“All right, everyone, have some wine, check out the display picture, and let’s get started,” Nat instructed.
She gave step-by-step directions as we began painting a hillside with grass first.
“Confession time,” I said conspiratorially. “I still haven’t readThe Hobbit.”
“But you’ve seen the movie?”
“Of course, why do you think I’ve been able to create such a flawless hobbit hole?” I tapped my brush against the circle I’d just created for what was supposed to be a perfectly round door. The finished picture would be a hobbit house tucked into a flower-covered hillside. It was colorful and serene. Now, if only I could get this hole to look like a circle.
I looked over at Jamie’s canvas as if I were cheating on a test. He caught my eyes and smiled brightly. God, it still warmed me up seeing him smile at me like that. I bumped his paint arm, and he tried to hold back a laugh as his brush dipped a little extra green onto his hillside. He continued his line, ignoring the smudge.
“You’re not going to fix it?”
“It’s basically impeccable. Yours, however…” He pushed my elbow, causing my paintbrush to jolt against my canvas. My beautiful blue sky had a slash of a lighter blue through itnow, and one of my hillside flowers became a harsh smudge. I couldn’t hold back my snorting laughter.
“I can’t with you,” I teased, and he playfully jostled my shoulder again, taking me back to us in his converted den playing video games when we couldn’t study anymore. I wondered what his life was like now.“How’s your family doing? Is Patricia still volunteering at the Seattle Humane Society?”
“No, she’s working at the one in Portland. She and my dad moved to be closer to my sister and her kids a couple of years ago.”
“So, Marley had kids?”
“They’re incredible.” He whipped out his phone like the good uncle he was and showed me their pictures.
The Jamie I’d known had taken a lot for granted, but this recognition that he was making enough of an effort with his family showed that things might be different.
“I’m jealous. I’ve always wanted to be an aunt.”
“And you still don’t want kids of your own?” he asked.
“You can blame that on the abandonment issues,” I said, pasting on a grin after realizing the conversation had taken a turn for the serious. “Things have gotten better with my mom. I get calls on my birthdayandChristmas now. That’s an upgrade.”
Jamie paused what he was doing and looked me dead in the eye. “You know, you don’t have to make light of it. I know how things can get with your mom.”
I almost shut him down. Almost. But he’d known more than anyone how tough my childhood had been and everything I kept bottled up when it came to the subject of the woman who’d given birth to me.
As if he’d sensed that it’d been too much, he tapped a red paintbrush onto my painting and created a small patch of flowers. “So, how are Yasmine and Liz?”
I nearly dropped my paintbrush, my mouth open wide. “I didn’t even know you knew their names.”
Jamie nodded somberly. “I guess I wasn’t great with them.”
The sincerity in his eyes nearly had me melting, and it was confusing as hell. Back when we dated, I’d used to hang out with his friends all the time, but he hadn’t made an effort with mine. Back then, I’d brushed it off, but now, I felt like he had undervalued my friendships.
“They’re good. Yasmine just adopted her foster daughter, and Liz just won second runner-up in the Seattle Film Festival.”
“Wow. Well, if you must know, Ezra is probably stoned right now, Thomas is selling fake IDs, and Gabe absconded to Barcelona with a Spanish flight attendant.” Straight-faced, Jamie didn’t appear upset by this.
“Wait, really?”
“No. Your friends are just more interesting. They have normal lives and are still living near the old alma mater. You know what? I lied. Ezra probably is stoned right now, but to each their own.”
I laughed loud enough to catch Nat’s attention, and she met my eyes and pinned me with a look. Lips pursed, she spoke to me without words. I didn’t know her well. She was our newest counselor, and we’d been ships passing in the night. Rumor had it, she might not be returning next year. Her big brown eyes told me, “Mess around with my class, I’ll mess around with yours.” I gulped. Something in her look told me she’d be backing it up.
I looked over at Jamie’s canvas. We might be a few steps behind, but we could still pull this off.
A charming little hobbit door and welcoming walkway later and Jamie grinned at me.
“There. What did I say?” He turned his picture toward me, presenting it.
