Page 35 of Redemption
"What?" I said shocked, taking a step back.
He gestured wildly with his hands, as if words weren’t enough. "I gave you the opportunity to become a great artist. You have a loft in my gallery and limitless supplies to practice with. I could have been your teacher, but you never once came to me. You squandered your potential and an incredible opportunity. I expected more."
It was my turn to feel anger. "I’m only moving out to a new apartment. You're making me consider changing more than just where I sleep at night.” I felt the words coming out of me more than I consciously said them.
His eyes widened, then darted around the room as if arguing with different parts of himself. He hunched over and buried his face in his hands. "I’m sorry, I just, I guess I thought things would be different. I don’t know how to handle this and I took it out on you."
His watery eyes lingered on the floor, then trailed up from my bare feet to my face. His apology hung in the air between us as he studied my reaction. A part of me wanted to accept his apology right away and move on, but I didn't. Instead, I met his gaze, my hands clenched in white knuckled fists.
"I understand," I said. "But you need to realize that our professional relationship doesn't entitle you to anything, especially not control over my life. I can’t believe I have to even say that."
He looked confused, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to argue. "I never..." he began.
I raised an eyebrow at him, and he stopped talking. After a moment's silence, he nodded, his brow furrowed slightly asif contemplating what I'd said. He sniffled, then in barely a whisper said. “Sorry.”
"I don't need your apologies, Henry," I replied with a sigh, "I just need you to accept that this is happening. I am not leaving our friendship, I’m just moving out. Now, are you still going to help me get my things to my apartment, or do I need to figure something else out?"
He lowered his head, his eyes darkened, and for a moment I saw a shadow cross his face. Hurt morphing into anger, then resignation. At least thats what I thought I saw. It all happened so fast, I couldn't tell if I imagined it. "Yes. I just, I just need a minute." He said.
Despite his questionable quirks, he wasn’t a bad person. If anything, he was a victim of his own mind. I couldn’t hold his pain against him. I put a hand on his shoulder as he held back tears, his body rocking at each repressed sob.
"Henry, I want you to know I am glad you are my friend, and I am grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I hope I’ve done a lot for you too. Just because I’m moving out doesn't mean I won’t be here anymore. I work here, remember? I want to be your friend, the only thing that’s really changing is that I’m sleeping somewhere else now."
He wiped his eyes. "I know," he said. He looked up at me, his face full of sorrow and hope. "Well, if you ever want to come back, the loft will be waiting for you." He stood and walked over to the neat pile of boxes, picked up the open box filled with my clothes, and walked toward the door. "I’ll put this in the back seat."
He carried the box outside, but didn’t return for a few minutes. He was taking this harder than I expected, but then again the only predictable thing about Henry was that he was completely unpredictable. I let him take his time outside to compose himself while I took in final glances of the gallery. Thescent of worn canvas and aged paint lingered in the air. The place was filled with memories. Not great ones, not bad ones, but memories all the same, it kind of did feel like I was leaving a home.
Henry came back inside after a few minutes, looking a little sad still, but all in all, he looked a lot better. Together we loaded up my things, and with the final box in hand, I went outside and met Henry at the back of his truck. He dried his head with his shirt before turning to look at me.
“Well,” he said. “This is it.”
I gave him a side hug and we got in his truck and drove in silence to the other side of town to my new apartment.
Gabriel stood leaning against his car under a streetlight which cast shadows across the angles of his face. He smiled when he saw the truck lumber to a stop. As I hopped out, he pushed off the car and made his way over to me.
"Sophia," he said with a familiar smile, his blue eyes sparkling.
"Gabriel," Henry said sharply, pressing a box into Gabriel's hands before sulking back to the truck. Gabriel looked at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged and rolled my eyes in response, letting them land on Henry as he grabbed another box out of the back.
“Let's unload everything here on the ground. I’ve got to get back to the gallery,” Henry said.
Gabriel watched Henry for a moment, then shifted the box in his arms, chuckling. "Well, he sure is eager to get rid of you."
Henry scowled at him, but said nothing. I slapped Gabriel playfully on the arm and laughed. Henry sped off and Gabriel and I made short work of bringing my things inside.
I stood alone in my new apartment as Gabriel retrieved the last couple boxes. The floor wasn’t marble, there wasn’t a huge window overlooking the ocean or even high ceilings, but it was alot bigger than the loft, and it was mine. It almost didn’t feel real that I would be living here.
Carefully, I opened a thin wide box and pulled out the painting Gabriel commissioned. It felt like a lifetime ago that I was working on it, but now I was finally giving it to him. I clutched the rough edges of the canvas as I waited for him. Gabriel came back up the stairs with the last two large boxes stacked in his arms.
“Alright thats the last of it, he said as set them down by the rest. He looked over at me, his eyes meeting mine then dropping curiously to the painting. “Whats this?” He asked with a growing smile.
I returned his smile and held it out to him, gently, his strong hands took it from mine. He beamed with contentment as his eyes traced over the painting. “Sophia this is incredible.” He said,” lowering the painting so we could both look at the painting he commissioned. A serene river flowed under an ancient stone bridge, its surface shimmering with the reflections of the setting sun. To the side, behind the bridge, a majestic domed building stood tall, its classical architecture adding grandeur to the landscape. The sky held warm hues, blending oranges and pinks as the sun dipped below the horizon. Along the riverbank, lush green trees glowed in the setting sun, their leaves casting soft shadows on the ground. The tranquil atmosphere was palpable, as was Gabriel's happiness with the work.
“Im so glad you like it, it’s finally yours!” I said enthusiastically.”
“Thank you Sophia, I’m very impressed.”
He kissed me on the cheek, then carefully set the painting down against the wall in the corner, then we laid down on the carpet together, surrounded by unlabeled boxes. Fatigue settled heavily on my shoulders, but a sense of satisfaction also filled me as I looked around at my new home.
