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then, behind them.
    Rachelle’s college sweetheart, Troy, and his new wife had left Jubilant for Chicago with their blended family two years ago, just as Gabe and Rachelle had begun praying about relocating here. The timing couldn’t have been better. Indigo was convinced that God had orchestrated the shuffling game to snuff out any sparks that routine encounters with an old flame might ignite. She had watched God knit Rachelle and Gabe closer together than ever, and she was trusting that he’d do the same for her. In the meantime, she wanted to feel good about her looming wedding.
    She jumped off the bed that had once belonged to her older brother, Reuben, before he left for college and moved to Seattle to work for Amazon.com. The twin mattress was firmer than the queen-sized one on her bed; still, she knew that hadn’t been the cause of her sleepless night.
    She dismissed the worry, attempting to cloak her fears, and strolled across the hall to the full-sized bathroom. When she leaned toward the mirror, a fuzzy spot filled her view in one eye. Indigo yanked a sheet from the paper towel holder on the countertop of the sink and wiped the glass, but the blurriness remained.
    She closed her eyes, tilted her head sideways, then opened them to look at the mirror from another angle. Before she could react to the fact that the cloudy spot still remained, she saw her giggling sister behind her.
    “Why are you making faces in the mirror? Brian’s not trying to marry a lunatic,” Yasmin said and smirked. “He really should just wait until I’m older.”
    Indigo rolled her eyes and stepped away from the mirror. “You need to be thinking about college choices right about now, young lady,” she said and raised her arm to pat her sister’s head. At five eight, Yasmin could already look her in the eyes. “College and career choices. I’m heading off to the newspaper, but I’ll be back in a few hours to get you so we can go over to the salon.”
    She returned to her room to pick out something to wear and tried not to fret about the fuzziness that was now blocking her side vision. She didn’t feel a foreign object in her eye, but the cloudy spot was annoying. It had come and gone before, but this morning, it seemed persistent. She wondered for the first time whether she might need glasses.
    Maybe she’d ask Rachelle about it when she saw her, if they were speaking to each other by then.

8
    I ndigo stepped outside the front door and paused to pick up the newspaper. Before she could bend over, she was grabbed by the waist. The scream that filled her throat couldn’t break free.
    “Good morning, Mrs. Harper. How does that sound to you?”
    Brian eased her fright before she could execute the karate move that had earned her a black belt in eighth grade.
    “Boy! Where did you come from? Why are you lurking outside my parents’ house?”
    He laughed, pulled her closer, and planted a kiss on her lips. “You made me a very happy man last night, baby, that’s all. I’m just jazzed.”
    Indigo peered into his eyes. “Have you been drinking?”
    He laughed again. “Maybe. I should have brought over the champagne so we could celebrate together. One glass wouldn’t hurt you.”
    Indigo’s heart constricted. “You know how I feel about that, Brian,” she said. “Mama’s drinking still haunts me.”
    Her mother had been sober for seven years, but she wasn’t going to let anything, including a celebratory drink, send her down a path that could alter the course of her life.
    She changed the subject. “I’m going over to the newspaper to process the photos I shot yesterday. Want to have breakfast with me first?”
    Brian took her to Shoney’s, one of the few morning meal options in Jubilant. They chatted about nothing in particular over eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
    But his joy was contagious. As Brian rambled on about how their life together would unfold, Indigo pictured herself in a wedding gown, being introduced to their