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“Did Sully mention what we are doing here? I’m Cosima by the way and this is Angelica.”
“I’m Sox—well Sophia but everyone calls me Sox. He said you wanted me to do some art on the walls inside and out?” she asked.
Angelica explained that she and Cosima were going to be involved in the center by teaching programs of their own in the evenings and on the weekends, but they’d be hiring staff from The Barrels to run and manage it. Anything that was produced in the center would be sold in either the small shop attached to the center or in their boutique and the profits funneled back into the center.
“Yes. And maybe…if you were interested you could teach kids your art,” Angelica said. “We’re going to be running this as a community center so most of the profits will go back into the center but we have a budget for teachers and if you were interested in doing some art on large canvases Cosima and I could put them up in our boutique.”
“That’s a lot more than I was expecting,” she said.
“I just really love your work,” Angelica said, speaking from the heart. “When we were driving through The Barrels and saw it, I couldn’t believe the quality. You really captured the area.”
“Thanks. What’d you have in mind?”
“Outside we want the building to look inviting and intriguing,” Cosima said.
“Okay so what is this place going to be?” Sox asked.
“Sort of an arts and crafts co-op. I do pottery and will be teaching classes in that. We’re hoping to get a visual artist, if you’re not interested to do those lessons. Cosima is an expert on wine and food, so she’d do some classes on pairings and cooking. That could lead to jobs in the hospitality industry.”
She glanced over at Cosima. “One of the things that’s important to us is that these classes provide a means for people who want to make a living to do so. We also want to give kids and grown-ups a chance to get out of their houses and learn a new skill.”
“Okay. Do I get paid for the walls?”
“You do. We’ll draw up a contract for you once we see your sketches.”
“I don’t usually work that way,” she said.
Angelica knew some artists preferred to let the canvas speak to them. “We’d need an idea of what you were going to do.”
“That’s fair,” Sox said.
“Here’s our card. Come see us or call us when you have your ideas.”
“Thanks. Uh, my boyfriend does woodcarving.”
“We’d love to talk to him.”
Sox stayed for another twenty minutes and when she left Angelica realized that this center was going to be a success as long as they stayed open to what the locals needed. Which suited them both fine.
*
Max landed atthe Devil’s Rock near Whiskey River at midnight on Friday. He’d missed the tree lighting, which he’d already told Angelica he would. He got into his Lamborghini after saying goodbye to the pilot and his staff and drove toward the town. He and Angelica hadn’t made plans since Max hadn’t been able to tell her a definite time when he’d be back.
But he missed her. He wanted to tell her about his dinner with his parents and how after years of hiding out in New Hampshire/Vermont, his mom was suddenly back in the land of the living and acting as if the last five years had never happened. His dad had pulled him aside and told him to just go with it. His parents did want to spend Christmas with him and he’d told them…well that he was seeing someone in Whiskey River and had invited them to come to his house. Which he wasn’t sure his mom would go for but she’d thought it over and at the end of the meal had agreed.
Then it had been work keeping him busy and texting or chatting with Angelica in the middle of the night. Which he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t enjoy. He liked their quiet conversations, which were typically about nothing and at the same time everything. She’d shared that the boutique was seeing an uptick in local traffic. And that she’d met the graffiti artist she’d been wanting to get to know.
He shared that he was about to close a deal with a company that he’d wanted to buy for about ten years. He was excited to bring them into his conglomerate because it would enable him to reach more people with new products.
So when he pulled up in front of her town house at almost one a.m., he felt like he was coming home but he also knew it was late and he hadn’t called. He texted her to see if she was awake.
He stared at his phone harder than he’d looked at anything since he’d been waiting for news on Cal. Finally he saw those little dots and then her text.
Angelica:I am. Want to video-chat?
Max:I’m at your place. Want to in-person chat?
Angelica:I’d love to. Cosima has friends over. What if I pack an overnight bag and we go to your place?
