"So, that's it?" Michael said after I'd finished walking the Supremes halfway down the path back to Rosie's house. "They just wanted a snack?" He was leaning up against his car, trying to be cool, but I could tell he was ready to jump in and make a quick getaway if he had to.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said.

I reached in for a handful of Kashi Good Friends, then held the box out to Michael. He shook his head.

I popped some cereal into my mouth. "So," I said. "Talk."

"I think I might have a lead on a job," Michael said. "A start-up shoe company on the Left Coast. I'm over the whole EBAC thing."

It was like he was speaking a language I no longer understood. I vaguely remembered VRIF was the Voluntary Reductions in Force phase, and IRIF the Involuntary Reductions in Force phase. CAD was Computer Aided Disaster and GIGO meant Garbage In Gospel Out. All this corporate speak seemed like such a long, long time ago.

"EBAC?" I said.

Michael flashed his perfect teeth. "Extremely Big-Ass Corporation. This one is small enough that I'm hoping I can talk them into letting me consult under the table at a reduced rate until my benefits run out. I mean, what's not to like? It's a total WW."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Win-win," he said. "Anyway, I was thinking you should come with me, Nora. You know, fresh start and all that. I mean, what's holding either of us back?"

"I'm sorry," I said.

"That's okay," Michael said. "Stuff happens. I think we both have to turn the page and move forward."

I popped some more cereal into my mouth and chewed while I let Michael's profound cluelessness sink in. I hoped it was a measure of my recent growth that I could no longer imagine being even remotely attracted to him. He looked like a pair of my mother's penguin earrings in that stupid suit.

"No," I said, "that's not what I meant. I'm trying to say that I'm sorry any of it happened. I mean, all that sneaking around..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you have to admit, it was pretty hot."

I didn't bother to say that I thought the idea of it had been hotter than the actuality.

"I was kidding," Michael said. "Come on."

I shrugged.

"It's about Sherry, isn't it?"

"No," I said, "it really isn't."

"That guy who was in your car?"

I knew that even with a hundred guesses, Michael would never get it, so I told him.

"It's me," I said. "I know what I want now. Or at least I know what I don't want."

Michael reached for a handful of cereal. "Listen, it doesn't matter how things started. What matters is that we both want it to work. Come on, we have so much commonality, so many shared memories...."

I started closing up the cereal box. "I'm going inside now. It's over. And I really need a glass of milk."

I turned and started walking toward my house.

"Okay," he yelled, just as I was opening my front door. "But don't think you can call me a few months from now when things don't work out with that guy you were kissing. This is a take-it-or-leave-it one-time offer, Nora."

I turned around.

"Oh, Michael," I said. "Grow up."

Day 30

10,349 steps

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS," TESS YELLED FROM her front steps, even though it was 8 her front steps, even though it was 8 A.M A.M.

"What?" Rosie and I stage-whispered.

"I am so incredibly pissed off," Tess said as we all walked out to Wildwater Way. "There are two women going around town claiming to be the ones who put bubbles in the fountain. I mean, you leave Marshbury for one lousy weekend, and suddenly people are impersonating you."

"Wait," I said. Rosie moved up in front of us so Tess and I could walk side by side. "Isn't this a good thing? Call me crazy, but if anybody gets arrested for putting bubbles in the fountain, I'd actually prefer it to be someone other than me."

"That's ridiculous," Tess said. "I hate that they're taking credit. Okay, we have to step things up a notch before anybody else thinks of it. As soon as we finish walking, we make up some flyers. We deliver them house to house, and anywhere we see a clothesline and/or a sign, we knock and extend a personal invitation."

Rosie turned around. "To what?"

We caught up with her and crossed the street. Then we spread out across our shortcut road. "To a secret meeting of the Marshbury Ban the Ban Alliance. We'll plan our strategy at the first meeting. I was thinking we should get the group to storm a selectmen's meeting, but we might want to just cut to the chase and ask them to put us on the agenda."

"Can we have the meeting in my lavender shed?" Rosie asked. "It's almost all cleaned up, thanks to Noreen's mother and my father. It looks so great, and I really should be thinking about drumming up some business. Unless you think that's too self-serving?"

"Nah," Tess said. "It's just good multitasking. Your shed would be perfect. And we can set up chairs on the lawn if we get an overflow crowd."

"Great," Rosie said. "I've got some tiki torches I can burn citronella and lavender oil in to keep the mosquitoes away."

"You might want to lock up Rod and the Supremes, too," I said. "So your dad doesn't have to rescue my mom again."

Rosie gave me a little smile as we walked across the beach parking lot. "I think that's half the fun," she said.

We walked single file through the opening in the seawall and spread out across the hard-packed sand closest to the water. The tide was almost dead low again, and we had to jump over ribbons of seaweed as we walked. I wondered if the next tide, or the one after that, would bring Rick back into my life. I liked him. I hoped he'd call, but I was okay if he didn't.

THE WHEELS THAT had been turning in some mysterious part of my brain suddenly clicked into alignment. I raced to the hardware store and bought all ten retractable clotheslines they had left. had been turning in some mysterious part of my brain suddenly clicked into alignment. I raced to the hardware store and bought all ten retractable clotheslines they had left.

"Wow," the woman behind the counter said as she rang them up. "You must have some serious dirty laundry. You know, there's been a real run on clothespins lately, too. Time to reorder, I guess."

I pulled a flyer out of my purse. BAN THE BAN BAN THE BAN, it said. THE MARSHBURY CLOTHESLINE ALLIANCE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO LEARN THE MARSHBURY CLOTHESLINE ALLIANCE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK AND CLOTHESLINES ARE THE NEW COOL MORE ABOUT HOW GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK AND CLOTHESLINES ARE THE NEW COOL. 7 P.M P.M. AT THE LAVENDER FARM ON HIGH STREET AT THE LAVENDER FARM ON HIGH STREET.

The woman finished reading and looked up again. She pointed. "You can hang it up right there," she said.

"No pun intended," I said.

She laughed. "I'll spread the word," she said. "And you just might see me there, too."

Next, I stopped at the drugstore and bought ten little clear plastic travel-size spray bottles. I was hoping for purple, but I had to settle for sage green.

I left my car in the driveway and covered the nonexercise half of my garage floor with newspapers the minute I got home. Then I started making some sample painted retractable clotheslines. I got the one I'd painted for my mother out of my closet, unwrapped it, and painted another one just like it. Then I painted one that looked like a tiger-striped cat all curled up in a ball.

I covered another in green paint and added darker green stripes, and painted pink polka dots over an orange base on another. Then I painted one sea green, and spattered blues and greens and whites all over it until it looked like the ocean on a wild day. I didn't think I'd been this happy since my childhood finger painting days. I stayed relaxed and didn't worry about them coming out perfectly. I just wanted them to be fun.

I'd stayed up late last night scrolling through photos and drawings of lavender on the Internet, and I'd finally come up with my trademark design: a single bloom of lavender blowing in the wind. I painted my last five retractable clotheslines a pale lavender color, then painted my original lavender design in sage green and dark purple on top of that.

I went back to the nonlavender clotheslines and painted a tiny, logo-size lavender plant down near the bracket end on each one. Finally, I hand-lettered my company name on each of the ten clothesline reels: LAVENDER LINES LAVENDER LINES.

I stood back and took a good look. I sat down on the floor with the spray bottles and carefully painted a tiny lavender bloom on each one. Then I called Rosie.

I had just enough time to take a water break and touch up a few spots I'd missed before Rosie came over.

She ducked under the half-opened garage door and started circling the patchwork of newspaper on the floor. "These are amazing, Noreen. I love them."

"Really?" I said. "Enough to sell them at the lavender shed? I was thinking I could fill the little bottles with lavender water and include one with each clothesline."

Rosie fluffed up her red curls with both hands. "Of course we can sell them in the shed. Maybe it'll actually bring in some business." She put her hands on her hips. "Not in a million years would I have come up with an idea like this. Maybe I should hire you to take over the lavender farm."

"Actually," I said, "I'm not sure I'd want to take over the farm. But I think between your lavender and the clotheslines and some other ideas I have, we could have a great online business. You can sell my things in the shed, and I'll promote any lavender products you want to sell on my Lavender Lines Web site."

"Are you sure you don't want to at least take over the lavender shed?" Rosie said. "Maybe you can make it your office."

I shook my head. "Sorry. I definitely don't want to be tied down to a brick-and-mortar office, even one that smells like lavender. Ever again, if I can help it."

Day 31

10,444 steps

THE SMELL OF FRESHLY BREWED COFFEE WOKE ME UP. I kicked off the covers and headed for the kitchen. kicked off the covers and headed for the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," I said. "How was Nantucket? Still wet?"

"Lovely," my mother said. "Just lovely."

My mother looked lovely, too. The silver dolphin earrings with blue glass inserts she was wearing weren't even half bad. "Nice earrings," I said.

She reached both hands to her ears and stroked the dolphins. "Thanks, honey. Kent bought them for me to remember our first trip together. Here, let me pour you a cup of coffee."

"Sit," I said. "I'll get it. You're really crazy about him, aren't you?"

My mother smiled. "We have fun together. Sometimes I think that might be the most important thing. When I remember your father, you'd suppose it would be the romance I'd remember, or all the firsts with you kids, but it's really the laughter I think about the most."

"Gee, thanks," I said.

My mother and I both laughed. I put a couple of pieces of whole wheat bread in the toaster and sat down at the table with my coffee.

"Aren't you going to fill me in on everybody?" I asked. I figured I might as well get it over with, so I gritted my teeth and got ready to hear how much better my sister and brothers were doing than I was.

"They're fine," my mother said. "Everybody's fine. How was your trip?"

"Really fun," I said. My toast popped up, and I jumped up to get it before my mother could.

"One thing, Noreen," my mother said.

I finished spreading on the peanut butter and turned around. "What?"

"Do you have any idea how my leopard bra got into the garage?"

WHEN I PULLED into my driveway after grocery shopping, Hannah was sitting cross-legged at the edge of her lawn. I stopped my car down by the road and got out. into my driveway after grocery shopping, Hannah was sitting cross-legged at the edge of her lawn. I stopped my car down by the road and got out.

"Hi," I said. "How's it going?"

"Ha," she said.

I sat down next to her and crossed my legs, too. "Your mother just wants you to be safe, you know."

Hannah shrugged and twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

"So do I. And if I ever see you doing anything you shouldn't be doing, I want you to know I'm going to tell her right away."

"Don't worry," she said in a sad little voice. "I'm never going anywhere again. My supposed friends totally sold me out."