Page 22 of The Summer We Mended
“She’s going to be ecstatic.You brought her vision to life and combined it with your talents, Dad.It’s…amazing.The way you blended her pottery with your woodworking skills for the signage.It’s incredible.It’s all so special.”
Anna smiled at the boyish grin her dad had on his face all that day.He was so proud of himself, of her Mom, and so excited to be able to do something nice for her.Lily was always taking care of everyone else, always the strong one, and it was a rare moment that he was able to do something special for his wife.
The love those two had for each other was the reason she and Luke had such a good marriage.Her parents had set such a solid example of love, marriage, and relationships that the bar had been set really high.
After leaving the Vineyard Harbor Market, a whitewashed, cedar-shingled shop with creaky floorboards and the scent of sea salt and lemon balm in the air, Anna turned left onto Harbor Road.The street gently curved along the edge of the marina, where sailboats bobbed in their slips.Past the post office, which shared its red brick building with the town’s tiny library, and just beyond a weathered sign for Finch & Sons Ship Repair, there was a narrow gravel path marked with a hand-painted sign for her mother’s studio.
Tucked back from the road, half hidden behind a stand of silver-green bayberry bushes and windblown hydrangea, Lily’s studio looked like it had grown there.The building itself was once an old boathouse, owned by the Hartman family for decades.It had long since been reclaimed and transformed.Its cedar siding had grayed from the salt air, and the big wraparound porch, with white-painted railings and a driftwood wind chime singing softly in the breeze, offered a welcoming place to sit.Three rocking chairs lined the porch, handmade by David in the early years of their marriage.If you looked closely, you could see the inlaid fragments of Lily’s broken pottery: glazed turquoise, seafoam green, and amber, worked into the arms and back slats, like tiny bits of memory sealed into the wood.
The front windows were large and wide, spilling light into the open interior where shelves of mugs, bowls, and sculptural pieces gave off the earthy scent of clay and the faint tang of minerals from the glaze kilns.
Anna pulled over and cut the engine, staring at the door as if willing it to open.Her mother never closed for the season.April through September was the heartbeat of her business.Tourists flocked to her classes, her hand-thrown bowls were always on back-order, and even the locals came to browse, sip coffee, and catch up on Vineyard gossip.
Now it sat silent.Like it had been sealed shut.
Anna leaned back in the driver’s seat and closed her eyes.How had she missed this?How had no one told her that her mother had all but disappeared from her own life?Why hadn’t Margot told her how bad it had gotten until now?
Why didn’t she come back to the Vineyard sooner?
Anna shook her head and steered the car back to the cottage.None of those questions mattered now.From this moment forward, she was going to do everything she could to get her mom back to who she was, or at least, back to loving life.Could one really go back to who they were before losing the love of their life?
Back at the cottage, the sounds of laughter and ocean breeze greeted her as she climbed the porch steps with her grocery bags.Blaze ran past her out front, a makeshift pirate hat on his head.Nora followed behind him with a long feather tucked behind one ear and a shoelace tied around her waist like a belt.Then Maisie followed with a stick, pretending it was a sword.
“Whoa!”Anna laughed.“What’s all this?”
“We’re pirates!”Maisie exclaimed.
Anna smiled down at her little cousin.She hadn’t known Jess was coming over, but she was glad the kids had someone to play with besides each other.
The scent of roasted garlic and butter was already warm in the air when Anna stepped into the kitchen.Anna’s Aunt Claudia stood at the island, elbows deep in a bowl of her bread stuffing, her sleeves rolled to the elbow, and a faint smudge of flour on her cheek.Margot was slicing heirloom tomatoes with precise, almost reverent care.The counters were scattered with bowls of chopped vegetables, fresh herbs from the garden, and the telltale mess of a meal in progress.
“Oh, Anna!”Claudia exclaimed.“So good to see you!”
Her Aunt Claudia wrapped her in a giant hug, squeezing her as tightly as she could without crushing her ribs.When she let go, she pulled back and put her palm gently on Anna’s cheek.
“I am so glad you came home, sweet girl.I think it’s what you and your mom both needed.”
Claudia pulled away then and went back to the vegetables she was chopping up.
“I didn’t know you guys were coming over today.”
“Neither did we,” Claudia laughed.“Just decided on a whim.Margot and I are cooking up a storm.”
“Oh, well I had planned on making clam chowder.”
“Well, you can save that for another day.Let us cook for you, dear.You deserve a break just like the rest of us.”
Anna blew out a slow breath, knowing that her aunt’s words were true.She did need a break, but her mother needed her to be on, at all times.Margot looked over at Anna.
“It’s okay, kid.We’ve got this.”
Anna started putting away her groceries, when they were all in their designated spots she turned around to the two women.
“You’re going to have to let me help in some way.”
Claudia hesitated for just a moment before she turned around and grinned back at her niece.
“Ah, perfect timing.We were just about to argue over who was going to de-vein the shrimp.Now you can break the tie.”
