Page 39 of The Summer We Mended
“I’d like that,” she answered.
Lily sat at the table, a cup of coffee cradled in her hands, as she looked around awkwardly.The dark circles under her eyes remained, but there was a little more light behind them this morning.It was subtle, but Anna saw it.
“Breakfast is ready,” Anna announced to the twins.
Blaze and Nora raced into the kitchen, still barefoot, their hair sticking up wildly in every direction.They both wore matching pajama sets covered in cartoon whales, and the sight made Lily chuckle softly.
“Good morning, you little sea monsters,” Lily said, lifting her mug in greeting.
“We’re not sea monsters,” Nora protested with a giggle as she climbed into a chair.“We’re marine biologists in training.”
“Yeah!Are we going to the pottery studio today?”Blaze added, bouncing in his seat.
Anna placed the pancakes, eggs, and bacon on the table, then turned to pour coffee into her own mug.“One step at a time, buddy.Let’s get some food in your bellies first.”
“Can we really go, Grandma?”Nora asked, her wide eyes settling on Lily.“Can we make mugs and bowls and weird wobbly shapes again?”
Lily hesitated, the smile flickering at the edges of her lips.“Well, it’s been a while since I opened the studio.It might be a little dusty.”
“That’s okay,” Blaze said through a mouthful of pancake.“We can clean it!I like cleaning.It’s like archeology.You never know what you’re going to find.”
Anna stifled a laugh, exchanging a glance with her mother, who shook her head with amusement.
“We could help set everything up,” Nora said.“You always let us pick our colors and use the spinny thing…what’s it called again?”
“The pottery wheel,” Lily replied softly, a small smile playing on her lips.
“Yeah!That!I want to make a bowl for Mr.Snuffles.He needs a new food dish.”
“Is that your imaginary cat?”Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No,” Nora said with a perfectly serious face.“He’s a hamster.Obviously.”
Blaze jumped in again.“And I want to make a turtle.A real one.Out of clay.Like, with a shell and eyes and everything.Can I, Grandma?Can I make a turtle?”
Lily looked over at Anna with a small smile.Then she looked back at the twins.Blaze and Nora were grinning from ear to ear and practically vibrating off the chairs with excitement and energy.
“I suppose…” she started, her voice low.“If the studio isn’t too much of a mess… we could take a look this afternoon.”
Nora gasped.“Yes!”
Blaze pumped both fists in the air.“YES!We’re going to the studio!”
“Eat your breakfast first,” Anna said with a smile, sliding into the chair beside her mother.She kept her voice light, but she didn’t miss the way her mom kept watching the kids, the way her lips twitched every time they spoke.
“Remember that one time Nora made a bowl and it came out looking like a volcano?”Blaze asked, laughing.
“It was supposed to be a volcano!”Nora said indignantly.
“And you painted it red and orange and it dripped everywhere,” Lily added, the first real smile fully breaking across her face.
Anna saw it.The light.Not just in Lily’s face, but in her posture, the way she leaned forward slightly now, elbows on the table, coffee forgotten.
“You said it was a masterpiece,” Nora said proudly.
“It was,” Lily said, her voice softer now.“Messy, loud, slightly unpredictable.Just like you.”
Blaze giggled.“What about the time I made a cup and the handle fell off in the fireplace?”
