Текст книги "Painless"
Автор книги: Devon Hartford
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Текущая страница: 28 (всего у книги 32 страниц)
Chapter 26
SAMANTHA
Finals week breezed by. I felt good going into my exams. Ever since Nikolos had hired me to help out in his studio, my life had balanced out better than I ever could’ve imagined.
When my third tuition payment for Spring Quarter had come due last month, Nikolos had insisted on loaning me the money. He said I could work full time during the summer. I wasn’t going to argue with him. I spent half the time at his studio watching him paint anyway. I’d learned a ton already.
I didn’t tell Nikolos that even if I worked full time all summer, I wouldn’t have any money left over to cover tuition payments in the fall, not after paying him back the money I owed him already.
I had no idea if my parents planned on signing my loan papers for next year or not. They were busy sweeping up the pieces of their broken marriage. I hadn’t heard much from them lately, but what was there for them to tell me? They were splitting up. So? Half the kids in America had already been through it. Whatever. I’d deal. And I’d figure out how to pay for next year’s tuition when the bills came due.
On Thursday of finals week, I walked into the lecture hall for American History 3. It was packed full of students anxious to start the test and get it over with.
I knew I had A’s in Plein Air Painting and Drawing the Costumed Figure from talking to my professors during office hours. And I suspected I would get an A or a B in Sociology 3 based on how well my final had gone. American History was the last hurdle before my first year in college was officially over!
When I flipped through the questions on the exam sheet, I felt a surge of confidence. I knew exactly what to write for my essay answers. My hours of cramming had paid off.
After only two hours, with an hour to spare, I closed my blue book with a smile. I knew I’d aced it. I strolled down to the bottom of the lecture hall and dropped my blue book on the small pile that had already formed on the table in front of the chalk board.
I couldn’t help myself. I had to do a happy dance. I squealed no louder than a mouse as I twirled around once before getting a hold of myself. I’m sure the students still writing wanted to concentrate.
The T.A. sitting behind the table smiled at me.
I smiled back before turning and walking up the stairs.
I grinned from ear to ear as I walked outside. The weather was absolutely perfect. The sun was high in the sky. It was probably seventy-five degrees. I wore shorts and a T shirt over my bikini top. Madison and I had been going to the beach every chance we got since the beginning of May.
I was tan from head to toe.
Welcome back to My Beach Life, set in San Diego, California, my favorite place on the planet! I was never going back to dreary Washington D.C.
I jumped in the air and screamed for joy. I was so excited! I’d made it through my first year in college!
“Hey, crazy girl,” Christos said, walking out of the shade beneath a tree beside the entrance to the lecture hall.
“Christos!” I jumped into his arms.
The last time Christos had been waiting for me outside of a final exam had been last December. At the time, I’d thought we were broken up. After Damian Wolfram, I thought I’d never find true love. How wrong I had been.
Christos gave my butt a good squeeze while he kissed me briefly. “How’d you do, agápi mou?” he asked, setting me back on the ground.
“Great! I totally aced my final!”
“I think we need to celebrate,” he said, flashing his dimpled grin.
“Hells yeah!” I cheered. “What did you have in mind?”
He opened his mouth to speak and his cell phone rang. “Hold on a second,” he smiled, fishing his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen. “I need to take this call.” He suddenly looked nervous.
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. His nervousness was catching. So much for celebrating.
Christos held the phone to his ear and said, “Hey!” as he walked toward the lawn across from the lecture hall. He obviously wanted privacy.
Not this again.
I was determined not to feel deflated, no matter what bad news he might have after he hung up.
Crap.
I looked skyward and started searching for silver linings. The blue sky was flawless and empty of all clouds. The only cloud in the area was the dark one inside Christos’ stupid phone.
I wanted to break that stupid thing.
* * *
CHRISTOS
“Russell!” I said as I answered the phone, trying to sound casual. “What up?”
Russell Merriweather chuckled on the other end of the line before he said a word. It was always good to hear from him, no matter what the news. “Christos, my boy, how have you been?”
“Awesome,” I said, grinning.
“Any more fights?”
“Not lately,” I chuckled. “But I seem to remember you saying something about being able to kick my ass. When are you going to back that shit up in the ring?” I was grinning as I said it.
He laughed, “You don’t want to mess with me, son. You know I throw bricks when I put the gloves on. I’ll break your face.”
“Bring your bricks,” I snickered. “They’ll be powder by the time I’m done hammering your ass.”
“Considering that thick head of yours is made of solid rock, you might have a point,” he chuckled. “But I suggest we keep your pretty face intact, for the sake of your lady friend Samantha. I like her a lot.”
“Yeah, she’s awesome,” I smiled. “So, what’s up? I know you didn’t just call to harass my ass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Russell sighed. “I wanted to get you up to speed on the civil suit that your pal Hunter Blakeley is still waving over your head.”
Shit, I think I’d blocked it completely out of my mind. I’d been too busy with a thousand other things to give a shit about Hunter Fucking Blakeley and the bloody nose I gave him months ago. Besides, Russell was on top of things and I trusted him to handle it.
“And?” I prompted.
“And, my people didn’t have much luck with the wait staff at Hooters. Those girls remember you and Jake better than they did Hunter Blakeley and his pals. Apparently,” he chuckled, “you and Jake are excellent tippers.”
“We try,” I said dryly.
“And I think one of the waitresses is sweet on you. She remembered exactly who you were. She even had the audacity to ask my guy if she could get your phone number,” he laughed. “At any rate, she mentioned she saw you and Jake having drinks with two young women?”
“Oh yeah. They were law students over at USD.”
“Anything I should know more about?” Russell asked with a hint of amusement. “It seems like everywhere you go, the ladies throw themselves at you, son.”
“What can I say?” I grinned. “But no, they were gone before Hunter showed up.”
“Also,” Russell continued, “I’ve had a chance to go over the statements from Hunter Blakeley and his three friends in detail. They are all very similar, and they all point to you being the aggressor in the fight. As things stand right now, it doesn’t look good. I had my people check every nearby bank security camera, traffic camera, convenience store camera, everything we could think of. Nothing is on video. All we have is the word of Hunter and his friends against you and Jake, who, by the way, is a fine young man. After I had Jake come to my office to give his deposition. Rhonda and Brianna couldn’t stop talking about him when he was gone. Those two were drooling over him so badly they needed bibs,” Russell chuckled.
I blurted a laugh, “That’s my boy. Yeah, Jake is awesome,” I shook my head, smiling at the thought. Then I sighed. Back to business. “So, where are we at?”
“Where we’re at is that your court date is in a couple weeks. I don’t think there’s much else I can do besides spend more of your money chasing dead ends. All we can do now is hope that by virtue of some miracle, we can hold our ground in court. I suggest you start practicing your sad eyes for the jury. I want them looking at you like you’re Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.”
“God bless us, everyone,” I muttered.
“That’s the spirit,” Russell said. “I’ll do what I can, Christos. But there are no guarantees. I’ll be honest with you. This feels like it’s going to be a closer race than I’d like.”
"Thanks, man.”
“We’ll be in touch.”
I ended the call.
So much for celebrating. I’d do my best to keep a game face on for Samantha. My sad face could wait until court.
* * *
SAMANTHA
While Christos was on the phone, I grew more nervous by the second. Despite the warm weather, I wrapped my arms around myself to stop from shaking.
When Christos finally hung up and walked toward me, he looked haggard.
“Who was it?” I asked. “Or do I not want to know?” I’d had enough bad news lately. Maybe it could wait.
“I’ll tell you, if you want,” he sighed.
What was love without a few troubled spots along the way? “I may as well know.”
“It was Russell. About the Hunter Blakeley trial.”
“Oh.”
“It’s looking pretty grim,” he sighed.
“Oh,” I sighed with him. “What does that mean?”
“It means I might owe Hunter a pile of money after the trial is over.”
“What’s a pile?”
“The last estimate Russell gave me, which was over a month ago, was anywhere between two hundred fifty K and eight hundred.”
“What?” I gasped.
He nodded.
“That’s absurd! For a broken nose?”
“Hey,” Christos chuckled sourly, “they were asking for more before. Russell has been negotiating with Hunter’s attorney since this started. Russell is trying to settle out of court, have me only pay for Hunter’s medical bills, which are minor, and save everyone a bunch of time and money. Because, let’s face it, I hit the guy. Too bad Hunter and his attorney haven’t accepted any of our offers. I suspect someone working for Hunter’s attorney did some digging and found out my family has more than a few dollars to our name.”
That was an understatement. Between Spiridon and Nikolos, the Manos family had mountains of money.
Christos continued, “I’m sure Hunter’s attorney would like to take a big bite out of the Manos financial pie. He’s probably thinking he can get to my dad’s cash through me. That’s never gonna happen,” he said confidently.
But I could tell a vein of nervousness pulsed beneath the surface of Christos’ bravado. The seriousness of his situation was sinking in. It was possible that he would lose in court this time. There wasn’t a secret surprise witness like me to save the day. All the facts were on the table, as far as I knew. And I didn’t think Christos was holding anything back this time. He might very well lose his case and end up owing Hunter a huge sum of money that I couldn’t even imagine. Christos had said on the low end, it would be $250,000. Gulp. Who had that kind of money? I said, “Can you afford $250,000, or whatever, if things don’t go well in court?”
Christos shook his head, “Not even close.”
“Can you ask your dad for the money?” I asked tentatively. “I mean, if you had to?”
He rolled his eyes. “No. That would be playing into Hunter and his attorney’s hands. My dad isn’t a part of this.”
How lame was it that both of us were having money troubles at the same time?
“If I end up having to pay out,” Christos said, “I’ll figure it out myself,” he said grimly, a far away look in his eyes.
I didn’t like the sound of that. If there was one thing I knew about Christos, when he was backed into a corner, he did whatever it took to survive, no matter how crazy dangerous it was.
Whatever it took.
Gulp.
My celebratory mood was officially dead and buried.
“Anyway,” Christos said resolutely, “fuck all that shit. Fuck Hunter. It’s time to celebrate!” His face glowed with a huge smile. “You finished your first year in college, agápi mou! I’m so proud of you!” He squatted down, grabbed me by the hips with both of his big hands, and shot me up into the air like I was weightless. Despite his crippled financial situation, Christos was physically stronger than ever. I caught air before falling back into his arms.
“Christos!” I shrieked. “Put me down!”
He chuckled and set me on my feet before leaning down to kiss me passionately. I circled his neck with my arm and we kissed for a long time under the San Diego sun.
In that moment, my life was perfect.
I hoped it wasn’t a temporary thing.
Chapter 27
SAMANTHA
“What do you think?” I asked Madison, Kamiko, and Romeo as I twirled in front of them in my new dress. It was a black asymmetrical maxi with a slit halfway up my right thigh. It had a blue zippered front and blue straps that crossed in back. I wore blue platform ankle strap sandals to go with.
They all sat on my bed in the Manos house.
My house.
“Wow, Sam,” Romeo said, “I’m going straight.”
I winked at him.
“I love it, Sam,” Kamiko smiled.
“I’m with Romeo,” Madison said. “Let’s have a four way with Sam because she’s so damn hot.”
I grinned at them. “You guys are the best. Are we ready to go?”
“Ready when you are,” Kamiko said.
They were all dressed up too. Christos had given me instructions that everyone had to wear black tie tonight at his gallery opening, including black dresses on the women. I hadn’t seen any of his new paintings because he said they were top secret. I still hadn’t seen the portrait he’d done of me. I was excited to finally see it.
Madison and Kamiko wore sexy black dresses. Romeo wore a black double breasted suit coat with tails. He also had a high white Victorian collar, a black top hat, and his monocle. It wasn’t a tux, but he certainly looked formal enough.
I giggled, “We make those girls on Sex and the City look like fashion disasters.”
We all high fived and headed downstairs to my VW. Spiridon was already at the gallery, otherwise I would’ve asked him to drive us in his Woody station wagon so we could arrive in style.
Next time.
When we walked into Charboneau Gallery in La Jolla, it was a much different atmosphere than the Contemporary Artists Show a month ago. It was still early, and no guests had arrived yet.
Standing right inside the glass front doors was a huge brass easel with a large card that read simply, “Manos.”
Everything in the room was done in black or silver. It instantly felt more upscale than Christos’ previous solo show. Waiters in black with long black ankle length aprons were busy setting things up.
The string quartet from Christos’ solo show was nowhere in sight. Instead, a DJ was already behind a mixing board, playing mellow ambient dubstep soundscapes. Much hipper than a bunch of guys with violins.
The room was filled with little round cocktail tables covered in black tablecloths. The center piece on each table was an elegant black and silver metal sculpture.
Dozens of delicate silver mobiles hung from the ceiling, rotating languorously in the slight breeze coming through the front doors. The mobiles consisted of swirling shapes of metal that seemed to fold in on each other in infinite spirals. They were beautiful.
Black silk streamers draped down from the center of the ceiling, curving toward the corners of the gallery. Each painting along the walls was covered by a sheet of black silk. The gallery was filled with them.
I paused. I didn’t remember so many paintings around the studio at home. Were all the covered paintings painted by Christos? That seemed unlikely, but where had they all come from? Was I missing something?
“What up, C-Man!” Romeo said.
“Hey guys,” Christos smiled as he came walking up, wearing a short sleeve black shirt and tight black jeans over his boots. His muscled arms and razored tattoos were the first thing I noticed. Then I noticed his incredibly handsome face and stunning blue eyes.
“Your tattoos are showing!” I blurted. “I thought you had to keep them covered so you didn’t offend potential buyers who are too conservative?”
“That was the old me,” Christos said. “That was Brandon’s idea. This is my show now. I’m introducing my art to the world, my way.”
“I like,” I said, looking around. “Why are all the paintings covered?”
“There’s going to be an unveiling at eight o’clock.”
“That’s awesome!” Kamiko said. “I love a bit of mystery.”
“How come everything is in black and silver?” Madison asked.
“So the only color in the room is in the paintings on the wall,” Christos said.
“Smart,” Madison winked.
“Where’s Jake?” Christos asked.
“He’s coming later. He’s still surfing up at Trestles. He’ll be late,” she grinned.
“Samoula!” Spiridon said as he walked toward us. “So glad you’re here. We couldn’t have a Manos family event without you.” He wrapped his arms around me in a huge hug.
After the hug, Spiridon said hello to the rest of the gang.
“Holy shit!” Romeo blurted, looking behind me. “There’s three of them!”
Nikolos came walking up behind me.
“Everyone,” Spiridon said, “this is my son, Nikolos Manos. Christos’ father.”
Romeo’s eyes were bugging out. He turned to me and whisper wheezed, “He’s so hot, Sam!” I think Romeo was about to cry with joy. I couldn’t blame him. Nikolos was a slightly older, equally hot version of his son.
Nikolos chuckled at Romeo, “You must be Romeo. I’ve heard all about you,” he grinned while shaking Romeo’s hand.
Romeo appeared ready to faint. After the handshake, he squeed, “I’m never washing this hand again!”
“Just don’t use it to wipe, and you’ll be okay,” Nikolos chuckled. “If you ever do end up wiping with it, don’t eat with it.” He winked at Romeo.
No one had been expecting such a dirty joke to come out of the mouth of someone who was all our parents’ ages, so everybody busted up laughing, even Spiridon.
* * *
Over the next few hours, people filed into Charboneau Gallery until the place was packed. Everyone wore tuxedos and black dresses. A lot of them were older, some of whom I recognized from Christos’ solo show last year, including rich Mrs. Moorhouse.
Christos’ attorney Russell Merriweather showed up and he chatted with Spiridon and Nikolos like they were old pals. Probably because they were.
As we neared the official start time of the show, Christos pointed to one couple walking into the gallery. A beautiful middle aged blonde woman and a handsome salt and pepper haired man. “Guess who that is,” Christos said.
“I don’t know, the Prince of Monaco and Grace Kelly?”
“Nope,” he chuckled, “Close. That’s Westin-Conrad Kingston-Whitehouse and Gwendolyn Kingston-Whitehouse. Tiffany’s parents.”
I frowned, “How many names does her dad have?”
“At least thirty,” Christos chuckled.
“I can see where Tiffany gets her beauty. Her mom is gorgeous. Although she looks a bit…severe.”
“That’s an understatement,” Christos smirked.
“Really? How?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Oh, come on. Now I have to know,” I begged.
“Do you have about four hours? I can’t even begin to do justice to all the shit I could tell you about the Kingston-Whitehouses in any less time.”
I bugged my eyes, “Wow. Is it that bad?”
“That family is a prime time soap opera,” Christos said. He almost sounded, I don’t know, sad? He had known Tiffany for years. I’m sure he would fill me in some other time.
“I have to go say hi to them,” Christos said. “Care to join me?”
I said sarcastically, “I’ll let you handle that. Tiffany’s mom scares me.”
“You and me both,” Christos said over his shoulder as he walked toward them. He talked to them for a bit before greeting other guests.
I hung out with Madison, Romeo and Kamiko near the door. A short while later, Jake came walking in.
“What the fuck are you wearing, Jake?” Madison demanded, her brows knit together.
Jake wore one of those black T shirts with a tuxedo silk-screened on the front in white. At least his shirt was long sleeved and hugged his tan, muscled body flatteringly. He also wore black jeans and black Vans tennis shoes. His blond hair was golden and naturally feathered and weathered. It draped across his forehead in this way that probably made anything with a double X chromosome want to run their fingers through it.
“I don’t have a tux,” Jake hissed apologetically. He thrust his hands into his pockets. He looked like a giant kid out of his element.
Madison rolled her eyes and smiled at him. She tip-toed up to kiss his cheek. “I still love you, you big surf bum.”
The lights overhead faded down suddenly and the DJ softened the volume on the dubstep until it was a murmur.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Brandon said over a microphone from somewhere in the room.
The chatter of conversation around the room quieted. All eyes turned to Brandon, who appeared near the DJ booth. A spotlight shone on him.
“We have a very special event here tonight at Charboneau,” Brandon continued, “and I want to welcome everyone to a once in a lifetime experience. This is a first, ladies and gentlemen. You may have noticed that the placard out front read simply, Manos. All of us in the art world know there are three Manos men. How could I, Brandon Charboneau, have made such an oversight?” He paused and smiled expectantly.
The crowd chuckled.
“I assure you, it was no oversight.”
I saw Christos, who stood with some of the older patrons, grin and roll his eyes at Brandon.
“Because tonight, ladies and gentlemen,” Brandon said mysteriously, “we have all three Manos men in attendance. Spiridon? Nikolos? Christos? Will you please join me?”
The three Manos men worked their way through the crowd into the spotlight next to Brandon while the crowd murmured.
It only took a second before people started clapping. I mean, loudly. Soon, people were cheering. I had never appreciated how famous the Manos men really were until now. But I didn’t know then that this was only the tip of the iceberg.
The Manos men now stood beside Brandon. They all smiled and waved, and they all looked so damn handsome and humble. I was truly the luckiest girl in the world to be part of their family. Well, at least an honorary member, since I was only Christos’ girlfriend. It’s not like I was his wife. But, boy, was I proud of all three of them right now. I started tearing up with joy.
Madison bumped my elbow and whispered, “It’s okay, Sam. Let it out.”
“I don’t want my mascara to run,” I sniffled, dabbing the corner of my eye with my pinky.
“Here’s a handkerchief,” Romeo said, proffering one from his coat pocket, “It’s silk. Go ahead,” he said affectionately. “I’ve only blown my nose in it once today,” he grinned. “I’m kidding.”
I giggled and took it to blot my eyes.
When the applause died down, Brandon said, “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, not only do we have all three Manos men here in attendance, but we also have their masterful art.”
On cue, spotlights came on throughout the gallery, illuminating all of the black silk covered paintings on the walls.
“The Manos family is back!” Brandon cheered over the mic. “Welcome to the first ever showing of the unseen art of Spiridon, Nikolos and Christos Manos!” He was yelling on his final words. He handed the microphone to the DJ so he could clap vigorously.
The entire room joined him.
“Yeah!” Jake shouted.
“Woo hoo!” Madison cheered.
“All right, Christos!” Kamiko clapped.
“I’d do him!” Romeo shouted.
I grimaced and smiled at him. “You are so Romeo, Romeo!”
He grinned wide, “I know, right?”
My friends were awesome. Normally, I wasn’t the kind of girl to cheer at social events. But tonight was special. And I couldn’t help myself. I cheered away, “Yay, Christos! Woo!!!!”
It didn’t take long for the whole room to explode with noise. It was like being at a concert when a famous band came out on stage at the beginning of the show. The room roared with approval and applause.
It was totally overwhelming.
The spotlights still shone on The Manos Men. Christos stepped between Spiridon and Nikolos and put his arms around their necks. They bowed in unison.
After awhile, the cheering faded.
Back on the mic, Brandon said, “Anybody ready to see some art?”
“Yeah!!!” the crowd shouted.
This was hardly what I expected from an art gallery opening. But what did I know? It was frickin’ awesome!
The DJ cued up a bumping dubstep track at the exact same moment all of the black silks rippled to the floor beneath each canvas.
The crowd literally gasped.
The room was filled with art. Portraits I’d seen in Nikolos’ studio. Landscapes I’d seen in Spiridon’s house. And Christos’ nudes, and a few other paintings I couldn’t see. There was so much to look at.
Everyone gazed around the room, speechless. After a moment, people gravitated toward the paintings and the conversation was soon as loud as the music.
I walked around the room with the gang, looking at all the art. I made comments about the portraits I’d seen Nikolos working on at his house. They all looked amazing and had lots of character. But my favorite was still his portrait of Spiridon, maybe because I knew Spiridon so well and the portrait practically breathed when I looked at it.
As for Spiridon’s landscapes, I’d seen some of them before, but not all. In any case, I’d never seen them properly lit in a gallery. They glowed from their frames like portals to another reality. You could feel the breeze on your face or the sun in your eyes. Amazing.
“These paintings are incredible,” Kamiko said. “It’s almost like I can smell the ocean breeze in Spiridon’s art like I’m right there. It’s unreal.”
“I know, right?” I said, in total agreement.
“She’s just smelling my farts,” Romeo joked.
“Romeo,” Kamiko’s face pinched into a grimace, “your farts smell nothing like an ocean breeze. Believe me, I know.”
I threw my head back and laughed.
We finally worked our way through the crowd to Christos’ paintings. We’d all seen the female nudes before in the studio. But none of the gang had seen the LOVE portrait of me and Christos.
“I can see your boobies!” Romeo said.
I blushed instantly. This is what I was worried about.
“Don’t worry, Sam,” Madison said. “Half the planet has boobies, and the other half has seen them before.”
I rolled my eyes. I hoped nobody recognized me. I’d forgotten to bring a disguise. Oh well. Maybe there was too much chaos in the gallery for anyone to notice I was the naked girl in the life size painting hanging on the wall under a spotlight.
Some older guy beside me in a tux was glancing between my face and the painting, back and forth.
“Yeah,” Romeo said to the guy, “that’s her.”
I rolled my eyes, “Thanks, Romeo,” I hissed sarcastically.
“Any time,” he giggled.
The older guy said, “It’s an amazing likeness. That’s Christos with you in the portrait, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“I’ve never seen an artist do a self portrait with a woman beside him,” the man said.
“She’s his girlfriend,” Romeo said, “That’s why the painting is called LOVE.”
“That’s wonderful,” the man smiled, then turned to a woman with silver hair who was obviously his wife. She smiled at me before the two of them examined the portrait in detail.
“Romeo,” I asked, “how do you know so much about Christos’ paintings?”
Romeo said, “Oh, uh…”
“What the fuck!” Kamiko literally shouted. She was several paces ahead of us. “I can’t believe it!”
“What!” Mads said, pulling Jake along as she moved to see what Kamiko was talking about.
I followed them until we all stood before a huge portrait. Of Romeo. Jumping in the air exactly like Mario from Donkey Kong. Romeo was dressed in his traditional black steampunk attire. His monocle hung suspended in the air on the S curve of the monocle string. Romeo too was suspended in mid flight, his arms thrust down with his fingers splayed, his jacket billowing out around him, his knees flung forward and back like he was hurdling over something. He had the largest open mouthed smiled I’d ever seen. The painting was beautiful.
“What’s it say on the card?” Kamiko asked. “What’s the title?”
Madison leaned down and read it. “It just says, ‘Romeo’.”
Romeo grinned, “Because that’s all it needs to say.”
Christos squeezed through the crowd. “What do you think?” he asked me.
“I love it!” I smiled. “When did you do it? I had no idea you were working on this.”
He cocked his eyebrow, “Whenever you were working at my dad’s house.”
“It’s so good, Christos,” Madison said.
“Thanks,” he smiled. “Hey Jake, I’m loving the tux.”
Jake glanced down at his T shirt tux. “Seriously?”
Christos gave Jake a thumbs up. ‘Only you, bro.”
Jake grinned and nodded while they bumped fists.
At that moment, I happened to notice that two paintings between Christos’ other paintings still had black silk over them. One of them was really big. “What’s up with the two covered paintings?”
“It’s a surprise,” he flashed his dimpled grin at me.
“Oh really?”
“You’re going to love it.”
“Like I love the LOVE painting?”
He nodded, “Yeah.”
“I can’t wait!”
“Well, I’ve got to keep circling,” Christos said. “People are asking questions a mile a minute.”
“Okay,” I waved as he was swallowed by the crowd.
He wasn’t exaggerating. Everyone wanted to talk to him. They all looked up at him with sparkling eyes, in awe of the rockstar artist. I was so proud of him.
* * *
At one point, the gang had wandered off to look at more art. I stood talking to Spiridon and Nikolos in front of one of Spiridon’s large landscapes.
Brandon suddenly squeezed through the crowd and stuck a red dot on the landscape. “Another one sold,” he smiled at Spiridon.
“How many is that?” Spiridon asked him.
“Nine, and more on the way,” Brandon smiled.
“Hey, Brandon” Nikolos said, “who’s selling more, me or dad?”
“Right now, Spiridon has you by two.”
Spiridon clapped Nikolos on the back, “I told you I’ve still got it.”
“Yeah,” Nikolos said to him, “but Brandon says I’m catching up. Brandon, go sell more of my paintings.”
Brandon grinned and shook his head, “They’re all selling.”
Nikolos chuckled, “Well, just make sure more of mine sell. Can’t let the old man show me up.”
Spiridon rolled his eyes. “Ahh, youth,” he grinned.
“So,” Brandon said to Spiridon, “tell me something. I’ve been trying to get you to sell these landscapes for years.” He motioned to the paintings on the walls. “But you said you wouldn’t because they meant too much to you. You even turned down Stanford Wentworth’s offer for the lot a few months ago. Why’d you change your mind now?”
Spiridon shrugged his shoulders. “You yourself told Christos he needed more paintings on the wall if he wanted a successful show. I wanted my grandson to have a successful show. It’s that simple. Seeing him succeed means more to me than keeping these old paintings.”
Nikolos nodded agreement. “The more the merrier, right?”
