Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
H annah knelt on the living room rug, sorting through trays of sea glass, each piece telling its own story. The morning light streamed through her windows, catching the fragments and creating prisms of blue and green across her floor. Some pieces were smooth and perfectly rounded by years of ocean waves, others still holding slight rough edges, like memories that hadn't quite settled. She'd been collecting them since childhood, back when her mother, Elizabeth, first taught her how to spot the genuine pieces among the shells and stones.
When her phone buzzed on the coffee table, Hannah wiped her hands on her jeans and reached for it, expecting a notification from the farmers’ market coordinators. Instead, Aurora's name flashed on the screen.
Would love to meet you at the farmers’ market today. There's something important I'd like to talk to you about. Let me know what time works for you.
Hannah's stomach twisted. Aurora's messages were always brief, but this one felt unusually weighty. She read it twice before setting the phone down and leaning back against the couch. The message stirred up memories of other "important talks" with Aurora over the last eighteen months. Each one had brought some kind of upheaval, some shift in the careful balance Hannah had tried to maintain with her biological mother.
The farmers’ market didn't start for another two hours, plenty of time for her to drive to Rachel's. She dialed Lucy's number first, her fingers trembling slightly as she pressed the numbers.
"Hey, can you do me a big favor?" Hannah asked after Lucy answered her phone.
"Nothing like saying hello first," Lucy teased.
"I'm sorry. I just got a text from Aurora. She wants to meet at the farmers’ market today. She said she has something important to talk to me about."
"Hannah, you've talked to Aurora several times since the two of you met. What's the problem?"
Hannah's heart raced. "I know, but I can sense something's up with her. I'm driving over to Rachel's. Meet me there, please?"
Lucy's heavy sigh meant only one thing, that she would do what Hannah asked even if she didn't want to.
"Fine, I'll be there in five minutes."
"Thank you, you're the best sister ever."
Hannah ended the call, grabbed her keys and handbag, and ran to her car. As she drove to Rachel's house, her mind wandered to the shop. Only A Dream had been a constant in Provincetown for as long as she could remember. She could picture every corner of it—the wall of amethyst clusters catching the afternoon light, the reading nook where Aurora kept books about sea glass, the glass counter where Aurora worked to create her jewelry, and the back room used to her occasional classes on jewelry-making. The thought of anything happening to the shop made her sad.
She was at Rachel's only five minutes later. Rachel opened the door before Hannah could knock, Everly perched on her hip and clutching a plastic teacup in her tiny hands.
"Hey! You're just in time for an impromptu tea party," Rachel said, stepping aside to let Hannah in.
"How lucky am I?" Hannah teased, tickling Everly's side as she passed. The toddler squealed in delight, dropping the teacup and reaching out for her aunt. Everly's golden curls caught the morning light, reminding Hannah so much of their own childhood photos. She wore mismatched socks—one with unicorns, one with stars—and a tutu over her leggings. The sight made Hannah smile despite her anxiety. Sometimes she envied Rachel this—the simple certainty of motherhood, of having someone who loved you unconditionally.
"Not now, sweet girl. Auntie Hannah needs to talk to your mama and Aunt Lucy."
"Lucy's already here," Rachel said, leading the way to the kitchen. "She's commandeered the coffee pot."
Sure enough, Lucy was leaning against the counter, her dark hair pulled into a messy bun and a mug of coffee in hand. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Hannah.
"This better be good," Lucy said. "I was mid-sentence when you called."
Hannah rolled her eyes, dropping into a chair at the table. "Trust me, it's worth it."
Rachel placed Everly on the floor in front of her toys, then joined her sisters at the table, her expression curious. "Okay, spill. What's going on?"
Hannah hesitated, running her hands over the edge of the table. "Aurora texted me. She wants to meet at the farmers’ market. Says she has something important to talk about."
Rachel and Lucy exchanged a glance, and it was Lucy who spoke first. "As I said on the phone, why is this such a big deal?"
"I have no idea," Hannah admitted. "But it's Aurora, so it could be anything. She's not exactly predictable, and something in my gut tells me it's something big."
"Do you think it's about her shop?" Rachel asked. "Only A Dream—I mean, she's been running it forever. Maybe she's thinking about retiring or something."
Hannah shrugged, though the thought had crossed her mind. "Maybe. But she's never really talked about stepping back. She's so…tied to that shop. It's like it's part of who she is."
"Only A Dream isn't just a shop though, is it?" Lucy said thoughtfully, running her finger around the rim of her coffee mug. "It's like…the heart of the town in some ways. Remember how many people would come just to talk to Aurora? She was like an unofficial therapist for half the community. It’s so strange that we didn’t realize who she was. Mom was very good at keeping that secret."
Rachel nodded, absently straightening the bow in Everly's hair as the little girl played with her blocks nearby. "She’s a good woman. She helped Mrs. Peterson when her husband died. And the Martinez family when their daughter was sick. She always seemed to know exactly what people needed, even if they didn't know themselves."
Hannah felt tears prick at her eyes unexpectedly. "That's what makes this so hard. Aurora's always been better at taking care of others than…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.
"Than taking care of you?" Rachel finished gently. The words hung in the air between them, heavy with years of complicated emotions.
Hannah nodded, blinking back tears. "When we first met and I took that class with her, not knowing the whole story, I used to watch her with customers. The way she could make anyone feel special, understood. Sometimes I'd wonder why she couldn't be that way with me. Why I wasn't enough to make her keep me."
Lucy set down her coffee cup and moved to sit next to Hannah. "You were always enough, Han. Aurora's issues…that was about her, not you. Remember when Aurora told you that Mom used to say she was like a migrating bird—she could make beautiful nests, but she was always looking toward the horizon? I think she was right."
"Mom would know," Hannah said with a watery laugh. "They were best friends forever before…" She stopped, the familiar ache of their mother's absence pressing against her chest. Even after all these years, there were moments when the loss felt fresh, raw.
Rachel reached over to squeeze Hannah's hand. "Mom would be so proud of you, you know. The way you are with the sea glass, how you help people find beauty in broken things. That's all you."
"And the way you've managed to maintain any relationship with Aurora at all," Lucy added. "That's not nothing, Han. Most people would never try to have a relationship with their biological mother after all these years. I think you’ve done a very good job of getting to know her. It’s not a normal situation, and no one will blame you if you’d rather not have anything to do with her."
Hannah shook her head. "The truth is that I'd like a closer relationship with her but I don't even know how to go about it," Hannah admitted. "I do love it though when she talks about Mom. I get little bits of information about when they were our age."
"That's something Mom never talked much about," Lucy added softly. “She couldn’t for obvious reasons.
Rachel squeezed Hannah's hand again. "Whatever it is, you've got us. And if she says something that upsets you, you're not dealing with it alone. Okay?"
"Okay," Hannah said softly, grateful for her sisters' support.
"Or," Hannah added after a moment, her voice tentative, "Lucy, would you go with me? Just in case it's…a lot."
Lucy's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she nodded without hesitation. "Of course I'll go. If you want me there, I'm there."
Rachel frowned and shook her head. "I don't know if that's the best idea."
Hannah looked at her, confused. "Why not?"
Rachel's voice was gentle but firm. "If Aurora has something personal to tell you, it might be better to hear it one-on-one. Sometimes having someone else there, even someone you trust, can make it harder to have an open conversation."
Hannah considered this, her gaze shifting between her sisters. She knew Rachel had a point, but the idea of facing Aurora alone made her stomach twist. "Maybe you're right."
Lucy nodded. "Listen, we're only a phone call away. If you need to get in touch, just text. We can be at the farmers’ market in ten minutes, at most."
"Thanks," Hannah said, her voice barely above a whisper. The knot in her chest loosened slightly, knowing her sisters had her back.
She glanced at the clock on the wall, then stood to leave. As she stood, Hannah caught sight of herself in Rachel's hallway mirror. She looked so much like Aurora sometimes it startled her—the same determined set to her jaw, the same artistic hands, and her eyes, those were all Aurora's. She touched the sea glass pendant at her throat, a piece she'd found the summer she turned sixteen, right when her mother Elizabeth got sick. She'd shaped it herself, learning to wrap wire around its smooth edges until something broken became something beautiful.
"I should get going," she said. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Rachel said with a smile.
Lucy added, "Text us as soon as you're done. I want all the details."
Hannah nodded, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. As she stepped outside, the breeze carried the faint scent of rain. Whatever Aurora had to say, she would face it knowing that her sisters would be there to catch her if she fell.