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took a leave of absence from work.”
    “How could your sister know? She’s been gone having a great time without the Rat Bastard. Haven’t ya, hon?”
    “Pam, please.”
    “Oh, for land sakes. Corrie’s not a baby.”
    “’Bout time someone noticed.” Corrie folded her arms across her chest.
    Pam shot the teenager a don’t-push-your-luck glare before turning back to Michelle. “Tell us about the trip. I’m guessing from the tan you didn’t spend the whole time locked up in your cabin.”
    Not the whole time . Michelle bit back the smile that threatened to overtake her face, slid the now empty suitcase under her bed, then opened the bag with all the gifts she’d bought. On top was the pink-and-white Prada knockoff purse she’d nabbed in Nassau for only ten dollars.
    Corrie leaped from her corner of the bed to snatch it up. “Sweet.”
    "Good, because it's for you." At the time Michelle had debated between the small pink or the larger brown. Until now she hadn’t been sure she’d made the right choice. “I, uh, gather Beth moved into Steven’s house?”
    “So we are gonna talk about this?” Pam asked.
    “No.” Michelle kicked off the stiletto heels she’d grown accustomed to walking in and slipped on her Bugs Bunny slippers. For at least a little while longer she was going to wallow in the wake of the best ten days of her life. She handed Pam a set of brightly painted wooden fish. “Here.”
    Pam scooped up the multisized fishes. “I love them!”
    “The moment I saw them, I knew they were meant for you.” Michelle turned to Angie and handed her a heavy bundle of towels.
    “What’s this?”
    “I didn’t want it to break.”
    Balancing the bundle on her lap, Angie slowly removed the layers of beach towels. “Oh, my!”
    “To add to your collection.” Michelle wasn’t sure if the Caribbean theme might be too over-the-top for Angie’s more traditional teapot collection. If she’d been shopping for Beth, Michelle wouldn't have had any trouble picking the perfect gift. She knew Beth Norton better than she knew herself. Or so she'd thought.
    “It’s lovely.” Angie held up the small teapot. Designed to look like an island cottage, the lid doubled as the tan thatched roof, the square base consisted of a sky-blue house with pink windows, and splashes of yellow, purple, and red flowers. Trunks of palm trees on either side formed the spout and handle. Her smile beamed. “Wow. This is beautiful. So different from anything else I have. Thank you.”
    “No, thank you for convincing me to go and for staying with my sister.”
    She’d bought some more stuff for her sister, a T-shirt that changed colors in the sun, flip-flops covered in tiny seashells, and a myriad of other gewgaws she couldn’t resist splurging on.
    “What’s this?” Corrie placed the straw hat on her head, laughing. “Like you’ll have anywhere in Bluffview you could wear this.”
    “That’s enough, young lady.” Michelle reached out to retrieve her hat when Pam’s fingers wrapped around her wrist.
    “ What is this ?”
    “I believe it’s called a charm bracelet.”
    Pam studied the piece more carefully, stealing a glance in Michelle’s direction before looking back again. “This, my friend, is not the sort of thing a woman usually buys for herself. Spill.”
    “There’s nothing to spill . I don’t usually take vacations or go parasailing, but I did. I saw this in the store window and fell in love with it. That’s all.”
    Corrie sprang to her knees, her eyes round as the moon. “You went parasailing?”
    “I did.” She hadn’t meant to let that slip, but at least Pam was off the scent of the bracelet.
    “Really?” Angie asked.
    “Really.” Michelle closed the suitcase, brushed her hands together and looked to her friends and sister, a waiting audience expecting more information. Too bad she wasn’t planning on sharing anything else. Adventurous Micki was gone. Steadfast Michelle was back. “So,