Chapter 8
The party from the night before had sparked inspiration in Willow that she hadn’t felt in years. Everyone around her in Sanibel had a certain glow about them, and she wanted one of her own as well.
Of course, she couldn’t pick up and return to law school that very same day, but she did decide to pick up one of her old hobbies again. When it came to art, Willow was an above average artist. She loved to draw as a child and the older she got, the sharper her skills grew.
When she rolled out of bed that following morning, she went over to the art supply store in town to look around for a sketchbook. She had one back home, but didn’t think she’d be needing it. Things were so dull for Willow back home; she had no inspiration to be artistic. She hated that for herself.
“Hi there,” the clerk greeted her as she walked in. “Welcome to Gustos. If there’s anything I can help you find, please let me know.”
She smiled and nodded as she entered the store. The clerk was a handsome guy who looked like he took his job very seriously. Even though he worked at an art supply store, Willow admired his enthusiasm to be around all things artsy.
As she got deeper into the store, looking at all the vibrant colors and large canvases, her love for drawing started to kick in again. The last thing she remembered drawing was a sketch of her wedding gown. That was years ago.
She thought about entering the sketch into one of the community art shows in Tallahassee, but Charlie talked her out of that too. He didn’t think her drawing was good enough to stand against some of the young, fresher, talent he saw. Even though Willow thought her work was great and could stand the test of time.
She didn’t know why she let him get in her head so much, especially when it came to the things she loved long before she knew him. Was she that tied up in him that she had forgotten who she was?
“Finding everything okay?”
The clerk found her in a lone aisle staring up at an empty canvas.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” she chuckled. “Just envisioning what I would draw on something like this. It’s been years since I found any inspiration to get back into art.”
“Well, you’re in the right place. Sanibel is a beautiful island with tons of inspiration floating around. You just have to look for it.”
“I agree,” she smiled. “There is a ton of inspiration. One of which brought me here today.”
The guy”s eyes were bright blue, and his smile was pearly white. His hair was a dirty blonde, and he wore it as if he were a pro surfer. The shell necklace around his neck really solidified the beach lifestyle.
“Have you checked out the museum here?” he asked. “I’m sure you’d be able to find some inspiration there. They have a ton of art from local artists and famous ones too.”
“I’ve been meaning to go,” she said. “I just haven’t made it there yet. But, since it looks like I”ll be here for a while, I’ll make sure I stop in to check it out.”
“Oh, you’re from out of town?” the clerk asked. “Where about?”
“Not too far. Tallahassee. My best friend lives here. Brandi Jacobs.”
She thought about Tallahassee for a moment. Not once did she have the desire to go back since she’d been in Sanibel. Not one time. Willow took that as a sign, along with everything else, to stay where she was for a while.
“Nice,” he said. “Well, welcome to Sanibel. If you ever need a tour, I’m always free.”
Willow nodded and thanked him for being so kind to her. When he went back to his register, she continued shopping around until she found exactly what it was she wanted—a large sketchbook, fresh pencils, erasers, and a watercolor set.
Once her cart was full of everything she felt she needed, she took it up to the register to pay for her goodies and continue on with her day.
“Wow, you really are an artist, huh?” the clerk smiled as he rang up her items.
“Yep. I”ve been drawing since I was about four. I don’t know where I got the habit from. I guess it comes naturally for me.”
“Well, I”d love to see some of your work sometime,” he said. “Maybe you can draw me someday.”
“Maybe,” she laughed. “I am good at portraits.”
The clerk, whose name tag read Lance, was a nice guy. Subtle with his flirting and seemed like a smooth talker, but Willow thought he was pretty decent.
“I’m getting off in a second. Maybe we can have lunch? The tiki hut is right around the corner. Maybe you can draw me there, like one of those guys who do the funny portraits at the fair?”
She thought about his offer for a moment. It was random and came out of nowhere, but the tiki hut did sound appealing, and it was her favorite place after all.
“All right,” she nodded. “Sure. I can draw you really quickly. But don’t make fun of me; it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”
“You have my word,” he chuckled. “It’s my understanding that artists, true artists, are sensitive about their work. Things can get pretty ugly if you critique them too much.”
It was a joke that Willow knew all too well. When she was younger, she got very touchy whenever someone criticized her work in a way she felt was too harsh. But, as she got older, her attitude about that changed because of the pride she took in her art.
It doesn’t take Lance long to swap places with his relief for the day. By the time Willow had loaded her car with her purchases and got buckled in, he was exiting the store to meet her at the tiki hut. When they got there, they chose an outside table and started off with some fresh frozen margaritas.
“How long have you been in Sanibel?” Lance asked.
“Just a couple days, but I used to come to visit a lot.”
“Do you like it here? Summertime is great, but the rainy season is my favorite. Aside from all the hurricanes.”
Being a Tallahassee girl, Willow was familiar with the rainy season. She also loved the rainy season but wasn’t too fond of the hurricanes. The power outages, flooding, damage to homes…all of it was scary.
“Yeah, hurricane season is the worst. It’s one of the reasons I haven”t picked up and moved here for good,” she chuckled.
“Oh yeah? What are the other reasons? Sanibel is a beautiful place.”
“It is,” she nodded. “I agree with that. It gets pretty busy though. I like the quietness Tallahassee has to offer. Not many tourists and overly congested traffic to push through.”
Willow gently etched at her sketchpad while they talked and drank their drinks. She looked up at Lance every so often to get a different angle of his face while she drew him. He was a handsome guy in his own way. Mostly, it was his lighthearted humor that made him easy on the eye.
She checked his ring finger for a wedding band but didn’t see any. Secretly, Willow wondered why he wasn’t married, or at least engaged. It seemed like a lot of the men she ran into weren’t married or dating. They were just being men. She didn’t know whether to view that as a good thing, or a bad thing.
“Can I see?”
Lance playfully tried to sneak a peek at Willow’s sketch, but not before she quickly covered her pad. As an artist, she didn’t like for anyone to see her work until she was finished. She did think his playfulness was a cute gesture though.
“Once I’m done, you can take it home with you,” she laughed. “Do you live close to the beach?”
“Not too far,” Lance said. “I don’t get out much though. If I”m not working at the art store, I’m in the gym training a client.”
“Personal trainer, huh?”
“Yep. I went to college to get my degree in sports medicine. Lately I”ve been building up my clientele to be able to kick start my own business.”
Hearing him talk about his goals inspired her even more to push for hers again. It seemed as if everyone around her had something going for themselves; they were all doing what they loved, or at least trying to. When she thought about how far she strayed from her own goals, it made her bitter all over again.
“What about you?” he asked. “What’s your career of choice?”
Willow sat quietly for a moment. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to reveal her failures to him so soon. She wasn’t even sure if she should consider not completing college a failure, because she did plan to go back. It just took her some time to find her footing again.
“Well,” she said, “I wanted to become a lawyer, but I put it on hold.”
“I hear law school is a pain to complete.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “It is stressful. But I met a man who I fell in love with and got wrapped up in marriage and being a wife.”
They both nodded their heads slowly. For different reasons, of course.
“Well, where’s your husband now? I mean, is he not pushing you to go back?”
Charlie was the least of her worries at that point. She still had no idea where he was and the more people asked about him, the more embarrassing it became for her.
“I’m not sure where he is,” she said. “We’re going through a bit of a rough patch right now…”
“Oh! I”m sorry,” Lance said. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s okay. I’m learning to deal with it more and more each day.”
She really was feeling better about it as the days went on. It was embarrassing, but the more she released, the better she felt. Reclaiming her independence was her top priority.
“Well,” Lance said. “If you ever need an ear to listen, I don’t mind. Granted I don”t know much about being married, but I have had my fair share of dating nightmares, so believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be.”
Willow wondered what some of those nightmares were. She didn’t want to prejudge him, but she could tell he was a lover boy. Kind of sweet, kind of lame.
“No girlfriends right now?” Willow asked. “You seem like such a nice guy.”
“Yeah,” he bashfully chuckled. “I think I”m too nice of a guy. Most women want a man who like to play games with them. That’s not me.”
Willow chuckled to herself because she was right. Lance was an easy book to read and he was also right; a lot of women did prefer the bad boy type. Or at least a man who was capable of taking charge.
“Don’t feel discouraged,” Willow said. “Not all women like a bad boy. Some of us do prefer a nice man who knows how to be sweet and show his emotions.”