“By January?” Lauren asked, dazed.
“Bytomorrow,” Vivian said briskly, sliding out of the booth.
“That’s insane,” Lauren said.
But even as she said it, ideas were already sparking—flaring too bright to ignore.
Her anger, her hurt, her heartbreak transformed into color and texture, something that couldn’t be ignored.
Her pulse thrummed, her fingers itched for scissors, glue, wire.
"Another bottle?" the waiter asked, appearing at their table.
"Absolutely not," Vivian said, standing and reaching for her coat. “Lauren, you have work to do."
Lauren stood in the attic,heart pounding.
Was she even capable of two brand new pieces by tomorrow? Yes. Right now she was capable of anything. Something hot and electric was sparking through her veins like a live wire.
Her gaze landed on a pile of wire, foil, and half-finished ornaments. A star frame, something that had been waiting for her inspiration.
She thought of Tom’s face when he’d looked at her quilt. That bland, polite mask he’d learned from his mother. The way he’d folded it up, careful not to touch it for longer than necessary.
Cringe.
That was the word he’d chosen. Her love, her work, her hours bent over fabric—cringe.
This wouldn’t be delicate or tasteful.
No. It would be perfect.
She wired layer after layer of tinsel around the frame—silver, gold, red—until it caught every scrap of light in the room. Then she added glitter spray, shards from a broken ornament.
Her phone buzzed on the table; she ignored it.
More was more.
Lauren stepped back. The thing was ridiculous—glittering, gleaming, loud as a scream.
Richard would have hated it. Judith would have sneered.
And Lauren couldn’t stop smiling.
Because it was perfect.
It needed one more, unsubtle addition. Her brush moved steady and sure, each stroke defiant, as she spelled out the word that defined this piece. The word that defined her.
C-R-I-N-G-E
A tree-topper. A crown for her rebellion.
Let them call her cringe. She’d own it.
The staple gun’scrack was satisfying. Violent.
Lauren thought of Tom’s silence while his parents made their careful little comments.
Very festive.How industrious.
