Page 102 of Make Me Scream

“Oh, it was fine,” Joel says, smiling. “It went well.”

“He’s downplaying it,” Martin cuts in. “All of his pieces sold half-way through the exhibition. Three gallery owners approached him, asking if they could be next. A talent manager offered to represent him. Promised to book all kinds of lucrative commissions.”

“Holy shit, that’s amazing!”

“I was going to wait to tell you all that,” Joel says, bringing me a coffee. “I didn’t want you to, you know, be sorry about… stuff.”

“That’s sweet, seriously, but I’m so happy for you! That’s so amazing! All your hard work paid off.”

“It did,” says Martin. He scoops the bacon out of the frying pan and onto a serving plate. “And now he has to get right back to it. Strike while the iron’s hot.”

“Always being practical,” Joel sighs.

Martin brings over the plate and kisses Joel before going back for the toast.

“But I’m not wrong,” he replies.

“I guess. Today, though: we’re taking the day off. First, we’re going shopping at Bloomingdales, followed by a matinee ofMerrily We Roll Along. Then dinner at Smith & Wollensky, followed by clubbing at… we’ll see.”

I shake my head in disbelief. How are they not too exhausted?

“That sounds absolutely fucking amazing. You’re going to have a great time.”

Joel reaches out and takes my hand.

“You’re one-hundred percent invited, Gwen. We have a reservation for three, tickets for three. I’m buying all of us something nice at Bloomingdales. I wouldn’t be here without help from both of you.”

Oh. Oh wow.

“Joel, I’m honored. It won’t be weird though, with me as a third wheel?”

He laughs.

“Fuck no! I don’t care about that. And I had Martin to myself last night.”

“You did? Weren’t you at the gallery?” I ask.

“Sure, but it didn’t go that late.”

“What about the after-party?”

Martin folds a slice of toast around a strip of bacon and digs in, smiling to himself.

“We showed up at the beginning to make an appearance. Then we bailed,” Joel says.

“The party was lame. Professor Mundell wasn’t even there,” Martin adds.

Huh.

So they weren’t out partying all night. No wonder they’re in such good shape now.

I could use a little time to get my mind off Lane. A free Broadway show and steakhouse dinner sound pretty good… assuming it works. The last thing I want to do is ruin a great day by moping. Even if I try to stay upbeat, they’ll know I’m faking it. Joel would sympathize, but I don’t want to bring down the mood.

I need to get some closure.

“Listen,” I say to them. They stop eating and focus on me. “I’m a bit in my head right now, for obvious reasons. I’m going to pass on shopping and try to shake it off. If I get right, I’ll meet up with you for the show and dinner, okay?”

“Of course,” Joel says. “There’s no pressure, okay? I know things weren’t… well, you know. And I really appreciate what you did, trying to alleviate the situation. I know you did everything you could.”

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