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didn’t
bother leaving a message; her mom tended to forget to check. They’d catch up
later.
    She called Daisy next, and Daisy, bless her, picked up on the
first ring. “Hey, you,” she said. “How’s my wicked stepsister?”
    “Good. So good. In fact, Mrs. Air
Force Babe of Oklahoma, you need to stop me from making a fool of myself. I’m in
the middle of Central Park and I’m tempted to burst into song about what a Great
Day this is. I’m about to become a one-woman flash mob. Stop me because I’m
supposed to be cooler than that.”
    “You’re a New Yorker. You know you’re cooler than that. But it does sound like you’re having a good day.”
    “I’d say so. The best. ”
    “That’s good. So, you’ve got news? What’s going on?”
    “God, just…everything. I got the fellowship, Daze. I got it.
Out of everyone they could have picked, they picked me.”
    “That’s great. So what does it mean? Besides more laurel
wreaths being laid at your feet? You know you’re making the rest of the family
look bad, right?”
    “Hardly.” She knew Daisy had to be kidding. A talented
photographer, she’d been given a citation as an emerging artist, and her work
had been in a special show at the Museum of Modern Art. She’d set the bar high.
Sonnet was just glad the two of them worked in completely different fields.
“What the fellowship does is put me in charge of a program to give indigent
children a chance in life. It’s incredible to think I could really make an
impact. I don’t know yet whether I’ll be assigned to a domestic program or
overseas, although it doesn’t matter. There’s need everywhere.”
    “Wow, that’s really something, Sonnet,” Daisy said. “There was
never any doubt, not in my mind, anyway. You’re amazing. So, uh, will you be
traveling somewhere far away?”
    Despite the enthusiastic words, Sonnet heard something in
Daisy’s tone. “You sound funny,” said Sonnet. “What’s up? Is Charlie doing any
better in school?” Daisy had the most adorable son, but the kid was having a
hard time with school this year.
    “It’s a process,” Daisy said. “So hard to see him struggle, but
we’re working on it. It’s just… Hey, have you talked to your mom today?”
    “I tried calling her but she didn’t pick up. She never picks
up. Why do you ask?”
    “Oh. You should call her. She…”
    “God, is Max in trouble again?” Daisy’s younger brother, now in
college, had always been something of a challenge.
    “It’s just…call, okay?”
    “Don’t be going all cryptic on me. I—”
    “Hey, you’re breaking up.”
    “Oh, you big faker—”
    “Sorry. Can’t hear. And I need to check on Charlie—”
    The line went dead. Sonnet instantly tried her mother again,
and then the Inn at Willow Lake, but was told Nina was out. Frustrated, she
glared down at her phone. There was Zach Alger’s name, at the top of the contact
list. Prior to the night of Daisy’s wedding, he would have been one of the first
people she would call with her news, good or bad. That had all changed, though.
She’d never call him again, not after that glorious, sweet, impossible mistake
she’d made in the boathouse six months before.
    Stop . It was a known fact that
ruminating on regrettable past events was an unhealthy habit. Better by far to
accept what had happened, set it aside and move on. Ruminating kept the incident
alive in one’s head, meaning the hurt, anger, humiliation and regrets felt like
fresh wounds, even after time had passed.
    Sonnet knew these things. She’d read the self-help books. She’d
sat through college courses in human psychology. She knew the drill. Knew how to
protect her own heart. Therefore, it was disconcerting to realize she hadn’t
been able to push past what she’d come to refer to in her head as the Zach
incident.
    Having sex with him had been a moment of madness. The sex had
been outstanding, but she couldn’t let herself dwell on that. In his arms,