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.
But after much soul-searching, I realized as long as it was around, the painting would be the barb you don’t want in the relationship. The barb had to be destroyed, and Katherine have to witness the destruction.
I glance at Katherine to gauge her reaction and mood.
To my surprise she’s smiling.
“I can’t believe you just destroyed a great piece of art.”
I shrug.
“I didn’t destroy the greatest artwork. The greatest artwork is our love. Without our love, I’m nothing. Without our love, the world is an empty place for me.”
Her mouth is open just enough for me to see her white teeth and a bit of her tongue. Oh how I’ve missed that mouth. I feel the desire rage through me like a wildfire. If I don’t move on to the next stage of the planned evening things might go out of hand.
I go down on one knee, like a knight kneeling before his queen. Of course, that is exactly what I am doing; kneeling before my queen, queen Katherine.
My eyes find hers. She’s smiling. Lust is in her eyes. She will have to wait just a little bit longer.
I take her hand and my eyes don’t leave hers. I want this to be just right. I don’t want to mess this up.
I cannot understand blokes who resort to technology to do this sort of stuff. What emoji could convey my true feelings to this great woman I love? Romance should still be done face to face.
My left hand pulls the ring out of my pocket. The large diamond catches the light and sparkles between the two of us. I can almost feel little electric shock waves pulsate through her body.
“Katherine,” I start and put the ring on her ring finger. “Will you do me the honor and accompany me on the long road of life? Will you be my wife?”
She seems to take forever to answer. And in that time darkness descends over me. In that instance I know that a life without Katherine is a life lived in darkness.
I hold my breath and my eyes never leave hers.
I watch her face, a reflection of anticipation, processing and finally recognition of words fading in one after the other.
“Yes,” she whispers and then again, “yes,” a little firmer and louder.
Instantly I stand up and pull her toward me. My lips crush down on hers and my tongue forces its way through her lips. I want to show her how much I love her, I want to possess her and I want her, right now.