Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Anna
The sun painted the white clapboard buildings of Martha’s Vineyard in hues of gold and cream as Anna made her way down Main Street.
The salty breeze rustled her ponytail and tugged gently at the loose hem of her cardigan.
Her canvas market bag swung against her hip with each step, already half-full with produce from her first stop at the farmer’s market.
She’d left the kids with her mom. For now, the twins were happily occupied digging for treasures in the sand, no doubt buzzing from their beach adventure.
Anna needed to clear her head. There was comfort in the simple task of gathering ingredients for chowder and fried clams, reassurance in recipes that had been part of her family for as long as she could remember.
She clung to the routine, hoping it might tether her to something solid and familiar.
The bell above Georgia’s Market jingled as she pushed open the door.
Inside, the familiar scent of pine floors and fresh bread wrapped around her senses.
The market was cozy, cluttered, and charmingly disorganized.
Locals moved easily through the narrow aisles, chatting as they filled their baskets.
Behind the counter, Georgia looked up from unpacking a crate of lemons. Her round face brightened with recognition. “Well, well. If it isn’t Anna Caldwell. Or should I say captain’s wife now?”
Anna laughed softly. “Still Caldwell. And he’s not a captain.”
Georgia came around the counter to give her a warm hug. “Well, whatever it is for a fancy fighter pilot, then,” Georgia laughed as she waved her hand dismissively. “It’s been too long. What brings you back to the island? Vacation?”
“Sort of. Luke’s deployed. I needed some space… and the kids needed Grandma time.”
Georgia nodded knowingly. “Grandma needed grandkid time.”
“That too,” Anna said with a smile.
“And how’s Lily? People have been wondering. It’s a shame about the studio being closed so much.”
Anna paused as she reached for a sack of littleneck clams from the cooler. “Has it been closed long?”
Georgia frowned, clearly happy to elaborate.
“Oh, on and off all winter. Sometimes she opens, and sometimes she doesn’t.
No warning. She’s always been so reliable, you know?
She’s always loved being open for the locals, teaching and sharing her passion for pottery with everyone.
People come here expecting to see those shelves stocked with her pottery.
That little shop was a draw for tourists and locals alike.
And her classes! Everyone misses those. I noticed she put up a sign saying closed for the season. That will break a lot of hearts.”
Anna’s stomach knotted. “I didn’t realize. I thought maybe she was taking it easy.”
Georgia lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Some folks think she’s not quite herself since David passed. And who could blame her? That man was her sun and moon. But Lily always bounced back before. This time… well, we’re worried.”
Anna forced a smile and thanked her, trying to hide the swirl of guilt tightening in her chest. As she added potatoes, celery, onions, and cream to her basket, her mind raced.
The studio was her mom’s sanctuary, her lifeline.
The place where she lost herself and found herself again.
The thought of it, dark and still, made Anna’s heart ache.
At the checkout, she added a few extra treats for the kids: fruit roll-ups, kettle corn, and juice boxes. Georgia rang everything up with the usual small talk, but Anna barely heard a word. Her thoughts were already outside, already pulling her toward her mom’s shuttered studio.
“Your mom is going to be so excited about this.” Her dad had grinned as he rubbed his hands together.
“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.”
Anna laughed and set down the bottle of chilled rosé she’d brought in from the porch fridge. “I vote for not me,” she said, grinning. “But I’ll help with the summer succotash.”