Ellie greeted her friend as she always did, with a “hi” instead of a “hello.” Still, she glanced over at the large birdcage near the entrance, where Naomi’s pet parrot, Jewel, was perched. The large, handwritten sign warning patrons not to say hello was fair warning, even if often missed. Or ignored.
Luckily, Jewel showed no reaction to Ellie’s greeting. He blinked his beady eyes and stayed perfectly quiet.
“Dropping off a few more paintings, if you’re interested,” she said.
Naomi smiled. “We sold two yesterday. A set. So yes, let me see what we have here.”
Two in one day. To the same buyer. Ellie imagined them side by side in a sunroom, or maybe in a guest room. She tried not to think of them hanging in a bathroom, though she knew that some of them ended up there nonetheless. Just last week a woman had popped into the studio after noticing her work at the gallery on Hill Street and had decided the stunning painting in shades of yellow and peach that Ellie had taken particular pride in and had risen before sunrise to capture would be “perfect” over the woman’s master bathroom toilet.
Ellie set down the paintings, telling herself she couldn’t take offense if Naomi chose only one.
Naomi studied each canvas and then said, “I’ll take all three.”
“Really?” Ellie felt her heart begin to pound. She’d assumed that Naomi would take two, to replace the pair that had sold. “Great!”
Naomi gave her a rueful look as she moved the paintings to the side of the counter. “Don’t look so surprised. You’re really talented.”
“If you say so,” Ellie sighed. She couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to be something more than what she was. All she could be was herself, she knew, and she’d remained true, even when it hurt, but sometimes it felt like it would never be enough.
“I do say so,” Naomi said. “And if you don’t take my word for it, ask the client who bought your set. She had plenty to choose from.”
It was true. There were many other paintings and prints for sale in the store—most by local artists that Ellie respected.
She felt a swell of pride. She couldn’t wait to tell Gemma about this, even though she knew that Gemma, being creative as well, had always supported her work more than any other member of her family. But Gemma had street credit: a major publisher had invested in her work. In her parents’ eyes, Gemma’s work was legitimate.
Well, who said that Ellie’s wasn’t? Naomi was her friend, but she was also a tough islander who didn’t sugarcoat the truth.
Ellie wondered what she would have to say about Simon being back in town, and what this meant for Ellie’s future. Naomi had never met him, only heard the stories. Originally from Blue Harbor, she’d taken over the store about five years ago, and had quickly become one of Ellie’s biggest supporters and closest friends.
Ellie pulled in a breath, wondering where to start, and then decided not to say anything—yet. She’d rather wait and see for herself. For the first time in a while, this island was full of possibility again, and that was a feeling she wasn’t ready to part with just yet.
She waited for Naomi to hand her a check for her sales, tucked it into her pocket, and then pushed back out into the street, her hands bare, but her heart full.
Only one thing—or rather, one person—could make it fuller.
Fighting off a smile, she hurried her step down to the Trillium Café, which had always been Simon’s favorite spot in town mostly because it was right on the water and no one served better pancakes than Marge, who had owned the place forever.
She walked into the restaurant, which she frequented a little too often since she’d become a permanent resident of the island, even if that meant having to sometimes chitchat with the more eccentric residents. Sure enough, Ches was perched at the counter, and he grinned a little too widely when he saw her, revealing what was now three missing teeth (she grimaced to remember that one had been wiggly around mid-January) and patting the seat next to him.
“Oh, I—” Her eyes darted around, but it was just a sea of locals, and none of them young, because young people didn’t live on a remote island in the middle of the Great Lakes, did they? Young people went out into the world, made something of their lives, and then vacationed here.
She tried to think of an excuse fast enough, something that wouldn’t take too much light out of poor Ches’s eyes, when she felt a hand graze her lower back, ever so briefly.
“She’s actually grabbing a table for us both, Chester,” Simon said, ever so smoothly.
Ellie inhaled a breath. Her knees felt more than a little weak. And her heart, well, it positively soared like the seagulls that swept and dove all along the shoreline. If only she could capture this feeling as permanently as she captured the birds on canvas. She wanted to hold onto it. Never let it go.
And maybe, if Simon stuck around a little longer, she wouldn’t have to.
“Thank you,” she whispered, once they were out of earshot.
Simon grinned as he slid into a booth near the window. “You weren’t waiting for anyone, were you?”
Just you, she thought. She’d spent an entire summer waiting for him once.
Best not to think about that heartache, she told herself. She opened her menu, even though she of course had it memorized. The blueberry pancakes were the best in the Midwest, and she had travelled enough to be able to say that, despite the fact that she now hadn’t left Evening Island since…she frowned. Well, there had been that shopping trip to Blue Harbor last November, before the big snow hit. And stayed.
“No, my sister Gemma arrived last night and she’s taken over the place so I thought I’d get out for a bit.” She’d dared to think that having Gemma around would be fun, like all the other summers growing up were. That Evening Island brought out the best of them, and that Sunset Cottage was a place of good memories, not the usual arguments that bogged them down once they got back to the “real” world.
Except that this was her “real” world now. And she liked it just the way it was. Wildflowers in the yard and all.
She glanced at Simon across the table. Well, she liked it a little better now that there was some excitement to be had.
“Gemma’s back in town?” Simon smiled fondly.
Ellie pursed her lips. “Yes, well.” No sense in dragging down this special breakfast by talking about the recent shifts in her family dynamic. “And Hope is coming with her twin girls today.”
“Everyone is back then!”
Simon’s grin was broad, and oh, so appealing, that for a moment she just stared at him. It wasn’t until the space between his brow knitted that she realized she had gotten a little too caught up in the moment.
Quickly, she cleared her throat and closed her menu. “Yep. Everyone is back.” She smiled at him, hoping he couldn’t hear the pounding of her heart across the table.
She glanced down at his hands, still clutching the menu, thinking how wonderful it would be if he just moved them a few inches closer to hers.
The waitress approached (new seasonal hire, college kid) and they placed their orders. She filled their coffees and hurried off to the next table, looking so nervous and flustered that Ellie had half a heart to warn her how things would be by Memorial Day.