Page 51 of We Can Forever

The door opens, and in walks Jenny with a gray-haired woman. Heat climbs into my face. I don’t know why, but it’s embarrassing that Flick and I were just talking about her brother and niece, and I’m almost worried she somehow knows.

“Hi!” Jenny goes right for the skein she wants, grabs it, and brings it to the counter. “How’s it going? Hannah, Flick, this is my mother, Cynthia.”

My heart leaps into my throat. Michael’s mom?

I want to pat my hair and make sure it’s not the mess I suspect it is, but I stay frozen behind the counter. “H-hello.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Cynthia smiles at us both.

“You must be working some kind of magic,” Jenny says to me, shaking her head in delight. “Because Michael has been walking around with a shit-eating grin for days.”

I bite my lip. Oh. So, we’re doing this. Right in front of Cynthia.

But it seems that Jenny’s mom picks up on my discomfort. “Jenny, leave the poor girl alone. She doesn’t have to explain herself.”

I smile at her in gratitude, liking her already.

Over her shoulder, Devin, Maya, and Alexis enter the shop. Is it six already? How did the day go by so quickly?

“It was nice to meet you, Cynthia. I should go set up for my crafting group.”

Relieved that Flick is ringing Jenny up, I sidle out from behind the counter and hurry to the center of the room. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey.” Alexis’s mouth draws thin.

I freeze. “What’s wrong?”

Her gaze cuts to Maya, who looks pale and unsteady.

“Maya?” My breath catches. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Her smile is clearly forced. “I’m not feeling great, but I wanted to come anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Alexis asks. “It’s not too late to?—”

“Absolutely.” Taking a seat, Maya opens her bag and pulls out her knitting project.

“Bye, Hannah!” Jenny calls as she and her mom leave. I give them a quick wave before turning back to Maya—who seems determined not to meet my gaze.

“Hey.” Flick joins us in the circle. “What are we working on tonight?”

Devin pulls out the scarf she started the other day. “I want to finish this for the firefighter’s fundraiser.”

“Ooh, right. I have to finish my stuff for it too.”

The five of us settle in and get to work, the conversation turning to the Makers Market on the mainland next month. Although Maya isn’t exactly a chatty person, she talks less than usual, and twenty minutes into the night, her head is hanging.

I bite the inside of my cheek, knowing there’s little I can do. If Maya’s lupus is acting up but she still wants to go about her daily life, there’s nothing that I or any of us can say to convince her otherwise.

And so I hold back and don’t bring up her health, though that doesn’t stop me from regularly glancing at her to make sure she’s okay.

“When does the farmers market start?” Devin asks.

“April.” Flick holds up her finished hat and studies it with satisfaction. “And it goes through October.”

Maya fidgets in her chair, the bottom of her legging riding up and exposing an ankle so swollen I gasp. “Maya,” I say.

“Hmm?” She looks at me with a distant expression, her eyebrows pinched.

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