Page 148 of Love Among Vines

Jade threw the car into park and clapped her hands excitedly. “I did it! An entire decade later than most people learn to parallel park, but I freakin’ did it.”

Cindy shook her. “I’m so proud of you. What time is your test tomorrow?”

“Nine.”

“I’m taking you,” she said.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have patients. Margie already said?—”

“No. I’m taking you. Margie will understand.”

“Fine.” Jade reached across the seat to hug her. “Thank you, guys. Seriously. Having a driver’s license is going to change so much for me. I won’t be stuck in the city if I don’t want to be.”

“Good. I still think you should consider moving here. I bet if we tried hard enough, we could drive Rett out of town,” Gemma mused.

“He is terrified of heights,” Cindy said thoughtfully.

“And cardio,” Elena chimed in.

Jade laughed. “I’m not going to drive him from his home. But I won’t let his presence here stop me from coming to visit. Maybe we could be friends someday. Lots of friends have intimate carnal knowledge of each other’s bodies, right?”

“Sure they do,” Elena said with a comforting squeeze on Jade’s shoulder.

A few hours later, Jade was alone again. She spent some time doing laundry and packing everything up, then put it all in the car so she could make a quick getaway after the test. She would figure out what to do about the car later.

Wind whipped across the lake, loosing leaves from above. They drifted dreamily into the water. The damp smell of fall was all around.

The tingles were back. Surely she had earned a wine and paint break. If the canvases didn’t dry by tomorrow, Margie would hold on to them until she came back.

When she planted herself in front of the canvas this time, she didn’t feel the same anger and urgency. That would probably come back later. Anger and grief came in waves, stealing her breath when she least expected it. In the future, she’d probably be triggered by a picture, a song. But for now, she could take a moment to process.

When she prepared her palette, this time it came in bright hues. Yellow, pink, orange, royal blue, and lavenders. She took a breath and tapped into her deepest self. Her brush blotted and dipped over the canvas. A streak here, a line there.

Something was forming, but she wasn’t entirely sure what it was. Her hand glided practically on its own until something formed. A naked woman, turned away from the onlooker, with butterflies and vines exploding from her voluminous hair. She was raw, natural, part of the earth.

When it was done, she took a step back and looked at it.Rebirth. That’s what this trip felt like, and that was what this painting would be called.

Movement outside caught her eye. Margie was outside filling the bird feeders that lined her deck.

Jade plucked a painting from the pile and hustled out the door, Penny trailing behind her.

“Hi,” she called to Margie.

“Jade, dear. I got your text. What am I going to do without you?”

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Jade said with a smile. “You probably miss the silence.”

“I did hear what sounded like some angry painting last night,” Margie mused. “Is everything okay?”

“No. Things with Rett are over. He was hurting, but he was really cruel last night, and I’m not going to allow that in my life. Never again.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Margie dropped the bag of birdseed on the table and came over to clutch her hand. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine,” Jade said hurriedly. “It was my sign to get back to the real world. But I wanted to thank you again for all your kindness. You honestly and truly changed my life. You gave me a place to stay and the second chance I so desperately needed.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Margie said with a wave of one hand. “I just selfishly wanted a Jade Gardner original. You should see the Instagram post I made with the mural. Over six thousand likes. I think the café will be pretty busy tomorrow.”

“Really?” Jade asked.

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