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She points towards a particular painting tucked away in one corner. It’s a younger version of me laughing, my hair caught in the wind. The accuracy is startling, and I find myself lost in the memory of that day. We’d just finished our high school graduation ceremony, and I’d walked out of the auditorium feeling ready to conquer the world. My future seemed so bright then. I was heading off to college and going to start my real life. I was all optimism, which is evident in the wide smile and sparkling eyes of the portrait.
That girl is gone now, replaced with a worn-down loser who has to run back home so she doesn’t end up on the streets.
“I’ve been working on it for a while now,” Lauren says. “I was going to save it for your birthday, but now seems like a better time to show it to you.”
I’m too overwhelmed to speak.
Instead, I throw my arms around her in a tight hug, whispering a choked, “Thank you.”
She returns my hug warmly before shoving me gently towards the painting again.
“Take it,” she insists. “It’s yours.”
I hesitantly pick up the canvas and study it more closely. After all the turmoil of the past few weeks, holding that painting feels like holding onto a piece of myself I’d thought was lost. As I look at it again, I feel something akin to hope flickering to life within me, but it’s faint.
“Lauren, this is…” I stutter, struggling for words. “I mean, how did you even…?”
“I have my ways.” She winks. She then points at the painting again. “But more than focusing on how I nailed that expression of yours, focus on the girl in that painting. That’s who you are.”
“Who I used to be,” I correct her morosely.
“No,” Lauren retorts firmly. “You still are. This,” she says while waving her hand at the painting, “is what you need to remember.”
I gaze down at the painting and try to see what she does. I try to find that same carefree girl inside of me somewhere, but she just feels like a memory, like another remnant of my past that feels just out of reach.
Lauren places a hand on my shoulder. “Come on. Let me show you your room. You can take the painting there if you want to.”
I look up at her, smile, and nod. “Yeah, I do.”
As I follow her out of her studio, I feel a bubbling of determination deep inside me. I’m not going to let these setbacks keep me down. I may not feel like the girl in Lauren’s painting anymore, but I think I can find her again. I just need to get my head back on straight and put the disappointments of the city behind me…though I’ve no doubt that’s going to be easier said than done.
Chapter two
Parker
Driving my truck through the streets of Newport, I can’t help but smile at the familiarity and contentment I feel. I drum my fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the country song playing on the radio, my heart swelling with pride for my hometown. I’ve never lived anywhere else in my life, and I’m more than okay with that. I travel plenty and have seen lots of the world, but I always am happy to be able to come home to a place that offers me so much peace and familiarity.
“Hey, Parker!” Mr. Whitmore, an older man who takes a walk every morning to the nearby park and back, calls out.
I wave at him through the open window of my truck and slow down so I can respond.
“Good morning, Mr. Whitmore.”
“Heading over to the Halsey place?” Mr. Whitmore asks, adjusting his cap against the morning sun.
I nod. “Yep, we’ve got the renovations just about done for that one. Should be on the market soon.”
“Good luck to you!”
I wave again as I speed back up, leaving Mr. Whitmore to his walk, his cheerful whistle trailing behind him.
A few moments later, I pull up to the Halsey place. The house is a grand, old Victorian with tons of character, but like many older homes in Newport, it’s been neglected and has seen better days.
Pulling up in front of the house, I see Lauren already there waiting for me. She’s standing in front of the house with a clipboard in her hand, studying the exterior with a critical eye.
“Hey, Lauren,” I greet as I jump out of my truck. “How’s it looking?”
She turns toward me with a grin. “Hey, Parker! It’s coming along beautifully. The team did great work restoring the original woodwork.”
