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Three
Art class is full, a stream of people enter into the brightly lit room, and an elderly man named Norris sits beside me. He introduces himself when I arrive.
I stuff the last of the brownie into my mouth without thinking it through and shake his hand. But now my mouth is too full, and I can’t speak.
My cheeks flame.
He crosses his arms over his belly, one foot still resting on the floor with the other on the bar of the stool, and chuckles. It’s hoarse and warm. It reminds me of my grandfather’s laughter.
As I take my seat, I swallow the last of the brownie and wash it down with a hefty cup of embarrassment.
“I’m Beth.” I finally smile, hoping there isn’t pieces of chocolate in my teeth.
“Nice to meet you.” He then proceeds to wipe the corner of his mouth with a knowing smirk.
It takes me a long moment to realize he is telling me to wipe my mouth.
I do with a nervous laugh and wait for the embarrassment to surface but it doesn’t. I’m oddly relaxed for someone who just dragged their heels ten blocks.
I glance around. Spaced out in a semi-circle, the people already here are getting their supplies ready, rolling them out neatly on the high table next to their stools. I do the same as I turn back to Norris.
“First time?”
He fiddles with a single pencil between his fingers. “No, no. Cassie, the art teacher, is my daughter, and I come to her classes when she’s busy. Her mother died ten years ago. She thinks it’s a way for me to get out of the house, but really, I just want to see my daughter.”
That might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.
He continues before I can reply, “I like the painting classes. I’ve never been to one of these.” He waves a hand towards the small, round stage in the center of the room where a stool and a white sheet are placed.
“Me neither,” I tell him. “Photography is my thing, and to be honest, I’m not very good at art, but I like it, even if I struggle to draw a stick man.”
He laughs before leaning a little closer and whispers, “This drawing naked people thing...” I smother the laugh bubbling in my throat. “It’s weird, an old man showing up to draw a naked young woman. My Sylvie would have had me hung, drawn, and quartered if she were still alive.”
“What convinced you?”
“It’s a man for today’s class.”
Cassie strides into the room then, clapping her hands twice to draw our attention, but I remain looking at Norris for a minute and how his eyes fill with nothing but pride.
It reminds me of how my dad used to look at me and all the times I took it for granted. It makes me want to tell Cassie to cherish it.
She clears her throat and smiles a megawatt smile. Her black curls are piled on top of her head in a bun, and the tunic she wears over her black leggings is loose. With her height and those cheekbones, she looks more like a runway model.
“Thank you all for coming. It’s lovely to see some familiar faces. We have a special guest tonight. It’s his first time being a portrait model, and I want you to be encouraging.” Her lips twitch as she fights the giggle trapped in her throat.
A sudden, unwelcome urge to burst out laughing for her bubbles up inside me, instead escaping as a deep hum through my nose.
Did I just make that sound?
“Everyone, you might already know his face, but today’s unwilling body is Logan King.”
It takes every ounce of strength to stay upright on the stool as excited whispers ripple through the crowd around me.
I’m still stuck to my chair, wondering how the fuck this man has appeared in my life twice in twenty-four hours. I wasn’t supposed to see him again. That wasn’t the plan after I passed out on his lap.
Breathe, Beth. It will be over soon.
There’s the briefest warm contact on my shoulder, a slight breeze in my hair, and then he steps onto the stage fully clothed.
