Page 29 of The Vineyard Bride

Chapter Twelve

The morning of June11th, Audrey and Lola hung their gala dresses in the back of Lola’s car, stretching the skirts out across the seats to ensure they didn’t wrinkle, passed Max off to Amanda (with copious kisses), and headed out to the Oak Bluffs ferry.There, they parked the car in the belly of the ferry and leaped out into the splendor of the sun on the top deck, where they waved goodbye to the island they now called home.

“I made a list of everywhere I want to eat when we’re back in Boston,” Audrey said, just as the last of the island dissipated on the horizon line.She leafed through her pocket to grab her phone, on which she’d listed out their favorite burger, pizza, Mexican, and breakfast places in the city where she’d grown up.

“You know that we’re only going to be in Boston for one night, right?”Lola said with a laugh.

“I’ve prepared myself mentally for an eating marathon,” Audrey affirmed.

“Okay.Let’s strategize.Today for lunch, we’ll do burgers and fries.Tomorrow, breakfast so that we can regroup after the gala.And before we leave Boston, we have to decide between Mexican and pizza.Or...”Lola’s eyes widened with memory.“That fantastic Chinese place.Remember?With the killer dumplings?”

“Gosh, yes.I can’t believe I forgot that place,” Audrey returned, furrowing her brow.“Maybe we’ll have to have four meals tomorrow before we go.”

Lola puffed out her cheeks.“You know that I’m supposed to get married soon, right?And I’m in my forties now, which means my metabolism isn’t what it used to be?”

Audrey waved a hand.“Go for a run this week,” she said flippantly.

“Spoken like a true twenty-one-year-old,” Lola shot back.“Talk to me in twenty years.”

“Does this mean you don’t want to eat four meals tomorrow?”Audrey asked with a sneaky smile.

“No.Of course, I want that,” Lola returned.“I just want to complain about it a little bit beforehand, that’s all.”

“Fair enough.”

The drive from Woods Hole to Boston took about an hour and forty-five minutes, during which Audrey and Lola sang songs, swapped stories, and seemed unable to find even ten seconds of silence.Lola fumbled over lyrics, only for Audrey to pick up the slack— bringing them through genres of R&B, rock, indie, and pop.

“Madonna did it better than anyone,” Audrey said with a sigh as the last bars of “Like a Prayer” diminished.

“You’re so right.Hearing you say that makes me feel, finally, like I raised you right,” Lola teased.

“Finally?”

“I was worried until right now,” Lola joked.

Audrey cackled and opened the front window to allow wind to breeze through her hair.It caught Lola’s, whipping strands over her eyes and across her cheeks.

“It’s funny,” Audrey murmured when the first signs for Boston appeared on the side of the road.“Max will never know Boston the way I know Boston.It makes me sad a little bit.”

“You’re a true Bostonian through and through,” Lola affirmed.“Just like I always wanted to be.”Lola’s throat tightened as she added, “But there’s no reason that you couldn’t build a life here again.Especially if the island starts to feel too small for you.I remember that feeling when I was seventeen, aching to get off the island as fast as I could and go build my own life.”

Audrey’s cheeks burned.“I recently just told you how angry I would be if Amanda moved out of the Sheridan House.Imagine how mad she’d be if I actually left the island.”

“The only sure thing in this life is change,” Lola murmured.

“I just want to hold onto this reality a little bit longer,” Audrey whispered.“I want Max to be one for another five years.I want Amanda and I to stay up till one in the morning talking about anything and everything as the waves come in from the Sound.I want Grandpa to snore so loudly that we hear it through his bedroom door.”

Lola was wordless after that, falling into the poetry of Audrey’s words.She could chart the loss of the future based on the losses in her past— her mother, her childhood, Audrey’s father.Every loss paved the way for future beauty, but it was often difficult to know how to make space for whatever was next.

“Let’s drive by our first few apartments, huh?”Lola suggested, tilting her head knowingly toward Audrey.“Let’s take a walk down memory lane a little bit.”

Audrey puffed out her lips.“Gosh.I’m really going to need all this comfort food this weekend, aren’t I?”

The first apartment that Lola had ever taken little Audrey back to had been no more than a studio with enough space for a bed, a crib, a little table that had doubled for food and for writing, and a coatrack upon which Lola had hung her only coat.Lola had very clear memories of pacing through the night with baby Audrey in her arms, staring out at the darkness of the night and wondering if she would ever “make it” in any real way.

Outside the apartment building, Audrey and Lola were wordless for a long time, watching as the current residents came and went.Most of them were dressed shabbily and were in their early to mid-twenties, en route to achieving their dreams, just as Lola had been.One woman in particular staggered forward with a baby carrier, talking on the phone with a strained expression.

“She’s so tired,” Lola murmured.“I can feel it.She’s like a mirror image of me all those years ago.”

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