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Unfortunately, it hadn’t jump-started my own painting efforts, which was half the reason I agreed to do this in the first place. Beyond the class, I found myself unable to put brush to canvas, which was becoming increasingly problematic.
“Language,” Daisy reminded me with a smile as she entered the room. It was a Friday night, a week after the clubbing night from hell, and we were her last library program of the day. She was probably eager to help us clean things up and then politely get the students out of the library so she could lock up and get home to my brother. “And no cell phones, Jeremiah,” she reminded one of the teens as he packed up.
Daisy instituted the no cell phones rule the second I agreed to volunteer. It wasn’t exactly a secret that I spent an hour a week teaching the art class, but it wasn’t like I was advertising it, either. The swarms of paparazzi had only increased since my dad’s heart attack a few months ago, eager to get a glimpse of me, former socialite and current—well, I don’t know what I was now, but they still wanted to use my image to sell magazines and post shitty stuff online. Luckily, my brother chose his partner well because Daisy protected me like a big sister. Like the big sister I never had, without all the overbearing shit my brother liked to pull with me.
The policy worked, and the kids respected my privacy, although to be fair, I was probably more of a commodity to their parents than to them. They all idolized TikTokers these days; the olden days of wealthy socialites didn’t quite penetrate their world.
That was good news for me.
“Good class, Faith,” a young man shouted at me as he finished packing up his station. A few of the others muttered their thank yous and see you next weeks.
I waved to them before carefully moving their finished products off to the side. Daisy and I got into our usual workflow of moving the wet canvases to the corner to dry. In the morning, the person who opened the library would then hang them in a makeshift gallery near the entrance of the building, a little place to celebrate their hard work and liven up the library. That had been my suggestion and Daisy loved the idea so much that she called in some reinforcements, her friend Diego, to help set everything up the next day.
My heart thumped with joy every time I entered the building.
“What are you up to tonight?” Daisy asked, surveying the room to see if there was anything left to put away.
I collected my bag, and we both headed for the door. “Nothing. I was thinking of seeing Dad, but Aunt Maggie said they are going out to the movies.”
Daisy’s eyebrows practically flew off her forehead. “That’s incredible.”
“I know. Like, where’s my invite?” I joked.
Daisy reached out, placing a palm on my shoulder. “This is a good thing, Faith. A really good thing. I feel like your Aunt Maggie is working miracles over there.”
She wasn’t wrong. The death of my mom devastated all of us, but my father especially. So much so that he completely gave up on living. He stopped going to work, he ate poorly, he drank to excess, and eventually that all caught up with him.
A broken heart, I had overheard one of the nurses say that night it happened. It scared the shit out of me. I had been the one to find him and call 911, trying to keep things together until Dominic could get back to the country. I’d already lost one parent; I’d be damned if I lost another.
Aunt Maggie was truly a blessing to have in our lives. She wasn’t actually our aunt, but rather my mom’s best friend. We’d grown up with her and she had lived a nomadic existence. She’d jumped in right away, eager to help our family. She’d done so much in such a short amount of time.
I had stayed at my parents’ house for weeks after the heart attack, but with Aunt Maggie there, my dad insisted I not let this derail my work. My calling, which I’d finally found after years of floundering.
Daisy hip checked me, instantly bringing me back to the present. “We should grab some dinner. The night is gorgeous. We can stroll and see what we stumble on.” Daisy loved to explore the city and took advantage of any and all good weather to do so.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you have plans with my brother? I would hate to keep you from that.” We made our way through the library, waving goodbye to the janitorial staff.
“First of all, I don’t spend every night with Dominic.”
I scoffed.
“Okay, that’s not true. I basically live at his place,” she admitted.
“In-sep-ara-ble,” I sang off tune.
“And you love it.”
Well, she was right about that.
“Besides, he has a work meeting tonight with one of his friends from school. Sebastian, I think.”
I froze.
Daisy stopped walking when she realized I wasn't keeping up. "You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."
I forced my legs to start moving again and plastered a smile on my face. "Just thought I forgot my phone back at the library." I waved it in front of my face and set it back down in my purse, feeling a little guilty for lying.
Daisy's lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't say anything.
