Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in.” Julie shifted Houdini from her neck and rested him on her belly so she could sit up.
“Hi, Mom. Can I come in, or are you going to throw something at me?”
“You’re always welcome, hon. I promise not to throw anything.”
Bri peered out the door as if to check to make sure no one followed her and then shut it and crawled up on the bed beside Julie. “Oh my goodness, you told me about Wendy when I was growing up, but to be honest, I thought you exaggerated. That woman is all energy and needy. How are you two friends?”
Julie thought for a moment, but it didn’t take long to extract the information from her memory. “I know she is a lot to take in at first.” Julie stroked Houdini, who purred his approval. “You know, in the last few hours of chatting with Wind, I can tell you that she focused the conversation on me and my life and shared little of her own. I know she broke up with someone recently but didn’t elaborate. She is working on a new show, but I don’t know where. She arrived on Summer Island early so she could help her second oldest sibling this week while she recovers from some minor surgery. Which doesn’t surprise me at all, because as big of a personality as she has, she has an even bigger heart. That woman would do anything for you without question.”
Bri snuggled up into Julie’s side to pet Houdini, causing him to stretch and then rolled over with a playful slap and giggle sound she’d learned was called dooking. “Really? I’d think she was too self-absorbed to notice anyone else.”
Julie smiled. “Did I ever tell you about when Tom Wallace dumped me the night before the homecoming dance? The four of us—Kat, Trace, Wind, and I—all planned on going together with our dates. He wasn’t even going to tell me and planned to leave me at home waiting in my dress the night of the dance, but Kat found out through a friend that he was taking another girl.”
“What? That scoundrel.” Bri stiffened. “I hope you ran him over with your car.”
“I never even had to think about how to handle it because Wind took care of it.”
“What did she do?”
Julie laughed. “You mean after she found out and was so mad she took a one-hundred-eighty degree turn and spun out, taking out a stop sign and almost ending up in a neighbor’s pool?”
“What?” Bri shot up. “You could’ve been killed.”
“We were young and thought we were indestructible. Anyway, she snuck out of her house that night, took shoe polish, and wrote all over the school windows that Tom Wallace had herpes.”
Bri covered her mouth. “Oh my goodness, that’s so mean.” She dropped her hands to her lap, as if remembering what he’d done, and said, “Good for her.”
“That’s Wind—protective, giving, loving, and exhausting all in one conversation.” Julie realized something in that moment. “You know, I jumped to the conclusion that Wind wanted to invite those two men out tonight to the beach because she wanted the attention, but that’s not the case.”
“It’s not?” Bri asked.
“No. She did it because she thought that’s what I needed. The woman doesn’t stop to ask. She makes assumptions and pulls the trigger on the craziest schemes before you know what’s going on. That’s what I always loved about her. I never knew what would happen next. She kept life interesting.”
“Until she was gone and you were left behind.” Bri scratched Houdini’s head.
“Is that what you think?” Julie realized she’d been struggling with that same assumption for a long time, but it wasn’t true. “You know, that night that I was dumped for homecoming and Wind made that crazy gesture, do you know who really came to my rescue?”
“Who?”
“Your dad.” Julie felt the warmth bubble up inside her at the memory. “He was a year older and had plenty of girls to choose from, but when he heard what his so-called friend had done, he came to my house and asked if he could have the honor of taking me to the dance.”
“He did that?” Bri beamed with pride. “I knew you two went to the dance and were inseparable from that night forward, but you never told me that story.”
“Yes, that’s what I loved about your father. He was a good and honest man. We had a great life together.” Julie stroked her daughter’s hair.
“I miss him, too,” Bri offered.
Before they fell into the pit of mourning, Julie decided to focus on the positive. “You know, I may have thought about art over the years, but if I had the choice to make again, I wouldn’t change my decision. I’m happy here. This is my home. My friends didn’t feel the same way, and they had a right to live their lives the way they wanted to, so I let them go.”
“Sounds like Wendy isn’t the only friend who put others before herself.” Bri crawled to the end of the bed, stood up, and held out her hand. “I think you need to go tonight, Mom. If not to meet a new guy, then to spend time with your old friend. She sounds great. A little much, but a good friend to have.”
“I think you’re right.” She set Houdini in his favorite little spot between two pillows, stood, and straightened her button-down shirt.
Bri opened the door, but before she could leave the room, Wind bolted in with a gasp. “No, no, no.”
“What?” Julie asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.
“You’re not wearing that grandma-frock. You’re too pretty and far too young to be caught dead in that.” Wind opened her closet and rummaged through until she pulled out a sundress. “Here. Wear this.”
“On the beach? With the wind?” Julie shook her head. “I’m not in the mood to be arrested for
