“Vance’s dad left too,” Mia said. “So he gets it.”
“Sorry, Vance,” Annie said.
“It was good he left when he did,” I said. “We were better off without him.”
“Do you ever hear from him?” Annie asked.
“No. I have no interest in ever seeing him again. He was really bad to my mom. I was relieved when he left, even though it hurt.”
“So you’re basically like us,” Annie said. “No father.”
I nodded. “That’s right. But I have a wonderful mother. So yeah, I’m just like you guys—except for my silver hair and the fact that I’m ancient.”
That made them all giggle. Even Margot.
We finished our ice cream and walked over to the T-shirt shop together. They took forever to decide which ones they wanted. While I waited, I sat in one of the chairs by the dressing room, smiling to myself as I listened to them debate the merits of at least a dozen shirts each.
Finally, they decided. Annie chose a soft black tee that said Kick Like a Girl in bold varsity font with a tiny soccer ball graphic. Grace found a lavender shirt with Main Character Energy in glittery script, surrounded by tiny stars and theater masks. Margot chose a pale blue shirt with a watercolor paintbrush and the words Create Magic in soft script. She held it up to show me, uncertain.
“That’s beautiful, mon cœur. Perfect for you.”
She smiled, hugging it to her chest.
And Mia? A cream-colored shirt with a hand-drawn sketch of a paintbrush bouquet and the phrase Make Something Beautiful underneath.
“These are all great choices,” I said.
“But wait. We found one for you too.” Mia held up a shirt with a glass of red wine on the front and lettering that read: Aged to Perfection.
I laughed and held out my hands to take the tee. “You four think you’re funny, huh?”
“We are funny,” Grace said. “And that’s like the most perfect shirt for you ever.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Come on, let’s pay for these and head home. I want to stop at the store to get some things for dinner. I told your mom I’d cook tonight, since she’ll be late.”
As I headed to the counter with our shirts, I heard Annie say to Mia, “You’re so lucky.”
And Margot’s small voice adding, “I am too, right?”
“One thousand percent,” Annie said.
Nothing in the world had ever made me feel as full—or as grateful—as I did in that moment.
17
LILA
After lunch, we were scheduled to film the kitchen installation scenes. I had such a nervous stomach that I barely touched the salad craft services provided. The dread coiled tight in my chest, a pressure I couldn’t shake. I felt more and more like I was in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
Just after lunch, delivery trucks rumbled into the driveway—doors slamming, workers calling instructions over one another as they began unloading cabinets wrapped in protective plastic. The hum of cameras clicking on and tracking my every move sent my nerves into a full gallop. I had to remember to keep my cool. Whatever they had planned was meant to fluster me. I had to be smarter than them.
“Let’s move, people,” Carol barked from behind her clipboard, her eyes sharp and calculating as she supervised.
The tension in my chest stretched tighter with every box carried into Vance’s house. This was supposed to be the big reveal—the moment viewers saw the new kitchen starting to take shape. Beau and I were instructed to talk through some of my design choices for the camera.
Filming started. Multiple cameras were set at various angles. Beau unwrapped the first cabinet. My heart dropped. They were green. An avocado green straight out of the 1970s. Not the soft cream I’d so carefully selected.
“Hold on a second.” My voice trembled, panic rising as the camera crew closed in. “These are the wrong color.”
