Suzy threw herself onto the bed in the little room at the end of the hallway, and was relieved to spend some time blessedly alone before Cecilia came back from the manse to help her dress for the party that night. She punched the pillow, still angry about how mean-spirited Trudy had been. Her pride hurt a little, because nobody had ever treated Suzy like that before. She groaned, thinking that the Glen and Four Winds wasn't a big enough distance between her and Trudy. Suzy felt homesick, and wished that Phoebe were with her. Phoebe would have been able to make friends with Trudy, or at least tame her, Suzy was certain of that.

There was a light knock on the door. "May I come in?" Grandmother asked softly. Suzy answered yes, and the door opened. Grandmother came and sat on the bed, and they were silent for a little while. It was a companionable silence though, and when the time was right, Grandmother broke it by asking if Suzy was homesick. One tear rolled down Suzy's cheek.

"Oh, darling" Grandmother soothed her by stroking the hair from her brow. "I know two months seems like forever, but in no time you'll be back with Phoebe. Why don't you tell me a little about Vancouver? Did you know that I've only been there twice? Your Grandfather and I went once when your parents were married, and again when you were born."

Suzy told Grandmother about spending time at the seaside, the trolley cars downtown, and even the apple tree in the yard of their old house. Grandmother understood. "It seems like trees have a secret life of their own" the older woman sighed. "As though the rustle of leaves is a whisper to the dryads of the forest. Apple trees are like the blushing brides of the wood."

Suzy felt lighter after talking to Grandmother. She's a kindred spirit, Suzy realized, and most importantly she listened. She didn't rebuke her, or call her babyish for being homesick. When Cecilia was due to come 'round, Suzy bounded down the stairs to wait at the end of the path for her. They ended up meeting in the middle, and Cecilia linked arms with her. The two girls ended up walking past the garage, where Bruce was showing Shirley the internal workings of the car.

"Hey, Uncle Bruce!" called out Cecilia.

"How's tricks, Cee?" Bruce said in reply.

"Are you going to come to the party in Rainbow Valley tonight?" Cecilia asked him. "Walt's bringing down the victrola, and he has some new records, but there aren't going to be nearly enough boys to dance with."

Bruce laughed and showed his perfect white teeth. Suzy had a queer fluttery feeling in her chest when he did that. "I'm a little old for your shindig, and besides that, I think there are a lot of boys who would like to dance with you, Cee."

Cecilia nodded in agreement. "But I wouldn't like to dance with many of them. There's that horrid Willie Kirk Drew. His father only named him that so when they go into town, he can say 'He's William, and I'm Shakespeare' and then guffaw like a horse. Neither of them would know sonnets or poetry if they were hit with a book of it. Did you know that Willie once told me that I had glowing skin like a sepulcher? I think he may have meant 'seraphim,' because he said it like it was a compliment, but still…"

"You're a minister's daughter, dear girl," said Bruce. "You shouldn't even be dancing at all."

"Dad says that's an old-fashioned idea," Cecilia said staunchly. "The Bible tells us to dance and rejoice. Of course, the old biddies in Avonlea would never accept that, so I'm not allowed to dance there. But I can dance here all I like, because gossip never travels from the Glen to Avonlea, and if anyone in Avonlea heard it, they wouldn't believe it anyway. They'd just say that the Glen was jealous that Avonlea's preacher's daughter is so beautiful."

"You've got spunk, kid," was all that Bruce could say. "Sure, I'll come down to the party." Suzy decided that spunky was the right word for Cecilia. She also decided that she wanted Bruce to ask her to dance at the party.

Upstairs, Cecilia helped Suzy choose an outfit. "It's just casual, like all of our parties in Rainbow Valley," she explained. "We like to have parties there, because it's so nice to dance under the stars, and eat outdoors. Mum is making pies for tonight. What's your favourite type of pie? She wants to know so she can send one over to Ingleside tomorrow."

Jem and Faith's family was living at Ingleside until their house at the Harbour was built, so Merry came in to Suzy's room help the girls dress their hair. She looked at her self in the mirror and moaned, "Don't let your mother send another pie, Cee. I'm getting positively fat!"

Cecilia inspected her cousin. "I don't think you're fat, you're delightfully curvy."

"You look like Deanna Durbin in Mad about Music, Merry" Suzy said loyally. She had seen that movie three times with Phoebe, and had loved it each time.

Cecilia agreed. "Deanna Durbin looked fabulous in that movie. I wish I'd fill out soon."

"No, you don't" Merry cautioned her. "None of your nice clothes will fit. Mother nearly had a fit this spring when we needed to replace my wardrobe. If either of you want a nice velvet coat and a few dresses that I never wore, you're welcome to them."

When the sun started to set, the girls headed down to Rainbow Valley. Suzy could see why they liked it so, and remembered what Grandmother had said about the secrets of trees. The hollow seemed filled with spirits of all types that wound among the tree trunks, mischievous spirits that would tug your hair and wink at you. Someone had strung candlelit lanterns in the trees, and a tinny jazz tune rolled out of Walt's victrola. It was magical. Olivia and another girl were arranging food on a picnic table that Gilly had built from rough-hewn wood. Cecilia grabbed Suzy by the arm and took her around to meet the others.

"Sadie, this is my cousin, Suzy Blythe. This is her first night here in the Glen" Cecilia introduced her to a girl with blonde hair, and queer blue eyes that appeared to be almost white. "Suzy, this is Sadie Vance Douglas. It's her birthday tonight, and she's going to be sweet sixteen."

"Or not so sweet" Sadie chuckled. "Suzy, I want to apologize if I say anything that offends you. Mum says I cuss like a sailor sometimes. I think I know why sailors do it, the words are just so damned pleasant sounding!" Suzy was shocked by Sadie, but was refreshed by her openness. If Suzy had been a native of the Glen, she would have known that Sadie was her mother all over again, right down to the very voice of the irrepressible Mary Vance.

The girl with Olivia was Sadie's sister, Nell. Horsing around with Gilly were two older boys, Sadie and Nell's brothers, Arthur and Elliot. Cecilia pointed out several other people, including the detestable Willie Kirk Drew. Suzy stifled a giggle. One felt they had to laugh at his bilious yellow bowtie and hair that stood up in cowlicks, but mustn't because that would injure his fragile ego. He seemed nice enough, if a bit socially inept. Suzy had that quandary, and knew that she could never dance with him because she would laugh in his face.

The feast of sandwiches and pies provided by Aunt Nan and Aunt Rilla was eaten with great relish. Suzy sat on a moss covered rock, and was enjoying the night in spite of herself. She hung back a little, because she didn't want her the fact that she was the "new girl" to draw attention away from Sadie on her birthday. When the pies were finished ("Aunt Nan makes a pie that is a pie" Suzy thought, satisfied), Walt put on a Bing Crosby record, and everyone started dancing. Gilly noticed that she was by herself, and let Walt break in on him and Sadie.

"Why such a wallflower?" Gilly asked, as he spun her around. "You dance better than most of the other girls here."

Suzy smiled as thanks for the compliment. "I don't know anyone, and nobody asked me to dance except you."

"We'll change that," said Gilly. He danced her over to the victrola and said to Arthur, "Wind it up again, and then take Suzy here for a spin. She can dance like Ginger Rogers!"

Arthur obligingly danced with the pretty young girl for two dances, and then asked Elliot to take her. Elliot danced with her until his girl returned from the powder room up at Ingleside. From there she was passed on to Walt, and then back to Gilly again. The height of the evening though, was when Bruce cut in on Gilly. "Can I have this dance with Suzy?" he asked, and Suzy's breath caught in her throat.

"I was wondering if you could show me that dance step that you and Elliot were doing" Bruce asked. "I'm a bit of a clod, and I only know how to waltz." Suzy nodded. He had seen her do that new dance with Elliot, and had liked it! That meant that he had been watching her! Suddenly, she was so overcome by nerves that she was unsure if she'd be able to operate her legs properly to show him. However, she composed herself, and she and Bruce danced three times before he had the step committed to memory. Three times! That was nearly ten delightful minutes close enough to Bruce to smell his deliciously spicy sandalwood cologne, with her hand in his, dancing under a canopy of stars. Suzy was relieved when Gilly called out that he would be lighting the fireworks soon. Her heart was racing, and she wasn't sure if she could spend another minute so close to such a handsome man. She excused herself, and ran off to find somewhere to be alone with these newly discovered feelings.

There was a little mound near the creek, hidden by a wild rose bush, and Suzy decided to sit there. She hugged her knees to her chest, and was lost in a dream of being Mrs. Bruce Meredith one day. He was only ten or twelve years older than her, she rationalized. When she was twenty-two, he would be thirty-five at the oldest, and that wasn't a big difference if they were in love. Suzy was sure that she could make Bruce love her. After all, they danced well together and she had once read that dance was an expression of the soul. Maybe their souls were meant to be together. A firework popped in the sky, and brought Suzy down to earth. In the distance, on a small hill, she saw a pale dark-haired woman in a white dress staring at the sky. It was like seeing a ghost. "Mother!" Suzy gasped. It couldn't be real! She rubbed her eyes to try and affirm what she had seen, but the woman had disappeared over the crest of the hill and into the night.