Page 127 of Painting Celia

Fine.

She opened the door to Kelsey, fresh and breezy in an indigo silk jumpsuit. The outfit flaunted her baby bump. She was so much bigger! How long since she’d seen Kelsey in person?

“Celia,” she said, her dauntless smile wide. “You’re not going to believe this.”

Celia didn’t feel like believing anything. She’d been scheduling delivery of the furniture for her apartment on the third floor. Construction should be done there in three days, with only some final painting—

“Hello? I’ve got news!”

They were all determined to drag her head out of her project. It wouldn’t work. It was safe in there.

Kelsey traipsed down the hallway, kicking her taupe flats off toward the nearest couch as usual. “You haven’t been reading the group chat, have you? We need your help. Someone wants to buy a painting of León’s.”

Celia stopped dead at her bedroom door. Kelsey turned to continue talking despite the distance.

“A woman at that exhibition asked me about León. I gave her a card because she seemed interested. Well, she went back to the gallery to buy a painting, but it was closed. Because you own it now.” Kelsey grinned. “But she kept my card, so she tried me. Andrew’s texting León, but we need to get the painting from you.”

Celia’s heart lodged in her tight throat. She didn’t want to be involved in this. She didn’t want to know it was happening.

“It’s that blue one.”

Ears ringing, Celia finally came into the room, feeling blindly for the couch rather than looking before she sat. She wasn’t hearing Kelsey. She was impassive, made of stone.

“Celia, honey…” Kelsey sat next to her, solicitous but giving her space.

Would he sell? Would he come back for that? Would she have to talk with him? See him?

“Hey. Celia.” Kelsey touched her shoulder, her brow furrowed. “Listen to me.”

Celia’s dazed eyes lifted, trying to focus. “What?”

“You’re better than this.”

Stiffening, Celia sat up straight. “You don’t—”

“You took a risk with León, and it didn’t work out,” Kelsey said. “Why did you take that risk?”

“I…” Thinking about León was dangerous. Her whole body was thrumming.

“You wanted to learn. What did you learn from him?”

León.

He rose up in Celia’s memory as though he were standing before her. Those intense dark eyes focused on hers. The smell of paint as he threaded his fingers into her hair. His rough cheek brushing hers as he murmured, “Mi cielo, my good girl.”

The vision was so clear that her heart pounded and her breaths came faster.

Kelsey still waited for an answer.

“He made me feel things,” Celia finally said. The stabbing grief in her chest threatened to crumple her.

“You wanted that, Celia. And you wanted to share what you felt. You and I, we were getting closer. We confided things, we could support each other. Right?” Kelsey leaned in, intent and resolute.

Celia nodded, her head throbbing.

“Good things came out of that risk. Don’t go back to how you were before. You have to keep feeling and sharing, or it was all for nothing.”

Kelsey laid a gentle hand on Celia’s arm. It felt nice, soothing. She hadn’t touched another human in weeks now.

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