The Knitting Diaries: The Twenty-First Wish / Coming Unravelled / Return to Summer Island

“I like shops. I have friends there. Susannah lets me help her with the flowers in Susannah’s Garden. Last week I stood out front of her store and gave away pink carnations. Baxter was with me.”

“That was fun, wasn’t it?”

Ellen nodded again. “And Alix sometimes brings me leftover croissants from the French Café across the street.”

Laughing, Anne Marie brought her head close to Mel’s and added, “That doesn’t happen often because they sell out of croissants almost every day.”

“I like them warm so the jelly gets runny on them,” Ellen said. “Mom puts them in the microwave for me in the morning.”

“I’ll have to try that,” Mel told her. “Sounds good.”

“Lydia and Margaret are my friends, too.” Ellen continued to list her favorite people on Blossom Street.

“Lydia owns A Good Yarn,” Anne Marie pointed out to Mel.

“Yeah, I remember,” he said.

“Lydia and Mom taught me to knit, and we knit every day, don’t we, Mom?”

Before Anne Marie could respond, their food arrived. The conversation lagged as they passed around the serving plates. Mel asked for chopsticks, but Anne Marie and Ellen used forks—although Ellen proclaimed that she wanted to try chopsticks next time. She was just too hungry today.

“You have lots of friends, don’t you?” Mel asked Ellen.

Mouth full, the girl nodded eagerly.

“But they’re all adults. Do you have any friends from school on Blossom Street?”

After a short pause, Ellen said, “Cody and Casey, but they’re older and they go to a different school than me.”

Anne Marie could see that Mel was trying to help Ellen see all the possibilities that awaited her in her new home. She thanked him with a smile, and he clasped her hand beneath the table.

Half an hour later, when they couldn’t eat another bite, Mel asked for the bill. Carrying their leftovers, Anne Marie and Ellen walked to the parking garage for their car. Mel drove to the house on his own.

Anne Marie and Ellen got there before him and after parking in the driveway, Anne Marie unlocked the front door, conscious that this was the first of many times. The inside looked different now that it was empty of furniture. The Johnsons had left the house meticulously clean, the floors scrubbed and polished and the walls freshly painted and unmarked.

Mel showed up soon afterward. “What a lovely house,” he commented, stepping inside. He paused in the doorway to survey the hall and the living room.

“Come,” Ellen said, grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the hallway. “My bedroom’s this way.”

“What about your mom’s?” he asked, looking back at Anne Marie over his shoulder.

She nearly burst out laughing.

“Mom’s across the hall from me,” Ellen told him.

“Directly across the hall,” Anne Marie said pointedly. Although they’d been dating for several months, their relationship hadn’t gotten physical—not beyond kissing, anyway—although Anne Marie sensed that Mel was interested in taking it further.

While Ellen showed him the bedrooms and the other areas of the house, she put the leftover Chinese food in the otherwise empty refrigerator. The official move was the next day—Saturday morning. The movers would take care of the furniture, while friends and family had volunteered to bring over the boxes. Anne Marie hoped to get Ellen settled before the end of the school year, which would give her a chance to make friends in her neighborhood this summer.

She heard Ellen and Mel clattering down the hallway, their footsteps echoing.

“Do you want to see the kitchen?” Ellen was asking

Mel.

“Of course. Will you cook me dinner one night?”

“I don’t cook that good without Mom helping me.”

“I bet she’d do it if you asked.”

“Do you like macaroni and cheese?” Ellen asked. “I can make that in the microwave. It comes in a box.”

“Ah …” Mel met Anne Marie’s look as he entered the kitchen.

“I think Mel would be thrilled with whatever you cooked,” she inserted smoothly, smothering a laugh when Mel rolled his eyes.

“I’ll eat anything you decide to serve me,” Mel agreed.

“Okay.” Ellen nodded seriously. “A boy in my class brought chocolate-covered ants to school last week.”

“Chocolate-covered ants?” Mel repeated.

“I didn’t eat any,” Ellen said, then explained, “There weren’t enough for everyone.”

“That’s a shame,” Mel said with obvious insincerity, although Ellen didn’t seem to notice.

Ellen was about to say something else when the doorbell chimed.

Anne Marie shrugged, answering Mel’s unspoken question. “I’m not expecting anyone,” she said. It seemed a bit early for the neighbors to be introducing themselves. However, this could be a visit from a political candidate, as an election was coming up soon.

Ellen beat her to the door and threw it open. Even before Anne Marie could see who’d come calling, her daughter announced, “It’s Dad!”

Anne Marie cast Mel an apologetic look. “Hello, Tim,” she said cordially, standing behind Ellen.

“Hello.” He smiled at his daughter. “How’s my girl?”

“Good.” Ellen beamed happily, always excited about seeing her father.

Tim gazed at Anne Marie, as if seeking confirmation that everything really was fine. His smile had a curious effect on her, which she did her best to ignore. She stood in the doorway, blocking his entry. “What can I do for you?” she asked politely, praying Mel would stay in the kitchen until Tim left.

His timing was bad. Mel already had a problem with Tim’s coming around as much as he did, and Anne Marie didn’t want him to think Tim stopped by whenever he felt like it. That wasn’t the case; he generally made arrangements well in advance. Thank goodness, because she tried to keep the two men apart as much as possible.

“I can only stay for a few minutes,” Tim said. “I came over to drop off a small housewarming gift.”

“Oh.” Anne Marie felt properly chastised—and a little embarrassed.

“Can I come in?” he asked.