Page 57 of April Flowers

“Wonderful. But I have to put you to work,” Margot said. “Hilary’s flower vision is extraordinary, to say the least. It’s going to be the biggest project of my life.”

“Just tell me what to carry and where to go,” Noah said. “I’m your man.”

On the other side of Margot sat Lillian. After a hard day of doing what she knew to do best—cooking—Lillian looked satisfied and pleased with herself. She ate a few bites here and there but mostly sat with a soft smile on her face, looking around at the Coleman family. Sometimes she asked questions like, “When did you have this place built?” or “How do you like the potatoes?” or “How long till summer? I can hardly wait.”

When Estelle started talking to Lillian about her summer plans, Lillian gestured toward Margot and said, “My youngest always has a beautiful garden. She has a sensational green thumb.”

Margot stopped eating to look at her mother. She seemed mystified. Later, she’d tell Noah, “My mother never bragged about me. Ever. She always made me feel like she’d forgotten about me.”

“I’ve heard rumors about her beautiful flower shop in Boston,” Estelle said, eyeing Margot.

“A flower shop?” Lillian searched Estelle’s face.

“That’s right, Mom. I own a little shop in Boston,” Margot said.

Lillian turned to look at her daughter. “Is that something you’ve told me before? Goodness, I’m sorry. You know how it is with this illness.”

As far as Noah knew, it was the first time Lillian had ever referred to her Alzheimer’s as a reality they were going through together. Noah reached for Margot’s hand under the table. She squeezed it back.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom,” Margot said, her eyes glinting.

“It’s good to have younger people around,” Estelle said. “They can help us remember.”

Lillian continued to look hard at Margot as though she’d never looked at her in this light before. She reached up and touched Margot’s hair.

A few of the Colemans stopped eating to watch her. But in their eyes, Noah saw no cruelty. They were curious about the love between this sick woman and the daughter who’d only recently returned to her.

“You really turned into a beautiful woman,” Lillian said, her voice breaking.

Margot took a shuddering breath. “I come by it honestly. Good genes.”

Lillian cackled and brushed her hand across Margot’s shoulder. “Don’t flatter me.”

“I would never,” Margot said.

The moment didn’t last long. Very soon, Charlie began to talk to Roland about sports, and Hilary started talking about her wedding again. Avery was busy imitating one of the high school teachers to another of the Coleman kids. But the briefest of beautiful moments between Margot and Lillian were all Noah needed to understand that together, they were turning a new leaf.

He decided he’d be there for both of them.

He’d draw Margot, Lillian, Avery, and himself through this difficult time.

He’d do it because, despite everything, he still remembered how to love. It felt like a remarkable thing. After twenty years of lying dormant, his heart wasn’t dead. Not yet.

Chapter Twenty

That evening, after everyone at the Coleman place finished eating, Margot, Lillian, Estelle, Sam, Hilary, and Charlie’s wife, Sheila, brought the dishes to the kitchen and proceeded to do what most women do across the world: clean up after their families. It was a ritual, Margot knew; a rite of passage, proof that you had people to love and people who loved and appreciated you back. But it felt particularly beautiful for Margot, who’d hardly ever attended a dinner party since leaving Nantucket. She was up to her elbows in suds and laughing at Sam’s jokes and Hilary’s stories. She knew these sisters hadn’t gotten along until recently, which made their reunion and laughter all the more powerful. Lillian, too, told a handful of stories—most of them about her husband, Frank, and her children, Daniel, Henry, Melissa, and even Margot.

Margot was surprised that even the happy memories Lillian spoke of were real. She was surprised to remember that, in actuality and for a brief time, the Earnhearts had loved and supported each other.

How had she forgotten that?

“Four children!” Estelle cried, shaking her head. “I stopped at three.”

Margot expected Lillian to say,We wanted to stop at three.

Instead, Lillian said, “I had just three children for years and years. Three was all I needed. But my husband wanted another one. I hesitated. Margot knows; I’ve told her. But there was such tremendous love between Frank and me. What could I do but say yes to whatever he asked? And it was the best thing I ever did, I think. Margot completed our family.”

“Isn’t that lovely?” Estelle said.

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