An Art to Love: Second chances are an art form by Helena Harte

Author:Helena Harte [Harte, Helena]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Butterworth Books
Published: 2022-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jamie soldered the final leaf into place and stepped back. She’d been working on the sculpture for two weeks and was relatively happy with the final product. It was the first time she’d attempted a tree, but her mom had specifically asked for it as her fiftieth birthday gift. Jamie looked over at the giant photograph she’d taken of the willow tree at the cemetery and then back at her creation. It was pretty accurate, right down to the gnarly bend in the trunk. Her mom had to see it now so she could decide if she wanted it painted or left natural.

Jamie pulled out her phone, fired off a quick text to her mom, and walked around the protective shield to where Olly sat on the threadbare old armchair from her dad’s den. She tickled him behind his ear, and he rubbed against her hand appreciatively. Jamie had covered the armchair with a blanket to protect it, but it had been nearing a trip to the junkyard even before her dad’s death. After he’d passed, there was no way Jamie would throw it away. He’d spent hours in that chair, and she’d spent hours on his knee as he read her stories of mythical beasts and furies in faraway lands. She thought he might’ve hoped those books would inspire her, and she would leave this town, go to college, and do something different, but that had been his dream, never hers. She was third-generation Nelson in Damarron, and she was happy there. She liked this community, liked knowing the names of all the shop owners on Main Street, and she loved the fairs, and farmer’s markets, and fundraisers that brought everyone together. She couldn’t—and didn’t want to—imagine living in a big, anonymous city where people were too busy with their own lives to spare the time for a conversation with a stranger. There were no strangers in Damarron, and that’s how Jamie liked it.

And even if she’d wanted to leave, there was the fact that she wasn’t intelligent enough to go to college. Jamie had struggled through school and only scraped by with Terri’s help and patient tutoring. She smiled when she thought about Terri and the bright new future she’d been presented with. Lauren had given Jamie a whole pack of information on mature students and scholarships, and when Jamie had dropped it off with Terri that morning, the glee and excitement in her expression were clear. She’d stuffed the folder into her bag and said she’d read it at work. It was less than two hours later before Jamie received a text, detailing the colleges Terri had been applying for and something about early action by November.

Jamie squatted on an upside-down paint can and stroked Olly’s back. He promptly shifted around so she could tickle his belly. “You’re so easy.” Jamie had to admit to being a little envious of Terri’s prospects, but if anyone should be making use of their potential and talent, it was Terri.

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