Chapter 23
Lily
The gallery was crowded, the space filled with the clink of glasses and the hum of conversation.
“How does it feel to see your paintings hanging on the wall?” Todd appeared by her side and handed her a glass of champagne.
“It feels surreal,” Lily said, “although there are so many paintings here, I don’t suppose anyone will notice mine.”
She glanced across the crowd, but the two people she wanted to attend weren’t here. Every time the door to the gallery opened her heart pumped a little harder, but it was never them. It was foolish of her to expect it. Definitely foolish of her to risk spoiling this once-in-a-lifetime moment by hoping for something that was never going to happen.
“Not notice yours? Have you looked recently? There’s a crowd around them, Lily. I’ll show you.” Todd took her hand, but she held back.
“No, that’s too embarrassing. What if someone realizes I painted them?”
“That’s the idea. You’re supposed to mingle and talk about your work. People are interested.” He propelled her across the gallery toward the section where her paintings were hung.
A young couple were gazing at her watercolor of the dunes at dawn.
“It would be perfect in the living room, above the fireplace,” one of them said and the other nodded.
“I agree.”
Lily froze. It felt both uncomfortable and exhilarating to hear strangers talking about her work.
“I love that painting, too.” Todd tugged her forward. “And this is the artist, just in case you had any questions.”
“Todd, no.” She dug in her heels and sent the couple a look of mortified apology. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re the artist?” The man shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
They talked for a while and Lily answered their questions, aware that a small crowd had gathered around her.
When she finally extracted herself, she glared at Todd.
“That was so awkward! Why did you do that?”
“Because I’m proud of you.” He kissed her briefly. “Better get used to it.”
“What if they’d hated my painting?”
“I could see they loved it, but if they had hated your painting I would have tipped my champagne over them and insisted that they leave immediately. But they didn’t hate it. You’re a success. And talking of success, I heard back from the couple in Truro earlier. I sent them the photos of your wall with the hand-painted seashells. They want to commission you to do the same in their master bedroom and are willing to pay handsomely.”
She felt as if she was floating. “Really?”
“Yes, really. They wanted to know if you could do a flower bedroom for their young daughter, and I said of course you could because you’re a genius.”
She felt dazed. “A flower bedroom?”
“Daisies and sunflowers were mentioned. Let’s put it this way, it’s safe to resign your job anytime you like. In fact, you should because you’re not going to have time to do it after next week. We’re in business.” He was about to kiss her again when he caught sight of someone over her shoulder. “Wow. Have you seen my grandmother? She looks so elegant.”
Lily turned, and saw Cecilia talking to a group of people, one of whom was Seth.
She was wearing a cream dress that fell to her ankles, with a matching floaty jacket and silver jewelry.
She caught sight of them, excused herself and walked over to them. “What a triumph.” She took Lily’s hands. “Has Seth told you he’s already sold both your paintings?”
“Both of them? No.”
“He intended to. He was on his way over to you, but he keeps getting waylaid. I can’t believe how many people that man knows. And as for you,” she said, squeezing Lily’s hands, “congratulations. And this is just the beginning.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You’re the one who did it. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.”
Lily hadn’t known it was possible to feel this happy and excited and she held the feeling close because she knew that whatever good times lay ahead, there would also be bad and that you needed to celebrate life whenever you could. And yes, she wished her parents were here, but with Cecilia, Seth, Todd and now Kristen in her corner she felt loved and supported.
The gallery was filling up now as more people arrived, and Lily was pressed into a corner between a display of ceramic pots and a sculpture in bronze, when she heard someone say her name.
She turned and there was Hannah, looking nervous and unsure.
“Hannah? What are you doing here?” Joy flooded through her and then she reined it in. Hannah was probably here because of Cecilia, or Kristen.
“I came because I heard a great deal of buzz about a certain new artist.”
“You did?”
“Yes, she’s supposed to be a major talent.” Hannah gave an uncertain smile. “You have a lot of supporters, Lily.”
“People have been great. Your grandmother, Seth, Todd—” She broke off. How would Hannah feel about her relationship with Todd?
“You look different.” Hannah scanned her swiftly. “Stunning. I’m used to seeing you in track pants and sweaters hunched over textbooks and a laptop, and you look transformed. That red jumpsuit with your dark hair—you look like an artist. Which is what you have always been of course, it’s just that I didn’t want to see it.” She hesitated. “I don’t know what to say, so I’m just going to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend to you when you were feeling so down. I have missed you so, so much—you have no idea. If you’ll forgive me, I promise to do better. But maybe you can’t ever forgive me—oh,” she gasped as Lily grabbed her and hugged her.
“I’ve missed you, too. I should be the one apologizing to you.” She breathed in Hannah’s perfume and felt the strength of her hug. “I should have tried harder to explain how I was feeling.”
“It was my fault. You were struggling and all I did was tell you you’d be fine. I can’t believe I said that.” Hannah sniffed. “I’m going to be a terrible doctor.”
“You’re going to be a brilliant doctor. You were made to be a doctor.” Lily eased away. “But I wasn’t.”
“I know. Maybe I’ve always known that, but I got so used to following a path with you I didn’t know how to walk it alone. I was afraid to walk it alone. I was being selfish. I didn’t want you to give it up.” Hannah gave her a watery smile. “What kind of friend am I?”
“A good one. The best.”
“So can we start again?”
“We don’t need to start again. We’ve been friends forever.”
Hannah blew her nose. “From now on I will always be there for you, even when I don’t understand why you’re doing something. Even when you’re not telling me everything. You can count on me.”
“And you can count on me. And from now on I will be telling you everything.”
“That’s a relief, because I didn’t want to have a sister-in-law who didn’t speak to me.”
Lily felt herself blush. “We haven’t—he hasn’t—”
“But he will. And you will.” Hannah grinned. “And quite right, too. It should have happened long before now. But better late than never, and all that. And now we’ve got all the emotion out of the way and everything is right with the world again, where’s the food?”
Lily couldn’t resist teasing her. “I thought you came to see my paintings?”
“I’ve put in two all-nighters and I can’t remember when I last ate. If I don’t eat, I won’t be able to properly appreciate your genius.”
“There are canapés.”
“Better than nothing. We’ll grab a plate. We can pretend we’re taking them round but secretly stand in a corner and eat the lot. Oh, hi, Todd.” She kept her tone casual as Todd approached. “Just catching up on all the family gossip. I just saw Mom and Dad holding hands in the corner, and I’m not sure if that’s a bit gross or a good thing, so you’d better enlighten me.”
“It’s definitely a good thing.” Todd put his arm around Lily and grinned at his sister. “Good to know you’re speaking to me again.”
“Yes, well, you were making some questionable decisions but you seem to have sorted yourself out thank goodness—” Hannah glanced between him and Lily and shook her head. “You two can’t keep your hands off each other, Mom and Dad are smiling at each other again, and Nanna has fallen in love. There must be something in the air. I’m wondering if I should move to the Cape. Maybe if I stayed here for a while my love life might improve.”
“You’d hate it here,” Todd said. “It’s too quiet for you.”
“Maybe. So what happens now? Are you staying in Nanna’s mystery cottage?”
“For now. And on that topic, I need to steal Lily away because Nanna wanted to talk to us and there’s a local reporter who wants a photo of Lily with her paintings.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, leave me. Go and be important.” But she smiled and gave Lily a push. “See you in a minute. I’m off to forage for something to eat.”
“I’m not sure I want to talk to a reporter.” Lily glanced back at her friend and laughed as she saw Hannah holding a tray of smoked salmon. “I love your sister.”
“I know. And she loves you.”
“I’m so pleased you invited her. And relieved she came.”
True friendship could survive most things, she thought, and what she and Hannah shared was true friendship. She imagined a future full of big family gatherings, but also times when Hannah and she would meet, just the two of them, sharing all their thoughts as they had when they were children. Whenever she had a health emergency she’d call Hannah, and whenever Hannah moved to a new apartment she’d call Lily to help with the decorating. Each had found their niche.
And here she was in her niche. She even managed to smile for the journalist as he took her photograph next to the painting.
And then Cecilia drew them both to one side.
“I love what you’ve done with the cottage,” she said, “and I hope what I’m going to say next won’t offend you.”
“You’re not going to live in it,” Todd said, and Lily felt a thud of disappointment. It felt like failure somehow. Despite everything, she hadn’t managed to make Cecilia fall back in love with the place.
“The cottage was once important in my life, but those days are gone. It’s part of my past, not my future. You can’t go backward. Or if you can, I wouldn’t want to.” Cecilia was positively glowing. “Seth has asked me to move in with him, and I’ve said yes.”
Todd nodded. “Good decision, Nanna. He’s a good man. I’m happy for you.”
Lily smiled because it was a good outcome for Cecilia. “I’m happy for you, too.”
Cecilia glanced between them. “Aren’t you going to ask me about the cottage?”
“I assume you’re going to sell it,” Todd said. “And we’ll help, of course. Just let us know what you need us to do.”
Lily admired how calm and accepting he was because she knew he would be every bit as sad to leave the cottage as she would. But he didn’t let his disappointment show. He wasn’t going to put that pressure on his grandmother.
“I’m not going to sell it. Seth pointed out that property is an excellent investment, so for now I’m going to keep it. I won’t be able to relax and enjoy my winter travels in Italy if I know the place is empty, so if the two of you wouldn’t mind living in it, then you’d be doing me a favor.”
“Living in it?” Lily stared at her. “You’re going to let us rent it?”
“Your payment will be looking after it for me. It will give you a chance to see how you like living this far out. If it works out, maybe we can talk about you owning it. But eventually you might want to move closer to town. For now, the place is yours if you want it. If you’re able to help me out. It’s asking a lot, I know.”
If they wanted it?
Todd was grinning. “I think we can manage it. Lily?”
“Oh yes.” She imagined living there with Todd, just the two of them. She’d paint, and they’d run their business and when they weren’t working they’d cook delicious food in the pretty kitchen and walk on the seashore. “I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”
“I should be thanking you,” Cecilia said. “You’ve worked so hard on the place. You deserve to enjoy what you’ve created. And now that’s sorted, you need to talk to Seth, Lily. There is a couple here tonight who want to commission something from you.”
She was about to answer when she felt Todd’s hand on her arm.
“Lily—”
“What?” She followed his gaze and saw her parents standing in the doorway of the gallery, looking lost. She’d been so certain they wouldn’t come that she thought she must be hallucinating. “I don’t believe it.”
For a moment she couldn’t move, and then she saw Kristen walk quickly toward them, hands outstretched in welcome.
“Come on.” Todd grabbed her hand. “Time to show them who you really are. Relax. My mother is great at making people feel welcome.”
She was glad he was with her, because she felt oddly nervous going to talk to her parents. They’d said almost nothing when she’d called them and told them her plans, and she had no idea what they were going to say now.
“Lily!” Kristen smiled at her. “I was just telling your parents how proud they’re going to be when they see your work. And both paintings sold already. She has a great career ahead of her, and I consider myself something of an expert.”
Lily felt a rush of gratitude and hugged her parents awkwardly. “I’m so pleased you came.”
“Lily.” Her mother blinked, as if she was seeing her for the first time. “I barely recognized you. You look wonderful.”
“You look wonderful, too.”
Her mother was wearing what seemed to be a new dress and her father was wearing a jacket and tie. They both looked self-conscious.
The next half hour was a whirl as they greeted Todd and then Hannah, and went to see the section of the gallery where Lily’s paintings hung.
She was more nervous showing her parents her work than she’d been when she’d shown Seth.
They both stared at the paintings and then at each other.
Her mother clutched her father’s arm. “Look at that, Stan.”
“I’m looking, Moira. I’m looking.”
“Our girl.”
“Yes.”
“Someone has bought her painting.” Her mother pressed her hand to her mouth. “A stranger. A stranger paid money.”
Lily understood how alien it must be for them, because that wasn’t the world she’d been raised in. It wasn’t the world her parents knew. But it seemed that the extra endorsement from someone who didn’t know her made all the difference.
“Big money,” her father said. “I’m thinking those paintings of hers that we have around the house are going to be worth something.”
“Stan!” Her mother turned to him, horrified. “I hope you’re not suggesting we sell them?”
“Sell them? We’re going to keep them. Probably a better investment than a savings account.” Her father reached out and patted Lily awkwardly on the shoulder. “Good work, honey. I might not understand how your brain works, but I admire it.”
She felt as if she’d won the lottery.
Still, she was keen to reassure them.
“I don’t know if I’m going to make a success of this,” she said, “but I do know I’m happy. And it’s my responsibility to make it work in one way or another whether that’s painting walls or painting canvases. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“We’re not worried,” her mother said. “Not anymore. We can see how happy you are. And Kristen showed us a photograph of the bedroom you decorated. Those seashells! Wherever did you get that idea?”
They looked at her as if they were seeing her for the first time.
“Let me show you round the rest of the exhibition,” Lily said.
They walked with her, pausing in front of different paintings, her mother effusive and her father a little bemused by it all. They greeted Hannah warmly, and Lily introduced them properly to Todd, who charmed them so completely that Lily fell in love with him all over again.
“You seem so comfortable here, Lily,” her mother said. “As if this is your world.”
“It is my world. I fit here.”
Her mother nodded. “We’re proud of you, honey.”
“Of my paintings?”
“Yes, we’re proud of that. But mostly we’re proud of you for standing up for what you wanted, and what you knew was right. When you called that night—” her mother swallowed “—well, I’m just sorry we didn’t make that easier for you. We didn’t understand. This wasn’t a world we could picture. But now we can.”
Lily thought about what she’d learned from Cecilia, about moving forward. “Thank you for coming tonight. It means everything to me.” She gave her mother a quick hug and then stepped back as Kristen approached.
“Moira! There’s someone you must meet—” She bustled Lily’s mother away and Lily watched as her mother smiled, chatted and tentatively sipped at the glass of champagne she’d been handed.
“Hi there, girl in the red jumpsuit,” Todd’s voice came from behind her. “Are you the hot young artist everyone is talking about?”
She turned. “I think you must have the wrong person.”
“I don’t think so.” He curled his fingers around her hand. “Let’s get out of here. I need some air. I can only stand a crowd of this size for so long. Frankly I can’t wait to get back to our cottage on the dunes.”
Our cottage.
She checked on her mother and saw her laughing with Kristen. “I should check on my dad.”
“He’s with my dad. They’re talking about boats.”
“He doesn’t know anything about boats.”
“Neither does my dad. It almost makes the conversation worth listening to, but I want five minutes alone with you.”
They left the crowds behind them, crossed the road and strolled to the waterfront.
“I can’t believe your grandmother is letting us live in the cottage.”
“I know. It’s going to be great. And if winter gets a little long and cold out here, we can always head back to Boston for a break.”
“I can’t imagine ever needing a break from this place.” She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her as they watched the sun go down over the ocean.
“I love you.” He pulled her closer. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. Remember when we were working on the living room, and you asked me if it felt as if I was living my best life when I was studying for exams? You asked if I was happy.”
“I remember.”
“I’m happy now.” She slid her arms around his neck. “With you.”
The sea. The sand. The cottage. Her art. Todd, and the future that stretched ahead of them.
This was her best life.