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CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
Maxi stood back and assessed the painting. Her back hurt from standing at the easel for almost eight hours, and she had paint all over her clothes and hair. But the ocean breeze billowing the curtains beside the open French doors and the sound of waves crashing on the beach made up for it.
This was her best attempt yet. She was getting close but…
Knock, knock.
She leaned out to look through the kitchen and saw Claire peering in the door. She was holding a basket and looked concerned.
Maxi put the brush in turpentine and turned her painting to face the wall. She wasn’t ready for anyone to see it.
“You haven’t been answering your phone,” Claire said.
“Sorry, I got carried away painting.” Maxi was touched by her friend’s concern.
“James came into Sandcastles for a coffee and said you were here painting. He hadn’t heard from you, either, and suggested you might need a snack.” Claire put the basket down on the kitchen table and pulled the red gingham towel off the top.
Bakery smells wafted out, and Maxi realized she was, indeed, ravenous. Inside the basket was an assortment of muffins, cookies, and brownies. Maxi picked out a corn muffin, put on some coffee, and set some mugs and dessert plates on the Formica table.
“Want to go sit out on the patio?”
Maxi had rented the cottage furnished, but she’d brought over a lot of furniture and accents to make it her own. Her favorite was the patio set that she’d put out back. The cottage had a small area with pavers that sat right on the beach, and she loved to sit out there. Sometimes in the summer, she and James got up early and came from their house on the cliff to watch the sun rise before he headed off to work and she started painting. But it was gorgeous to sit out any time of day. Now, in the late afternoon, it was still warm enough if you wore a sweater.
They sat out watching a few beachgoers stroll through the waves at the edge of the ocean. It was low tide, and the edge of the waves was a good three hundred feet away. Just far enough to keep the patio private but still be able to see the waves.
“This is great. Thanks. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” Maxi cut the muffin in half and spread butter on it.
“There’s another reason I was calling.” Claire dunked a cookie into her coffee.
Maxi looked up from her muffin. “Oh?”
“Yes. We got invited to a little party at Liz Weston’s. She’s done with sprucing the house up and wanted to show it off.”
“That’s great! That house is so cute. I can’t wait to see what she’s done. Who is going?”
Claire squinted as if to remember. “You, me, Jane, Andie, and I think they said she had asked some neighbors.”
“Probably Bunny Howard. I took a painting lesson with her.” Speaking of painting, Maxi really wanted to focus on finishing the painting of Goblin for Bert and Harry. Her eyes strayed over to the window, where she could see the easel facing the wall. She had just a few things to try… but taking a break would be good. Besides, she needed to let some of the underlayers dry before putting in the details that she hoped would pull it all together.
Maybe her subconscious would fill in the blanks to the last piece she was missing. Besides, she would never turn down an opportunity to hang out with her friends. “When is the party?”
“Tomorrow night at six.”
“Sounds good. Is Rob going? Do you want to go together?”
“Rob isn’t going. It seems like it’s just a quick reveal, and he didn’t seem interested. I’d love to go together. I can pick you up.”
A noise at the window caught their attention. They looked over to see Rembrandt pressing his face against the window. His mouth opened in a meow, and he glared at them.
“He wants to go out,” Maxi said.
“I get that look from Urchin too.” Claire’s gray cat, Urchin, was a favorite of Maxi’s, and she always looked forward to visiting Claire’s little cottage so she could see him. She especially anticipated those visits before she’d adopted two cats of her own.
“It’s too dangerous to let them out alone. I can only imagine the trouble they would get into,” Maxi said. “You’d think they’d get enough with traveling from our house to the cottage and back again every day.”
“Cats are never satisfied,” Claire said.
“You can say that again.” Maxi settled back in her chair, her hand wrapped around the warm mug. “So, what have you been up to?”
