“So it ruined your life,” Lily said softly. “My existence ruined your life.”

“That’s the thing, Lil. I’ve learned something. I think I only learned it now. No one can ruin your life without your permission. I’ve been so angry with Mom since Leo told me, and now there’s this whole thing with Dad. Maybe it’s just—he did what he did. She did what she did. They made mistakes, you know?”

“So what do we do?” asked Lily. A crackle of lightning shook the beach. Blankets started being gathered, beach bags packed.

“I don’t know,” said Joey. “But right now we go. It’s going to rain.”

“I don’t care. I’m already wet. I’m going to stay.”

“Are you sure? I have to get back to Edith’s.” Joey hugged her sister.

“See you at home then.”

“Okay.” Joey started to walk.

“Hey, Joey.”

She turned. “Yeah?”

“You really loved Leo back then, huh?”

“Yeah, Lil. I did.” Water streamed down Joey’s face. It was just rain, she thought.

She made it to the edge of the sand and knelt to put on her sandals. It was drizzling now, her arms riddled in goose bumps. As she fastened her sandals, her hand went to the damp sand. It started to write.

It wrote JOEY.

She added an ampersand.

She went to write Grant, but she hesitated. Very quickly, she erased the ampersand with a rub of her hand. Then she erased the Joey too. Now she wrote her name even bigger, so she had to walk from letter to letter to craft them. JOEY.

She finished decisively, with a period on the end. As the rain picked up, she surveyed her handiwork. Some place deep inside her smiled.

*  *  *

Joey smelled coffee as she climbed down the ladder. She set her charcoal stick on the floor.

“It’s magnificent.” Edith was leaning on her cane by the coffee lid installation.

“Thank you.”

“I did question if you’d pull it off.” Edith started toward Joey. She wore pale-blue silk pajamas. Strands of sapphire necklaces hung atop. Joey had never known a person who wore sapphires while lounging around her house.

Joey’s legs buckled. She sank to the floor. She removed her apron.

“You should rest, dear. Did you sleep at all last night?”

“I didn’t.” Joey couldn’t stop looking at the wall. Couldn’t stop marveling that she had created this remarkable thing.

“Well, you should go home.” Edith handed her a stack of bills. “Thank you, my dear.”

Joey put the money in her bag. She packed up her oils. “Thank you so much for the opportunity.” She hovered at the door. She didn’t want to leave her wall. She dug for her phone and snapped a couple of photos.