by Marie Landry
I had learned new things, and finally realized what I wanted out of life, even if it wasn’t necessarily crystal clear. I’d had a crystal clear plan before, and look how that had turned out. Maybe I didn’t need a plan—all I needed was to enjoy life and believe that things would turn out as they were meant to, like they had when I made the decision to move to Riverview.
When Daisy entered the kitchen, her wide smile matched my own. Without a word, I stood and we met each other halfway, arms extended, embracing each other tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” we said at the same time, then both dissolved into giggles.
“Where’s Sam? I thought I heard his voice.”
“Oh, he just walked me to the door, then left,” Daisy said, waving a hand casually. When I raised my eyebrows, she rushed on. “Why are you home? Is Nicholas all right?”
“He’s fine. Roy just thought it would be a good idea if I took a few days off to get some rest. He doesn’t want me to get worn down or sick, because I could make Nicholas worse and then I’d be kicked out for good.”
“That makes sense,” Daisy said. Her eyes were searching my face, probably wondering how I was dealing with being away from Nicholas, and how I would manage the next couple of days.
“As much as I hate being away from him, I think I need the time,” I said, collecting my dinner dishes and setting them in the sink. “I hadn’t really looked in a mirror for a while, but I did when I got home, and was horrified.”
Daisy chuckled. “It’s taken everything in me the past few weeks not to hover and try to mother you. But, that’s part of why I brought this home for you.” With a flourish, she presented a white paper take-out bag that had Rockin’ Ricky’s Diner printed on the front in red and gold letters. “I didn’t know when you’d be home, but thought I’d have it waiting for you. I know it’s your favourite, and I thought I could secretly try to fatten you up.”
I laughed as I unfolded the bag and peered inside to see an enormous slice of cheesecake and a plastic container of blueberry sauce. “Oh, I love you,” I said, pulling the contents from the bag and going to get a fork. I held up a second fork and Daisy nodded.
“Maggie sends her love,” Daisy said, sitting at the table and accepting the fork from me. “She said she cut the slice extra big just for you. She’s worried about you, too.”
“You guys don’t need to worry. I’m going to do nothing but rest for the next couple days. I couldn’t handle getting sick and either passing it to Nicholas or not being able to go see him.”
I opened the blueberry sauce and poured it over the cheesecake. Scooping up a big forkful, I popped it into my mouth and moaned in pleasure when the creamy concoction hit my tongue. I’d never been a fan of cheesecake until coming to Riverview, but Maggie had insisted I try hers, and it was love at first bite. She made it herself, having perfected the recipe in her parents’ bakery as a teenager, and it was a bestseller at the diner.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, and when I looked up, Daisy’s head was bowed and she was trying to hide a smile.
“So,” I said casually, stealing a fat blueberry from her side of the plate. “You looked awfully happy when you came in tonight. Did you and Sam have fun?”
Daisy’s smile widened almost imperceptibly at the mention of Sam, and her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. “We did,” she said slowly. She looked up, and when she met my eyes I knew without her even saying it that something had finally changed between her and Sam. I bit my lip, trying hard to remain silent until she said it herself.
“We’ve decided to be together,” she blurted. “We’re adults now and there’s nothing holding us back anymore.” Her whole face was alight and her eyes were shining. “Seeing Nicholas so sick has made us both realize how precious life is, what a gift it is. I told Sam tonight that I never stopped loving him, and he said he felt the same way.” She was laughing now, a mixture of relief and excitement and pure, unadulterated happiness.
I jumped up from the table and rushed to throw my arms around her. “I’m so thrilled for you, Dais! Nicholas and I have been rooting for you two ever since Sam got back to town.”
Daisy laughed again, more colour rising in her cheeks. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you or not with everything that’s going on. But when I walked in here tonight you looked pretty happy yourself, so I thought things must be getting better, and I just hate keeping things from you.”
“I’m glad you told me,” I reassured her, giving her a squeeze. “Nicholas will be pleased for you guys, too. We both want you to be happy. It already feels like we’re a family anyway, so this just solidifies it.”
Daisy kissed my cheek before giving me a playful shove back to my chair. “So, what were you so happy about when I came in?”
“I just realized some things about myself, I guess,” I said, not wanting to dredge it all up again. “Even though I’m worried about Nicholas and scared for him, he seems to be getting better. I can’t really be happy while he’s sick, but I know that once this whole thing is over I’ll be happier than I ever thought possible. Living here, being surrounded by such amazing people, being in love—it’s all something I never knew I wanted, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything now that I have it.”
“I know what you mean,” Daisy said, sighing and leaning back in her chair. “I was content living here all these years on my own, but ever since you came, it’s gone so far beyond mere contentment. Having you around, seeing you and Nicholas together, having Sam back—I feel so blessed.”
“Me too,” I said, clinking my fork against Daisy’s in a kind of toast that had her laughing.
“Since the theme of the night seems to be ‘happy’, I have some more good news,” Daisy said. “I’ve been sitting on this for a few days, waiting for the right time to bring it up.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Okay. Intrigued now. Tell me.”
Daisy stood and crossed the kitchen to her junk drawer. There were so many cupboards and drawers in the kitchen that we each had a drawer where we could throw miscellaneous things. She pulled out a large brown envelope and set it on the table before taking her seat again.
“First of all, don’t be mad at me. When you mentioned you had decided to send your photographs to Jimmy O’Hanlon, I knew you were busy and didn’t really have time, so I sent them to him. I included the pictures you took that first day with my old camera, then some of the photos you’ve taken since. I’ve had Mrs. O’Hanlon make double copies of all the pictures you’ve asked me to get developed for you, and I’ve kept the extra set. There were some incredible shots, Emma.”
She paused and searched my face, trying to gauge my reaction. When I didn’t move or say anything, she pushed the envelope toward me. “Jimmy called me last week and said he loved them and was going to use them. Every single last one, Em. These are copies for you.”
I tore open the envelope and poured the contents onto the table. There were at least two-dozen postcards, all with pictures I had taken. I spread them out on the table and looked at the glossy prints of the park, the diner, the movie theatres, the general store, Daisy’s garden, Farmer Milligan’s land, the river, the forest. I couldn’t believe it. These were my photographs. People would buy these postcards as keepsakes, tourists would send them home, and everyone would see the pictures I had taken. I couldn’t wait to show Nicholas.
“Please tell me you’re not mad,” Daisy said, breaking through my thoughts. I had been so engrossed I’d forgotten to say anything.
“Of course I’m not mad,” I said. “You want me to succeed. If it had been up to me, even if Nicholas wasn’t sick, I probably would have made a thousand excuses before sending my pictures away, just because I wouldn’t want to be rejected. Really, you did me a favour.”
The relief on Daisy’s face had me chuckling. “Look at these!” I exclaimed, almost giddy. “I can’t believe this. Thank you.”
Daisy’s smile returned, and she picked up several of the postcards to flip thro
ugh them. “They really are incredible, Emma. I’m so proud of you. And that leads me to the next bit of news I’ve been sitting on.”
I raised my eyebrows again, expectantly. I couldn’t even imagine what she had in store for me next.
“Well, I told you shortly after you arrived in Riverview that you inspired me,” Daisy said, and I was surprised at the almost shy tone of her voice. “It got me thinking. For years, I’ve wanted to open my own art gallery, but I was afraid. Afraid of failure, afraid to take the risk, you name it. But watching you over the past few months, seeing how you’ve grown and changed, all the chances you’ve taken, the way you’ve opened yourself up…I’m in awe.”
I blinked at her in astonishment. I vividly remembered her telling me I inspired her, because it had been such a shocking, almost surreal moment. Free-spirited, independent Daisy, who I admired and aspired to be like, was inspired by me. In awe of me. It was almost too much.
“Anyway,” she continued, “Sam found this great little spot just off Main Street that would make the perfect gallery. It needs some work, but he said he could fix it up no problem, and told me he wants to invest to help get me started. I told him I’d go for it on one condition.”
The look on Daisy’s face and the way she spoke those last words had me thinking it had something to do with me. “Okay…” I said slowly. “What’s the condition?”
“You have to be my partner.” When I just stared at her in stunned silence, she hurried on. “I’ll display and sell my paintings and other artwork, and you’ll display and sell your photographs. We can do some local interest pieces, too. You know Delilah who owns the old movie theatre? She makes jewelry and sells it online, so maybe we could carry some of her jewelry. And Annie at the post office does pottery, we could sell some of her pieces, too. Just have a mixed media art gallery, but with my paintings and your photographs as the main attractions.”
“You want me to…you want to open…business partners?” I stammered, unable to string together a coherent thought.
Daisy laughed. “I know it’s probably a shock, and it’s a lot to take in. I’ve been thinking about it ever since the first time you showed me your photographs. It just hit me like a lightning bolt that day, and I’ve been working it through in my head ever since. Who doesn’t dream of going into business with their best friend?”
I replayed Daisy’s words in my mind. I was her best friend? I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me, and part of me must have known it, but to hear her say it made my heart melt. And made the decision that much easier. “Tell Sam to go ahead and start drawing up plans.”
Daisy stared at me, her eyes wide. “You can take some time to think about this, you know.”
“I don’t need time,” I said, my voice steady even though part of me was shaking inside. This was about as far as possible from my original plans of going to college, but as I had discovered earlier that night, things didn’t always go as planned. Sometimes you just had to go with the flow, and sometimes the best things in life came from unexpected opportunities like this one.
The last few months had been an adventure and I knew that going into business with Daisy would be a whole new adventure. Up until a few minutes ago I hadn’t known what I wanted to do with my life—except maybe look into professional photography someday—but this settled it.
I grabbed one of the notebooks and pens Daisy always left on the table, and started making notes. “Tomorrow I’ll start looking into photography courses. I’ll do some research on what kind of camera and equipment I should get, then we can go shopping in town, make a day of it…maybe take Maggie with us?” I looked up and saw that Daisy was still watching me with that surprised look on her face.
“You never cease to amaze me,” she said quietly, her eyes dancing. “We’re really going to do this?” Her wide, hopeful smile lit her eyes, making her look young and fresh, and happier than I’d ever seen her.
“We’re really going to do this.”
Daisy leaped from her chair and grabbed me by both arms, hauling me up and dancing me around the kitchen. We started to laugh, and within seconds we were laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces.
Even though I wished Nicholas were there to share in our moment of excitement—nobody loved a celebration more than Nicholas—it felt so good to laugh and be silly and feel hopeful again. In that moment, I truly believed everything was going to work out for all of us, and that life would be better than I had ever imagined.
CHAPTER 17
There was barely a moment over the next two days when I didn’t think of Nicholas, even though Daisy and I were busy making plans for our art gallery. That first night, despite being exhausted I was too wired to go to bed, so we stayed up late talking, writing down ideas, and drawing up designs. I was so excited when I headed to bed that I sat debating whether to take one of the sleep aids Roy had prescribed, but I ultimately decided against it and ended up sleeping better than I had in weeks.
I dreamed of Nicholas that night. His eyes shone brightly in a face flooded with colour; his soft, fair hair had grown back and was falling over his forehead in waves that begged to be touched. He was laughing, the melodious sound making my heart sing in response, and I awoke the next morning with a smile on my face.
Daisy and I filled an entire notebook with our ideas, but she also made sure I got plenty of rest and she fed me until I thought I would burst. Then Maggie would arrive with a bag of food from the diner, and we’d be eating again, but it felt so wonderful to have people who cared about me that I didn’t mind a bit of a stomachache if it made them happy and put their minds at ease.
I called Nicholas several times, but didn’t tell him about Daisy’s and my plans for the gallery. I wanted to tell him in person and see the look of joy I knew would overtake his face at the news.
Daisy took me to the space Sam found for the gallery, and I knew in an instant that it was perfect. The one-story building was located in the old section of town, not far from the general store. I could see potential in the faded and peeling off-white paint of the facade, and in the large dust-streaked windows. The front garden had an overgrown, dejected feel to it, but I could picture it next spring all cleared out with an assortment of colourful flowers to brighten it up.
From what we could see through the picture window at the front, the inside had the same abandoned air as the garden, but I could envision the finished result with absolute clarity. The huge windows, along with a skylight in the centre of the ceiling, let in mass amounts of natural light that gave the place an almost ethereal feel. It was basically one big room, but Daisy said Sam could set up partitions that would leave it largely open while separating the different areas so that it had a sequential flow. I knew it would be a lot of work, but I also knew it would be a labour of love. I couldn’t wait to get started.
When Friday morning finally arrived, I hated to leave Daisy but I was anxious to get to the hospital to see Nicholas. After the time we were apart when he first took sick, being away from him for extended periods made me antsy, even though I knew he was being well looked after in the hospital.
As I drove, the sun shone weakly through a light cloud cover, but it looked like the clouds were heading in the opposite direction from Maltonville. I smiled to myself, thinking that I could take Nicholas for a stroll in the garden if the sky cleared completely, and if he was feeling up to it.
When I arrived at the hospital, I was almost afraid of what I might find. I wasn’t so arrogant to believe that without me, Nicholas would have gone downhill or fallen apart, but I knew he depended on me to keep him company and help pass the time. I was so used to being with him every single day that the time apart had been agony, even though it had given me a chance to realize a few things about myself and to make plans for the future.
When I walked into Nicholas’s room, Roy was sitting in the easy chair beside the bed where Nicholas was propped up with pillows. He didn’t look quite as pale as he had on Tuesday when I left, a
nd he was only wearing one sweater instead of the usual two he wore because he was always cold and shivery.
“Emma,” Nicholas said, a smile spreading over his face and the lines around his eyes crinkling in that way that still made my heart do little cartwheels in my chest. He held out his arms and I raced across the room, leaning into his body as he wrapped his arms around me. He held on tightly, pressing his face into my hair and inhaling deeply. “God, I missed you,” he whispered, easing me back and pressing kisses to my cheeks and lips.
Roy cleared his throat loudly, and when I looked over at him, he was grinning like the Cheshire cat from his perch in the chair. “We’ve all missed you around here, Emma. It’s not the same without you. But you look better, so I hope you enjoyed your time away.”
“It’s nice to be missed,” I said with a smile, settling onto the bed close to Nicholas. “I’ve missed you guys, too. As per doctor’s orders, I got rested up, and I do feel much better.”
“Glad to hear it,” Roy said, nodding his approval.
As Nicholas rubbed slow circles on my back, I noticed that Roy was holding Nicholas’s medical file. I glanced up to see that he was still smiling.
“I hope that smile means you have good news for us,” I said.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Roy said. “I was just keeping Nicholas company while waiting for you, because I figured you’d get here as early as possible.”
“Am I that predictable?” I asked, looking at Nicholas.
“I think I’m just that irresistible,” Nicholas replied, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to keep a straight face.
My heart clenched as I realized just how much I had missed him—those twinkling eyes, his mischievous grin, the deep cadence of his voice. There wasn’t anything I didn’t love about this man. “You are just that irresistible,” I agreed. “I’m amazed I managed to stay away those two days without breaking.”