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Turning the car on, I back out of my parking space and make my way to the Four Cups Café. I park down the road and take a deep breath, then start the long walk to the library.
It’s not really a long walk, but it feels like I’m about to face the gallows. When I pass the new community garden, Dorothy glances up from a garden bed. She’s got a wide-brim straw hat on, and she gives me a wave and a big smile. “Gorgeous Lily! Come help me lift this tree into the hole.”
The garden is taking shape beautifully. It seems like thousands of plants have been added, benches have been installed, and a beautiful mural has been painted on the brick wall lining one side of the property. There are big handmade pots that I know were donated by Mac. I recognize his style, the sweeping glazing and dramatic shapes that are all his own. The garden feels like a tiny, beautiful world that encompasses all of what Heart’s Cove really is. Home, community, family, and growth.
And I live here now, right alongside everyone else.
Angling toward the older woman, I force a smile onto my lips. Dorothy tells me about Hamish’s guest, who will arrive in a few weeks, then jokes about him being the hotel’s new competition. Then she cackles, as if it’s a huge joke. She waves at the small tree with its root ball still wrapped in burlap. “Lift that up so I can cut the burlap away,” she tells me.
Obliging, I grab the trunk and lift it up. Distantly, I wonder if she’d ask me this if she knew about the pregnancy. Will everyone treat me like I need to be wrapped in bubble wrap? Will they understand that I just want to be treated normally?
Dorothy prepares the roots and then directs me to the hole in the ground. I place the tree in and keep it straight while she shovels some dirt around it to keep it in place.
“Any chance you could help me plant a few more?” She nods to the half-dozen saplings leaning against the wall.
“I’m supposed to meet my family at Four Cups,” I say apologetically. “I’m already late.”
“Fine,” Dorothy says with a put-upon sigh. Then she grins. “Maybe I can call young Rudy to help me.”
I force a smile. I know she’s trying to be nice, but the sound of Rudy’s name just makes my stomach tighten. I excuse myself and wave goodbye, then continue on my way to the café.
I wish things were simple. I wish I could enjoy the gentle teasing from Dorothy and the rest of the ladies in town, and that the worst thing in my life was a bit of embarrassment about a budding—and failed—relationship.
Instead, I have to face down my family and tell them all my darkest fears, all the while knowing I have no right to want Rudy at all.
Palms slick with sweat don’t dry when I wipe them on my pants. My heart beats an unsteady drum in my chest, and it’s all I can do to put one foot in front of another. When I make it to the café, I peek inside and note that my sister isn’t inside. She must have succeeded in herding everyone upstairs.
With trembling hands, I push the red door open and make my way up to the library. The chatter of many voices floats down the stairs, cranking my nerves a little tighter. When I open the door, all eyes land on me and the voices die.
“Lily,” my mother says after a moment of heavy silence. “What’s all this about? Are you okay?”
“Mom,” Trina admonishes. “Let her walk in the door, at least. You promised you’d let her speak.”
Lottie ignores her completely, moving to wrap her arms around me. She pins my arms to my sides as she hugs me tight, and even though my mother is four inches shorter than me, her embrace still makes me feel like a little girl. I nearly break down and cry right then and there.
Instead, I pull myself together and back away, squeezing my mother’s arm as I straighten up.
That’s when I notice that it isn’t just my sisters in the room. Fiona, Simone, Nora, and Jen are there, too. I almost turn right back around, but a deep breath steadies my nerves. They’re my friends now, and if I tell everyone at once, it’s one less explanation I have to make.
My mother shoves me closer to one of the couches and forces me to sit down. She waves her hand until everyone else is seated. Candice is beside me and Fiona is in the armchair to my left. Jen leans against the counter of the small kitchenette next to Nora, and Simone perches on the arm of Fiona’s chair. My mother takes the seat on the other side of me and grips my hand while Trina pulls out an office chair and sits across from us.
Silence settles over us like a heavy blanket. I need to say something. I spent the whole drive here thinking of how I would tell them what’s going on, but the words seem to die in my throat.
The seconds drag on a little too long because my mother finally huffs. “What is it, Lily? Are you pregnant?”
“Mom!” Trina cuts in, widening her eyes at Lottie.
Our mother shrugs. “What? Look at her face.” She thrusts her index finger at my cheek. “She looks like she’s about to puke, and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re not drinking,” she says, turning to me. “You forget that I gave birth to all three of you. I know a pregnant woman when I see one. What are you, twelve weeks along?”
“Fifteen,” I answer meekly.
Everyone sucks in a breath, except my mother, who rolls her eyes. “Well, there you go. Will you pick up the phone and call me once in a while now that that’s out of the way? You fly halfway around the world to come to Heart’s Cove and then you ignore us all. Makes no sense.”
“Mom, give her a break,” Candice cuts in, patting my knee. “Pregnancy is overwhelming.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of all my baby stuff,” Candice says.
