In Chapter 5, Carrie meets Sarah Lea Davidson. Sarah Lea is not named for Sara Lea baked goods, “always delicious, always in season.” Her name and much of her temperament are borrowed from a wonderful woman of about the same era.  Names are important. A writer must make choices that are sensible and that fit the person he or she is creating.  Sarah Lea more or less emerged from the context and I knew her name was right from the first.

Sarah Lea’s one of the Grove Girls in the book—more about them later. For now, they’re a group of women who grew up together around their summers in Ocean Grove. Like my own aunties, who were forever known as “the girls,” they will always be girls to those who know them.

We first meet Sarah Lea in Chapter 5 when she notices that Carrie is walking along on the boardwalk, completely preoccupied. “You could miss seeing how beautiful the water is this morning, if you keep that up,” she cautions. Carrie ends up sitting with her on a bench overlooking the ocean and chatting. She learns that Sarah Lea’s grandmother owned the house at 190 Mt. Tabor Way. Many of her fondest childhood memories are associated with it. No small wonder that she keeps an eye on comings and goings.

Sarah Lea has a direct view of the house from her apartment in the upstairs of another lovely Victorian house, a larger one, diagonally across the street. She uses her view to full advantage, too. “I’ll bet you think all I do is sit and look out the window!!” she laughs. The thought has occurred to Carrie.

The house where Sarah Lea now lives is the childhood home of another of the Grove Girls, Betty Blakemore Hanks, who grew up in Ocean Grove. Betty and her husband George lived in the upstairs apartment when they were first married, moving away for a brief period when their family began to expand. They returned to take care of the house when Betty’s parents could no longer manage. They’ve lived there ever since. These details are all back story, but they are part of my thinking about Sarah Lea and her closest friends.

When we meet Sarah Lea, we learn that her brother Hugh is a retired lawyer, apparently of some influence. He made an unfortunate second marriage to a woman who was after his money. “She was a city girl, the second wife, Manhattan, East Side, old money—or so she said. I never was so sure about that.” Sarah Lea tells Carrie. “In fact, I think it may have been the opposite. Hugh was a prominent lawyer before he retired and very well off. You might say we came from old money. My Daddy was a doctor. We grew up in a very fine house overlooking the Hudson River. But that didn’t make us too uppity for Ocean Grove.” When Hugh sold the house, “along with every stick of furniture in it,” in the unending effort to please his new wife, there wasn’t any place for Sarah Lea in Ocean Grove except in one of the hotels or guesthouses. After Hugh’s divorce, he started returning to Ocean Grove and they shared a guest suite at one of the many lovely Victorian inns. But, while there are many charming accommodations in Ocean Grove, the Grove Girls couldn’t imagine Sarah Lea without a place of her own. Since she’s capable of getting up and down stairs without any problems, the upstairs apartment at George and Betty’s is a good match.

Sarah Lea’s uncle was the late Jay Ward Thomas (also fictional, as are all the characters), a noted speaker, writer, and theologian, who was a frequent guest at 190 Mt. Tabor Way. Sarah Lea speaks of him fondly, “Us kids adored him. He kept peppermint candy in the pocket of his suit coat and we had to find it.” But she isn’t close to her cousin, Ward, who is featured speaker at Camp Meeting. “His parents moved to California before he was born. I was glad to hear they were passing Uncle Jay’s name along. I always remembered Ward on his birthday and Christmas, well, up until he was through college. But they never came back to visit and we didn’t go there. California was such a long way off. And I suppose it was selfish on my part, but I never got so much as a thank you from the young Ward Thomas, so I quit trying to keep up with him.”

Webster is a frequent guest at Sarah Lea’s, so much so that Sarah Lea leaves her back window open so she’ll have a convenient entrance. “Webster would be welcome at my house. I’ve known her since she was a kitten, but she’s only good for short visits. She is attached to the house,” Sarah Lea acknowledges.

Carrie and Elizabeth first visit Sarah Lea with an ulterior motive (Chapter 7). Someone has broken in at 190 and they wonder if she might have been watching when it happened. They leave knowing nothing more about the break-in, Sarah Lea was entertaining Webster.  But they’ve begun a real friendship with someone who also appreciates a good cuppa and the old fashioned wholesome romance novel where everything turns out sunshine and roses.

I became very fond of her as the book unfolded. I was very sorry when it became apparent that not everything would come out sunshine and roses for Sarah Lea, but that comes later.