Chapter 10
Maisie hung back as Ray, Nate and William walked into the bedroom. She whispered to Lili, ‘Am I in trouble?’
Lili put her arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. ‘Not a bit, Maisie. You, my sweet girl, are amazing – do you know that?’
‘Why was Ray crying?’ Maisie looked worried. ‘Was it something I did?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Lili said, ‘but in a good way, Maisie. He loved your paintings so much that …’ Lili was going to say it had moved him to tears. ‘He is crying for joy. Not because he is upset. Do you understand?’
Maisie shook her head. ‘Not really.’
Lili smiled. ‘It’s a grown-up thing. You’ll find out one day.’ They walked into the room. Nate and Ray were standing together, staring at the painting on the easel. Nate turned to his father, wide-eyed. ‘Did he—?’
‘What about mine?’ William said, going up to Ray with a piece of his own artwork. Lili noticed that he avoided Nate.
‘That is exceptionally good,’ Ray said, smiling at his grandson. He glanced at Nate, shaking his head in answer to his question – no, it wasn’t William who had painted the masterpiece sitting on the easel.
Lili spotted William’s picture. It was just what any normal six-year-old would paint. Her eyes drifted to the painting Nate and Ray were staring at, open-mouthed. Her mouth dropped open too. ‘Maisie, you copied the painting hanging in the lounge?’
Maisie nodded. ‘Am I in trouble?’ she asked again.
‘Oh, dear me, no,’ Ray managed.
Maisie grinned at Ray. ‘I had to go downstairs a few times to get the …techniqueright.’
Ray looked as though he was going to burst into tears again.
Nate stared at Maisie, astonished.
‘You told me she had talent,’ commented Ray, remembering that conversation over fish and chips on the beach. ‘You even offered for me to come and look at her paintings, but I assumed you were just another parent who thought their child was special.’ He shook his head, still dumbfounded. ‘I have only encountered one other person like Maisie with this sort of genius.’
‘Who?’ asked Lili.
Nate put a hand on his father’s shoulder.
Maisie was listening too. ‘Did they go to art school and become a famous painter? Are their paintings hanging in galleries?’
‘No, Maisie,’ Nate replied. ‘He put his easel in the back of a cupboard and became a doctor.’
Lili turned around and stared at Nate.
Maisie frowned. ‘Why?’
Ray began to cry again.
Lili took Maisie’s hand and steered William out of the room too. ‘Come on, you two – let’s feed Bella.’
Lili closed the bedroom door, giving Nate and his father some privacy to talk. She had a feeling it was long overdue.
‘Bella!’ Maisie called out as they both ran down the stairs. Lili followed. She found them in the kitchen. Maisie was already opening a tin of dog food. William scooped some biscuits from a large bag in the pantry. Maisie mixed them together in Bella’s bowl.
Maisie handed William the dish. ‘Wait! Wait!’ she told Bella.
Bella sat patiently, licking her chops.
‘Good girl,’ William said, as he put the bowl on the floor. ‘Now – go, go on.’
Bella ran over and started wolfing down her food.