Oh, and then there’s Patrick—and, well, Patrick is still Patrick. Wonderful and generous, startled by life and all it can hold. I talked him into quitting his depressing job when he moved in with me upstairs. Now at night I’ll see a wistful look come to his face, and he’ll get his watercolors out and take my hand, and we go up on the roof, where he paints the Brooklyn sunsets and the skyline while Bedford and Roy and I keep him company. He’s taking photographs, too—going outside and taking pictures of everything that Brooklyn holds for both of us.

Here’s something. The other day we were in a store buying art supplies, and there was a little girl, about four years old, who was staring at him curiously. Normally Patrick would have tightened up, scowling and turning away. But this time I watched as he bent down there to her level, and then she reached her little hands up and lightly touched his skin, ran her fingers slowly along the scars and the places where the skin is pulled tight. I could hardly breathe. I saw them look into each other’s eyes, and then she said, in barely a whisper, “Does it hurt?” And he smiled at her, closed his eyes for just a moment, and then he said, “No. No more hurt. Not anymore.”

You don’t know, until there’s a moment like that, how much more space there can be in your heart. How much breathing room there is out in the world just for you. That’s when you learn for sure that love will win in the end. It just will.

As for me, I’m still working at Best Buds. And I keep the book of spells right there with me—with all its vines and flowers on the cover—because sometimes I add in one of Blix’s little blessings when a customer needs some magic along with their bouquet.

Oh! And Patrick and I are working together on baking cupcakes with the little messages in them. We’ve figured it out, I think. Just last night I told him that all the messages should say the same thing: WHATEVER HAPPENS, LOVE THAT.

Because, as Blix told me at the wedding, if you need a mantra, that’s one of the best.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes at least a spark of magic, a whole lot of luck, and the patience and intelligence of countless good friends to get a book out there in the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to have all these things in my corner while writing Matchmaking for Beginners.

I particularly want to thank Kim Caldwell Steffen, who walks with me nearly every day and knows my characters at least as well as I do; and Alice Mattison, my longtime writing friend, who knows everything about storytelling and is always willing to help me get my book unstuck; and Leslie Connor, who listened to many, many early drafts and shared her best ideas and opinions. Nancy Antle read a very early draft and has encouraged this book every step of the way, as have Susanne Davis, Holly Robinson, and Nancy Hall. Karen and Terry Bergantino gave me a week at their friendly, warm condo in Newport, where I wrote without stopping.

I have so much gratitude for my wonderful, insightful, and brilliant editor, Jodi Warshaw, who loves talking about books and plots and always helps me figure out the story I’m trying to tell. She and Amara Holstein are both editing geniuses. My agent, Nancy Yost, is a treasure who makes me laugh and who always believes I’ll be able to finish the book.

Many thanks to my children—Ben, Allie, and Stephanie—who have taught me everything I know about love and patience, and also to the wonderful people they’ve brought into my life: Amy, Mike, Alex, Charlie, Josh, Miles, and Emma.

I also want to thank the “Blix” in my own life—my outrageous, hell-raising, spirited grandmother, Virginia Reeves, who taught me that love is the only thing that really matters.

And as always, my undying love to Jim, who shares my life and makes everything fun.