Page 74 of The Glass Dolphin

“Come on,” Robin said with a scoff. “You’re going to steal the show, and you know it.”

“And don’t think we all don’t know that you didn’t even do a New Truth,” Alice shot back at her.

Robin’s mouth fished and her eyes widened, but she didn’t get anything out before several people started laughing—including her husband. Kelli joined in, because while she loved Robin, she could rarely be found speechless.

She scanned the group, and said, “Kristen? El?”

Eloise wore pure determination on her face as she took a little step forward. But it was Aaron who said, “New Truth. El and I were expecting a baby this fall, but—” He looked at her as he stepped to her side. “We lost it a few weeks ago.”

Kelli could only stare at the pair of them, standing there side-by-side. No one said anything, and even the wind and waves went dormant.

A few weeks ago… Kelli had had Daphne a few weeks ago, and everything clicked together in her head. It had taken El a few days to come visit Kelli and Daphne in the hospital, and looking back, shehadseemed uncomfortable.

Kelli had thought it was because of the fight, which she’d heard about at that point. El had been building and building the Cliffside Inn for years now. She looked tired right now, but she leaned into Aaron, and they seemed absolutely unified. That scene touched her heart, and Kelli closed her eyes and committed their sweet devotion to each other.

“New Truth,” Kristen said. “I was worried this would be the thing that finally broke us apart. We’re large enough now to splinter into smaller groups, and well, I’m ashamed to admit I thought this would be the thing that did it.” She wiped her eyes and ducked her head.

“Kristen,” Robin murmured, but she didn’t add anything else.

Kelli saw her friends as teenagers as they all gathered at the lighthouse with a much younger Kristen for their Seafaring Girls lessons. She saw them sitting together at a funeral, and lining the aisle as El walked down it to marry Aaron.

She saw AJ going into labor on the beach, and she saw herself opening her yoga studio in her newly renovated childhood home. She saw Alice and Robin standing in a pavilion after a tsunami, all of them wondering how they were going to pay for the things that had been damaged and needed to be restored.

She saw herself out in a storm, on a boat, saving teenagers. Saving Jean.

Kelli blinked, and she only saw Eloise. She moved away from Shad and the others she stood with and hurried toward her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around Eloise.

El hugged her back, and the next thing Kelli knew, she found herself in the middle of a group huddle hug, with Kristen’s arms around her, and Jean’s, and Laurel’s. The group moved as Alice, Robin, and AJ piled around them.

Then Maddy, then Julia, then Clara. Kelli pressed her eyes closed as condolences got whispered through the group, and then someone said, “I love you guys,” and Kelli echoed that back to them all too.

Life changed, rapidly sometimes. Nine months for her to grow a human in her body and then become a mother later in life. A single conversation to make them retreat to themselves, to silence their communication with each other.

But love took a lot longer to change, to warp, and to experience. It moved like a mighty glacier, carving its path with an indomitable will and persistent strength. Even as seasons ebbed and flowed around it, love retained its essence, immutable and enduring, forever leaving a deep imprint on the landscape of human hearts.

And Kelli loved these women, their very friendships imprinting on her heart and soul, as they stood together on the deck of that yacht.

“Okay,” Alice finally said. “You guyshaveto come see this dips bar. It’sincredible.”

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Kristen stood with Clara and Jean, staring at the spread of food in front of her. “This is incredible,” she said.

“It’s from Dip’n Dive,” Julia said as she joined them. “It’s this new place perched right on the north beach of Diamond.” She beamed at the table covered with regular, ridged potato chips, corn chips—white and blue—pretzel sticks and twists, pita chips, baguette chips, ginger snaps, graham crackers, and vanilla wafers.

And more. The platters and trays and bowls of dips crowded in the front half of the table, with their vessels behind them.

“Okay, everyone,” Julia called. “Gather round, so I can explain this.” She carried such a light, and Kristen really wanted to get to know her better. “Down on this end, we have the typical appetizer dips. Chips and pineapple-mango salsa, guacamole, loaded ranch dip for veggies and chips, corn and bacon dip. There’s veggies, chips, and crackers. They’ve paired up their dips with the things you use behind them, but you can mix and match whatever you want.”

She moved down several feet—several feet of appetizer dips—and indicated the next section of the table. “These are the main dish dips. There’s a Margherita pizza dip. It’s incredible with the pitas or naan.” Julia’s grin stretched across her whole face. “There’s warm crab dip, buffalo chicken dip—you use veggies on this or you can use the Ritz crackers. I couldn’t stop myself from eating this when Maddy and I sampled the dips the other day.”

Julia trilled out a light laugh, and Maddy stepped to her side. “My favorite is the Reuben dip,” she said. “It’s got the corned beef, the cheese, and the sauerkraut. It’s to die for with the rye bread, but the pumpernickel chips or the pretzels are good with it too.” She indicated another bowl. “There’s queso and chorizo, and the classic artichoke dip, but this has chicken, so it’s a bit more substantial.”

Julia went by her and indicated the last little bit of the table. “This is the dessert dip section. You can eat in any order, but we got the four-dip platter, and it features a peanut butter cup cheesecake dip—excellent with vanilla wafers—monster cookie dough, which I liked the best with pretzels. Then we’ve got your classic fruit dip for those of you who think fruit is dessert.” She grinned at everyone, and Kristen’s smile broke onto her face.

“And lastly,” Maddy said. “The pumpkin pie dip. It’s mind-blowing with ginger snaps, but if you want to just dip a toe in, try it with the graham crackers first.”

They both beamed out at everyone, and then Alice said, “Well, I’m not waiting. This looks absolutely incredible.”

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