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“Come, there’s one more painting you should see.”
He leads me to the very back of the gallery where a black cloth is covering a large canvass.
Blake pulls the sheet off with one swift movement.
I hold my breath as my gaze take in what has been unveiled before my eyes. Tears threaten to spill and I bite my bottom lip.
“Oh Blake,” I whisper and look at him. “It is truly a masterpiece.”
I’m looking at my nude, and goose bumps are forming on my bare arms.
Chapter 34
Blake
I must tell her, but I wait a little. I’m bathing in her innocent, genuine joy. She really is the goddess I have captured on the canvass. Every stroke on that picture reflects every minute detail of Katherine.
Even if I have to say so myself, it is the greatest painting of my career, even Michael Angelo would offer me his praise.
Like a good wine, I need to savor her, take in every last detail. I send silent thanks to the universe for making sure she came. There had been darks hours earlier when I had paced the art gallery not knowing if she would show.
When I first came up with the idea, I wasn’t sure what I would do if Katherine did not come; I still had no back up plan right up until the door opened and she had walked in. I had gone out on a limb and to my utter amazement it had worked out –at least so far.
There’s one more thing to do before my master plan is complete, but I’m in no hurry. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying this moment a little longer.
Katherine says nothing. She has her back turned toward me and is simply staring at herself in all her glory.
Eventually, I take a step forward and turn to face her. She smiles.
“I want you to know I meant what I promised.”
Her brow furrows and I resist the urge to place a kiss there, reassure her there’s no need to worry.
“But,” there’s hesitation in her voice. “The painting is great and…” she falters, the inner struggle all too obvious on her face. She is an open book as far as her feelings are concerned.
I reach down and pick up a bottle.
“You don’t understand,” I tell her.
“This painting is nothing. It’s inconsequential compared to you.” I point at her. “You’re all what matters. You are a masterpiece.”
I can see confusion on her face.
“I don’t understand.”
Taking a step toward the painting I aim my bottle at it. Now that I’m about to do it, doubt knocks on the door of my mind. Is this really necessary or am I being overly dramatic. Could I make my point some other way?
After taking a deep breath, I continue. “I don’t need the world to see this. I want the world to see you by my side.” And without any further hesitation, I start squirting the insides of my bottle at the painting.
“I want you to believe me that this does not mean as much to me as you do.”
Pale pinks, brown, and other colors run down the canvas. The solvent starts to do its work. Like a hungry caterpillar, it eats away at the color. I smear more and more all over the painting. Soon you cannot recognize what had been drawn.
“I…” Katherine starts but does not finish her sentence.
Like a madman, I rub the liquid all over the painting until there is nothing left of my masterpiece. I stop and stare at the ruined piece of art.
In my planning stage, I had mulled over a lot of different options on how I could convince Katherine I would never display this picture. At first, destroying it seemed too drastic. After all, it’s a great piece of art we could have hanging somewhere private, for just the two of us to enjoy.
