Jackie

“There’s a man here who wants to buy one of your paintings,” Darlene’s soft voice could barely be heard, and I pulled the phone closer to my ear. I was back at home, showered and getting ready for an opening that was still hours away. But I was too nervous to do anything else.

Wow, my dream was coming true. “Really? That’s fantastic. But why are you whispering?”

“Because he’s in the next room. But he said he’d really like to talk to the artist first. I told him that you’d be here at seven, but he has to go before then. Since you live pretty close, I wondered if you could come over. After all, it’s a sale.”

“Sure. Tell him I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” I needed to get dressed up for a potential client and try to look successful. At Sharon’s urging, I had raised my prices a little. If I made this sale, it would basically pay for all the materials I’d used in the show. Of course, that didn’t include all my labour, but selling something meant painting was more than just a hobby.

I put on a pair of black pants and black top with a deep V in the front and back. Maybe it was too sexy for this early in the day, but I was an artist, right? People expected flamboyant. I added a dramatic necklace made up of chunky golden shapes on a twisted satin cord. That looked sufficiently artistic. For my makeup, I did a smoky eye and a neutral lip. The false eyelashes might be overkill, but I wouldn’t have to redo my makeup for the opening.

I speed-walked to the restaurant. It was late afternoon so there were few customers and Darlene wasn’t in sight. I went straight to the back room. There was only one person there.

It was Leo, sitting in a chair and looking at his phone.

He was formally dressed in a dark grey suit, bright white shirt, and pale pink tie. His hair was neatly brushed back, and his angular face looked like a gothic sculpture in the afternoon light.

“Leo. What are you doing here?”

He stood up and smiled. My insides did a little flip-flop. It was magical and unreal that he was here. “I came to see your show.”

“How did you even know I had a show?”

“Hannah and Tris told me. The night I dropped him off.”

“Oh. Well, thank you for coming,” I said. “Even if you are several hours early.”

“Sorry about that. I have a game tonight, so....”

I smiled. “So you didn’t get all dressed up just for my opening? You look—” I didn’t even know how to finish that sentence. Handsome. Hot. Very hot. “—um, good.”

He moved closer. “And you, Jacqueline. You are even more beautiful than usual.”

I seemed to be experiencing my first ever hot flash. If a hot flash began in your nether regions. I took one step back. “Um, did you see anyone else here?”

He shook his head. “Who are you looking for?”

“Oh, Darlene told me there was someone who was interested in getting a painting. I guess I took too long to get here.”

“It’s me. I’m the one who wants to buy one of your paintings.”

“You? But that’s crazy. You’re the one who said you prefer black-and-white photographs. Why would you want a painting?” Especially since the strongest element in my work was colour.

He reached under the chair and picked up a small cardboard box. Then he stood up and walked towards me. “Because I want to live in your world. The kind of world that’s full of fun. And warmth. And colour.”

“But....”

He held up the box, which was taped and sealed. “I ordered these—like you suggested.”

I took the package, which was from some place in the States. I shook it, and the box was very light. Leo told me to open it. Inside were a bunch of booklets and a glasses case. I opened it up and found a pair of tinted sunglasses.

“Oh wow. These are the correcting glasses—for colour blindness! You got them.” They looked so mundane, like ordinary glasses.

He nodded. “Now, I’m going to wear them for the first time and see your show.”

Leo opened up the glasses and put them on. The retro style of them and the fact he was wearing them indoors made him look like a handsome Roy Orbison. He looked around at the paintings.

No gasps of joy. No tears. He squinted.

“Is it working?” I asked.

“Well, that’s green, right?” He pointed to one of my landscapes. “The green looks very intense.”

He turned and noticed my disappointed expression. “I can see more colour. But maybe they work better outside in the sunshine. It’s a little dark in here.”

“I was hoping you’d fall down weeping at the sight of my beautiful artwork,” I joked.

Leo took off the glasses and faced me. His golden-brown eyes searched my face. “You forget, I’m already very familiar with how beautiful your paintings are. I wake up to one every day.”

I was struck wordless. This was the best thing someone had ever said about my art, and I blinked back my stupid tears.

“Jackie, before we go on, can I say how sorry I am? For hurting you. I’ve wanted to apologize for that night when you were so warm and wonderful—but I gave you nothing back.”

I stared at the worn carpet. “It’s okay. You told me that you couldn’t do relationship stuff. It was my own fault.”

“No, it was never your fault. You’re the most generous person I’ve ever known.” He stepped closer and put his hands on my shoulders. The warmth of his hands touched the core of me. Yet I wanted to push him away and cover myself in the shattered pieces of my pride. Leo had hurt me. I couldn’t just take him back like this.

But I couldn’t play games with him either. There was nobody who made me light up inside like Leo. This whole moment was beautiful and overwhelming—to have Leo apologize, here among my paintings. It was like the fantasy I didn’t even know I had.

“Thank you for your apology,” I said. I was full of hopes, but I had no idea where this was all going.

Leo’s smile was careful and polite. “Okay, we’ve gotten that out of the way. There’s one more thing. I realize it’s not my business, so you can tell me to butt out. That guy—Sid—he doesn’t seem like the right person for you. He’s too—”

“It’s okay,” I interrupted. “I broke up with him that night I saw you. It was never that big a deal anyway.”

“So, you’re single then?”

“Yes.” I held my breath. Leo smiled. Really smiled this time, the smile reached his eyes.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking since you left. About my priorities....” He stopped and looked down at me. “Mais, I don’t think this is the right time to discuss this. Tonight is a celebration of your accomplishments.”

That was disappointing, but yes, my opening was something I’d looked forward to for months. “How about after the opening?” I asked.

He nodded. ‘‘How soon after?”

“Thirty seconds?”

We both laughed. He brought his hand up and caressed my cheek. I leaned into his touch and sighed.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll come over right after my game?”

“Okay. But the kids will be there.”

“That’s fine. I’d like to see them.”

They’d probably be asleep though. And I needed time to process all this before I explained it to them. My emotions were careening on a crazy rollercoaster.

Leo took my hand in his. His thumb caressed my palm. I had missed his warm affectionate touches so much. “We’ll have to wait a few hours in any case. But meantime, I’d like to hear more about your paintings.”

“Okay. I painted scenes from my life back in West Van, as a good-bye. The forested trails. The rooms in my home that had meaning.” Every painting was like a piece of me.

He pointed to an ocean landscape. “Tell me about this one.”

“This is from my favourite running trails. You run through the forest and then you come to this open place where you can see the ocean. You’re pretty high up. The arbutus trees are so twisted and interesting there.” I smiled. “I like to do short runs. That was my turnaround point. Run there, enjoy the view, and run back.”

“Perhaps you can take me there sometime?”

The hesitancy in his voice made my heart surge. Leo was always so sure of himself, but now he was worried about my response. For once, I had the power.

“Perhaps. We have things to discuss first.”

Next was a painting of a corner of Tristan’s room, with a white wicker rocking chair and black and white cushions.

“This painting reminds me of when Tristan was a baby. He was a terrible sleeper, so I’d get up in the middle of the night and nurse him in that chair. Then I would rock him until he fell asleep. But it took him ages to fall asleep. He was so curious and kept looking around at everything. He had the sweetest little face with long eyelashes and fat cheeks. It was so dark and quiet—like we were the only people awake in the whole world. I was exhausted, yet those times seem like a happy dream now.”

Once he was older, I should have gotten rid of the rocking chair but I could never bring myself to do it. And Tristan hated change anyway. But once we had to move, I ruthlessly sold everything. A tiny pregnant lady bought the chair, and I assured her that it had great karma. So now the painting was my only visual reminder of those dark, loving nights.

“Tell me about the colours in it,” Leo said.

“Well, there’s a lot of black and white in his room, which you can see. And some turquoise and blue, here and here. But through the window you can still see the magnolia tree we planted when we moved in. I took a little artistic liberty and put it into bloom. It’s full of pretty pink petals.”

I looked down at the muscular chest I knew was under Leo’s dress shirt. “That colour on the edge is exactly the same colour as your tie.”

Leo started. “Wait. My tie is pink?”

I stared at him. “Yes, of course. You didn’t know?”

“That bastard Luczak. Last road trip, I spilled something on my tie at dinner and had to buy a new one before the game. He came along to help. Any colour but pink, I told him. I am so gonna get him back for this.”

I threw my head back and hooted. “I never thought of all the ways I can torture you because you’re colour blind. Do suits come in pink?”

He chuckled. “You wouldn’t do that to me. You’re too nice. Besides, I have so many ways to get you back.”

“Maybe that’s exactly what I want,” I retorted. Thinking about all the things we’d done in bed was making me feel even hotter inside.

“Stop teasing me,” Leo growled and looked at his watch. “Merde. I better get going now. Okay, I want to buy this painting.” He motioned towards the landscape with the ocean.

“You like that one?” My voice cracked a little. It was a thrill to me that he had chosen one himself.

“Yeah. I like it. It looks like Vancouver to me.”

“But where will you put it?” I wondered. Because there wasn’t really space for a big painting at his place.

“I have a new office. There are no windows so this will be like my window. I enjoy looking at nature.”

Again he had moved me so much. Apparently the way to my heart was through my art.

He looked at his watch. “Okay, do you think you can put a red dot on it for me? And I’ll come by your place later?”

I nodded. It was agonizing to not be able to finish this particular conversation, but we both had important things to do.

“I’ll see you after the game. Good luck.”