The front doors were thrown open to the house just a block from the south end of Lake Calhoun. In the front yard stood a large sign proclaiming “Open House.” Jeffrey said, “It already looks great. You can see the warm light emanating from inside. I can’t wait to see the details, Andrew.”

Andrew beamed as he walked with Jeffrey to the front door of the new shelter for abused women and their children. They were met at the door by two teenagers handing out brochures about both the charitable organization and the house itself.

Jeffrey pointed at the brochure and said, “You’re credited right there on the front as one of the designers.”

Andrew whispered, “There is a brief bio on the back, and it mentions ADJ.”

A sizable crowd of donors to the project were milling around and observing the art on the walls. “I love the airy feel,” said Jeffrey. “I think Vincent’s house can feel as good as this, too. It will just be a somewhat smaller scale.”

“What do you think of the art pieces?” asked Andrew.

Jeffrey walked up to one that was nearly six-feet square. It depicted an abstract interpretation of a sunburst. The center of the painting was a bright orange-red, and the colors gradually moved through the spectrum to deep purples and blues around the outer edges. “I love this,” said Jeffrey. “In fact, the works are all high quality, and they are easy to like. Nothing is too intensely cerebral or emotional.”

“That’s on purpose,” said Andrew. “You’ve heard me talk about domestic art before. If you’re going to look at it every day in your home, I think it should be uplifting and carry you through the day. It doesn’t have to be bland and charming, but it shouldn’t be something that makes you agonize about the state of the world or worry about someone’s tormented soul.”

“Maybe you should take some film clips here when the crowd has cleared out. You could put together a little video to show clients a good example of how you think art is most useful in a home.”

Andrew smiled and said, “You’re full of good ideas, Jeffrey. I also purchased one of the student paintings for myself.”

Jeffrey took a small glass of punch off a tray carried by a server. “For your house?” he asked.

Andrew shook his head and said, “No, it’s not for me. I’m going to give it to Vincent as a gift for his house. I think it will look perfect in the living room. It has some similarities to that sunburst painting, but the color scheme is different.”

“That sounds very pleasing,” said Jeffrey. “It looks like you had a quality contractor for the structural work, too. All of the seaming and painting looks very professional.”

Andrew whispered, “They had to do a couple of things over, but we’ll forget and forgive about that.”

Jeffrey chuckled softly. A hush suddenly fell over the crowd, and he turned to his right to see a woman holding a microphone.

Andrew leaned toward Jeffrey to whisper in his ear. “That’s Teresa Miller. She was invited by the board to host the open house since it’s her students’ works on the walls.”

Both men stood quietly to listen to the comments. She praised the work of the shelter and thanked the board for the opportunity to work on the project. Then she gave credit to Andrew for suggesting the involvement of her art department. He nodded humbly when she pointed him out, and the crowd turned while delivering a warm round of applause. She asked if Andrew wanted to say a few words, and he politely shook his head while gesturing for Teresa to continue with her comments.

She announced that the university authorized a special scholarship gift for one of the artists with the best of the paintings. Andrew raised an eyebrow and whispered to Jeffrey, “Why did they have to make it a contest? I just wanted the students to learn about the value of performing work for the public good while having the benefit of placing your name on a project.”

Andrew grumbled to himself while Teresa welcomed the student who painted the large sunburst design to the microphone. It was a young man named Amir who spoke briefly and eloquently about how happy he was to contribute his work to a project and how he had no expectation of personal reward. Andrew clapped enthusiastically along with the crowd. Despite being frustrated by the contest, he was pleased with the winner’s words.

Teresa explained that a few current residents of one of the organization’s older shelters received a private tour of the new facility. They were awestruck by the beauty of the home and commented on the warmth and welcoming feel of the space. Andrew smiled to hear those comments. Teresa closed her statements with an invitation to give generously to the organization to help move their worthy service to the city forward.

As the final applause died down, Jeffrey said, “I’m proud of you. The shelter is a great project that will benefit so many people.”

Teresa Miller broke through the crowd and offered Andrew a hug. She smiled and said, “Thank you so much, Andrew. You were such a driving force on all of this.”

Andrew said, “Thank you. I just thought it was an ingenious idea to include the art. It had a sort of synergy with the life change offered to the residents.” He turned toward Jeffrey, and said, “Teresa, this is my business partner Jeffrey. He is a master at carpentry and structural renovation.”

Teresa and Jeffrey shook hands. He said, “It’s a stunning project, and your students do fantastic work. They must have impressive guidance.”

She said, “I would love to take some of the credit, but most of these students come to us with that inner creative fire already in place. We just try and provide the atmosphere and support for them to unleash it. Amir, for example, was already doing great pieces, but they were small scale. He did a series where each painting was about the size of a sheet of paper. I encouraged him to consider a large-scale approach.”

“And you were right,” said Andrew. “This piece is magnificent.”

Teresa excused herself to speak with others at the event. Jeffrey said, “I feel inspired to get back to work on Vincent’s house. It won’t be long before it’s finished. I think we will all be proud of it when it’s complete.”

Andrew nodded in agreement and said, “I only wish that Vincent could be here. I asked him to come, but he was busy with his work. He owns a chain of three organic grocery stores. Their sales are booming, and he is considering adding a fourth store soon. He was having a training event for the store managers. Vincent is very conscientious about providing high quality service to his customers. He said that the event was a lot more fun than how it sounded.”

“Have you heard any more word from him on how he thinks the house is coming along?” asked Jeffrey.

“He is pleased. He’s not looking forward to the actual moving process, but who ever is? I hate moving. That’s why I keep working on my house. As long as I keep the shell in decent shape, I don’t have to think about hauling all my stuff somewhere else.”

“You and me, both,” said Jeffrey. “That’s the reason for adding on in my case. Constructing new space is easier than picking up and moving all the furniture to another house that’s already larger.” Then Jeffrey chuckled as he said, “I was talking to Doug just the other day about what a hassle it was to move, and he said, ‘Just think about what it’s like if you wish that you could take the garden with you. I’ve worked on the garden at my place for a decade.’ Doug said that his worries about the garden were the only thing he didn’t like about moving. Doug is some kind of freak of nature to like the idea of moving.”

Andrew grinned and nodded. He said, “Well, Doug has reworked and planted most of my garden, too. I guess I just assume that he would do the same for me again if I moved somewhere new.”

“But you know how Doug is about those specific plants,” said Jeffrey. “He said that he has some relatively rare things in his personal garden. He treats them like a collector of fragile vases or old, rare autographs.”

Andrew said, “I will make another round of the room and say hello to people, shake hands, and try to be charming. Then will you be ready to head back to the office?”

“Sounds like a perfect plan. I’ll hit the men’s room and grab another round of that punch.”

---

Driving back from the event, Andrew asked, “Did I tell you that Vincent’s daughter, Mandy, found out about us?”

Jeffrey said, “No, but then I didn’t know it was being hidden from her either.”

Andrew shook his head. “No, we weren’t hiding it, but he didn’t want to rush things with her just in case something happened between us. He says it can be hard for the kids to have somebody new suddenly yanked out of their lives, particularly if they like the new person.”

“Yep, I see that,” said Jeffrey. “That can be hard for anyone. I expect that she’ll like you. That’s easy. You’re easy to like.”

Andrew grinned. “Thank you for that. You’re not such an ogre either, Jeffrey. I’m just a little worried it could cause some problems. I don’t want Vincent to run away. I don’t know how I would handle that.”

Jeffrey turned his head saying, “You are different in your thoughts and reactions to Vincent than I’ve seen you with anybody else in the past.” Jeffrey asked, “Is he that distinct from other guys?”

“Well, he’s nothing like a trick from the club, if that’s what you mean,” said Andrew.

“I mean that you’ve been an item for, what, a month? Six weeks? And you’re just looking for ways for it to keep going instead of looking for the exit door. That’s different for you, Andrew. Usually, you would be chafing about feeling trapped by now.”

“I know, and it makes me a little scared. I’ve had a couple of sleepless nights laying awake worried what it all might mean. Then I see Vincent again, and, even if he is worrying about something like Mandy knowing about us, I feel better. I see him, and I feel like it has to work. I can’t imagine saying goodbye. I think he feels the same, too.”

Jeffrey nodded and said, “Well, don’t tell Doug, but I’m a little envious. I know that I’ve said before that I would be perfectly happy if I’m single for the rest of my life, but I see you acting like you’re a little more than just happy if you know what I mean.”

Andrew grinned and then pushed the brake pedal hard. “Oops! Sorry about that. See, all of this talk about Vincent distracted me.”

“Thinking about his ass?” asked Jeffrey as he laughed.

Andrew rolled his eyes while he waited for the traffic light to change. He said, “No, not just thinking about his ass. Vincent has depth. Even when he’s talking about how to tell when a mango is ripe, there’s some real substance there. I know how stupid and starry-eyed that just sounded, but it’s true, Jeffrey.”

The light turned green, and Andrew pulled forward. Jeffrey said, “It’s kind of adorable. I’m so happy for you, Andrew. Just don’t leave ADJ in the dust. We need you.”

“I would never do that,” said Andrew. “Vincent wouldn’t let me do that either. He’s a businessman. He knows how important it is to not lose track of work. He has three stores to run. They need him as much as you need me.”