Chapter 14: The Growing Grove
Five years passed.
The cottage in Cape Ann had grown to include a second-story library, a larger woodworking workshop for Julian, and a dedicated music studio for Maya.
Leo and Noah were twelve now—tall, athletic, and thoughtful young men who spent their summers sailing small wooden sloops in the harbor and their winters studying mathematics and music. Clara, at six, was a whirlwind of creativity, filling sketchbooks with drawings of lighthouses, boats, and sea birds.
Evelyn had moved into a small, sunny cottage two miles down the coast, visiting every Sunday for family dinner and helping the children with their history and literature studies.
On a warm Saturday in June, the entire family gathered on the coastal meadow behind the house to celebrate Julian and Maya’s official ten-year renewal of vows.
There were no massive crystal chandeliers. There were no gilded balustrades.
The altar was made of driftwood gathered from the beach, adorned with wild beach roses and white hydrangeas. Forty close friends from the fishing community, the local school, and the music conservatory sat on simple wooden benches beneath the wide, blue Atlantic sky.
May you like
Leo and Noah stood beside their father as his groomsmen, looking handsome in light linen suits, while little Clara walked down the grass carrying a basket of rose petals.
---
