“Thanks.”
They watched three episodes, since the channel was running them back to back. The third episode turned out to be about dessert, which sent them into the kitchen in search of sugary snacks. Harper settled on a bowl of grapes. Willa went with chocolate. Not until the start of the fourth episode did Frankie return home.
Harper gave her a nod as her sister appeared at the top of the steps. “Hey. How was your night?”
“Really good.” Frankie stood there, smiling. She was practically glowing with happiness. Obviously, she’d had a fantastic evening.
Willa smiled hopefully. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Frankie collapsed onto the couch. “Is this what you two have been doing all evening?”
“Pretty much,” Willa answered. “We had salad for dinner. What did you have?”
“Same. But with grilled steak.” Frankie grinned. “And for dessert, the most amazing homemade coconut milk ice cream with dark chocolate shavings and chopped macadamia nut pieces. It was so good.”
Harper stared at her sister. “And you didn’t bring us any?”
Frankie shrugged, looking in no way sorry. “Ice cream doesn’t travel well by golf cart.”
Harper popped the last grape into her mouth. Good, but not even close to ice cream. “Who told you that?”
“Oh, it’s common knowledge,” Frankie said.
Harper laughed. “Is it?”
Willa leaned forward. “Mom, do you want to talk now?”
Frankie shook her head. “Tomorrow is fine. The bottom line is, you’re an adult and you’re allowed to make your own decisions.”
“Thanks,” Willa said softly. “But I know you’re not happy about what I did, and I get why. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Frankie said. “Part of being an adult means dealing with things in a calm, rational manner. I’m saying that to myself as much as I’m saying it to you. If this is what you want to do, then I’m here to support you.”
So much for talking in the morning, Harper thought. But she was glad they’d worked things out. She turned the volume down on the television.
“Besides,” Frankie said. She spread her arms along the back of the couch. “I’m going to be living in the guest house. Your aunt and I already discussed that. In fact, I might even start moving over there tomorrow, just so we can get into the rhythm of our new normal. It’ll help me figure out what kind of room I’m going to have, too.”
Harper nodded. “I told Willa you were taking the guest house. So you’ll have that space, Willa will have the upstairs, and I have the bedroom down here. There’s room for all of us to have our own areas and plenty of privacy. It’ll be fine. And with three of us contributing to the bills, it’ll all work out. Which won’t be that much for a while. Arlington had the foresight to set up an account to cover all the major expenses for the first five years of my owning this place. We still have four years of that left.”
Frankie’s mouth dropped. “You never mentioned that.”
“I’m pretty sure I did,” Harper said.
“Oh. Then I obviously forgot. What can I say? Menopause brain is real.” Frankie laughed. “But that’s huge. I really might be all right.”
Harper smiled. “You will be. I’m sure of it.”
Willa leaned back again. “Mom, after you move to the guest house, will you still eat with us? Or are you going to completely do your own thing?”
“We hadn’t really talked about that,” Frankie said. “I suppose a little of both. I’m going to be relying on my illustrating business for my money, so there will probably be some nights that I’ll work straight through. Assuming I can get the work, but I just have to have faith.”
“You know, Mom, I saw a sign up at the school about an art fair that’s coming up next month. What if you signed up to have a booth there and sold some of your prints? You could sell T-shirts and mugs and whatever else you have in your shop. Plus, you could advertise for your other services, like the custom greeting cards.”
“And pet portraits,” Harper added. “I saw you’re doing those now, too.”
“I am,” Frankie said. “I did one of Scout for Lucas and he loved it. He’s putting it on merchandise in his store. I’ll think about the art fair, Willa. It’s interesting, to say the least.”
“Hey,” Willa said. “Have you ever thought about doing custom wedding invites? Weddings are a major industry. People pay crazy money for stuff like that. The more specialized and individual, the better.”
