June pulled out a chair.
“Then let's stop the contest.”
Nobody laughed. It was not yet a laughing moment.
Grace turned to Evelyn.
“I was afraid you'd know something about her I didn't.”
Evelyn looked up.
“I wanted to.”
“I know.”
“No,” Evelyn said softly. “I wanted one thing that belonged to us without making you feel accused. And then I made you feel accused.”
Grace began to cry.
“I have so many memories. Sometimes I feel guilty mentioning them. Then I feel frightened when I don't.”
Nora sat again.
“You can mention them. Please. I don't want my childhood treated like something we have to hide because somebody stole the chance to share it.”
Evelyn wiped her face.
“Tell me one,” she said to Grace.
Grace looked startled.
“Now?”
“Yes. A ridiculous one. Not a beautiful one.”
Grace took a breath.
“When she was five, she put raisins in Daniel's shoes because he said they were good for you and she wanted him to have some at work.”
Nora stared at her.
“I was helping.”
Evelyn laughed through tears.
“Did he eat them?”
“He claimed he did. I never trusted that claim.”
The room began breathing again.
Arthur returned to the potatoes. June moved the bowl to the middle of the table, where it belonged to no particular argument. Maisie put down the fork and went to the kitchen window for a minute.
Nora followed her.
“Too much?”
Maisie nodded.
“Are we okay?”
“We had a hard moment. We're still having dinner.”
Maisie looked at the grown-ups moving around the kitchen.
“They didn't leave.”
“No.”
She leaned against her mother.
“That's good.”
At dinner, the turkey was a little dry. Nobody was allowed to call it character building after June did it twice. The potatoes were excellent, and Arthur accepted credit only after Grace admitted she had supervised almost every step.
Colin called in the evening.
Nora had not invited him to dinner. She had agreed he could telephone if he wanted to wish everyone well without discussing the review. He did. Maisie spoke to him for the first time.
“Are you the other Whitcomb?”
“I suppose I am.”
“Arthur says you were older.”
“I still am.”
She considered this.
“That must be annoying.”
Colin laughed, surprised.
“A little.”
He asked about school, listened to the answer, and did not mention money. It was a small conversation. Nora was willing to let it remain small.
After everyone left except Grace, Maisie helped put food away.
There was too much for the refrigerator.
She stood holding a container of potatoes and did not move.
Nora took one look at her face.
“What is it?”
Maisie shook her head.
“Tell me.”
“I keep thinking we should save it all.”
“We will save what we can eat safely.”
“What if we need more later?”
Nora set the container down.
“We have a plan for later.”
“I know.”
“And people who know the truth.”
“I know.”
Maisie's voice broke.
“My brain keeps checking.”
Nora drew her close.
“Then we'll keep reminding it. Not yelling at it for trying.”
They made a list of meals from the leftovers. They froze some. They gave June a portion she claimed was repayment for emotional labor and folding chairs. Nora threw away a little food that could not be kept, and Maisie watched without looking away.
It felt wasteful.
It also felt like learning the cupboard was not the only thing standing between them and disaster.
Winter settled over Bellwether.
The oak lost its leaves. The square filled with lights. Nora's shop window held a painted bluebird, a spool of red thread, and Maisie's paper snowflakes, none of which had the correct number of sides.
Business was modest and steady. Nora learned which jobs paid fairly for the time, which customers brought more urgency than money, and how much work she could accept without spending the next day unable to stand comfortably.
Rosa became indispensable. She had strong opinions about zippers and a talent for telling customers a garment could be fixed without promising it would transform their lives.
“You're hiring me for honesty,” she told Nora. “It's an expensive service.”
Nora thought of June and laughed.
Arthur rented a small place in town for the winter instead of living indefinitely at the hotel. He discussed it with Nora before signing, making clear he was choosing it for himself, not presenting her with a new obligation to visit.