Page 56 of Windward Hearts

“She does,” Diana agreed. “I don’t know if Tyler mentioned it, but she had him send me like a dozen photos showing them off from all angles.”

Cadence laughed. “No, he forgot to say. She’s very pleased with them, obviously.”

“I gave her all the compliments she was due,” Diana assured them all. “She looks very cool, very chic.”

“It turns out that this whole struggle at school was because she couldn’t see the board properly,” Cadence explained. “It’s only been a week, and already, her scores are starting to climb back to her regular place. She still has some catching up to do, but her teacher agreed to meet with her after school once a week for a few weeks until she feels like she’s back on track. And, now that she’s not struggling and trying to hide how she’s struggling, her attitude toward school is already so much better.”

“Did you ever figure out why she was keeping it a secret?” June asked.

Cadence shook her head, smiling and squeezing her eyes shut as she chuckled. “She didn’t want to be the only kid in her class with glasses,” she said.

“Classic kid logic,” June agreed. “I remember when Benjamin was first diagnosed with diabetes, one of his very first questions was whether he knew any other kids who had diabetes. The doctor was literally a pediatric endocrinologist, so while she couldn’t give any names, she guaranteed him that she knew lots of kids that had diabetes. And he actually found a little virtual support group that he really likes.”

“Kids don’t like doing things alone,” Diana said. “Which… who can blame them? Growing up is hard, and feeling like you’re by yourself in something is tough even for adults.”

“Hear, hear,” Miriam said, raising a glass. “We all need our communities to help us through the tough times.”

At this, she sent her granddaughter a fond wink. Hope smiled.

“It’s just so good to see Izzy back to her usual, happy self,” Cadence said, looking as though the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. “Apparently, one of her friends spent the week at school wearing a pair of cheap sunglasses with the lenses punched out, so apparently Izzy is a real trendsetter.”

Everyone laughed.

“You look like you’re in a pretty good mood too, Juney,” Eleanor observed.

June flushed as she grinned.

“I am,” she said. When everyone else gave her a quizzical look, June explained. “I sort of…” She waved a hand near her head. “I got all up in my head about how things seem to be going too well, recently. With Levi, I mean.”

“Wow,” Diana deadpanned. “I don’t know what that is like at all. I definitely didn’t ever think that my boyfriend was going to break up with me when it turned out that he and his daughter were planning the perfect proposal. That would have been ridiculous.”

June threw a crumpled-up napkin at Diana, but her smile didn’t waver.

“Yes, yes, I realize that it’s silly. Well, I realize that now,” she amended. “Eleanor was kind enough to talk me down when I was feeling at my most zany. She reminded me that there’s no point in borrowing trouble before it shows up. And that just because something bad happened before doesn’t mean that it’s definitely going to happen again.”

“That’s good advice,” Miriam observed.

“Thank you,” Eleanor said, pleased.

“You aren’t welcome,” Miriam said, giving Eleanor a pointed look. “I am the resident elder of this little group. Just because I was out of commission for a little while doesn’t mean that you can swoop in and steal my gig. I’ve got my eye on you, Ridley.”

“I’m terrified,” Eleanor promised Miriam solemnly, which pleased the older lady.

“Don’t you forget it,” Miriam said, crossing her arms, smiling.

“Well, you will be even prouder of me in a minute,” June went on, “because not only did I stop making problems out of thin air, I actually talked to Levi about my worries. He was super understanding.”

“He really is a sweetheart,” Winnie complimented, nodding to herself.

“He is,” June agreed. “And I really feel so much better after talking to him. Just… so confident and happy and good. Even better, our talk got the creative juices flowing, and now we’re writing some new songs about our experiences and about how wonderful lo—a romance can be even when life has made things tricky. Maybe especially then, even.”

“Please note,” Cadence said, “how very reserved we are all being by not mentioning that you almost said ‘love’ right there.”

“So noted,” June said. Her tone was calm, but her cheeks were bright pink.

“Winnie, how is the bazaar coming?” Eleanor asked, then regretted it, as Winnie let out a groan and dropped her face into her hands. “Oh no, that bad?”

Winnie lifted her face. “No, not really,” she admitted. “Things are going really well, if I’m being honest. It’s just so much work. So much. And it’s good. I know it will be good. It isn’t as though we didn’t go through the same cycle with the last event. But I am tired, guys! I am very, very tired!”