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touch sooner. See, Janie, I’ve got cancer—and, well, it doesn’t look like I’m going to win this battle
.
    Jane gasped, then squinted through cloudy eyes.
When I get to heaven, I’m going to look down on you and make sure good things come your way. I’m writing in hopes that you will come to Sweethaven for the Blossom Festival. Meet me there. Eat a funnel cake with me for old time’s sake. And we can catch up and I can see you in real life one more time before I see Jesus
.
    Suzanne was dying?
    Jane wiped away a tear. Her throat swelled around the lump that had grown. Swallowing suddenly seemed an impossible task. If only she had her sunglasses. She checked her eyes in the rearview mirror and blinked to force the tears away.
I wish things had turned out differently for all of us. I wish I’d come to my senses sooner, and hadn’t missed out on so many years of knowing everything about you. Take care of each other, Janie. Please. I hope I see you in May
.
    And I hope you always remember Sweethaven
.
    Suzanne was dying. And she wanted her to come back there.
    Her friend had no idea what she asked of her. Jane swore she’d never go back to Sweethaven.
    No matter what.
    Sam popped the door open, startling her back to reality. She wiped her eyes one more time and tucked the card in her purse. Now that she knew what it said, it felt very precious.
    “Hey, Mom.” Sam struggled to heave his backpack and lunchbox into the van.
    Jane wondered how he managed to make a private school uniform look so disheveled.
    “Hey, buddy, how was school?”
    “It was the best day ever, Mom.”
    Jane smiled at him in the rearview mirror. He said that every single day. He leaned forward.
    “You okay, Mom? Your eyes look all red.”
    “I’m good.” She put on a smile. “Get buckled, mister.”
    Jane thanked God every day for Sam. Their little miracle baby.With his dark brown curls and scattered freckles across his nose, he epitomized the word “joy.” His delight in everything he did infected the rest of them. God knew exactly what they’d needed. She sometimes wondered if He sent Sam specifically for the purpose of bringing oxygen back to her lungs.
    She glanced up at him in the mirror and saw he’d already lost himself in a book. She loved that about him. Suzanne would’ve loved her children. They would’ve loved her. She’d have been Auntie Sooze. And Jane would’ve been Auntie Jane. It’s what they’d always planned. Grow up. Buy houses next door to each other. Spend holidays together and summers in Sweethaven.
    But none of that had happened. And now it was too late.

FOUR
Jane
    That night, after the kids were in bed, Jane took Suzanne’s card out and held it in her hand, aware that it could very well be the last connection she had to her friend. She couldn’t go to the Blossom Festival, but she could call. She had a list of questions. What had Suzanne done with her life? How had things turned out for her? And her daughter? How old would she be now—twenty-four? An adult. And Jane had only ever seen her once.
    “I think they’re all down for the count,” Graham said, entering the kitchen. He stopped when he saw her standing against the counter staring at the card. “What’s that?” A look of concern crossed his face.
    Jane handed it to him. Though he’d never met Suzanne, he knew all about her. He knew how they’d all grown up together in that tiny town—a sort of safe haven that seemed to shelter them from the rest of the world. She’d made sure to tell him because they were so important to her. Yet, if they were so important to her, how had she let them all slip away?
    “You should go.”
    His words jarred her from her sorrow. “What?”
    “You should go back.”
    She stared at him, then shook her head. “No. Graham, I can’t.”The raw lump that had filled her throat all day stifled her ability to swallow. “There’re too many reasons to stay away from Sweethaven, and you know it.”
    Graham