“We have a busy day today,” Barry said, turning toward the library floor and talking over his shoulder as if he expected Juniper to follow. She did. “Mom and Tot Hour is at ten. I’ve taken the liberty of picking a book out for you since you won’t know what Cora’s been doing the last several weeks.”
“Sounds like you have it all figured out,” Juniper tried. “Maybe you should do it just this once, and I’ll watch.”
Barry gave her a flat look over the rim of his glasses and thrust a binder at her. There was a glossy children’s book on top. “I don’t think so. This afternoon we have the Heritage Society meeting, and it will take me all morning to get everything ready.”
Juniper took the binder and the book, dismayed by the fact that she would be reading and singing and leading chants with toddlers in just a couple of hours. Still, winging it would be worse, so she flipped through the binder and picked out a few activities so that she was ready to go when the clock hit 9:45 and the moms started rolling in.
The children’s area was set up with a low stool for Juniper, a stack of carpet squares for the kids and their moms, and a plastic tote with hand puppets that had seen better days. As she tented the book on top of the stool she would soon occupy, Juniper found herself surreptitiously studying the women who had started to crowd the small library. The quiet space was bustling with activity. Apparently, the unwritten dress code was athleisure and high ponytails, and the women were all sleek curves and plummy lip gloss. They were also all near Juniper’s age, which was what she had been worried about all along. Surely there were women she knew in this group. Women she had gone to high school with and who would recognize her and ask seemingly innocuous questions that would make her wither with shame. What have you been up to since graduation? Are you married? Kids? Oh, Willa, of course…
Juniper was nearly stiff with dread when the ladies had finished hanging up their coats and chatting and began to make their way to the children’s section. They came with kids on their hips and travel mugs in hand, and broke into surprised grins when they caught sight of Juniper. It was clear that Cora had kept her promise and hadn’t disclosed their agreement; Juniper hadn’t wanted to make a big deal of her imminent arrival in Jericho, and begged Cora not to broadcast it.
“June Baker, is that you? Oh my goodness!” One of the women broke away from the group and stepped over the semicircles of carpet squares to give Juniper a one-armed hug.
Pressed between someone whose name she couldn’t recall and a chubby two-year-old with strawberry blond curls, Juniper scraped the bottom of her resolve. She came up with a thin, determined smile on her face. “It’s nice to see you,” she said.
“India Abbot,” the woman offered, readjusting her baby and studying Juniper with bald curiosity. “You probably don’t remember me. I was a bit behind you in school. What are you doing here?”
“Mom and Tot Hour,” Juniper said, but she was being obtuse and immediately regretted it.
India’s eyes went wide. “But, I mean, your brother…”
Of course. The news of Jonathan’s accident had spread like a virus. Juniper was far outside the loop but could imagine the rumors that were pulsing around the community. No doubt they would reach a fever pitch now that she had been spotted in town. What was she doing here? Why wasn’t she in Des Moines with the rest of the family? And what dirty secrets could they infer from this strange circumstance?
In her head, Juniper quickly tested and discarded a handful of answers. She landed on: “I’m helping out Cora for a while.”
“Oh, of course, you’re so sweet,” India fawned, squeezing Juniper’s wrist just a bit too tightly. “Poor, poor Cora.”
Juniper knew that it would make Cora’s skin crawl to hear that anyone pitied her, but she stitched her lips together and nodded sagely.
“And what a blessing that you can be here during this difficult time for your family. It’s just so, so sad.”
Clearly India felt things very, very deeply. Since Juniper didn’t want to get drawn into a lengthy discussion about Jonathan’s condition—or Cora or herself, for that matter—she smiled politely, then indicated the book on the stool behind her. “Maybe we should get started.”
“Of course. Welcome home.” India pressed her nose into her daughter’s plump cheek as if to self-soothe after talking about the tragedy that was Juniper’s life, and then backtracked to the only carpet square left in the farthest corner of the bookshelf-lined area.