Page 78 of Always Right

The city of New York buzzed with excitement at the beginning of each new year. It felt different. Usually everyone rushed, but people smiled for a change.

Or maybe it was just me.

I picked up mine and Nathan’s coffee from the shop across the street before walking to the gallery, eager to get started. While I didn’t like to be away from my daughters, I loved working. I was back marketing and helping with finances and this time it was with great intentions. This time it was with honesty. After many years, my life had finally fallen into place and I was genuinely happy. I walked up to the gallery, pausing for a second to take it all in. It was a beautiful place: peaceful and elegant and inviting. Racing through my head were the many ideas of how to change things for the new year, how to improve it all until I heard Nathan’s voice coming from the office.

His voice thundered throughout the place, the frustration pouring out of every word he said.

I peeked through the cracked door of his office, watching how Nathan paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair as he listened to someone on the other line. He scoffed, shaking his head while the other person spoke and my heart sank.

I could feel the chill of the unexpected creeping up my back...changing everything...again.

“Well that’s bullshit and you know it,” he said. He turned around and saw me, his eyes taking on a hint of guilt before he quickly looked away. “I will meet you there in a half hour.” Without saying anything else, Nathan hung up, leaving the heavy silence dwelling between us.

I cleared my throat, extending my hand with his cup of coffee until he approached me and took it. He finished the coffee in a single gulp without much hesitation before walking behind his desk and tossing it in the trash. I focused my attention on the papers scattered on his desk, like he’d been rummaging through everything, searching for something. The tension in the air quickly thickened making it difficult for me to breathe.

I couldn’t stand it...the silence.

The unknown.

“Is everything okay, Nathan?”

He didn’t bother looking at me and simply shook his head as he shoved some papers into a briefcase.

“Can I help?” I took a seat across from him, watching as he closed his laptop with such a loud snap I would be surprised if the screen didn’t crack.

“No, Hannah. You can’t.” His clipped tone made me falter, and though I could feel his anger wasn’t directed at me, it still hurt.

Nathan sighed, running hand over his face before looking at me. There was a dark cloud hanging over us...and his eyes, they looked empty.

Like all the joy had been sucked out of them.

Something was going on.

Something bad.

“I have to go,” he finally said. “I have a meeting I can’t miss so I need you to handle everything today. Just get everything prepared for the weekend. Can you do that?”

“Is it about the gallery?”

After looking at me for a few moments, his gaze softened and nodded.

That was the only answer he would give me, I knew that...but it was enough. My heart broke into pieces at the thoughts of how everything could be going wrong, my gaze fixed on the wall behind him. The gallery was now a part of who I was and what I loved to do. Things couldn’t be too bad, right? Not after all his hard work.

“I’m heading out. Don't stay until dark, please.”

I leaned back into the chair, closing my eyes as I tried to steady my heartbeat. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up, meeting Nathan’s eyes.

It was the first time I would be closing the gallery on my own after the attack. I wasn’t sure why he was doing this, but it wasn’t right.

“Thank you for everything you do. The gallery would have never gotten this far had it not been for you.”

It was a compliment, sure, but why did it feel like an apology?

The door closed behind me and I let out a breath, hoping nothing else would change. Not with the gallery. It had been a refuge for the past months...when everything else was chaotic and falling apart, this had been consistently good.

I decided to organize the desk. Papers were scattered everywhere and though it seemed like a small task, it was enough for me to distract myself from what had just happened. I moved from the desk on to the rest of the office and then to the gallery itself, brainstorming ideas for a new theme...New Beginnings. I sketched the layout of the gallery and went through different pieces to put out on display, getting lost in my work for a couple of hours before sitting back down in front of my computer.

I answered emails, text messages and pretended like everything would be okay, but as I locked the door to the gallery before sundown, I knew things wouldn’t be the same. That feeling in my gut wouldn’t go away until I knew what was happening.

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