ChapterThree
Viv
Viv used to look through the bay window in her studio and see inspiration. The colors in the sky could be the inspiration for a blouse, a leaf could suggest the shape of a pair of earrings, and a bird on the wing could inspire a scarf.
Now she looked outside but didn’t feel inspired. The spring buds were lovely, but she felt sad. Lately, all she could do was worry that this was the last time she’d see something. Everything felt like goodbye.
Her prognosis was good. She was “all clear.” But she was all clear “for now.”
It was that,for now, that had her stuck.
She had always looked ahead; she’d always felt optimistic about the future. The last few months had robbed her of more than her health. It had robbed her of that outlook. Viv crossed her arms around her own body and squeezed. She was still a little sore but not terrible. She was doing the exercises they told her to do.
The fashion rags would not believe the current appearance of Vivian Blackwood; she’d always been the queen of the career wardrobe. These days it was loose sweatshirts and leggings. Yeah, some power suit this was.
Siena knocked lightly on her door.
“Come in, honey.”
“I’m still not used to seeing this place so empty, with no colors, so weird.”
“Time for someone else to fill it.”
They were putting the house on the market. Viv liked that idea. Siena was taking the lead on all of it. She’d insisted on taking care of everything so Viv could focus on getting better. This house was too much work, too showy, tootoo. It felt like a thing of her past before they even moved out.
Viv kept feeling that she, too, was a thing of the past.
“Come on then, the car is packed. Dad stopped by to say goodbye.”
“Okay, we better get going then.”
Viv didn’t much want to go on a trip, but Siena and Bret pushed the idea that it would help her brush off the blues and help her transition to whatever came next.
What did come next?
Siena was clearly up to something. Viv realized she hadn’t really looked at her daughter, hadn’t assessed how she’d been handling all the things thrust upon her since Viv’s diagnosis. Viv had spent the last 23 years with two priorities, Siena and her designs. She’d neglected both during her treatment.
Siena was smiling, but there was a tightness to it. The corners of her mouth seemed forced upward.
“I’m so excited to visit Aunt Goldie in Irish Hills.”
“What? I thought we were going to visit her in L.A.”
Every time they’d visited Goldie, it had been somewhere exotic and glamorous. Goldie’s own house in California was the epitome of both. Goldie Hayes lived large and liked to share it with them.
“No, actually, we’re going to see her in her new digs, not her old one. Dad and Travis are waiting to see us off. We need to get rolling.”
“Michigan, really?”
Viv hadn’t been back to Michigan in decades. Had she missed this detail when Siena had told her about the little trip? Viv supposed it was possible. Her focus being total crap lately. But it seemed like a big detail to have zoned out on. Still, a trip to see Goldie was always good for both of them. Even if it was Michigan this time.
“Yes. I talked to Aunt Goldie, and she really wants us to visit her new place, not her old place. Her hotel sounds amazing. We’ve got rooms reserved, and think about it, you’ve not seen these old friends of yours since, what, high school? They’re all back there now. Must be something in that water.”
“I guess, yes, other than Goldie, I haven’t been good about staying in touch.”
Goldie and Viv had stayed close. First, it was because they’d both moved to California after high school. And then they were both in the arts. Their two worlds were adjacent. Finally, there was the unbreakable bond with Siena.
The rest of the Sandbar Sisters, Hope, J.J., and Libby, they were all firmly childhood friends. Beautiful memories from Dayglo summers.
