When she’d dreamed of going to college and maybe going somewhere new after. When she’d dreamed of being an actress or a writer. Something fabulous and exciting that had just felt so possible in the warmth of a sunbeam in a grandmother’s tiny backyard.
“What all did you do today?” David asked, his voice filled with concern.
“Had a meeting at school. I went to coffee with Alyssa to talk about organizing speakers for the Writer’s Festival for next school year. I scrounged up some dinner for you guys, and got some food together to take to mom and Avery and Lark. Visited with them for a while. Grocery store. Then home.” She paused for a moment. “What about you?”
“Surgery all day.”
“Did it go well?”
He shrugged. “I’m a doctor. I’m not really seeing people at their best. I figure it goes well every time. Without help, there’d be no hope, right?”
She wondered if that meant someone had died, and he didn’t want to talk about it. It was hard to tell with him. It was why she always hesitated to ask about his day.
“I brought you flowers,” he said. “I know it’s been a rough few weeks.”
She blinked. “You did?”
“Yeah,” he said.
He moved to the side, and on the granite countertop, she saw a crystal vase, filled with red roses. “They’re beautiful.”
“You know I love you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her then, and bringing her in for a kiss. A deep sort of validation filled her. He was such a handsome, accomplished man. And he’d given her all this.
And flowers.
“I know,” she said. “I love you too.”
“You do so much. For me, for the kids.”
“Thank you,” she said, a smile curving her lips.
“Did you guys decide what you’re going to do with the houses?”
“Well, we’re going with the vacation rental for The Dowell House. I think it’s the best idea.”
“Sure,” he said. “A good way to bring in some revenue from something that would otherwise just sit there.”
“Yeah. Lark had an idea for The Miner’s House. I... I don’t know anything about the kind of business she’s proposing, but I figured there was no harm in her trying something.”
“Does she have a business plan?”
“I asked that too. Apparently she does.”
“No offense to your sister... But she’s not the most responsible.”
Avery wanted to defend Lark. It was only natural. They were sisters, after all. But David really didn’t understand her sisters. Hannah, at least, had a real, tangible job. But no matter how many times she showed David the illustrations in books that were done by Lark, he still seemed to think she drew pictures for a living, and that it was so sporadic there was absolutely nothing dependable about it.
But Lark was Lark. The baby. She was a giant emotional response, all heart and no planning. And she never got in trouble for it. Life never seemed to throw her a consequence of any kind. No, she wasn’t the overachiever Hannah was, but managed to coast and always end up in a fine enough place.
It had been so annoying when they were kids.
When Avery was younger if she would have flipped a fit the way Lark did, she’d have gotten grounded for life.
“So she’s not drawing anymore?”
“She said she was on a break.”
“Really.”
“She didn’t offer any more information than that. Anyway, she wants to open something called a Craft Café? She said she’s going to invest all of her own money.”
She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “Well, see that that’s it. Because you know, with ventures like that, someone might think they have all their own money, but if she gets in too deep, you know she’s going to ask us.”
“I know,” she said. But she wasn’t sure she actually agreed. Still, David believed it, and it was easier than having an argument.
“We’d be better off selling it. Her turning it into another rental.”
“Just give her six months. She wants to stay. She wants to stay, and I can tell my mom is desperate for her to.”
“And then she’ll leave. Just like your grandma did. And that will break your mother’s heart.”
Avery sighed heavily. David was probably right. Lark didn’t have a great track record when it came to staying in one place. “She’ll have me. She always does.”
“Yes. It always falls to you to be there for your mom when your sisters don’t bother to come home for things. You’re the one that takes care of your parents and goes to every holiday, and now if Lark ends up saying she’s staying and then doesn’t, you know you’ll have to fix it. She doesn’t say it bothers her, but you know it does.”
Because however her mom acted, things did hurt her. And Avery could tell when they did. “It’s my family...”
“We’re your family,” he said. “You have a family. Your sisters don’t have husbands and children.”
“Hannah plays in a symphony orchestra. One of the best in the country.”
“That’s not the same as the kind of obligations you have.”
She looked at her husband of seventeen years. “No,” she agreed. “It’s not.”
“She’s married to her job.”
She nodded silently. “And I can’t really imagine that Lark will ever settle down.”
“Too much of a project,” David said.
“Hey. She is my sister.”
“Yeah, I know. My sister is a project too.”
She looked at the flowers and sighed. “Everything will be fine. She’ll try her business, and whatever happens will happen. I promise it’s not going to distract me too much.” He kissed her again, and she pushed everything out of her mind except that. Because she did love to kiss him. Still.
She might not be able to go back in time and sit in that simple sunbeam with Gram, but her life was pretty
