Page 34 of The Summer We Mended
“No.The boathouse would be perfect for Lily’s studio.She has a gift that she shares with the Vineyard, and with some love and changes, the boathouse would allow her to do that on a bigger scale.It would also have ample room for you and your woodworking.Who knows, maybe you’ll start selling your work, too.”
“Henry, I can’t…”
“David, it doesn’t matter.I’ve already spoken to the lawyer about it.I don’t need you to buy me out, and I’m not asking for anything in exchange.Pop wanted Lily’s studio there and…what am I going to do with a building when me and Claud live in New York?You and Lil are here, and you can keep our Hartman family legacy alive.”
Anna felt the tears form in her eyes.It was a beautiful gesture and one she knew her father and mother would appreciate.Her uncle wasn’t much for emotion, wasn’t much of a talker either, but he always made up for that with actions, and this was no different.
Anna left her spot by the window, knowing that she needed to give her dad and uncle some space.
Before they had the boathouse, though, this garage space had been everything for the family.Anna inhaled slowly, memories of her childhood wrapping around her.Her sandals crunching on the scattered gravel outside.The scent of clay, old dust, and faint salt air immediately hit her, a familiar mixture wrapped around her like an old quilt.
She crossed the threshold slowly, her hand brushing the side of the weathered wooden doorframe as if it could talk.Inside, the studio was frozen in time, as if her mother had walked out mid-thought and just never returned.
Glazed pieces lined the back shelves, and the work in the center was cluttered with brushes, half-used glazes, and a drying slab of clay that had long since cracked.But the box near the window caught Anna’s attention, tucked half under the old wheel, labeled only with her mother’s looping script: Summer Starts.
Kneeling beside it, she gently lifted the lid and sifted through the contents: unfinished bowls, lopsided mugs, a platter with swirling blue underglaze that stopped short of the edge.Pieces that had started with love and intention… then abruptly halted.
She didn’t realize she was crying until a tear landed on the rim of a small, delicate vase.She swiped it away with the heel of her hand just as the floor creaked behind her.
“I used to love making those little bud vases,” Lily’s voice came from the doorway, soft but clear.
Anna turned, startled.“Mom… I didn’t hear you come in.”
Lily stepped fully into the room, tightening her cardigan.Her hair was still damp from a shower, and her face was fresh but pale.
“I…I didn’t think you were here.I certainly didn’t think I’d find you in here anyway,” Lily said softly.
“Oh, you were coming out here on your own?”
Lily nodded as she looked around.“Yeah.I mean, I didn’t mean to, just kind of walked out the back door, and my legs carried me here.I haven’t…I haven’t been out here in so long.”
“I didn’t realize there was any pottery left out here and then…”
“Yeah, we couldn’t take it all to the studio, and I always meant to grab the rest and never had time or space for it.Some of this stuff is ancient, like the first things I ever made with the kiln your dad had installed.”
Lily walked around the garage as if she were greeting an old friend.She hugged herself as she looked around in awe, a soft smile on her lips.It was the first time Anna had seen any sort of real emotion coming from her mother.Up until today, she seemed so far away.She seemed lost in her memories now, but it was way different than the sad zombie-like look when Anna and the kids first arrived.
“This was the first thing I ever made,” Lily breathed as she picked up a blue and white vase.“Successfully anyway.It took a bit to get used to the kiln, and then your dad was so proud of himself for surprising me with it that he wanted to do it all under the radar, so he did it all himself.There are a lot of little quirks because of it.”
“What do you mean by quirks?”
“Well, the controls are installed backwards so on is off, low is high,” Lily replied with a fond smile as she looked at the kiln.She pulled her cardigan even tighter around her.“I didn’t have the heart to tell your dad that he did it backwards.I always would turn the dial and smile.”
Anna grinned, too.It was nice to hear her mother talk about her father, because that was something she hadn’t really done in a while either.It was like she was slowly coming out of her shell.
“Dad was so proud of you, of all of this.Anytime we’d be anywhere, and someone was looking at some sort of pottery, he’d say, ‘You know, my wife makes the most beautiful stuff you’ve ever seen.You should check out her studio, it’ll be life-changing for you.’”
“He was a walking billboard, that’s for sure.He probably got me more customers than anything.I can’t tell you how many people would walk in and say that some man told them to stop by and they had to see what he was raving about.He was my biggest cheerleader.”
“He definitely was,” Anna agreed softly.
“Man, this place used to hum.And the studio.They were always both so alive with love and laughter, and now…”
“It could hum again,” Anna said gently, holding her hand out to her mother.
Lily smiled sadly and didn’t take it.“I don’t know.That part of me…” She paused, her voice catching.“It went quiet the day your dad died.It’s like all of my creativity just dried up.”
Anna moved closer to her mother, setting the vase on the work bench.She took both of Lily’s hands in hers.
