Hope had spent her Saturday morning helping her mother in the kitchen. Together, they had made two apple pies, one blueberry, and one rhubarb. Next, they would take them around to some of the families in Meadow, along with flowers that Joana had grown in her garden. Gabriel was out with Matthew's father today, so Hope planned to go over to the Whitmore's later, assuming they would all have dinner together.

Around eleven-thirty, Hope got a call from Daisy asking if she wanted to have a beach day with the girls. Seeing as Hope hadn't spent much time with them lately, she happily obliged. She tidied up her bedroom, which to be honest, was not messy at all, then packed her bag and headed down to the lake.

Corral and Peyton were already there, sitting at one of the picnic tables. Corral had a bottle of bright red nail polish out and was layering the thin brush over her nails.

Peyton looked up as Hope approached. "Hey stranger."
"How are you guys?" Hope smiled as she sat at the bench, swinging her bag off her shoulder and onto the seat next to her.
"Pretty good," Peyton said. "Nothing too exciting."
Hope looked to Corral. "Nothing new here."
"I brought some treats," Hope dug into her bag and brought out a container of strawberries, and another one full of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
"I love it when you and your mom bake," Peyton said, reaching for the cookies.
"Get me one, my nails are wet."
Peyton lifted the lid, grabbed two cookies, and held one up to Corral's mouth. She took a bite.
Lorelei materialized and Peyton waved her over.
"Sorry I'm late," Lorelei said as she slid into the spot next to Hope. "Got a bit caught up with some stuff."
"You're not late, Daisy's not even here yet."
"Very true," Lorelei said, then reached for a cookie.
It was only shortly after that when Daisy finally arrived, and then it felt as though they could officially begin talking, now that they were all in attendance.
"I heard Maggie Fitzgerald is moving schools this year," Lorelei said, grabbing a handful of strawberries from Hope's container.
"So she won't be in Meadow anymore?" Daisy asked.
Lorelei shook her head. "Something must have happened. She's going to Newmarket."
"Really?" They all seemed surprised.
"Must have been something pretty bad," Peyton said, blowing on Corral's nails for her.
"And did you hear Josh and Ally are going out now?" Corral raised her eyebrow.
"No way," Daisy said. "But Ally used to date Steven Redburn."
"Exactly," Corral said with dramatic enthusiasm. "How scandalous."
"Does Steven care?" Hope asked.
"What, that his best friend is now dating his ex?" Lorelei remarked. "Probably."
Peyton shook her head and made a tsk tsk sound. "Harlot," she said, and they all laughed. All except for Hope.
"What about you, Lor?" Hope asked. "Any new boys?"
Lorelei smiled proudly. "I'm actually going out with Jonah Tremblant now."
"No way," Hope was surprised by this. "Are you happy?"
"Of course," Lorelei said. "He's so cute. And such a gentleman."
"And better than Elijah," Peyton added.
"In bed?" Daisy winked.
"Not yet, ladies!" Lorelei laughed loudly. "I will keep you updated."
"Well, I'm happy for you," Hope smiled.
"Thanks, Hopey," Lorelei said, and it was quiet for a moment. Then she blurted, "We feel like we never see you anymore."
Hope turned to her. "Who, me?"
"Well, duh, who else?" from Corral.
"What do you mean?"
"You're always busy. Doing something or other."
"Oh," Hope said, taken back. "I'm sorry." She could feel the heat going to her cheeks.
"Don't be sorry, love," Lorelei said, placing her hand over Hope's. "Just don't do it again!" She burst into laughter.
Hope stifled a laugh.
"How is that new girl, anyways?" Peyton asked.
"Faith?" Hope asked.
"Yeah."
"She's good. I think she's still adjusting to being in a new town and everything."
"Must be hard," Lorelei said. "With her parent's divorce and everything. Is she Catholic?"
"Her parents are – were –" Hope paused. "I'm not sure. She's not, though."
"Really?" Daisy made a face. "A bit odd, don't you think?"
Hope shrugged, their conversation from that day at the sushi restaurant replaying in her mind. "We try not to talk about religion."
"Why? It's your livelihood."
"Yes, well," Hope didn't know what to say. "Everyone's different."
"Do you really believe that?" Lorelei said to her.
Hope thought for a moment, thinking about herself, her family, her religious views. Then she contrasted them to Faith, her attitude, her blatant disregard for divinity. "I guess," she replied. "But anyways, enough about me. I want to hear all about you guys."

_____

The five of them spent the next few hours lounging around the waterfront, talking, sipping iced tea, and going for the occasional dip in the lake. The water was cool and felt refreshing on their hot skin. Hope looked around and watched her friends laughing and splashing in the water, and she felt a wave of pure serenity and contentment wash over her.

She loved spending time with them. They were her longest friends, after all. And they were right. She had been neglecting their presence as of late. But that would change, Hope told herself. She needed to spend as much time with them as possible. Because there was only one year left, and then who knows where everyone would be?

Perhaps, she thought, she could get Faith to hang out with them as well. Be the sixth member to their exclusive little squad. But she quickly laughed at the thought and eradicated it from her mind. There was no way on earth that Faith would find herself hanging out with a group of people, let alone girls.

Later that evening, Hope was in the Whitmore's kitchen, helping Matthew's mother prepare dinner. They had made three large vegetarian pizzas, filled with mozzarella cheese, onions, garlic, spinach, and olives. Matthew was in the backyard with their dad's. Hope wandered out from the kitchen to get some fresh air, and perched herself on Matthew's lap.

"What are you boys talking about?" she asked them, holding Matthew's hand in hers.
"We were actually just discussing going up to Muskoka next weekend," her father said to her. "Would you be interested?"
"Maybe," Hope said. "Depends on how much I need to get done around here."
"You need to take a break," Matthew squeezed her leg. "Just take a weekend off to relax."
She looked at him and grinned. "Maybe."
"Is dinner almost ready?" Matthew's father said to her.
"Just about. Why don't you boys come in and wash up."
"Will do," Gabriel said, and they all stood.

After dinner, she and Matthew went for a long walk. They held hands and glided under the moonlight, talking about nothing in particular and breathing in the crisp evening air. Afterwards, they went back to his house to watch a movie.

They were cuddled up together underneath the blankets, his arms around her. Hope could feel her eyes struggling to stay open. She let them close and nestled in closer to Matthew.

But just before she drifted into slumber, she had one last thought, and that thought was Faith. She saw her face flash before her eyes. Her dark hair swaying behind her body as she ran. Hope was laughing, reaching for her. She wondered how Faith was doing at her father's place. She wondered if she was okay. If she was lonely.

If she was thinking of Hope, just as Hope was thinking of her.