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“Hey,” he whispered, slowly walking closer. He looked great in his two-piece navy suit and bright-white collared shirt. “Hi.” I smiled. Inside I thought I was going to die.
“My sister called me down here. She said there were some sketches I needed to see.” He had his arms crossed, his chin resting on his knuckles, and his thumb brushing across his bottom lip. I nodded and walked over to the table. He stood next to me but a good space between us. I watched from my peripheral vision his reaction. He rubbed his chin with his hand. “Is that—is that me?” he choked.
“Yes.” I turned to face him.
“They are—really good.” He nodded. I sensed that he was uncomfortable, so I stepped back. “When did you do these? I don’t ever remember seeing you sketch them when we were together,” he said, his voice breaking.
“I started the first one about a month ago,” I replied. His head shot up and he stared at me, wide-eyed and mouth ajar.
“The detail is amazing, Lauren,” he said. “You were able to sketch that from memory?” I nodded. Then he looked over my shoulder, and I knew he had seen the painting. What I had not expected was the pained look on his face. “Lauren—” He gasped and walked past me and stood in front of it. “Is that us?” his voice croaked. I painted the night at his mother’s house, on New Yea
r’s Eve, when he had taken me to the garden and poured his heart out. His head slowly turned to face me.
“Yes,” I replied unable to look at him. He turned back to the painting and just stood there, silently staring.
When Claudia came back, he looked over at her, and then walked out. She frowned as she tried to stop him from leaving. “Nick—” then looked over at me.
“I think—it was too much,” I said with a shrug, fighting the urge to burst into tears.
“I’ll be right back.” She shook her head and walked out. I wiped the tears from my eyes, and hugged my arms tight around myself. I didn’t blame Nick for being upset because for me, just seeing him overwhelmed me. Nick and Claudia had been taking a long time, so I decided to go and find them. They were outside. As I approached the door, Nick’s eyes fluttered and he looked away. I could see his shoulders rising and falling rapidly as he stood there avoiding my stare. My heart raced as I opened the door stepping out.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes.” Claudia forced a smile, looking over at me. “I have some good news for you.” She said walking towards me. My eyes were on Nick. I waited for him to look at me again but he never did.
“What’s your news?” I asked.
“I’m having an opening tomorrow night, and I would like to display your work. Would you be able to stay . . . here in Seattle for a few nights?” she asked.
“Oh—” I gasped, surprised. “I—I never planned for that.” I blushed. “I can be back tomorrow afternoon, if that’s fine?”
“Is there something you need in order to stay?” she asked.
“Clothes and shower supplies.” I chuckled. “I don’t even know where there’s a hotel in this town,” I added.
“You could stay with me,” Claudia suggested. “You’re a bit more slender than I am but I’m sure we can find you something to wear.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” I replied.
“Nonsense. Your work is brilliant, and I think we can get some potential sales here,” she said.
“Okay then.” I nodded. I looked at her, then at Nick, who was staring out at the street. “Do I stay here with you or—”
“I’ll give you the key to my place. Nick can show you where I live.” She said turning to face him.
“Oh, I don’t feel comfortable with that,” I declined.
“It’s fine—”
I interjected, “I wanted to check out the city a bit, take some photos.” It was odd that she trusted me enough to stay in her apartment alone.
“Well, then, I should be done with work around seven. If you want to meet me here around that time, we can go to my place together,” she suggested. I nodded, and then shook her hand, thanking her again.
“Any suggestions on what I should see here?” I asked.
“If you want to take some fantastic photographs, I would go to the reserve,” she said. “It’s about an hour northwest of here.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
