Page 101 of Second Round

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

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

“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 theocean.

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

“Yeah. I like it. It looks like Vancouvertome.”

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

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

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

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 placelater?”

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

“I’ll see you after the game.Goodluck.”

38

JackieBlooms

Jackie

“Your paintings look wonderful,”my mother said. My whole family had shown up to the opening, driving all the way from Chilliwack just tobehere.

My brother nodded vigorously. “No offence, Jackie, but I like these ones a lot better than your flowerstuff.”

I laughed. At one time that remark would have hurt, but my new work was better. The painting had emotion because I had managed to convey my feelings about leaving the places I’d loved—no, actually, the life I’d loved but had to leave. Yet, the paintings weren’t unhappy, because there was a new life ahead of me. Maybe it wasn’t the life I’d imagined, but in many ways it was better. It was a life that I was incontrolof.

Darlene pulled me aside. “Jackie, this is one of the best openings we’ve had. People are very excited about the work. We sold that painting before the opening, another one to someone who was here for dinner, and there’s a hold for one couple who need to measure their living room wall first.Congratulations!”

I blinked in astonishment. “Strangers are buying mypaintings?”

“Yes, I think so. They didn’t say they knew you.” She gave me a sly smile. “Other than the handsome gentleman you were with thisafternoon.”

A flush came over my cheeks. “Well, selling anything is a huge thrillforme.”

Darlene looked over my shoulder. “Oh, there’s someone here from an arts website who wants to take a photo of you with one of yourpaintings.”

Glad that I had glammed up for the event, I posed in front of the ocean side painting that Leo had purchased. At precisely that moment, Brent walked in with the kids. He was shocked, probably because I looked like acelebrity.

“Mom, this is so cool,” Tristan said. “And the painting of my room got sold. Man, you’re making so muchmoney.”

I laughed and hugged him. It was a lot of money to someone on an allowance. But if you took away the cost of the art supplies and divided the number of hours it took me to make the painting, it was less than minimum wage. Still, as Sharon would say, it was better than sweetfuckall.

Hannah gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Looks prettysweet,Mom,”

“Thankyou.”

“I’m very proud of you,” she declared in a role reversal. Then we both laughed. Brent had finished his walk around the room, and he added, “It looks great. Good for you. And I notice there are a few reddotstoo.”

“Thank you, Brent. Thanks for bringingthekids.”

“Margaret had to work late, but I would have come anyway,” he declared. “It’s nice to see the oldplace.”

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