The Beach at Painter's Cove

by Shelley Noble

  “She must still be asleep. I think these last weeks have tired her out.”

  “No. I checked her room and the bathroom. Oh Lord, you don’t think—” Jillian was already hurrying into the hallway. It only took a second for Issy and Steph to follow, but when they reached the parlor, Jillian had already pulled back the drapes and was peering out the windows.

  “Why are these panes so dirty? It’s impossible to see.”

  Or maybe it was her eyesight. Issy squeezed in next to her. She knew right where to look. There was someone sitting on the bench on the knoll. “There she is.”

  “Where? Let me see. What’s she doing?”

  Steph nudged in between them.

  “She’s stretching out her arms,” Jillian said. “Is she falling?”

  “No,” Steph said. “No. It’s like in the story she told us of how she and Wes met. She dove into the water and he was waiting to take her hands on the other side.”

  “The other side? No!” Jillian pushed Issy and Steph out of the way and ran for the front door. They all crowded onto the porch. A branch had fallen across the steps and they had to slow down to navigate across it. By the time they reached the lawn, they saw Fae coming out of the woods.

  “It’s Leo,” Jillian screamed. “We’ve got to stop her.”

  Fae didn’t even ask where to look, but started running toward the knoll.

  They met Leo as she was coming back across the lawn.

  “Oh, Grammy, are you okay?” Issy asked.

  “Of course I’m okay.”

  “It looked like you were about to—to fall,” Jillian said, trying to sound concerned, not frightened.

  “They thought . . .” Fae huffed. “They thought . . .” She held up one finger, then braced her hands on her knees and heaved a few deep breaths.

  “I needed to talk to Wes. I miss him dreadfully, but I told him he’d have to wait. That the family needed me. He’ll be there when I’m ready. He would never let me down.”

  “Oh, Grammy, we do need you.” Steph threw her arms around Leo.

  “Thank you, Stephanie. It’s always good to be needed. Now, we have lots to do. But first on the agenda is for you all to go back to the house and put the coffee on, then we’ll all sit down to a nice breakfast.

  “We have to agree about how to help Vivienne back on her feet. And how to help Steph reconcile with her mother. I’ll try to make it up to all of you, but first I must speak with Fae. So go back to the house now.”

  Issy wasn’t sure she wanted to leave them outside, but when Steph started back toward the house, she did, too. Jillian was the last to give in, but finally she followed the other two.

  Fae walked with Leo back to the bench.

  “They were afraid you were going to jump, you know.”

  “Ridiculous.”

  “They thought you were going to rejoin Wes in heavenly bliss.”

  “Heavenly? Wes? I doubt if that’s where we’ll be, but who knows.”

  “Were you?”

  “Going to jump from the knoll? I’d end up facedown on the beach with a mouth full of sand. I won’t go yet. During the storm, I felt so alone. But I couldn’t, not with the family and the future of the Muses at stake. Though sometimes it is tempting.”

  “What if there is no heaven or hell, what if it just ends?”

  “This coming from you?”

  “Will you be disappointed?”

  “Frankly, heaven or hell? Wherever I’m going, Wes will be there to take my hands. Of that I’m certain. And for you, my dear, it’s time.”

  Fae shook her head.

  “It was a promise kept too long. I have my whole family back and I’ve depended on you for too, too long.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You are the dearest friend and sister anyone could have. I’ll miss you, dearest, but either here or there . . .”

  The two shed a few tears, hugged, and sat there while the sun took its place in the sky.

  Leo pulled away. “And now I think you need to talk to Stephanie.”

  “I can’t tell her.”

  “She’s a Whitaker; you won’t have to.”

  Issy sat at the kitchen table watching Vivienne, Mandy, and Griff cutting fruit for breakfast.

  She vacillated between apologizing for the argument the night before and pretending like it didn’t happen. She decided on the latter.

  Evidently, so had Vivienne. “Chloe called and said they had electricity and no damage. And she and Paolo were on their way to help with cleanup.”

  “Great,” Issy said. “I’ll get some eggs and bacon started. I’m famished.”

  Paolo and Chloe showed up a few minutes later. “Ben’s in the salt marshes all day today. He lost some experiments. But he knew he would. Still, it’s a lot of work and he said not to clean up anything until tomorrow and he’ll come help.”

  Issy stifled the bit of disappointment she felt knowing she wouldn’t see him today. But there was plenty of work to be done and plenty of relationships to readjust.

  They’d have a busy day.

  After lunch, Fae announced that she would be returning to her cottage. Her bags and case were packed and she asked Steph to help her get them home.

  Jillian had called a car to pick her up at three. She had an evening flight to L.A. Issy had to pay for it with her credit card, and give Jillian money for tipping and a cup of coffee at the airport.

  “Allison will send a car for me at LAX. She’s my agent, but we’ve been together so long that we’ve become friends. I’ll stay with her until I get settled. Hate to leave you with the mess, but duty and a paycheck call.”

  At three o’clock, they all said good-bye and Issy and Vivienne walked their mother out to the limo.

  The driver placed the luggage in the trunk and opened the door for Jillian to get in.

  She looked from one daughter to the other. “I made some mistakes. I’m sure I’ll make more. But better to have tried and all that. It’s time to let go of it, blame me if you must, but stop blaming each other.”

  Vivienne sniffed. “Will you be okay?”

  Jillian trilled a laugh. She was already in actress mode. “Of course I will. It may be a character part, but I’m not the first actress who has had to segue during her career. And hell, if it’s good enough for Meryl Streep, it’s good enough for me.”

  She kissed them both on the cheek, then got in the limo, first one foot and then the other, which lingered in the opening, showing off her four-inch heels and several inches of well-toned leg.

  “I may no longer be an ingenue, but I’ve still got the ankles to drum up some serious money for the Muses Museum.

  “You’ll be hearing from me. And I guess I’ll have to come back in September. I did promise the ladies of the Theater Fund I would be their hostess for the gala. Maybe you can offer the Muses as venue for their patron party. I’m sure we could pick off some of their heavy hitters while we’re at it.

  “Ciao, darlings. Be good.”

  The driver shut the door and jumped into the front. Soon the limo was out of the gates and gone.

  Issy and Vivienne turned and walked back to the house, but Vivienne stopped Issy before they went inside.

  “I really didn’t know about Dan.”

  “Okay.”

  “I know I have’t been very nice, but I was so miserable. I would never hurt this family.”

  Issy gave her the Jillian York lifted eyebrow.

  “I was just too self-involved to realize what I was doing.”

  “Is that your excuse?”

  “No, it’s me saying I’m sorry. I went after what I thought was the perfect life. And it turned out to be anything but. Now I’m homeless, with two children who’d rather stay with their great-grandmother than me, and one daughter who despises me.”

  “She doesn’t despise you.”

  “Do you think she’ll ever come around?”

  Issy looked out at the empty drive, where once again a limo had just take
n their own mother away. “We did. Give her time.”

  They all spent the rest of the day setting the house to rights. Paolo insisted they wait until Ben and he came over the next morning before they attempted to clean up the outside property. The storm had done minimal damage around the house at least. A few downed branches were large enough to require a skill saw, but most were smaller pieces that could be carried or dragged to the curb outside the gate.

  But no one really felt like working. It had been a trying couple of weeks and now a strange lassitude settled over them. They needed time to assimilate. Time to decide what path to take. Mandy and Griff were back to their boisterous selves after learning that camp would be held the next morning.

  With Jillian gone and Fae back at her own cottage, the house seemed a little larger—maybe even a little empty. Twice Steph forgot to ignore her mother, but Issy wasn’t sure if it was because things were thawing between them or if it was because Steph was definitely preoccupied.

  And Issy wondered if something had happened between Fae and her on their walk back to the cottage. Had she insisted that Steph reconcile with her mother? Is that why the girl was making such halfhearted efforts?

  Or was there more trouble brewing?

  Not something Issy wanted to contemplate tonight, so she took her laptop back to the music room. Rolled out the Toulouse-Lautrec specs and started making notes. She was down to her last paycheck. It was time to get back to Manhattan or figure out a way to afford to stay.

  Chapter 31

  The whole household was up the next morning, dressed in work clothes and with a new resigned, if not enthusiastic, energy.

  Chloe dropped by to take Mandy and Griff to camp. Ben and Paolo arrived with truck and saws a few minutes later.

  Issy went out to meet them, mainly because she wanted to see Ben. He took her right into his arms like they knew they were meant to be there. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. And she was pretty sure he hadn’t, not with him worrying over his salt-marsh measurements.

  “What are you laughing about?”

  “I’m not. How are the marshes?”

  “Mezza, mezza. Once again they saved the lowlands from some major flooding.” He sighed, totally over-the-top. “But they just don’t get no respect.”

  “Well, they do around here.” She kissed him, just to remember how it felt. It felt right. “Okay, boss men, where do you want to start?”

  For a couple of hours the sound of skill saws reverberated in the air. Limbs and bags of twigs and garbage were hauled out to the street. Midmorning they took a coffee break, and before they could start up again, Fae arrived.

  “I need to borrow Issy for a minute,” she said, and motioned her outside.

  “Can I help?” Ben asked.

  “No, just Issy. I’ll send her back soon.”

  “What is it, Aunt Fae?” Issy asked as soon as they were in the yard.

  “Just come with me. I have something to show you.” She struck off toward the path that led through the woods.

  They didn’t talk until they took the fork toward Fae’s cottage. Issy slowed down to glance at the cabin where she’d found the paintings.

  “They’re not there,” Fae said, and kept walking. She didn’t stop until they came to the edge of the woods and the beginning of the meadow. “I had no idea Vivienne resented me so much.”

  “Don’t pay any attention to her. She resented everyone.”

  “But everyone didn’t show up in public with her. And I was just trying to be a good aunt and maybe mother substitute, but I only embarrassed her. I didn’t understand. I kept trying to do more and more and she wanted me to just go away. Please tell her I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, but if you want to talk to her, you should, not me.”

  “I won’t be here.”

  Issy began to be afraid. “What are you going to do? Please, Aunt Fae, if anything happened to you, Grammy, me, all of us—”

  “Oh, my dear. I have no intention of throwing myself off the bluff. Life is a precious thing. But I won’t check myself into an old-folks home, either. Old folks should be free, should be allowed to soak up the last of their days like there was no tomorrow, because one day, there will be no tomorrow.”

  That brought a smile to Issy’s mouth at the same time tears flooded her eyes. She didn’t want that day to come for Fae or Leo or any of them. Unless she went, too. What would she do without this family?

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going away.”

  “No, we’ll see this through. I have a plan. If you can just be patient.”

  “I’ve been patient long enough.”

  “I don’t understand, what do you mean? Where are you going?”

  Fae didn’t answer but motioned her forward. They walked past the meadow to the point of rock where the little yellow cottage had withstood one more storm.

  There was a van parked in the rutted footpath that led to the road.

  “Whose van is that?”

  “A friend’s.”

  “I don’t understand. If you’re in any kind of trouble, we’ll see it through.”

  Fae shook her head and went across the porch to the door. Opened it and motioned Issy inside.

  It had been years since Issy had been in this cottage. Still, it looked different. Then she realized that the bookshelf and all the books were gone. Moved to a back room? Or moved to the van? All the things that belonged to her great-aunt . . . the photos, the found marine objects, the books, cushions, pottery . . . all gone.

  “Are you really leaving? But what about Leo?”

  “We’ve talked. It’s all good.”

  “But why? How? Where are you going? Is your friend who owns the van going, too? This doesn’t make sense.”

  A chair scraped across the floor in the next room. Footsteps and a tall lithe man wearing all white with silver hair flowing almost to his waist ducked his head and stepped into the room.

  Steph’s Elf King.

  Not a king—elfin or otherwise—but a painter. A painter who had been dead for almost a decade. Aunt Fae hadn’t been forging his paintings. Adam Ellis had been painting them. Issy sank onto the couch.

  “You’re alive?” Adam Ellis was definitely alive and well and living in Aunt Fae’s cottage. “But how? What are you doing here?”

  He chuckled, a low rumbling melodic sound she remembered from childhood. “We’re eloping.”

  Issy just stared while her brain tried to engage. “Like . . . eloping eloping?”

  Adam smiled over at Fae and the love in his eyes hurt Issy’s heart. “But—”

  “We’ve had a . . . what shall we call it, Fae? An understanding, for decades.”

  Issy tried to remember them as younger, but to her, Fae had always been an ageless fairy child. And Adam, she remembered him. He often came to visit, sometimes staying in the main house, sometimes sleeping out in one of the cottages where he painted.

  “How many decades?” She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, not my business. It’s just such a shock.”

  “Three . . . four . . . more.” His eyes twinkled and Issy saw a glimmer of the young man, playing at pirates on the back lawn, sipping kirs, and reading the latest New Yorker reviews. Often happy, but also sometimes deeply troubled. That’s what Leo had called it when once he’d taken a carving knife and slashed his newly painted canvas to shreds right in the middle of dinner. Issy had read later about his drug and alcohol problems. One of those people who couldn’t take the attention or the pressure. “Even before I blindly married Harriet Payne. I was such a fool.”

  “And you’ve been here ever since the accident?”

  “I finally made my way back here.”

  “And lived here ever since?”

  “Yes.”

  “And no one ever recognized you?”

  He shook his head. “How many people would recognize any painter on the street? We’re not movie stars. And after a while I was so
changed, no one even looked twice. Even you.”

  “Me?”

  “I passed you on the street in town. And stood right across from you when Fae was doing her last drawing.”

  “Tuor and Idril. But if no one recognizes you, you both could stay here.”

  “No,” Fae said. “Once the new paintings are ‘discovered,’ speculation will be rife. We can’t take the chance.”

  “I can’t go back, Issy. I couldn’t handle the pressure, the temptations. It should have killed me, it almost did. And that saved me. In that split second when you know you’re going to die and it’s too late to do anything about it, I saw myself and I was glad to go. And I went straight through the guardrail and into the river.

  “Imagine my surprise when I woke up miles downstream and not dead yet.”

  “And so you decided to stay dead?”

  “Not at all. I was dead. And I was glad.”

  “But what about your family?”

  “Hardly had any. My wife and her family had given up on me as soon as they realized they couldn’t profit by my success. But they certainly profited from my death. They made a fortune on my paintings. I’m sure they’re quite happy.”

  “Doesn’t anyone have a normal family?”

  Adam and Fae both looked shocked.

  “Why on earth would you want a normal family?” asked Fae. “Besides, there’s no such thing. That was Vivienne’s mistake; behind those tennis outfits and trips to the mall are just people with all their warts, their fears, their disappointments, their anger.”

  Adam and Fae moved a little closer together.

  “Our lives aren’t perfect, maybe they’re worse, but that’s art for you. Heaven or hell and hardly ever anything in between. Fortunately, Fae has generously offered to give up her home, her way of life, to go with me.”

  “Where?”

  “Somewhere.”

  “Somewhere? That’s a song not a place.”

  Fae reached out and took Issy’s hands. “I’m sorry, Issy. We’re just going to go until we find the right place. I know you think I’m deserting the family. I promised Wes I would always take care of Leo, but Leo doesn’t need me anymore. Actually she never did. She’s always had Wes, even in death. Now it’s my time. Please let me go and do it without the guilt. My time.” She rolled the two words on her tongue like a fine wine.