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Hallie processed the card without a word. But her eyes, when she looked up at Mary Sue, said everything they’d been saying to each other for years across diner counters and borrowed cups of coffee and all the ordinary moments that made up a life shared sideways.

*We did good, Sue.*

Mary Sue looked back at her.

*Yeah. We did.*

Outside, the street was cold and quiet and strung with Christmas lights. The garment bag was over Isabelle’s arm. Sage’s boots made a sound she liked on the wooden sidewalk.

She stopped walking.

Looked at Main Street — the diner light at the far end, the hardware store dark, the snow on the rooftops. The town that had found her on the side of the road and decided to keep her.

“You okay?” Isabelle said.

“Yeah.” Sage looked at her nails. The tiny black stars. Thought about Bear seeing them. Felt her stomach do the thing it did. “Yeah, I really am.”

Mary Sue came up beside her and patted her arm once — brisk, firm, the Mary Sue version of a hug.

“Three hours,” she said. “Go eat something. Not cookies. Real food.”

“Yes Mama.”

“And don’t give me ‘yes Mama’ in that tone.”

“What tone?”

“The tone that means you’re going to do what you want.”

Sage smiled. “I love you.”

Mary Sue made a sound that was not quite a response and turned toward the diner. But her shoulders were doing the thing they did when she was happy and trying not to show it.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go, baby”

28

CAL

“Bear… it’s fine. Leave it alone.”

Cal looked in the mirror one last time. The tuxedo fit like it had been poured over him — some designer he couldn’t pronounce, tailored on-site by a big-city expert Isabelle had flown in. He preferred his own clothing, but flannel and black-tie events didn’t apparently mix.

The tailor had needed a ladder instead of a step stool to finish the measurements. Michael and Isabelle had barely held in their laughter, and Cal still felt the heat in his ears at the memory.

“Anyway you should probably get going,” Michael said absently from the bed, thumbs flying over his Nintendo Switch.

“Why?” Cal asked, still fussing with his hair.

“Because you’re late and need to go pick up your date.”

Cal glanced over amused. Michael was already dressed in a sharp tux of his own, looking surprisingly comfortable in it. “Did you just rhyme?”

Michael looked up and grinned. “Yeah! Which means it’s true.”

Cal sighed and turned back to the mirror.

“Hypothetically—”