Page 27 of Love Among Vines

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JADE

When the café lights turned off, Jade raised her head. She had been so engrossed in another sketch idea that she hadn’t even noticed the passage of time. Her stomach grumbled. Margie had surprised her with a request to join her for a late lunch.

“Ready, sweetheart?” Margie had loosed her gray hair from its net, and she had a sunflower-shaped pocketbook slung over one shoulder.

“Sure.” Jade flipped her book shut.

She cast a wary glance at the wall that was still completely blank. If Margie had opinions about the delay, she didn’t share them.

“Why don’t we leave the bike?” Margie asked. “You could ride with me. I’m sure Rett will pick it up later. Will you see him tonight?”

Jade nodded. He was dropping her off at Cindy’s on his way to poker.

Margie was silent as they climbed into her Toyota Camry. A pair of dog tags hung from the rearview mirror. The name Stoneroad was barely visible. A tiny sunflower joined them.

“Were these your husband’s?” Jade gestured to the tags.

Margie nodded.

“How did you meet?”

“The army,” Margie said. “I was a culinary specialist. David was a combat engineer with an insatiable sweet tooth. There’s a picture in the glove box.”

Jade opened the glove box, and a picture frame with two people slid out. “Oh, wow.” Margie had been a certified babe, with wavy brown hair down to her waist. Her husband had the jawline of an A-list actor and a smirk that suggested he knew it.

Jade smiled. “He is so incredibly handsome. How did you know he was the one?”

Margie put her turn signal on and waited for a car to pass.

There was a small smile on her face. “He felt like home. He was wildly charming, of course. But that wasn’t it.

When I was with him, I felt safe. During the dinner rush, no matter how frazzled I was, I could look up and find him in the crowd.

And it was like everything else just melted away. ”

“That’s beautiful,” Jade said softly.

Margie turned to her with a question in her eyes, but she thankfully didn’t ask it. She had probably just opened up a direct line to some Rett questions that didn’t have answers.

Even their budget date the night before—which had ended with a kiss on the cheek as he jetted off to the winery—had been fraught with feeling. It felt more like a mentorship than a date (even a fake one). But there was no denying the chemistry between them. Being in limbo was driving her insane.

“How long have you lived here?” Jade asked.

“Oh, since we were discharged. This was David’s hometown. I wanted to see the world, but he wanted to be close to family. I didn’t have roots the same way he did. My parents rolled around the country in a Volkswagen van. They were musicians.”

“How did you compromise on Hammondsport?”

Margie smiled wistfully. “He brought me home to meet his parents, and it was right in the middle of fall. It’s virtually impossible not to fall in love with this place. Even if you don’t drink wine.”

“I can see that.”

They rolled down the driveway and pulled into Margie’s spot.

“How long has it been since he passed?” Jade asked quietly.

“Six years, four months, and nineteen days. I miss him terribly.”

Jade reached over and squeezed Margie’s hand. “I bet he’s insanely proud of you. For your strength and resilience. And for your bangin’ French toast.”

Margie let out a full-body chuckle. “You know, I think he is. Come on, love. You get Penny and I’ll get the picnic basket. I’ll meet you on the deck.”

Minutes later, Jade and Penny traipsed up the stairs to the deck that reached out over the water.

A rope covered the entrance to a slide that twisted down and disappeared at the lip of the lake.

Unlit tiki torches stood sentry at the railing, and a gas firepit stood in the middle of an assortment of mismatched chairs.

Margie emerged moments later with a pitcher of tea and a picnic basket.

“Nothing fancy today. Just some sandwiches and an assortment of cheeses.”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you so much for having me over.”

“I’ve been meaning to do it since you got here. I’m so honored that you decided to stay here in our little town.”

“I’m really happy to be here.”

Jade turned to take in the hills and the fresh air. Even if her entire relationship was a lie, her love for this town was quickly becoming an uncontestable truth. Somehow, someway, she would find a way to come back every fall. Even if she had to hitchhike from the city.

Margie set down a stack of plates, and Jade jumped up. She carefully set the table and poured glasses of tea.

“These look amazing. What is this, buffalo chicken?”

“I might have commandeered some leftovers from the café,” Margie said with a conspiratorial wink. “There’s a caprese one too.”

Penny leapt up into the chair next to Jade.

“Penny, down,” Jade commanded.

Margie laughed and clapped her hands. “It’s okay. She can stay. Does she like cheese?”

The only thing Penny loved more than Jade was cheese. Her ears perked up like she had just been promised an all-expenses-paid vacation.

“Definitely,” Jade said.

Margie whipped a piece across the table, and Penny snatched it from the air.

Jade swallowed an (incredible) bite of a caprese sandwich. “Did you and David ever have children?”

“Oh, dozens,” Margie said.

Jade’s eyes bugged out.

“Foster children,” Margie clarified with a smile. “We tried to have our own, but it just never worked out. The science wasn’t as good in those days. But we were still able to have quite the legacy. Most of the kids still keep in touch. A couple of them bring their families over for Christmas.”

“That’s beautiful. I often wished I had siblings. My parents always said I was all they needed, but I think they couldn’t afford more.”

“Do you want children someday?” Margie asked. “I know Rett does.”

Jade choked on a crumb, and Margie hammered her on the back.

If he wanted kids, why was he shying away from romantic entanglement so hard?

“Uh, we haven’t had that discussion. I don’t think I’ll have an answer to that question until I know my future, let alone our future. Raising a baby in a studio apartment wouldn’t be ideal.”

“Hammondsport’s a great place to raise a family,” Margie said pointedly, staring at Jade over the rim of her glass.

“I’m sure. Here, let me take care of the dishes.” Jade sprang to her feet and picked up their plates and glasses.

“Thank you, dear. The kitchen is inside to the right. Be sure to take a peek at the art over the fireplace in the living room,” Margie said.

Jade slid open the glass door with her elbow and stepped inside.

Margie’s interior was lovely—eclectic furniture in vibrant hues.

To her right was a dining room with lake views and mismatched chairs around a butcher-block table.

To her left, a vaulted ceiling stood tall above a bright blue couch and yellow coffee table.

Sunflower artwork bloomed on the right wall, while above the fireplace was something that made Jade catch her breath.

Better (Date) Than Never , one of Jade’s favorite pieces, hung over the fireplace.

Brushed metal clock gears hovered over a scene of a couple huddled around a dinner table.

Glimmering shards of broken glass made up the wine in their glasses.

The woman’s dress was spray-painted lace.

Jade had painted it after her first date with Nate.

He had been twenty minutes late and she had nearly left.

In hindsight, she definitely should have.

With one last glance at her painting, Jade hustled into the kitchen and washed the dishes. When she emerged onto the deck, Margie turned to her with a smile.

“How about we take the boat out?”

Cheese for lunch and a free boat ride? It was Jade’s lucky day.

After some finagling, she, Margie, and Penny had climbed aboard the pontoon boat. Penny sat happily on the padded seat, two tennis balls shoved in her mouth and sun shining on her honey-colored fur.

The boat rumbled beneath them as Margie guided it away from the dock. She had wrapped her hair into a long, colorful scarf and donned a pair of sunglasses. “What was it like to see your painting again?”

“I’m so glad it found a home with you. I painted that when I was in grad school.”

“I saw it in a gallery in Midtown and I swear it just called to me,” Margie said fondly. “It reminded me so much of dates with my David. It hung in the café for a while, but I eventually brought it home.”

“I don’t usually get to see them again after they leave the nest,” Jade said. “Thank you for showing it to me.”

“Never doubt yourself, love.”

Margie cranked the throttle, and soon they were flying north toward the bluff. Wind whipped through Jade’s hair while sun warmed her skin. She closed her eyes and soaked it in. The roar of the boat, the spray of lake water on her cheeks.

Eventually, Margie lowered the speed to a crawl. They were approaching a small inlet.

“A family of herons used to nest here. They’re probably gone, but it’s a blissful place to read a book. Or go fishing, if you’re my husband.”

Jade smiled fondly. “I never did much fishing in the city. Maybe with my dad a couple of times.”

Margie glanced at her. “You plan to go back to the city after your time here?”

“I have to. But I’ve been so grateful for my time here.”

Even though she’d only been here for a week, this town and its people had become almost as important to her as her own home.

“It woke up something that I thought was gone for good,” she added. “Now I need to figure out if I can go back to being who I was.”

“Do you want to be who you were?”

The word “yes” was on the tip of Jade’s tongue, but she paused. Was that still true?

“I don’t know if I can go back to being exactly who I was—the carefree girl with two parents, a steady boyfriend, and a bright future. She’s gone.”

“Not gone,” Margie said. “Maybe just different. Different doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

Silence settled around them as Margie navigated the inlet.

“You know, I’m something of an artist myself,” Margie said.

“Yes, I’ve seen your pottery,” Jade said. “It’s stunning.”

“Thank you. I didn’t pull out my wheel for a long time after my David passed. A long time. It felt like all the color had just drained out of the world and there wasn’t anything beautiful left.”

A pang hit Jade’s heart. She had felt the same way after that devastating day. Her entire family unit, gone in an instant while Christmas music played hauntingly in the background.

“So what made the difference for you? How did you recapture your magic?”

Margie gestured broadly. “This place. My friends. The community. They healed me from the inside out. They organized meal trains kept me company even when I didn’t want it.

Even though giving up living in an RV and traveling the country full-time felt like saying goodbye to a dream at the time, that compromise has made all the difference here in my golden years.

” She looked fondly at the green hills. “I don’t regret it for a second. ”

“Is that what keeps you here now?”

Margie nodded. “It’s home. And for the record, we still did our share of traveling, but there truly is nothing like home.”

Jade stood at the railing and contemplated the tiny, peaceful inlet. Maybe there was some wiggle room in her definition of home.