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“You have an exhibition tomorrow?”
I nodded my head.
“Are we invited?” Melody asked. “I love art, and I would love to come and see it.”
“Sure, everyone can come. It’s an open event,” I said.
Melody broke into a wide smile. “Great, then I’ll spread the word.”
“It’s at the Urban Gallery on Pike Street,” Violet added.
“Can I talk with you for a minute?” Gabriel asked me.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to hide how nervous he made me.
“Then I’ll start carrying the paintings down to my car.” Violet said. “Where are they.”
Gabriel and I brought out the five paintings, which had been standing against the wall in his bedroom.
“Let me give you a hand,” Melody said and while the two women carried down two of my paintings, Gabriel signaled for me to join him in the bedroom.
“What the hell happened?” he asked with his hands on his hips.
“I don’t know.”
“How do you think it makes me feel when you leave me like that?”
I looked down.
“Are you afraid I’m going to cheat on you?” he asked.
Yes… the thought terrifies me, I wanted to say, but only gave him a shrug.
“Cia, look at me, god damn it, I’m talking to you.”
I raised my eyes to meet his and saw immense frustration. “Talk to me,” he pleaded. “Please don’t shut me out.”
“It just freaked me out to hear you say that you move on when something better comes along,” I finally managed to say.
“But that was the old me. I’m not like that anymore. You got to learn how to stay and talk about things… you can’t just run off when it gets hard.”
We heard footsteps in the living room and I pulled away from him but he grabbed my hand. “Why didn’t you askmefor a ride?”
“I have other friends, you know.”
He took a deep intake of air and released it in a breathy sigh. “I never said you didn’t. Will you come home afterwards?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
Violet and Melody had already picked up two more paintings and left again, so I took the last painting and headed to the elevator.
It didn’t take long before the door opened and Melody stepped out, Violet was still in the elevator and smiled. “We’ve got to hurry, I’m parked in a no parking zone.”
“Okay,” I said and gave Gabriel a last glance before I stepped inside the lift with Violet. He raised his hand as the door slid closed, and the absence of him made me wish I had given him a quick kiss before I left.
Violet and I loaded the last painting and got in the car again.
“All right, Arion, take us securely to Pike Street, please,” Violet told her car and stroked the steering wheel. I sat next to her and wondered what kind of mental illness talking to cars fell under.
