Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Lily
It was late afternoon as Lily, Blaze, and Nora climbed the last stretch of the sandy path to the house. The wind had settled into a gentle whisper, stirring the sea grass.
“That was the best field trip ever,” Blaze said.
“Field trip?” Nora asked as she chuffed. “We just hung out with Grandma.”
“Well, we’re supposed to be in school, so I’m calling it a field trip,” he replied.
Lily laughed to herself just as she looked up at the house and noticed movement on the back deck.
She froze. Her breath caught in her throat.
For the briefest of moments, it was David. The shape of his shoulders. The way he leaned against the doorframe. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and her legs locked beneath her. Her eyes stung, a prickle of tears rising before she could stop them.
But then he turned.
Not David, but Henry.
Her late husband’s older brother stepped out onto the porch with his usual measured gait, his silver hair clipped neatly above his ears, a collared shirt tucked into his slacks despite the casual setting.
He was a retired high school principal and struggled to get away from looking the part of that, even in retirement.
His hand was wrapped loosely around the porch railing, and he blinked into the sunlight like he hadn’t expected them so soon.
Claudia followed behind him, her skirt fluttering at her ankles, her arms already stretching wide as she caught sight of them. “There you are! We were beginning to wonder if you’d taken the kids all the way to Edgartown!”
Maisie squealed from inside the house. A blur of small limbs and tangled curls, she barreled through the open screen door. “Nora! Blaze! Look what I found!”
She held up a shell that looked suspiciously like a chipped clam, but her pride in it was radiant.
Blaze grinned. “We found one with a tiny crab still inside!”
Claudia knelt to greet them, her arms enfolding Blaze and Nora in a warm embrace that smelled like lavender and sunscreen.
She kissed each child on the temple, brushing sand from their cheeks like it was sacred.
“Oh, just look at you both. What is your mama feeding you? I swear you’ve both grown a foot since I saw you last.”
“We only have two feet,” Blaze said as he shot her a funny look.
Claudia laughed. “I meant in height, smarty-pants.”
Blaze laughed before Henry reached over and shook his hand. “If you’re not a perfect replica of your dad and your Uncle Cody, I don’t know who is.”
“Mom tells me that, too. She tells me I look like Grandpa a lot.”
“That would be true.” Claudia smiled. “Cody is the spitting image of David.”
Claudia turned to Lily before she engulfed her in her arms. Her lavender scent wrapped around Lily. She wanted to pull away at the sudden contact but knew that Claudia wouldn’t let go regardless.
“It’s so good to see you out and about. You look good, sis,” Claudia whispered.
Lily smiled, though it trembled at the edges. “Thanks, Claudia.”
Henry nodded from where he stood, arms crossed loosely over his chest. “Good to see you, Lil. Kids look strong.”
He offered a tight smile, his eyes flicking over the children before settling awkwardly on her face.
There was affection there, buried under the careful construction of control, but no warmth in his posture.
He was trying. Lily knew that. He always tried.
But Henry came from a generation of stoics, and his grief had been packed away in tight corners, tucked behind pride and polite conversation.
“Thanks, Henry,” she said softly. “You too.”
Their daughter, Jess, emerged from the doorway last, holding a bottle of water, her face half-shadowed under her long bangs. She stood on the threshold, eyes darting toward her mother, then Lily, then back again.
“Hi,” she said, her voice quiet.
“Hey, Jess,” Lily offered, stepping forward to close the space between them.
She remembered the last time they’d seen each other in person at a rushed Thanksgiving three years ago. Jess had been caught between startup meetings and Zoom calls. She’d barely touched her food and spent most of the time texting under the table.
That world had come crashing down recently. The startup had folded, and Jess had returned to Vineyard Harbor a little thinner, a little quieter, and a lot more guarded.
Maisie pulled on her mother’s hand. “Show them, Mommy. Show them what I made for Uncle David’s tree!”
Jess nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We made decorations from sea glass and string. She wants to hang them on the old birch.”
Blaze perked up. “You mean the one with the rope swing?”
“The very one,” Claudia said, rising and brushing sand off her knees. “Still standing, though a little less steady than it used to be. Like the rest of us.”
That earned a chuckle from Henry. “Speak for yourself. I could still beat Blaze in a race down to the water.”
Blaze’s eyes lit up. “Bet you couldn’t. Want to try?”
“Maybe after dinner,” Henry said, and winked. “Gotta pace myself these days.”
As the group began to move toward the house, Jess lingered near the back. Lily fell into step beside her.
They walked in silence for a moment, the rhythm of their steps syncing as they passed the edge of the garden where the basil was already flowering and the tomatoes hung small and green on the vine. A garden that Margot had planted for her, because Lily just didn’t have the heart to do so.
Lily reached out and gently squeezed Jess’s hand.
Jess glanced at her, startled.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lily said. “Really.”
Jess’s mouth twitched. For a second, she looked like she might cry, but she didn’t. She just nodded and looked ahead, where Maisie was now pointing excitedly at a bird flying overhead.
“Thanks, Aunt Lily,” Jess murmured.
It was a small thing. A tiny gesture. But for Lily, who had barely managed to keep herself afloat this last year, it was a moment of connection she hadn’t known she still had the capacity for.
Inside the house, Margot had already set out lemonade and sliced fruit. She moved with an effortless kind of warmth, fluffing cushions, straightening tablecloths, adjusting the blinds so the light fell just so across the table. Her presence made the old place feel like it was breathing again.
“Margot, I didn’t know you were here,” Lily said as she hugged her friend.
“I came to check on you all. When no one was here, I called Anna, and she said you guys went on an adventure, and I thought lemonade and fruit would be perfect.”
“You were right,” Lily said.
“When these guys got here, I offered to make a big dinner. This house hasn’t seen one of your famous family dinners in a while. It’s due.”
“Margot, I don’t—”
“I didn’t say that you were cooking, did I?” she asked softly. “I’ll handle everything.”
Lily nodded and let out a long sigh. It was all a bit overwhelming for her, but she couldn’t let anyone else see that. She had to move through the uncomfortable parts of healing if she wanted to get unstuck. This was just part of it.
“Come sit, all of you,” Margot said, waving them toward the table. “Tell me what you’ve found, what you’ve seen, and everything in between.”
Blaze dumped his canvas bag on the bench, shells and bits of driftwood spilling out. “We found a shell that looks like a heart!”
“And a crab shell with two claws still on it,” Nora added, reaching into the bag.
Maisie clapped. “That’s so cool! I want to find one too!”
Henry smiled from his place near the window, arms still crossed, though his eyes softened as he watched the children. “You’re going to need another bucket if they keep collecting like that.”
Lily sat beside Jess, who had settled quietly at the edge of the table. Maisie had climbed onto her lap, showing her a string of sea glass threaded onto twine.
Margot poured another round of lemonade and set it in front of Lily. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see this house full again. It’s been too quiet.”
“It really has,” Lily said, her voice catching a little. She sipped the tart drink, grateful for the sharpness of it.
The conversation turned to plans for dinner, and Claudia began humming to herself as she moved into the kitchen, her hands already preparing something from memory. Margot joined her, the two of them laughing and talking animatedly as they moved.
The kids tore off toward the swing tree, Henry trailing behind them with a slight limp and a firm voice telling them not to get too wild. Jess stood slowly, her eyes following her daughter.
Lily touched her shoulder lightly.
“You don’t have to be perfect here, Jess,” she said. “None of us are.”
Jess’s throat worked. She didn’t speak, just nodded again and stepped out into the sun.
Lily remained on the porch for a moment, her fingers trailing along the old wooden railing. She could claim she had a headache again, go inside, and hide away from the world again. It’s what she wanted to do, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
She could almost hear David’s voice. “Come on, Lily Bell. We don’t get days like this often. Relish it. There’s no need to clean, no need to worry about anything but making memories with this family of ours.”
He was right then, and he was right now. And for today, that would be enough.