter and jelly.”
“I love peanut butter and jelly,” he said, meaning it sincerely. He picked up the sandwich and took a large chomp out of it. “Oh, thank you. And no crusts. This is sublime.”
