Olivia held up her glass, and her friends followed suit—except Toby and Camilla, who held up salt and pepper shakers. “To the Beasts,” Olivia toasted. “May their breath always be worse than their bite!”
Laughing, everyone clinked their glasses and shakers.
Ivy kept her glass raised aloft. “And to secrets,” she said. “There are those that should never see the light of day”—she smiled at Olivia tenderly— “and others that need the sunlight to blossom.”
“Awww!” Camilla and Sophia both said.
Olivia’s eyes welled with tears. She thrust her glass forward.
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
[end]