Page 61 of Willow in the Wind

“It was my mother’s locket,” James said. “It had a photograph of my brother and me in it. It wasn’t worth anything save for the memories.” He turned to look at a painting in the hallway. “He could see it in my eyes, I think. How much pain I was in. How much the locket meant to me.”

Stella ached. “I wish I would have seen it.”

James turned to look at her again. “You did see it. I think that’s why you loved me so much. You knew I needed it.”

Stella felt final tears fall down her cheeks. She couldn’t say anything else.

“I love you, Stella,” James said before he left. “I always will.”

Stella blew him a kiss as he walked down the hallway. He caught it in his hand and turned out of sight.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nantucket Island - October 2001

It was the last bonfire of the season and Stella’s twenty-second birthday. Bundled up in a coat, gloves, hat, and scarf, Stella huddled beside her friend Trish and listened to the Nantucket winds howl across the beach. The bonfire itself was pathetic. It needed fresh timber and would probably go out in an hour or less. But it was late; most people had already gone home. There was no reason for Stella to still be at the party, save for the fact that she didn’t want to go home and think in her room alone all night.

“It’s so weird you don’t want to tell anyone it’s your birthday,” Trish muttered as she sipped a mug of hot apple cider. “Maybe that would make the party livelier, at least.”

“I just don’t want the attention,” Stella said.

A few other people milled closer to the fire for warmth. Stella recognized them from high school: Hannah Arnold, Max Grisham, and Tony Plath.

“Stella! You’re back!” Hannah hurried around to hug her. “Everyone said you ran away to Greece and weren’t going to ever come back to the States.”

Stella tried to laugh, but it got stuck in her throat.

“You have to tell us about your adventures,” Hannah said. “Seriously. I was stuck waitressing all summer. Where did you go?”

Stella felt the list of islands on the tip of her tongue. But how could she tell them about the most magical time of her life without breaking her heart all over again?

So she just shrugged and said, “I went around Greece.”

“But which places specifically? I have to know. Once I make enough money, I’m going to Europe,” Hannah said.

“She won’t talk about it,” Trish said. Her voice was harsh with annoyance. “I’ve been trying to get it out of her all week.”

“Boo! Was it really that boring?” Hannah asked.

“It changed my life, I guess,” Stella said. Then she had to fight not to burst into tears.

“Ugh. I hate vagueness,” Hannah said, turning toward the fire and crossing her arms.

“What’s up now?” Max asked from across the bonfire. “Like, what are you going to do?”

Stella’s thoughts raced. Now? Now that she was back in Nantucket? Now that she had to face reality?

“I guess I have to make some money,” Stella said. “My parents seem to think I need to use my degree.”

Tony chuckled. “We’re all in the same boat. I had eight interviews in the past month alone. Half of them called to say they aren’t offering the position anymore. There’s a recession coming.”

Stella looked into the fire. She didn’t have anything to say about the recession, either.

“I better hit the road,” she said after a pause. “Good to see you all.”

As she left, Trish gave her a look that meantI’m tired of your moodiness.

Stella was tired of it, too.

---