She’d beavered away and accomplished a lot on the organization of her books this morning, and then she’d spent the afternoon relaxing as she skimmed through the pile of professional newspapers and magazines and journals which had been arriving in the mail. Nothing she came across seemed the slightest threat to her show.More exciting than that was the movement she’d felt in her belly while she’d sat, feet up, reading. She’d caught her breath, and stared at her stomach, and focused, and yes, there it had been again, a definite stirring of life within her.“Oh, babies,” she’d said in tones of soft awe, and gently she’d stroked her abdomen. “Hello.”Just now it had seemed a great luxury and pleasure to step outside her house, lock its door, and stroll at her own leisure to her waiting Jeep. She started the ignition and slipped in an Enya CD. Music of her own choosing filled the air as Joanna drove from the country into the town and along Nantucket’s charming side streets.The posted speed limit was twenty-five miles an hour, and the roads were narrow and winding, forcing her to drive slowly and giving her the opportunity to appreciate what she passed: houses with their doors and windows open to the summer air, window boxes spilling with flowers, families playing croquet, a boy and girl strolling, arms entwined, a little old lady garbed in a flowered dress, pearls, and sneakers out walking her Jack Russell terrier.
