Page 105 of Jagged

"It's gonna happen."

"You can't know that—"

"It's gonna happen." I squeezed her to me, then nodded toward the piece directly ahead of us.

The autumn-like colors swirled to form the curves of a woman, brown skin, braided hair, with vibrant cloths encircling parts of her naked form. It was abstract, for all intents and purposes, but it wasn't at the same time. "That is going to hang on someone's wall. It's going to be the first one sold."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have a feeling." Pride radiated through as broad as the smile that made it to my lips.

"You and your feelings."

"Sometimes I have them."

"So I've heard…"

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening directing, observing, and pondering the placements of Tatiana's work. The gallery owner's crew honored her requests and when the owner arrived, she approved the setup after the walkthrough. By that time, my burnout level hit its peak and so I sat up front, on the floor with my back against wall, while staring at my phone. I hadn't a clue what I looked at in all that time, but I managed to use a third of the battery. The owner, whose name I eventually learned was Kanika, stood alone in the space with her chin pinched between her fingers. Her bare feet padded softly on the cold tile, and I noticed that, when she turned the corner to where my piece hung, she paused. I watched as her brow furrowed, and her hands fell to her hips as she gazed at my work. She said nothing, made not a sound, before sauntering off down the hall.

My mind ruminated on that moment for a bit over the next few days, until the evening when Tatiana's opening reception rolled around. Instead, my thoughts lingered on what I would wear that wouldn't make me stand out like a sore thumb. I peeked my head out of my room to see Tati dressed in a long, flowy boho style dress that matched the temperate but humid weather. She chatted with Wyatt while lacing up some fancy sandals. Her style wouldn't help mine one bit. I looked to Wyatt then, noting he wore a black pair of cargo pants and a nice blue-green sweater. Nothing too fancy, save for the freshly purchased pair of Vans. I smirked, nodding to myself as if he told me what to do directly. I swung around, chose a pair of nicer black jeans, one of my comfortable, but slimmer fitting Blink 182 T-shirts, and a black blazer. My shoes, almost the same as Wyatt's, felt appropriate.

When I emerged, dressed and ready to go, Tati's smile broadened. "Looking fresh, girl."

"You're looking very airy, too."

They both laughed.

"What about me? How do I look?" chimed in Wyatt.

"Crisp," Tati and I said at the same time.

We all laughed at that.

The rideshare showed up almost immediately when our feet hit the sidewalk out front. I wouldn't normally catch a ride, but Tati refused to walk more than ten feet in her fancy-pants shoes.

We arrived at the gallery, greeted first by the twinkling lights of the strategically placed illumination of Gallery Row. People lazed up and down the sidewalks, some with arms linked in others, some alone, many on their phones, a few snapping photos. During the day, this was a place like any other, but in the evening, it became a playing field for the upper-crust and posh. The city's highest members of society funded this area, just by their existence alone. No one fit in here, at least no one I knew anyway, and at least it didn't leave me feeling too much like an other. We were all the others, and these millionaires were the absolute minority.

"Ugly clothes," muttered Wyatt against my ear as we followed behind the sure-footed Tatiana. She played it well, masking up enough to fit in but also maintaining her artist presence. Or maybe that's just how she came across to me.

"Totally. So much bling."

"Ugly bling."

"Will you two learn to whisper?" Tati rounded on us, but the playfulness in her eyes told me she agreed with every word of it.

The door to the gallery wasn't open yet, but Kanika let us in, locking it behind us. She led Tatiana over to the podium up front where a tablet lay face up. Wyatt and I wandered away, and I took in the sights.

It was nothing like it was before when we set everything up. Bright, clean light filled the space, lending no shadows to any of Tatiana's incredible collection. Cocktail tables, clothed in white, stood like small pillars around the space. Gallery attendants dressed in black, prepared glasses of champagne and charcuterie, and set tiny little napkins down on the tables.

"Fancy," I muttered.

"Way above my paygrade."

"Above the paygrade of everyone I know. Combined." I glanced over at Tatiana when she reappeared and, as soon as Kanika turned her back, Tatiana grimaced, and mouthed help me. I stifled a chuckle.

"I guess we aren't the only ones who feel that way."

"Nope." I smiled at her, and she tossed me a wink before returning her attention to Kanika.

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