Emily and Sadie were the first guests to show up, arriving together. Jane hadn’t known they were already friends. They had run into each other on the way and realized for the first time that they both knew Jane.

  By the time every female member of the party had their food laid out, it was starting to be quite the spread. A few bottles of wine sat near a pitcher of chilled juice, which stood beside a plate of cheeses and a platter of very thinly sliced meats. Some of them were preserved meats that Jane had seen before, like salami, while others were thinner and looked rawer than she was used to.

  “The thin ones are a local thing,” Bella said, apparently having noticed Jane’s confusion. “Don’t worry. You’re telling yourself they’re raw, but they really aren’t. Just cured in a special way. Cut a little piece of bread and try them.”

  “Oh, are we getting into the snacks already, Bella?” Sadie asked eagerly. “Give me some. I’m starving.”

  “We are just having a little, so Miss New-to-Town can get a sense of the things she’s never tried before. Back it with some bread or something so it lasts you until the boys arrive.”

  “Fine. Do we have bread?” Emily picked up a knife and let her eyes wander to the two full loaves further down the counter. “There we go. Which one should I cut?”

  “Probably the herb-y one.” Jane took the knife and cut a slice of the bread into four little pieces. “Here. One for everyone.”

  Bella handled the distribution of the meat, breaking off a small segment for each person and laying it on top of a piece of bread.

  “Cheers.” Bella lifted her bread high. “To fun little gatherings.”

  “To fun!” everyone agreed. Then they all took a bite.

  The meat really was special, Jane found. It was cured, but it was also treated by some mysterious method with what tasted like citrus, tangy and a bit sweet. With the bread, it was quite the mouthful of flavor. Jane joined in enthusiastically as everyone let out sounds of satisfaction.

  “That’s amazing.” Sadie was the first to clear her mouth for actual words. “Really good.”

  Jane nodded. “It is. What do you call that meat again?”

  “The meat? Who cares about the meat?” Bella exclaimed. “The meat was fine. It’s the bread that makes it. How did you do that, Jane?”

  “Wait, this is yours?” Emily stared at Jane in disbelief. “You said you couldn’t bake! A week ago, you stood in my library and claimed a beginner’s cookbook had confused you.”

  “That’s true,” Jane assured her. “But I had a whole week to practice. It’s just a basic bread.”

  “Just a basic bread!” Bella yelled. “Boys! Come taste this ‘basic bread’ Jane doesn’t feel is at all impressive!”

  Jane turned with muted horror to see Allen and Brit standing in the doorway, looking at the group with soft smiles of amused confusion. Emily ran over, grabbed each boy by an arm, and dragged them to the counter just as Bella finished cutting a new slice off the magical-fire roasted loaf.

  “Here,” Bella commanded, shoving the bread towards Allen and Brit. “Put some meat on that and eat it. Then tell us what you think.”

  Both young men took the food suspiciously, but they still ate it. Allen looked like he was more curious than anything, while Brit was obviously afraid of disobeying Bella.

  “It’s good.” Allen nodded appreciatively. “The meat’s always good, but where’d you get the bread?”

  Brit swallowed and reached for more. “Yeah. It’s burnt-y, but good burnt-y. Like it was on purpose. Seriously, where did you get the bread, Bella? This better not be another situation where you hide it from everyone.”

  “Nope! I’ll introduce you to the baker right now.” Bella spread out her hands and gestured dramatically towards Jane. “Ta-da!”

  Allen’s eyes widened. “Wait, you made this? You just started baking a week ago!”

  “That’s what I said, Allen!” Emily threw up her hands. “How does this happen?”

  “It’s the book you gave me,” Jane told her. “It has very precise instructions. It wasn’t hard to follow them.”

  Emily just shook her head, her eyes glinting with a sort of righteous fury.

  “What is it?” Jane asked. “What did I do?”

  Emily held out a hand. “Get me that book. I need to show everyone what you are talking about.”

  Jane shrugged and pulled her cookbook from below the table. She thought she noticed just a hint of disappointment on Allen’s face when he saw what recipe book it wasn’t, so she immediately brought Gramma Isak’s cookbook out after it.

  “Allen gave me this one, but it was a bit too advanced for me to use. So I got this one from Emily, which started more simply.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Emily opened the book to a random page. “She’s calling this simple!”

  “That’s… what is that?” Brit furrowed his brow. “This isn’t a cookbook. It looks like the little notebook tax collectors carry.”

  “I mean, it’s just formulas. They aren’t that hard. Everyone uses them.” Jane shrugged. “It makes everything easier when it’s all laid out like that.”

  The five non-Jane individuals in the room gave her a long look, then burst out laughing.

  “What did I do?” Jane repeated.

  “It’s nothing, Jane.” Bella clapped her on the shoulder. “It’s just a special kind of person who thinks all that math is easier. I guess we can’t argue with the results. You baked a lot for this evening, right? I know you said something about crackers and cookies.”

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  “Yes, but those were for later.”

  “Jane.” Bella leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Flow of the party, remember?”

  Jane smiled. “I’ll go get them!”

  All of Jane’s carefully laid plans for the evening went into the garbage bin. Before she knew it, all of her food was laid out, Bella had a grill fired up, and everyone was eating.

  Jane’s crackers were a hit, but she told herself it was hard to mess up crackers. When Bella’s meat had finished grilling, people piled it on bread with slices of cheese. Then they praised Jane’s baking again.

  Alcohol joined the mix early. Jane was a glass of wine and one large bottle of Brit’s special ale deep before she knew it. The group got louder and louder as time went on, the party spirit reaching a sort of crescendo at, of all things, Jane’s cookies.

  “These are what?” Bella asked, pulling a stool up to the counter. “I’ve never had them.”

  “It’s…”

  Jane tried to remember the exact steps she had followed to make the cookies, but her mind was a bit fuzzy. She stood up to look at her recipe book, tipped off-balance, and caught herself on Allen’s arm. That threw her off even more, and she gave up before she even reached the book.

  “Something with those nuts they sell at the market. The white ones about the size of your fingernail. Otherwise, it’s just a simple cookie. But I mixed in… whoooo. I’m dizzy.”

  “You need air.” Allen looked at her with what seemed to be genuine concern. “I don’t blame you. That ale is stronger than you think. Come on, let’s go outside.”

  She felt Allen’s hand fit around her elbow, gently supporting her as he helped her to the space between her bakery and the lake. It was a nice space, though it had no seating besides a few stone benches. They seemed to have been too heavy or too much a part of the house’s history to move when the previous owner departed.

  Jane had been concerned about this lack of seating before the party. Now, with Allen’s hand still supporting her elbow, she hardly noticed the deficient benches. Any benefits of the cool air were wiped away as an entirely different kind of flushed, red warmth took over her cheeks.

  “Yes, let’s.” Bella’s voice followed them a bit later than Jane had expected, as if everyone else had just watched them walk out before moving. “But I’m bringing these cookies.”

  “Hear, hear!” Emily shouted. “Always protect the cookies.”

  The party moved outside. Then, to Jane’s surprise and delight, it transitioned seamlessly into a game.

  She would later spend some time in the bath trying to figure out just how they’d arrived at that particular game, which was an improvised contest of who could throw rocks the farthest out into the lake. Just based on strength, Brit and Bella were pretty close to each other, though Allen’s rocks flew with more control when the group started aiming at floating pieces of debris. Neither Emily nor Sadie got anywhere close to the others, but they seemed to enjoy their attempts.

  Finally, Sadie shouted, “There’s only one cookie left! The furthest rock gets it!”

  Jane had just been watching, letting her dizziness slowly fade. Now she felt steady enough to give it a try. She wasn’t anywhere near as strong as the others, but she could dimly remember her father showing a trick to make up for that, years and years ago.

  Her memories of him were funny that way. She could hardly remember his face, but his voice and words came through as clear as day.

  “See this rock, Jane-girl? It’s flat on the bottom. You know what happens when I throw it? It slaps the top of the water, and that makes it bounce, like when you slap your toy drum. And it’s even better when you make it spin.”

  She couldn’t remember what question she had asked after that, but she remembered his answer.

  “Oh, spinning makes it keep the flat face pointing towards the lake. Things that are spinning don’t like to turn over, although I don’t know why. If you remind me, I can ask your Auntie C about it when she comes to visit. She knows that kind of thing.”

  Jane wobbled only slightly as she searched her backyard for a nice flat stone. When she found one that fit the bill, she walked silently over to the group. Only Allen seemed to notice what she was up to, and she tried her hardest to put him out of mind as she held the stone.

  She thought she could just about remember how her father had gripped it. Besides, she knew much more about the actual science behind the stone throw than her father had back then. Cocking her arm, she let it fly.

  At once, she knew she had gotten lucky. The stone hit the water close to where Allen’s last throw had landed, but slapped down hard and stable before skipping seven times across the lake. When it finally gave up and sank, it was just beyond the farthest point that even Brit had reached.

  Oh, shoot. I didn’t mean to win…

  Everyone turned to look at her in wonder. She felt herself flushing once again under their gaze.

  Then her new friends lost it.

  All five of them laughed until they were almost crying. Bella stumbled over and wrapped Jane in a hug, laugh-weeping into her hair.

  “The look on their faces! You were watching the rock. You didn’t see it. You broke poor Brit. Just look at him.” Bella reached down to the plate and grabbed the last cookie, pressing it gently into Jane’s hand. “Take this. You earned it.”

  The hours tripped by easily after that, faster than Jane could have imagined. As things finally wound down, she found herself with just Bella, Sadie, and Allen. Brit and Emily had filtered out towards other Lee-day responsibilities a bit earlier.

  “It’s like when you sit at the base of the waterfall,” Sadie was saying. “It’s nice, but you get wet just from the air.”

  “Do you?” Jane tried to imagine it, but couldn’t. “I’ve never been.”

  “It’s because of the mist,” Sadie explained. “If it’s warm, it’s not a big deal. If it’s cold, it’s miserable. Today would have been a nice day for it, really.”

  Sadie stood up and stretched.

  I think I’m getting the hang of the whole social party thing, Jane thought. That’s how someone looks just before they leave.

  Sure enough, Sadie said, “I’m on my way home. We should probably all be. Lots of work tomorrow.”

  “I’ll walk with you until we hit my place,” Bella said, also standing. “Thanks, Jane. I had fun.”

  “Yes, thanks.” Allen was following the others towards the door, which resolved a situation not quite related with parties that Jane had no idea how to deal with neatly. “And stick with your baking. It’s amazing how far you’ve come.”

  Everyone had left, and Jane had begun cleaning up, when she heard the door open again behind her. She turned to see Allen standing in the doorway, looking a bit strange. He almost seemed frightened.

  “Hey, Jane? I remembered you said you’ve never been to the base of the waterfall.”

  Jane felt some of the tension in the air creep into her body, freezing her feet in place and giving her unexpected panic-sweats.

  It’s a good thing he doesn’t know that part, she thought wildly. I bet boys don’t like girls with sweaty spines.

  “Yes, that’s true,” she managed to say.

  “Well, then.”

  He coughed to buy himself some time. Jane thought she would find it adorable when she remembered it later on, but right now, she was focused on survival.

  Finally, after another cough, he asked, “Would you like to go? With me, I mean. On the next rest day. I could show you how to get there. And come along, of course. I mean, if you…”

  “Yes,” Jane broke in, having mercy upon both Allen and herself. She had a feeling if this went on much longer, one of them might collapse. “I would like that. Should I find you that morning, or would you like to find me?”

  “I’ll find you.” Allen’s hand crept to the doorframe, ensuring his escape route was still there. “I’ll see you then?”

  “Please.”

  Please is not the right thing to say! You have grasped great secrets beyond the ken of all but the knowing, Jane! You do not say ‘please’ in this situation!

  Allen, she saw, was not in any condition to hold her to account for an odd word-choice. He turned to leave, giving her one last look over his shoulder.

  “Good. Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

  He was gone a moment later, probably fleeing to a safe distance before either of them could embarrass themselves any further.

  Jane looked at the clean-up work in front of her, considered how prudent it would be to get it done sooner rather than later, and wrote the entire project off anyway. Tossing down her cleaning cloth, she locked her doors and stumbled upstairs for a nice panic-sweat-cleansing bath.

  Only as she lowered into the warm water did she finally allow herself to acknowledge it, even mentally.

  I have a date. I think.

  She shook her head, letting the next thought escape as a whisper.

  “How on earth did something like that actually happen?”