Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ashes and Rose Petals: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

A glass of sweet tea on the table next to her, Ella sat on the back patio, her laptop poised on her knees, as she finished adding a banner to her website. It was starting to come along, everything falling into place, and before long, she’d be ready to reveal her new enterprise to the world.Over the last few days, she’d spoken to Fae several times, running ideas past her and getting her take on most of the details. Fae was like the grandmother she’d never had, always encouraging her and also coming up with moments of inspiration that sent Ella off in

Ocean waves wetted the sand a bit more with each surge that rolled toward Ella’s bare feet as she sat in her favorite spot, laptop hugged against her chest, her eyes focused on the horizon in the distance. Above her, the circling gulls called to one another, their song haunting, yet beautiful and comforting in a way that anchored Ella to her new home in Abalone Cove and reminded her that this place had been special for hundreds of years before she and her husband Rome came to own the large beach house behind her. She had no doubt this place would offer solace to others looking for peace long after she was gone.

Ella stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror and smoothed her top out one more time. Now would’ve been a great time to have a girlfriend--a friend her age who could tell her how she looked. Unfortunately, the only person she had who came close to fitting that bill was Mary, and she’d stayed behind in paradise with Gus. Lenore wasn’t going to be any help, and Ella wasn’t about to call Rome and ask him what he thought of the outfit she’d be wearing to have dinner with Henry.She thought she looked okay. The clothes she was wearin

Waiting for his wife to get back from a date was the most unnerving experience of Rome’s life. Well, maybe not quite. Being locked in his parents’ house in Verona, and then in their apartment in Milan, had been pretty unnerving, especially when he’d been told Ella had killed herself. Also, witnessing Mark’s murder and Tim’s drowning had also been unnerving. But other than those tragic incidents… sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting for Ella to come through the door, was more difficult than anything he’d ever done.

“If you use an angled brush, like this,” Fae was saying as she showed Ella how to create a specific textured look in the sand on the painting they were creating together, “you’ll get those darker clumps of sand to really pop off of the canvas.”Ella watched carefully as Fae demonstrated the technique. When the mentor handed the brush over, the student did her best to mimic the same style. “Like this?” she asked.