Page 94 of In Every Chapter

“It was the week before finals, and I needed shampoo. Juliet and Stephanie accompanied me to CVS while Liz was on a date.”

“A terrible date,” Liz cut in. “I so wish I’d bailed and gone with you instead.”

“There was this artificial Christmas tree next to the dumpster, and I thought it was cute, so I persuaded the girls to help me load it into Cal’s truck, since we were borrowing it for some reason. Juliet and I did the lifting, and Stephanie was our lead foot to get us out of dodge.”

Juliet scoffed. “You mean she did a respectable twenty miles an hour and didn’t even spill the open mug of coffee she was drinking.”

“Hey, we didn’t get caught!” Stephanie chuckled. “We did decorate it pretty cute, though.”

“Don’t knock it. It’s been ten years, and it’s still going strong,” Juliet added, nodding at me. “Pais and Grey use it.”

I melted. “Aww, we kept it?” It had looked so lonely back then, just abandoned out in the cold drizzle of a Seattle night.

Liz snorted. “You arm wrestled Jules for it like it was a custody battle.”

Juliet lifted a shoulder, eyes shining. “Myles has a thing for real trees anyway.”

Hailey shook her head. “All this time you’ve had a wild side.” She tsked at Stephanie.

Kelsi laughed, fumbling for her phone. “Oh, I need to write this down for future book material.”

“Ever the writer,” Danielle teased, sipping her tea.

“Did you ever tell Gabe about that night?” Ivy asked, mouth twitching.

Stephanie scowled. “Don’t you dare. He would have freaked out.”

I tapped my glass, regaining everyone’s attention. “That story is my favourite because . . . Well, it shows what Steph’s always been. Supportive. She thought I was crazy at the time, though she was too nice to say it. But that’s who Steph is. She answers the phone at six in the morning when you call her in a panic, even if she’s not a morning person. She gives the best advice.” Tears pricked my eyes as I remembered her words from when I’d been hiding in the bathroom at the hotel. “She reminds you of the truth when you have trouble remembering it. And . . .” I swallowed hard, the words dropping out of me faster. “She has a way of seeing people, especially the invisible ones who no one’s bothered to see before.”

Stephanie popped up from the couch and threw her arms around me. “I need to invest in better waterproof mascara.” She choked on a half sob, half laugh.

My skin itched self-consciously at the flurry of white tissues waving around the room. I didn’t usually make grand, moving speeches. I left those for book characters like Samwise Gamgee and Anne Shirley. But the words had poured out of me, and there was no damming the flow.

If losing my memories had taught me anything, it was how important it was to hold the ones you loved best close. To tell them often how much they meant to you. So that even if some of the chapters got lost along the way, the roots were still there.

Hailey dropped her head on Ivy’s shoulder, sniffling. “Pais, that was beautiful.”

I took my seat, leaving Juliet to take her turn.

Nana leaned over and squeezed my hand. “You did good, baby. My girl’s lucky to have friends like you. I knew it then, and I know it even better now.”

Her words warmed my heart, and like the Grinch, it grew three sizes. I’d always thought I was the weakest link in our quartet. I was always the one in need of rescuing. But maybe—just maybe—my friends needed me every bit as much as I needed them.

The air turned livelier when we moved onto gifts after the touching, more somber notes of the speeches.

Most of the gifts had already been given at the bridal shower last month, but tonight’s were smaller and more personal. Except for the maple coffee table Greyson had made for the happy couple and delivered to the bungalow earlier.

Danielle handed Stephanie a large square gift-wrapped item. The exact shape of a canvas.

Stephanie gasped at the artwork inside and held it up to show us.

“You got your hands on a Tamsyn Cole?” I shrieked, staring at Danielle, mouth agape. Cole’s vivid yet soft style for capturing landscapes was unmistakable.

Danielle chuckled. “A print. I still have friends in the art world.”

“It’s beautiful,” Hailey breathed. “But why is this Tamsyn Cole a big deal?”

“She’s only the modern world’s most reclusive artist. No one knows who she is or where she’s from,” I explained, then glanced at Danielle. “Unless someone came forward with information I can’t remember?”