Page 70 of Love Among Vines

“How about we take the boat out?”

Cheese for lunchanda free boat ride? It was Jade’s lucky day.

After some finagling, she, Margie, and Penny had climbed aboard the pontoon boat. Penny sat happily on the padded seat, two tennis balls shoved in her mouth and sun shining on her honey-colored fur.

The boat rumbled beneath them as Margie guided it away from the dock. She had wrapped her hair into a long, colorful scarf and donned a pair of sunglasses. “What was it like to see your painting again?”

“I’m so glad it found a home with you. I painted that when I was in grad school.”

“I saw it in a gallery in Midtown and I swear it just called to me,” Margie said fondly. “It reminded me so much of dates with my David. It hung in the café for a while, but I eventually brought it home.”

“I don’t usually get to see them again after they leave the nest,” Jade said. “Thank you for showing it to me.”

“Never doubt yourself, love.”

Margie cranked the throttle, and soon they were flying north toward the bluff. Wind whipped through Jade’s hair while sun warmed her skin. She closed her eyes and soaked it in. The roar of the boat, the spray of lake water on her cheeks.

Eventually, Margie lowered the speed to a crawl. They were approaching a small inlet.

“A family of herons used to nest here. They’re probably gone, but it’s a blissful place to read a book. Or go fishing, if you’re my husband.”

Jade smiled fondly. “I never did much fishing in the city. Maybe with my dad a couple of times.”

Margie glanced at her. “You plan to go back to the city after your time here?”

“I have to. But I’ve been so grateful for my time here.”

Even though she’d only been here for a week, this town and its people had become almost as important to her as her own home.

“It woke up something that I thought was gone for good,” she added. “Now I need to figure out if I can go back to being who I was.”

“Do you want to be who you were?”

The word “yes” was on the tip of Jade’s tongue, but she paused. Was that still true?

“I don’t know if I can go back to being exactly who I was—the carefree girl with two parents, a steady boyfriend, and a bright future. She’s gone.”

“Not gone,” Margie said. “Maybe just different. Different doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

Silence settled around them as Margie navigated the inlet.

“You know, I’m something of an artist myself,” Margie said.

“Yes, I’ve seen your pottery,” Jade said. “It’s stunning.”

“Thank you. I didn’t pull out my wheel for a long time after my David passed. A long time. It felt like all the color had just drained out of the world and there wasn’t anything beautiful left.”

A pang hit Jade’s heart. She had felt the same way after that devastating day. Her entire family unit, gone in an instant while Christmas music played hauntingly in the background.

“So what made the difference for you? How did you recapture your magic?”

Margie gestured broadly. “This place. My friends. The community. They healed me from the inside out. They organized meal trains kept me company even when I didn’t want it. Even though giving up living in an RV and traveling the country full-time felt like saying goodbye to a dream at the time, that compromise has made all the difference here in my goldenyears.” She looked fondly at the green hills. “I don’t regret it for a second.”

“Is that what keeps you here now?”

Margie nodded. “It’s home. And for the record, we still did our share of traveling, but there truly is nothing like home.”

Jade stood at the railing and contemplated the tiny, peaceful inlet. Maybe there was some wiggle room in her definition of home.

---