“For what would I be without my Gigi?” he’d said, tucking her arm through his.
“You managed just fine without me all those years,” she teased, but he shook his head.
“Non, chèrie. Always my heart was waiting for you.” And then there was another kiss, and everyone clapped and whistled.
He winked at me. “Et voilà! My patience was rewarded—not only with my angel Gigi, but with another granddaughter to add to my collection.”
I’m definitely on board with this whole grandfather thing.
As Sophie heads back to her room, I slip Gigi’s dress off the dressmaker’s form and take it downstairs to her apartment. There’s no sign of her, so I drape it on her bed and go back upstairs to take my shower. A little while later, as I’m in my room slipping my qipao over my head, someone knocks.
Gigi pokes her head in. “Do you have a minute?”
I nod and she comes in, shutting the door behind her.
“Almost time!” she says, smiling at me.
“Time for what?” I reply, pretending to be mystified. “Oh that’s right, somebody’s getting married.”
“I wonder who that could be?” She does a little pirouette. “Maybe it’s me—I have this pretty dress, all I need is an excuse to wear it.”
We laugh. I adjust the bodice and smooth out an invisible wrinkle. “You look stunning.”
It’s true. My grandmother is lovely, from the tip of her perfectly coiffed head to the soles of the ridiculously expensive blue pumps, a present from Wolfgang and Isabelle. It’s more than that, though. Gigi’s beauty shines from within.
She passes me a small box wrapped in shiny silver paper. I look at it in surprise. “For me?”
She nods. “A little bridesmaid’s gift.”
I sit down on the end of my bed and open it, sucking in my breath when I see what’s inside. Little gift? She’s given me her diamond earrings! “Gigi, are these really for me?”
She nods again. “I want you to have them now, while I can enjoy seeing you wear them.”
I reach out a finger and touch them in wonder. Then I look up, frowning. “But what will you wear today?” We’d planned Gigi’s whole outfit around the earrings, even down to the sparkling trim on the hem of her dress.
“These,” she says, opening her hand to reveal the most gorgeous earrings I’ve ever seen. Flashing from her palm like twin suns are two round, flat white pearls, each encircled by a wide band of platinum paved with tiny diamonds. “Edouard gave them to me this morning,” she tells me. “They’re de Roches family heirlooms, and they’ll be Sophie’s someday.”
We both put our earrings on and stand in front of the mirror side by side, admiring ourselves. Mirror Megan is speechless with delight.
“My beautiful American granddaughter!” says Gigi, giving me a hug.
“My beautiful Chinese grandmother!” I echo, hugging her back.
“I’m so glad to see you and Sophie getting along, finally,” she tells me. “This has been a difficult time for her, and it’s not going to be an easy transition, spending time in so many places—her mother’s house, her father’s new apartment in Paris, and now Concord, too.”
I nod. “I know.”
Gigi has a knack for reading my mind, and she does it again now, framing my face between her soft, birdlike hands. “You are my Megan Rose, and always will be. No one can ever take your place. I want you to know that. But our hearts are both big enough to make room for one more, right?”
I nod again, reassured, and smile at her through my tears.
She reaches for a tissue and wipes them away. “Save those for later!” she scolds me, laughing. “Now let’s go and get your grandmother married, shall we?”
The wedding is perfect.
I fasten on small details, holding them as tightly as I hold the bouquet in my hands: the fragrant roses arched over the doorway to the church; Chloe’s delighted laughter as Mrs. Chadwick passes her the tiny basket of rosebuds she’s going to carry down the aisle; the shaft of sunlight streaming through the stained glass window on the harpist as she begins to play the first notes of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
Jess picked that one out.
There’s an air of hushed expectation in the chapel, and as the music begins, everyone turns to face us. I spot Jess first and give her a little wave. She waves back. She’s sitting with her parents and her brothers, and Emma and her family are right behind her. I tuck another detail in my pocket—Darcy Hawthorne, reaching forward and tugging on Jess’s long blond braid.
Up in the front of the church, Monsieur de Roches appears through a side door and crosses to take his place beside the minister. Sophie’s father and the other groomsmen are with him, all of them looking very dignified.
Sophie starts up the aisle first. Her face is calm, almost solemn, but there’s joy in it too. She moves in time to the music, the chiffon hem of the dress I made for her fluttering gracefully just as I envisioned it would.
And then it’s my turn. As I step forward, Cassidy flashes me the V for Velcro sign, and from their seats in other rows Becca and Emma and Savannah and Jess do the same. It’s obviously a well-rehearsed move, and I almost start to giggle. I manage to compose myself, though, as I continue forward.
They each smile and blow me a kiss as I pass by: Becca, who has developed a sudden and inexplicable interest in architecture—and Minnesota. Savannah, who has been talking nonstop to Rupert Loomis ever since they met and he told her he wants to study to be a barrister. That’s what they call lawyers in England. And Cassidy, whose red hair is glowing in a shaft of sunlight like a fiery halo—or an Olympic torch. Will she follow in Mrs. Bergson’s footsteps someday, I wonder, or does her path lead toward a partnership with a certain dark-haired young Englishman both on the ice and off? Jess’s future is equally bright. Knowing her, she’ll find a way to blend her love of animals and science with her love of music into a spectacular career. And finally, there’s Emma, already a published author. Will she write our story someday?
It’s a story worth writing, that’s for sure, one brimming with love. I feel it now as I approach the altar, radiating all around me—from Emma’s parents, who are holding hands and beaming at me, as are Mr. and Mrs. Delaney, as they try and keep Dylan and Ryan from bouncing up and down in their pew in excitement. I feel it from Isabelle d’Azur and from Wolfgang, who stunned us all by swapping his trademark all-black for all-white in honor of the occasion, and from Becca’s parents, and from Cassidy’s mother and step-father, whose bald head is glowing pink the way it always does when he’s happy. Seated next to them, Courtney and Grant are beaming, too, probably thinking ahead to the day when it’s their turn to walk down the aisle. Even Stinkerbelle is smiling at me. And all the guys have big grins on their faces—Darcy and Stewart and Third, Kevin Mullins and Zach Norton, whose grin slips a little when he looks over at Tristan Berkeley. But then Sophie Fairfax catches his eye, and he can’t help returning her smile.
I reach the front row, where my father looks like he might burst with pride. Behind him, Senator Sinclair is already wiping his eyes. Savannah’s dad is a total softie.
As I step up onto the platform and take my place next to Sophie, my gaze finally rests on Simon. He smiles at me, and I smile back. Weddings are still in the distant future for me and my friends, and life may take us in unexpected directions down the winding hall of fate, just the way it did for my grandmother, but you never know.
You just never know.
A few moments later my mother steps into her spot beside me. She reaches down and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze.
I hold on to that detail, too.
As the music swells, little Chloe Sloane-Kinkaid toddles down the aisle ahead of my grandmother, swinging her basket of flowers. Just as she reaches the last row of seats, she trips, sending the basket and its contents flying.
She lets out a howl, but her tears are quickly dried as her mother rushes forward to scoop her up.
�
�Hush, sweetheart,” she consoles her. “No one minds. We’re all friends here.”
It’s so true! Our hearts are knit together in love, I think, tucking that truth away to hold close as well.
And as I watch my beautiful grandmother walk down the aisle, her shining eyes fixed with confidence on her Mr. Rochester and their future together, I feel another truth stirring in my heart, one that I’ve known for always.
There really is no place like home.
“She sighed a sigh of ineffable satisfaction, as if her cup of happiness were now full.”
—Jane Eyre
Mother-Daughter Book Club Questions
The girls got a negative first impression of Sophie and as a result, weren’t very nice to her for a large part of the book. Have you ever judged somebody too harshly based on a first impression? Have you ever been judged wrongly?
One of the recurring themes in the series is that Megan, an only child, has wanted a brother or sister. When Sophie moves in, it’s not exactly what Megan had hoped for. Based on Megan’s experiences with Sophie, would you want to host a foreign exchange student? From which country? What would you ask them?
Megan takes a long-awaited trip to Paris with Gigi, and she fulfills her dream of going to Paris Fashion Week. If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
At the same time Becca travels to Minnesota with her grandmother, and the trip turns out better than Becca had anticipated. Have you had an unexpected experience while on vacation? How did you feel about what happened?
Jess got into trouble for cheating, though she was innocent. Have you ever been accused of cheating? If so, how did you handle it? Do you think Savannah’s solution to retake the test was fair? Would you come up with a different defense?
Cassidy was torn between two guys, when she was dating Zach but kept thinking about Tristan. Have you ever liked more than one person at once? How did you handle it?
Both Jess and Cassidy were striving for something they really wanted, Jess in her a cappella competition and Cassidy in her hockey tournament. Have you ever been in a high stakes game or exhibition? How did you handle the pressure? If you won, how did it feel to win? If you didn’t win, how did you feel?
Megan decided to blog about the trend toward extreme thinness that has been an issue in the modeling world, but some of the people who worked in fashion didn’t think she should have. Did you ever have to make a choice that you felt was right, even though it went against the popular opinion?
Emma and Stewart teamed up to help Mrs. Wong in her campaign for mayor, and everyone helped out on the cooking show hosted by Cassidy’s mom. Have you ever helped your parent accomplish one of their goals?
Becca misunderstood Theo’s love of herpetology and was a little scared of his snakes, but after she talked to him about it, she thought it was cool. Do you have an unusual hobby? What do people think of it when you tell them? Are you able to change their minds?
Both Emma and Stewart help Mrs. Wong when she campaigns for mayor, and they get an inside view of local politics. Have you ever run for class or club office? What were your strategies? Did anything surprise you about the campaign process?
Jess and Savannah’s friendship survived competing for the same soprano solo in the MadriGals. Were you ever in a situation where you competed against a friend? Was your friendship the same afterward?
Cassidy and the girls play a prank on Sophie when they all appear on Cooking with Clementine, but they later fess up, even though they know they’ll be punished. Have you ever had to own up to something you did wrong? What was the outcome?
Have you ever been to a wedding? Were you watching or did you participate? Did the experience live up to what you thought it would be?
What do you think the future holds for Emma, Jess, Megan, Cassidy, and Becca? What would you hope for them?
The Mother-Daughter Book Club has read a lot of books! Have you ever read Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Daddy-Long-Legs, Pride and Prejudice, the Betsy-Tacy series, or Jane Eyre? How many of them have you read? Which ones do you still want to read?
Would you ever want to start your own book club? Who would you invite and what books would you read? If you are in a book club, what books have you read?
What was your favorite book in the Mother-Daughter Book Club series? Who was your favorite character? Have your answers changed as the series went on?
Author’s Note
It isn’t easy saying good-bye to a world you’ve come to love.
Even if it’s a world of your own creating.
I’ve spent nearly seven years of my life watching my fictional book club girls grow up, and as sappy as it sounds, I’ve come to think of them as the daughters I never had (I have two boys!). Even better, writing this series has brought “real” daughters into my life in the form of the many young readers who have come to love my book club girls too, and who are kind enough to send me letters and email telling me so.
But the time has come for me to move on—there are other fictional worlds I want to explore, other books I need to write.
I couldn’t do this, however, without one final stop at one final book: Jane Eyre. No series about girls reading classic novels would be complete if it didn’t pay a visit to Charlotte Brontë’s immortal Jane. Spirited, independent, resilient, and thoroughly modern, Jane Eyre was a woman way ahead of her time. Her clarity of thought, strong conscience, and backbone are as much an inspiration to readers today as they were back when the book was first published in 1847. It’s no wonder that the book remains so universally beloved. (Of course, having a brooding, romantic love interest like Mr. Rochester doesn’t hurt either!) If you’ve never read Jane Eyre, you’re in for a treat, and if you have, isn’t it time to take it down off the shelf and re-read it again?
As always, there are many friends and colleagues I’d like to thank for their help in the making of this book. First and foremost this time, my husband Steve (my own private Mr. Rochester), whose love and steadfast support are the bedrock of my writing career. Thank you for keeping me in Junior Mints, too, sweetheart!
My wonderful editor and friend Alexandra Cooper is another pillar of support, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner-in-crime. The delightful Amy Rosenbaum helps keep us both in line, and Lucy Cummins and the artistic team at Simon & Schuster have outdone themselves in giving this series its unique look. As Wolfgang would say, “FABULOUS, darlings!”
My intrepid agent Barry Goldblatt is in a class by himself, and therefore gets a paragraph to himself. We’ve come a long way together in the past decade, haven’t we, Barry?
The Paris location was greatly enriched by travel tidbits from Isabel Colon, Gabrielle Spiers, Ruth McGregor and above all Pamela Pate, and thanks are also due to Amy Rechner and Andrea Scobie and Rita Allen for DVD recommendations and loans. For Minnesota, I had a number of trusted resources to rely on, including Kathleen Baxter, Ann Wallace, Susan Orchard, Kelly Reuter, and Lona Falenczykowski, while Jonatha Wey has been my boots-on-the-ground in Concord throughout the series. Thank you, dear Jonatha! Jessica Weissman’s “After Library” was too irresistible not to include (personally, I can’t wait to read Jane Austen’s next six novels), and she and the rest of the amazing Betsy-Tacy “Listren” have provided friendship and moral support for several years now. You really are the “Ladies Who Know Everything”!
What would a mother-daughter book club installment be without a shout out to Helen Quigley and her hockey rock star daughter Lucinda? Not only is Lucinda Quigley tops on the ice (her team won the USA Hockey National Championships two years in a row), but she’s tops off the ice as well in my book, thanks to all the help she’s given me over the years. Go, Lucinda!
And finally, remember those two boys I mentioned earlier? I love them dearly and it’s high time that I thank them, too. My sons have brought laughter and fun into my life in ways I never could have imagined, and I wouldn’t trade them for all the daughters in the world. Ian and Ben, y
ou’re the best!
About the Author
Heather Vogel Frederick grew up in New England and spent her middle-school years in Concord, Massachusetts, the town where the Mother-Daughter Book Club series takes place. Today the award-winning author of the Patience Goodspeed books, the Spy Mice series, and Once Upon a Toad lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and sons. You can learn more about the author and her books at heathervogelfrederick.com.
ALSO BY HEATHER VOGEL FREDERICK
The Mother-Daughter Book Club series
The Mother-Daughter Book Club
Much Ado About Anne
Dear Pen Pal
Pies & Prejudice
Home for the Holidays
The Spy Mice trilogy
Spy Mice: The Black Paw
Spy Mice: For Your Paws Only
Spy Mice: Goldwhiskers
Once Upon a Toad
The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed
The Education of Patience Goodspeed
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Heather Vogel Frederick
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