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“That was out of this world,” she says.
“You say that every time we make love,” I tell her.
She laughs softly. “That’s because it’s true.”
Chapter 37
Grace
I miss Kyle. He left this morning to drive down to Adrian’s ranch. I’m on the road too with Greg, headed to my parents’ house. It’s a beautiful day to be taking a drive, but instead, I’m all knotted up with tension.
I had the wisdom this time of warning my parents that I was coming. Greg wants to take a look at my paintings, which are in storage, and then come for the ones he wants another day. It’s going to be a long weekend without Kyle, but I should be busy working and not thinking about him.
Greg is the one driving, and I give him the directions until we get there.
“How many of them do you think are there?” Greg says as he kills the engine.
I smile when I hear the excitement in his voice. It makes me excited too. If it’s true that my paintings will do well in the market, that means that my savings will grow. I’ve been banking on that since Kyle bought two of my pieces at exorbitant prices. It took my parents to almost losing their house for me to understand the importance of savings.
“Quite a number,” I tell Greg.
I lead the way to the front door and knock. My mother opens the door, and though she’s not smiling, she doesn’t look upset either.
“Mom, hi.” I kiss her cheek and then step back to introduce Greg. “This is Greg, and he’s the owner of Uptown Gallery.”
Greg steps forward to shake her hand. “I can’t tell you how excited we are for your daughter’s first of many solo shows.”
My mom raises her eyebrow, and Greg realizes she doesn’t know. He turns to me in surprise. He must think I’m a complete weirdo.
“You haven’t told your parents about the show?”
“I was planning on telling them today,” I say weakly.
“Show?” Mom says. “Your father is in the living room. Come and tell us together.”
In the house, I introduce Greg to my father, and then he proceeds to tell them about the show. My parents are shocked and then excited. My father goes on to tell Greg how I did nothing but paint in the years I lived at home.
I notice that my mom has tears in her eyes. She insists on us having some tea, and when we’re done, I take Greg to the shed outside, where I store my paintings. I’m pleased to see that Mom keeps it clean and there are no cobwebs on my paintings.
Greg is like a kid in a candy store as he looks from one to the other. They are propped against the wall, and he has to rearrange some to see the rest. Through the window, I see my mom outside.
“Is it okay if I leave you for a little while?” I ask Greg.
“Yes, yes, it’s fine. Go and visit with your parents. I’ll find you when I’m ready,” he says.
I join my mother outside.
“I’m proud of you but not surprised,” she says. “You’ve always been so gifted.”
I’m stunned to hear her say that. In all the years I’ve painted, she always dismissed my painting as a hobby, and she made it clear that it could never replace a real career. It was part of the reason why I became a firefighter.
“You never said it.”
She folds her arms across her chest and looks away before swinging her gaze back to me. “I know. I have so much to apologize for, but I don’t know where to start.”
I’m truly at a loss over what she’s talking about and wait for her to continue. Tears fill her eyes, and I make a move to go to her, but she holds up a hand to stop me.
“Let me explain. I never wanted to encourage you to pursue your art because I knew that if you did, you’d get the world’s attention, and we would be back to the same circle of madness that my brother and your mother brought on everyone.”
I swallow hard as a lot of things start to make sense.
“When you came to live with us, I promised myself I would protect you so that your face would never be on another newspaper, magazine, or tabloid. When you started dating Kyle, it felt as if I had failed.” The pain she feels inside is reflected in her face.
“But Mom, it wasn’t your fault. It was my choice to continue seeing Kyle. I didn’t want to be in the limelight, but I’ve fallen in love with a very successful actor. I wasn’t going to let go of my chance at happiness because of my parents. Kyle is a different person from who my parents were. And so am I.”
