Grace burst into laughter. “You mean Matt’s not giving up that huge farm to live off you and your florist’s salary in Thunder Point? I couldn’t be any more thrilled about this. Ginger, all I want in this world is to see you happy!”

“But we do have to find someone to take my place,” Ginger said. “Someone good. Someone you can trust. But don’t worry—we’re certainly not getting married while there’s a harvest going on.”

“We’ll get to work on help in the shop, but first let’s enjoy the excitement of this. This is wonderful! I knew this would happen! I knew last April when you knocked him out!”

“See?” Matt said, his arm around Ginger’s shoulders. “Good story.”

* * *

It took a while for the excitement to die down among Grace, her family and her friends. There was so much hugging and well-wishing it almost wore Grace out. But finally Troy and his playmates went back to the beach with their Frisbee, and Ginger and Matt walked back to town where they would have a couple of hours together before he had to head back to his farm in the north.

That left Winnie, Grace and Lin Su on the warm deck. Lin Su asked Winnie if she’d like a manicure. Winnie loved manicures and pedicures and Lin Su was more than happy to oblige. Lin Su knew that even if Winnie’s hands didn’t work as well as they once had, she wanted them to look good. “You should get a raise,” Winnie said.

“You should,” Grace agreed.

Lin Su laughed. “If you’re comfortable, I’m happy.” She brought a tray to the deck. Placing it between herself and Winnie, she began working on her nails.

“You’re worth a king’s ransom,” Winnie said. “I’d never have requested a nurse who could double as a manicurist. I don’t suppose you do hair and facials?”

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “I learned to do nails before I attended nursing college. I thought I’d be a beautician one day but then Charlie came along and I needed a more dependable income. Doing nails has come in really handy during those tough times when nursing jobs aren’t in good supply.”

“It can’t be easy,” Grace said. “Being a single mother with a demanding nursing career. And I know nursing is a good field, but it’s expensive raising a child.”

“There have been challenging times, but this particular job, bringing Charlie along to be entertained by all the people around here, this is like a paid vacation.” She massaged Winnie’s hands. “It’s true, there isn’t a lot left over at the end of the month but we do fine.”

“Do forgive the intrusion, but do you have a man in your life?” Winnie asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Charlie Simmons. All the man I can handle,” she added.

“May I ask...?”

“You may ask me anything at all, Winnie. I’m in your employ and I want you to be comfortable that I’m completely honest with you.”

“Charlie’s father?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, he was killed in an accident before Charlie was born. We hadn’t yet married. Charlie carries my name for that reason. I try not to make too much an issue of the fact that I hadn’t been married to his father...but of course, he knows.”

“And your family?”

“Well...” She stopped massaging for a moment. “We’re estranged. They didn’t approve of Charlie’s father. And they didn’t exactly approve of my decision to have and raise my son.”

“Damn fools,” Winnie said.

“Mama, don’t pass judgment,” Grace said. “We’ve had our issues, you can’t deny that.”

“I can’t deny it but I sure as hell lived to regret it!”

Grace grabbed her heart. “Holy shit, get the Bible. It’s got to be the end of the world!”

“Serpent’s tooth,” Winnie muttered.

Lin Su laughed at them. “Now, ladies,” she admonished, “no need to feel sorry for us, really. We’re a very good team. I’ve been so lucky—everywhere I go with Charlie people like him. Admire him. He had a lot of illnesses and look at him—smart as a whip, polite, handsome.”

“You said that a couple of times,” Grace said. “What kind of illnesses?”

“Luckily nothing we couldn’t survive. But it was terrifying at the time. Asthma, a lot of allergies, a weak immune system, winter colds that turned into bronchitis and pneumonia. When he was three he spent two weeks in the hospital, most of that on oxygen. I don’t think a camel could carry the weight of antibiotics he’s had in his lifetime. And that’s its own worry—too many antibiotics.”

Grace glanced at the boy running along the beach below the deck. “He seems awfully healthy now.”

“He’s much better, but he has to carry an inhaler and an EpiPen. He’s a little undersize—I know that frustrates him. He hates his glasses but he’s nearly blind without them. When he’s older, when contacts work or maybe even surgery... Well, I’m a nurse. I’ve seen young parents through far worse situations—cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, cancer...”

“How is the asthma?” Winnie asked.

“Well, it depends who you ask. If you ask Charlie it’s much better and he hardly ever uses his inhaler, but he still takes daily medication for it. Charlie is determined it’s going to go away and I’m determined he learns to manage it without telling himself fairy stories that it will disappear. If he eats peanuts or shrimp or gets stung by a bee—we could be rushing to the emergency room. That’s why he carries an EpiPen and so do I.”

“You’re a superwoman,” Grace said after a moment of silence. “I can’t imagine the stress of that.”

“You’re having a baby,” Lin Su said. “You’ll soon realize you have many difficult and stressful moments to deal with and deal with them you will. If there’s anything that can make a woman strong, it’s taking care of her child.”

“Amen,” Winnie said.

“Are you getting by all right now?” she asked Lin Su.

“We don’t have a surplus but where is the shame in that? We do fine. Better than ever since we’ve been taking so many meals with you!” She laughed a little, then grew more serious. “We’re doing very well, thank you for asking,” she said.