On Friday morning, Maddie said to Jack, "Send Rory over to see me tomorrow. Tell her we can talk about books."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. I need a new friend."

Maddie wanted to befriend the lonely girl. If Rory found a place she belonged, maybe happiness would replace the dark cloud she carried with her.

When Rory arrived, she looked at her house. "Do you live here all alone?"

"Until my parents come back from Florida for the summer, I do."

"Our old house was big like this, but new. We hardly fit in this house. When Gran and Gramps come, there won't be any room."

Maddie smiled and agreed with her. "Come see my books." She brought her upstairs to her old bedroom. She had a collection of Newbery medal books mostly since the nineties, although she had a few before like Sarah, Plain, and Tall. Rory's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. She started pointing out ones she had read. They spent over an hour talking about their favorites. A pile of books accumulated on the floor. They were ones Rory hadn't read, but Maddie insisted she must. Maddie pulled a few she would read again since it had been years.

Eventually, Rory looked around the room. "Is this your room?"

"No, it was when I was a kid. It's a guest room now. My room is downstairs."

"So you slept here when you were my age and you knew Dad?"

"Yes, I did." Maddie remembered when her mother caught her and Drew.

"Did you like him?"

"Who?"

"Jack."

"Like him? No, but I kissed him once. We were playing spin the bottle on the beach. Do kids even know about spin the bottle?"

Rory nodded. "I've read about it."

"There were more boys than girls, so I kissed most of them. It was nice especially when I kissed Drew and I decided I was in love."

"How old were you?"

"About fifteen..."

"I think Dad would kill me if I kissed any boys."

Maddie laughed. "Do you want to go get a snack? I'm on a diet, so I only have fruit."

"Why are you on a diet?"

"So I can wear my favorite shorts this summer." Maddie answered simply since the real answer was not meant for a young girl.

Once downstairs, Maddie washed some grapes, and she offered Rory a soda. Maddie had kept some because she didn't drink them. Today she was glad she did.

Curious she asked, "Do you ever see your real father?"

"Jack's my father. The other one disappeared before I was born. He adopted me when I was six. Does everyone know about me and Dad?"

"Honey, we all know about everything. Your grandparents are our friends. I know how sad they are about your mother. We all are."

"Did you know my mother?"

"I saw her when you came to visit, but I never had the chance to get to know her and I'm sorry about that."

"You know she was young when I was born. She was my best friend. Even when Jack came along, we went on dates together."

"I can tell Jack loves you very much."

"He wants me to be happy," Rory said under her breath.

"What will make you happy?"

"To feel normal and not like I might cry at any minute."

Maddie saw that her eyes were filling up. "You can cry with me anytime. How about this? When you feel sad, you can tell me about what you're feeling. Then if you can, you can follow it up with a happy memory to share with me."

"The happy memories make me want to cry too."

"Maybe you'll make some new happy memories." Maddie wasn't a counselor, but so desperately wanted to help her.

"Dad is sad too. He tries to hide it, but I can tell."

"I think he's lonely. He's home alone all day with Emma. He needs to be with people. Just his morning run will help."

"He started running at home on his treadmill. He had stopped when... He hadn't run for a really long time."

"I just started running. I never ran in my life." Maddie admitted.

"You should come over and see Emma. She's cute."

Maddie noticed a sadness cast over her eyes. "Tell me, sweetie."

"It's just that she'll never know our Mommy. I have so many memories and Emma won't have any." Rory's tears started.

Maddie took her in her arms and held her. She felt her heart breaking for this lost girl.

Other than Mimi, Rory hadn't been in soft arms in a long time. Maddie said she was on a diet, but Rory liked the way she felt - different from Mommy. Mom was skinny, except when she was pregnant. Even then Jack would say it was all baby. Maddie didn't have to hold her and didn't even mind that Rory was making her shirt wet. She ran her hand over Rory's hair and didn't say anything.

Rory cried for herself and Emma and Jack. She cried because she missed her mom so much. She even cried because she liked Maddie holding her, and that was betraying her mother. After a while, Maddie did something that surprised her. She squeezed her tight, and she kissed her head.

She whispered, "Hey Rory, I promise I'll always be here if you need a friend and a shoulder. Now should we go see what's happening at your house?"

Rory looked up at Maddie's kind eyes. She went to wipe her eyes, but Maddie took her hand. "Here's a tissue, sweetie. I can touch your eyes up a little, so they aren't so red."

Rory hadn't worn makeup since she was little and played dress up. When Mom dressed up to go out, she would put some on Rory. Don't start again, please don't start crying, she repeated in her mind.

Maddie covered the red blotches with makeup. Then they bundled up, because it was a windy March day. The cold air felt good as they walked to her house.

When they entered, Jack said, "I was getting ready to send out a search party, kiddo."

"Maddie has tons of great books. Oh no, I left the ones I was going to borrow." Rory switched from excited to disappointed.

"I'll drop them by when I go on my run tomorrow." Maddie assured her.

Rory felt better. Everything felt easier here. People did favors and walked by each other's houses. It was different from her old neighborhood which had wide streets and big houses set back by huge lawns and long driveways. Here everything was smaller, but it was okay.

Jack looked at Maddie. "Will you run with Peter in the morning?"

"Not usually on the weekend. Everyone's schedule is off."

"If you text me, I can run with you. I'll give you my number."

"You know Peter humors me. I just started running in January. He's been running for as long as I've known him."

"I just started up too. I hadn't since... a while."

"I know. Rory mentioned that."

"Hey kiddo, Megan wants you at six-thirty. You'll need to eat first."

"Can Maddie stay for dinner?"

Jack hesitated. He had trouble putting edible food on the table. "I have enough chicken, but I can't promise it will be edible."

"Jack, I don't want to impose, but I would be happy to help cook."

"Are you sure?"

He suddenly enjoyed having company. It had been the three of them for so long. Here at the beach, he didn't feel so isolated.

"Definitely. Let's see what you have."

He watched as Maddie surveyed his refrigerator and when she turned around, she said, "Let me run home and add a few things. I'll get Rory's books too."

When Maddie left, Jack asked Rory, "Did you have fun?"

"Uh, huh. She's nice. Dad, she cares about me. She really cares."

Rory's words didn't surprise him. He may have teased Maddie about being wild, but she always looked out for others. When he and Drew teased annoying little Megan and Jenny, Maddie would tell them to stop. She was always friendly to the younger girls. It even caused occasional friction between her and Drew, if he remembered correctly.

"Honey, for as long as I remember, Maddie has always been nice to everyone."

"She told me about spin the bottle. She said she kissed you." Rory smiled.

"Did she tell you she kissed four or five boys that night? Don't get any ideas! No kissing boys on the beach or anywhere until you're twenty-one."

"Dad! I don't even want to kiss boys." She laughed.

"Good! Keep it that way. Now you can change Emma, you need the practice now you're a babysitter."

Maddie arrived with some fresh vegetables and other ingredients. She went to work cutting and chopping. Jack watched her, and like magic, she made a stir-fry with rice. She even brought a bottle of white wine.

"A toast to old friends," Maddie said.

"And apparently spin the bottle."

Maddie smiled like a kid caught doing something wrong. "You don't mind do you?"

"Nah, I told her no kissing on the beach until she's twenty-one."

Maddie laughed. "Good luck with that. She's beautiful."

"Stop! You're giving me an ulcer," Jack longed for Nicole to navigate the teenage years with him.

Maddie must have sensed his change in mood, because she said softly, "Jack, I'm sorry. I think I'll say the wrong thing from time to time."

"It's okay."

She placed a hand on his bicep, as if to acknowledge his feelings. "The foods ready. I left out some plain meat and veggies in case Emma wants them."

"Are you sure you don't have kids?"

"Just a lot of friends, but no marriage and children never materialized for me."

Rory overheard and said, "You still could."

"I suppose I have a few years, maybe, but seeing as my New Year's resolution is no dating it would be hard."

"I thought it was your diet," Rory said.

Jack was shocked. "Rory!"

"No, she's right. I told her, but I also shed an almost two-hundred-pound weight on New Year's Day and vowed I wasn't going down that dead-end path again."

"What path?" Rory asked.

Maddie laughed. "Never mind. Do you like the chicken?"

"Oh man, yes! Dad could never cook anything this good."

Jack didn't bother to defend himself. He was too busy watching Rory enjoy herself.

At the end of their meal, Rory had to get ready to go. Megan picked her up. Maddie wiped Emma's face and lifted her out of the high chair. She didn't fuss. He cleaned the kitchen while Maddie sat down and read to Emma. Jack laughed at how animated, Maddie read. She was a professional.

"Bravo," he said when she was done.

"You need to bring Emma to my story times. Would you like that sweet girl?"

"You know she's usually more comfortable with men than women. She wouldn't go to Jen, but she went to her husband."

"Oh, Alex is a kid magnet. I've never seen anything like it. He'll be an amazing father."

"Is she?"

"Uh huh." Maddie smiled.

"I can't believe most everyone is still here."

"It seems that way, but Jen, for example, was away in New York for years. She came home after her first marriage failed. Life has happened for all of us. Not like you, but..."

"No, I guess not." It always circled around to him.

"Jack, is Rory getting help?"

He knew what she was asking and responded, "She had been. I have to get on that next week. Do you know someone?"

"There's a woman who brings her kids to the library. She practices in town. I'll get her number for you."

"Okay, thanks." Changing the subject, he said, "So tell me about this resolution."

"Oh, it's nothing. I woke up on New Year's Day in a relationship with a guy I didn't even like. I decided first to lose some weight and get in shape and secondly..."

"No dating."

"Something like that... That's the PG version. I told Steve goodbye and turned over a new leaf. I'm embracing being alone and taking care of myself."

"You did a good job taking care of us with dinner and Rory too. She really likes you."

"Good, because the feeling is mutual."

Maddie stayed while Jack put Emma to bed. When he returned, Maddie said, "I let Rory cry on my shoulder. Jack, I'll listen if you need to talk. I see the sadness in your eyes."

"Mads, it's hard. One day, she was there, and we were excited about having a baby and then she was gone. I was supposed to be with her. She had a doctor's appointment, but I got caught in a meeting."

"Then you'd be gone and poor Rory..."

"That's what my mother-in-law says, but I think it would have changed the timing. She would have reached the intersection at a different time." Jack believed it.

"You can't live with guilt. It will consume you."

"Some days it feels like it has. You know I went from working too many hours, to hardly working. I promised I'd be home more after the baby and I ended up being a single father with a newborn. I had never changed a diaper before... and she was so tiny. Oh God, she was a fighter. She still is feisty. Sometimes Rory and I cry for her because she doesn't even know someone's gone from her life. She's too little to know she should have a mother, but someday she won't be."

He couldn't stop the tears if he wanted. Maddie listened and then got up to get him a tissue. It was awful talking about it, but he felt better afterward.

"Rory may not be too late. I don't want her to see me like this."

Maddie nodded. "Do you work at all?"

"I do some, but I've left my partner high and dry. He's been patient. I've offered to dissolve the partnership and let him have full ownership, but he refuses."

"Financially you're alright or is that why you're here?"

"I'm fine financially. That's one thing I don't worry about." He didn't tell her just how successful he was.

"Well, I'm glad you came here. I hope you'll feel at home. I think I should go. Thanks, Jack."

"For what? You cooked."

"For trusting me... for letting me be your friend."

"That was easy, Mads. You were always my friend."

She walked out into the cold night.