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“Maybe Agnes is right. You are boring.”

“What about a hamster ball? Do they make them big enough for people?”

Jade’s eyes went wide in the way that they always did whenever she had a terrible idea.

“I think they do.” Atticus was not on the correct side. “But they might be hard to find.”

“Send me on a mission. I’ll make sure they’re here.”

“Not to burst your bubble⁠—”

“Literally,” Jade muttered.

“But you’d have to get through Henry.”

“Wren could convince him,” Jade said. “I bet the other guys could too.”

“The other guys?”

“Cain, Henry, Dean, and Theo. They all hang out sometimes. I bet they’d let you join!”

I’d heard about them hanging out. They were all friends through their partners and often helped with each others’ kids too.

It was tempting to join.

“I should be careful, with me leaving and all.”

Tension hung thick in the air. Agnes and Beatrice looked down, and I wondered what they were thinking about our impending return to San Francisco. Atticus looked between the two of us, clearly nervous that we would start a fight.

Jade physically deflated, which broke my heart. Her shoulders hunched as she remembered what was coming.

“You’re right,” she said. “Good idea. Sorry for killing the mood by bringing that up.”

It was a better response than she would have had years ago, that was for sure. But I still hated how sad she looked.

“Don’t worry about it.” I made myself say it. “Should we have ice cream? I feel like ice cream always gets a mood back.”

Agnes and Beatrice jumped up, excited for the idea of a dessert after dinner. Jade made herself smile, but I knew it was fake.

Mine was too.

49

JADE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

K Smith: Thanks for the add! I promise to be a good and upstanding member of this group.

Comments:

Kerry Winsor: AN IMPOSTER!!!

Jade Clark: State your name and purpose.

Grace Day: Look at the name!!! I bet it’s Kevin!

Kerry Winsor: DELETE. DELETE.