Letters to Audrine

31- Epilogue

Ten Years Later

"I want to thank everybody for coming tonight," I announce to the glamourous crowd that surrounds me. "I am so thankful for all of the support that I've gotten with my studio, and I'm so excited to be reopening as we strive for a new direction here at the Maisie May Studio. I want to thank my husband, Silas, for his undying support. And for all of you, I could not do it without every single one of you."

When I'm done talking, everybody starts clapping and then continues mingling with each other.

"Very short and to the point," Silas tells me with a small laugh as he sips on his champagne.

"You know I'm not good at those kinds of speeches," I mumble. I've never been a fan of public speaking, but this is my event, so I knew I had to say something. It's my studio, and we're having a grand re-opening after restructuring the studio so that half of the display area showcases my paintings and the other half showcase up and coming artists. Most of those spots are taken by students in the classes I teach here, and when they have a piece that they really like, we will try to put it on the wall.

We also changed the wall color and the overall vibe of the studio, replacing some light fixtures and improving the classroom and studio spaces in the back.

The tickets for the reopening sold quickly, but I was able to save a few tickets for Audrine, my family, and our friends. They're all here to support the change for the studio. Right around the time I finished art school in Nice, the jewelry shop that rented out my downstairs space decided to leave for a bigger store front. Instead of looking for another renter, I decided to use it myself and start a studio.

I would sell my pieces, work off of commissions, and let other artists rent space to create their own art. After a while of opening up, tourists started catching wind of a rustic, modest art studio in Ladaux and started to show up. They'd even started using charter busses to get tourists from Nice to Ladaux to see the studio.

This extra foot traffic also ended up helping out Audrine's restaurant, since it's right next door. With the extra business, Audrine and Silas was able to open a second restaurant in Nice. Audrine has retired as the mastermind behind the restaurants, so the new one was spearheaded by Silas himself, creating the menu and ambiance for the entire place. Audrine still enjoys baking, but at her own slower pace now.

With the success of the studio, I opened up classes for younger children to teach them how to create art like my grandpa had taught me.

"The place looks amazing, darling," my mom beams at me as she finds me in the crowd. "We're so proud of you."

"Thank you, Mom," I smile at her. "Are you liking the food? Silas's team catered the whole thing."

"It's delicious," she confirms. "Silas, you did an amazing job."

"I appreciate it, Allison. I didn't do any of the work today though, it was all my staff," he says modestly. "Keeping Maisie calm today has been a full time job."

"Throwing an event like this is stressful," I defend myself.

"You shouldn't be stressing," my dad joins the conversation as he scolds me. "It's bad for the baby."

At the mention of the baby, I rest my hand in the little swelling bump on my tummy. "The baby will be fine, Dad."

"Where did you get these croissants?" Trevor follows my dad to join us too with a mouthful of croissant, the flakes falling all over the front of his black suit.

"They are maple walnut," Silas informs him as I grab a napkin from the table nearby and try to dust off some of the crumbs. Although he's seventeen, he's still as messy as he was when he was seven. "Maisie's favorite," he adds.