Page 32 of Good Girl
I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, and begin to walk away, but the sound of my name stops me in my tracks.
‘...having a really amazing time. He’s not at all what I expected.’
There’s a small pause and I take a couple of quiet steps back to her door and peer through the crack again to see a frown cross her face.
‘Maya, don’t say things like that! You clearly don’t know a thing about him if that’s all you’ve got to contribute.’
There’s another pause, where she taps her fingers restlessly against the bedspread while she listens to her sister’s response.
‘Actually, he’s an incredibly astute, sensitive and generous person. And oh my God, Maya, is the guy talented!’
Another pause and a frown.
‘As a sculptor!’ She shakes her head at what she clearly feels is her sister’s crass misunderstanding.
‘He’s shown me some of his work and it’s knockout. I mean, the man is incredibly talented. He should be exhibiting it. I know people would fall over themselves to buy his pieces.’
A warm feeling is rising through me, beginning deep in my belly and rushing up through my chest. Her praise is like a drug, rushing through my veins, making me high on happiness.
I listen in for another minute, unable to tear myself away now, but when the talk appears to turn to a discussion about their father I slowly back away and go to fix myself that drink.
Though strangely, when I get to the kitchen, I realise I don’t need it any more.
Saturday night rolls around and I leave it to the last minute to tell Juno about the gallery opening.
‘You don’t have to come,’ I say, trying to make it sound as if I don’t care either way.
‘No, no, I’d love to go with you,’ she says, her eyes shining. ‘Hey, you should take some videos of your sculptures so you can show them to people there. There might be some useful contacts you can tap up. My father always says he makes his most important deals outside of the boardroom. It’s probably the same for artists. You need to meet socially with the people who could support and promote you. Dazzle them with that Ricci charm.’
She gives me that heart-melting, warm smile of hers.
I try to smile back but my facial muscles seem to be frozen. The idea of failing in front of her makes me feel sick.
‘No. I’m not ready to show them to anyone yet,’ I say gruffly.
She looks a little shocked at the forcefulness of my tone.
‘I’ll do it soon. Just not tonight,’ I add to save her feelings.
‘Sure. Okay,’ she says, giving me what feels like a pitying smile.
I bristle, but don’t react, though I’m aware of a familiar shame sliding through me.
We get to the gallery an hour after it opens its doors. I’ve deliberately made us fashionably late in the hope we’ll miss the photographers—not that I think Juno would recognise it as such. As she’s come to discover, I’m a terrible timekeeper.
Juno smiles at me as we step inside, giving my hand a squeeze, and we make our way through the thick throng of people standing around chatting and clutching flutes of champagne.
I smile back at her, marvelling at how well she fits in with this crowd. She’s wearing a simple but elegant forest-green slip dress, which she bought on one of our excursions a couple of days ago, and she’s pulled her hair into a loose knot on the top of her head with her fringe clipped up away from her eyes for once.
She’s not hiding here tonight and is actually making eye contact with the other guests. I know how hard she finds it to socialise with people she doesn’t know, so this behaviour both surprises and gratifies me. She’s doing it for me. I know she is.
We tour the gallery, looking at the art and making small talk with one or two of the other people there who are doing the same thing.
‘There’s the gallery owner,’ Juno whispers into my ear a few minutes later, nodding first at the information programme she picked up at the door, then towards a lean, balding man who is holding court in one corner of the room.
I feel a tightening sensation in my chest.
‘Yeah, I see him,’ I mutter, but don’t make a move that way, and I can’t look at her in case I see disappointment in her eyes. I really can’t handle that right now. But this isn’t the right time to try and push for an exhibition of my work. I need more time to prepare.
