“Sweetheart, it won’t be any easier tomorrow. It’s always better to face your fears sooner rather than later. Look what happened to me. I refused to admit to myself that your father was going to leave me no matter what I did to try to hold on. I made all of you miserable for weeks, rather than facing the reality and figuring out how to deal with it.”
“It’s not even close to the same thing,” Misty insisted. “Everyone doesn’t hate you.”
“And no one hates you, either. Annabelle was obviously jealous, and she won’t be in school, anyway. And Betty Donovan and Laura Reed are not going to let another student bully you,” Diana said with confidence.
Misty rolled her eyes. “Come on. They may be motivated to protect me, but they have their own problems now with Mrs. Litchfield spreading all sorts of rumors about them and threatening to get them fired.”
“You’re their top priority,” her mother said firmly, setting pancakes in front of Misty along with the pitcher of warm syrup. “I truly believe that.”
“But they can’t be everywhere at once to protect me. Please, Mom, let me stay home. I’ll bet you could get Dr. Fullerton to give me a note.”
“I’m very grateful to him for how he’s handled all this, but I don’t think asking him for a note when you’re perfectly fine is a good idea. It didn’t work very well last time you tried it, did it?”
“Yeah, but he knows more now and he really gets what’s going on at school. Seriously, Mom, way more than you know.”
“I’m glad you have his support, but here’s how I see it. Your job is to go to school, make good grades and get into your dream college. You can’t let this situation ruin that for you. If you do, you’ll regret it.” She held Misty’s gaze. “Do you want a girl like Annabelle to have that much power over your future?”
When she looked at it that way, Misty shook her head. “No,” she conceded reluctantly.
“Then going back to school and facing everyone is your only option. I know you’re strong enough to do that. You’ve shown me just how strong you are by dealing with so much on your own.”
Misty felt a tiny hint of satisfaction at her mother’s praise. “You really think I’m strong?”
Her mom smiled. “The strongest girl I know. Would you like me to drive you to school today?”
Misty regarded her with horror. “And let everyone think I’ve turned into this huge baby? No way. You just said I’m strong, so how would that look? If you’re sure I can’t stay home, I’ll walk like always.”
“I’m sure,” Diana said firmly. She gave Misty a stern look. “And don’t get any ideas about taking a detour that might take, say, six or seven hours to get you there. Ms. Reed and Ms. Donovan know they’re to call me immediately if you’re not in class. We were in touch about my decision to let you stay home. They know that ends today.”
Misty regarded her mother with a weird mix of approval and disappointment. “I’m really glad you’re getting your act back together, Mom, but you picked a really sucky time to do it.”
At the sound of her mom’s laugh, Misty grinned, too. Maybe things would be back to normal soon for all of them.
She poked at the pancakes on her plate, which were suddenly tasteless. “Mom,” she asked hesitantly, “are you and Dad okay?”
“If you mean are we finally communicating without me wanting to rip his heart out, yes,” Diana said in a resigned tone. “But, sweetheart, the breakup of a marriage is tough on everyone, even your dad. It’ll take a while for all of us to figure out how this new arrangement is supposed to work. The one thing that should never be in doubt is that your dad loves you and Jake to pieces. He’s behind you a hundred percent. If you need him, all you have to do is give him a call.”
“I just don’t want you to feel bad if I do,” Misty told her.
“The divorce is between me and your dad, not you and your dad. You are never to feel bad about loving him or needing him, okay?” she said, pausing to give Misty a hug, then murmuring half to herself. “We’re going to be fine. All of us are going to be just fine.”
Misty was almost ready to believe it.
* * *
As it turned out, the get-together Paula had planned with her friends had been delayed until Monday. She set Erik’s coconut cake masterpiece—a freshly baked one he’d made just this morning to replace the one she’d had to cancel—in the middle of her dining room table, along with a bowl of fresh fruit and her best teacups. She’d had to wash those to get off the dust that had accumulated in the years since she’d last used them.
The collectible chintz cups had always made her smile with their cheery, if mismatched, floral designs. Because of Paula’s botanical artwork, Maddie had bought her the first one. She’d found it at a garage sale when she was maybe eight. Each year after that first successful gift, given so tentatively, she’d searched and found a different one for Paula’s birthday until there were a dozen or more in the cupboard. Now they were among Paula’s greatest treasures.
She wasn’t sure what to expect when Liz, Flo and Frances arrived, but she was happily surprised to see Frances looking both strong and suitably indignant.
“The minute Liz told me about your call, I was eager to do whatever I can,” Frances told her. “That poor child,” she murmured with a shake of her head. “And for it to be someone with all of Annabelle’s advantages who’s been tormenting her…” She sighed. “I just don’t understand young people these days.”
“There was always bullying,” Liz reminded them. “Back in my day a lot of it came from racial prejudice, but these days with that internet readily available for whatever slur someone happens to think of, well, that’s new and downright dangerous, if you ask me. It gives people with all sorts of crazy ideas a platform to spew them out there for everyone to see. No one bothers to separate fact
