53
After weeks of distractions, Celeste finally got around to having Clifford Henry’s antique walking stick restored.
She delivered it to his real estate office herself. The door heralded her arrival with a tinkle of the small bells attached to the interior knob. Clifford sat at his desk with a cup of coffee in one hand and an open laptop in front of him.
“Sorry to disturb,” she said.
“Oh, not at all,” he said, closing the laptop. “Just down the wormhole of the P’town Community Facebook page. Did you see the video of the seal getting eaten by a shark on Race Point Beach yesterday?”
“No. And I’m not sure I want to,” she said with a laugh.
“Trust me, you don’t. It’s put me off my latte.”
“Well, here’s something that will hopefully cheer you up: your walking stick, your majesty.”
“Oh, it’s glorious! Just glorious. Looking at this, you have to wonder if we weren’t born in the wrong century.”
The bells on the door sounded again. She turned to see her sister walk in with Pearl on a leash trotting behind her.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“What are you doing here?” Elodie crossed her arms.
“Ah, the lady returns,” Clifford said.
“Yes, well, I lost the room I’ve been renting, so now I’m hoping you can find me someplace else.” Elodie fanned herself with her hand, sat in the nearest chair, and pulled Pearl onto her lap. “It’s exceedingly warm in here. Do you happen to have a water bowl for my dog?”
Clifford asked if she could work with a large mug and Elodie said that would be fine.
“How much longer are you planning to stay?” Celeste said.
Elodie hesitated for a beat. “The rest of the summer.”
Clifford seemed even more surprised than she was.
“You want me to find you a place in July for the rest of the summer. Does it read ‘Wizard of Oz’ outside my door? Why do people expect me to work miracles?” Clifford said. Celeste glanced at Elodie and they shared a smile.
Celeste felt a rush of conflicting feelings: She was unnerved that Elodie planned to stay in Provincetown, but there was no denying the thaw between them these past few weeks. If Elodie was still blaming her for siding with Paulina all those years ago, she seemed to be letting that go, inch by inch. And now it was up to Celeste to forgive her for being pushy about the auction and lying about the ring. It was time to accept that they were all just doing the best that they could do. After all, Elodie was just as much a victim of their parents’ manipulation as she was.
It was a relief on some deep, half-buried part of her psyche to be on better terms with her only remaining sister. Maybe Jack had been right all the years he’d been pushing her to have some relationship with her parents and, when it was too late for that, with Elodie. She could tell it was a relief for her sister to confess about selling the Electric Rose. There had been a tension on her face that Celeste recognized from when they were girls and she was caught in a lie. Elodie was fundamentally a decent person. No, it hadn’t been fair of her to accuse Celeste of being complicit in Paulina’s relationship with Liam. In turn, Celeste went on the defensive, lumping Elodie in with their parents as someone she couldn’t trust.
“I just need a room—not even a whole house,” Elodie said. “I’ll pay double the asking price.”
Just a room. Celeste had a room down the hall from studio. What was the harm in handing out another olive branch?
“I have a room,” Celeste said.
Elodie looked at her in surprise.
“See? What did I tell you?” Clifford said. “Come to Clifford Henry with an inquiry, and you walk out with a home.”
Celeste and Elodie exchanged another hesitant smile and then burst out laughing.
The line for her jewelry stretched from outside Queen Anne’s Revenge down the block.
Days after the New York Times article, Cardi B was photographed wearing a yellow gold Casterbridge “C” charm. Now Gemma was sold out of the letters. She had a few Rock Candy pieces left and a few recently made charms, including the cloisonné eggs. She had to find another estate sale as soon as possible.
“Celeste is looking pretty foolish about now for not selling jewelry sooner,” Jack said from behind the counter.
Gemma, flush with the feeling of success, smiled at him. “Oh, you think just any jewelry would sell like this?”
When she’d gotten kicked out of her apartment building after graduation, she’d thought it would be months and months before she could sell in person again. Now there she was, up and running in July. She hoped if she could connect with one of Connor’s money people, they would come by in person to see the action. Instagram numbers were one thing, but a line out the door on a flawless beach day was something else.
“You tell me,” he said. “Is there some secret to your success?”
“My customers feel the pieces are made just for them. It’s personal.”
She handed one of the eggs to a customer about her age with a unibrow and blond undercut. The woman declared that her grandmother had one just like it. She also bought a gold-plated necklace chain.
“Are you the designer?” the woman said. Gemma nodded, and the woman asked for a selfie.
“Don’t forget to tag me,” she said, waving over the next person in line. And then Elodie breezed in carrying a tape measure.
“Good heavens, are you giving these things away?” she said, peering at the display.
“I’m giving people what they want. When you do that, they sell themselves,” Gemma said. Elodie checked the tag on a necklace chain.
“Your price point is very low.”
“It’s relative. For some people, it’s a huge extravagance. But worth it to them.”
She glanced at the charm tray, nearly empty. She’d hoped Celeste could take her antiquing tomorrow. Within the hour, she’d be cleaned out.
Elodie moved on, asking Jack to show her upstairs. Gemma found the request odd but didn’t have time to wonder when her phone vibrated with a text from Sloan Pierce. I hope you’ll be in the city soon to fulfill your end of our bargain. I have some information I think you’ll find very interesting.
Gemma looked up at her next customer. “Excuse me for one second.”
You located my diamond? she typed.
Not exactly. But I believe I know what happened to it. Need to discuss in person.
Her mind buzzed with logistics, like how soon she could go without leaving Jack and Celeste shorthanded, and where she could stay in the city.
She was one step closer to the Electric Rose. One step closer to her past. Her birthright. Yes, jewelry was personal. And for her, it didn’t get any more personal than her mother’s engagement ring.