Page 83 of Dante

GINA

Professor Washington meets me at the door of his office.

“Welcome, Mrs. Ricci. So glad to see you.”

He gestures for me to enter his bright, comfortable-looking space.

“Come have a seat. Let’s get to know each other. Cute dog.”

Biscotti yips.

“Oh, and he knows that,” I say.

We both laugh as I take a seat on the sofa, admiring some sketches on the wall that look remotely familiar.

“I studied you and your art at UC Irvine one semester.”

“I’m honored.”

“You have quite a reputation,” I say. “I’m excited to be working with you.”

“Good. Now Mrs. Ricci⁠—”

“Please call me Gina.”

“Gina, our Academy has a motto: no starving artists allowed. The educational board believes that students should graduate with real-world experience and earn a living even before leaving our institution. Tell me more about what you’re planning and how the Academy can help you.”

“Well,” I say. “I’m self-taught. Mostly by studying the great masters since visiting the National Portrait Gallery in London with my parents. But as you know, there hasn’t been much commercial need for caricature artists since the eighteenth century. And I would like to be gainfully employed.”

“I’m impressed. You persisted with your art, even knowing the lack of demand?”

I shrug. “Crazy, right? But I love the way I can look at a person, and with a few strokes of my pencil, reveal aspects of their personality they’ve tried to suppress.”

Professor Washington lets forth a hearty laugh. “Are you a witch or a psychic? I must know your secret.”

“Neither. I’ve just always had an ability to read people in that way.”

“You must draw my caricature, my dear,” he says. “Though I’ll be afraid to see what it might reveal.”

I laugh politely.

Professor Washington looks at me for a long moment.

“Since you admit there’s no current demand for caricatures, how do you intend to make a career of your art?”

I clear my throat. My gut tells me I should come out and tell him about using caricatures as the design focus for the restaurant Dante bought. But what if having a husband employ the student isn’t allowed?

“I’ll create the demand. I’ve always been lucky that way. When I was a kid, I earned extra money drawing people at a sidewalk stand I made for myself in the park. As a teen, I made pocket money with a small online business. Sometimes people would hire me for children’s parties, that kind of thing.”

“Mrs. Ricci—Gina,” he says, looking at me seriously. “With all due respect, that’s not what this Academy is about. I saw your talent at the Museum of the City of New York the other night with Silvio Ricci’s caricature. But I thought you had higher intentions for it than circus-style entertainment.”

“I do,” I assure him, realizing I’ll have to tell him about the restaurant.

“My husband’s brothers and I are working on a restaurant project. I’m responsible for the interior concept. The decor. The look. The vibe.”

“Good,” says Washington, smiling and nodding again. “Now we’re talking. What do you have in mind?”

I instantly relax as I realize my relationship with Dante isn’t a barrier.