When summer comes to Texas, it comes in with no mercy. The heat and humidity came early and kept me indoors, sometimes in direct line with the air conditioner vents.
“The only thing to do is to float down the river like you used to do,” Miko said one extra steamy day. “I want to see that Guadalupe River that you say is cool all year round.”
The problem was that Texas humidity not-withstanding, we were also in the middle of a drought. The river was so low that reports made us believe we’d better find another escape.
“Let’s go to Sea World and the water park there,” I suggested.
“No way. I have a problem with big fish in captivity, she said. This from the sushi eating queen. That idea was out. There was no arguing with Miko when she got her mind made up.
“I saw some kids playing in a water sprinkler in Margaret’s neighborhood,” I said. “Maybe we should resort to that,” I said.
“Maybe we could go to the beach?” Miko suggested. I considered the drive.
“We’d need to borrow Margaret’s car. I’ll call her,” I said, standing to go to the phone on the counter. Before I could get there, it rang.
“Hello.”
I didn’t recognize the voice on the phone immediately, but he introduced himself as Bo. “Bo?” I said.
“Bo,” he said, “Bo Patterson?”
At that point I was jumping around the room as much as my leg would allow and Miko was up jumping with me.
“What does he want?” she asked.
“Ah-hmm, how can I help you, Mr. Patterson?” I said in as professional a voice as I could produce while jumping up and down with a Japanese girl in my arms and the phone on my shoulder.
“I am hoping you can help me out,” he said.
“Me, help YOU?” I said.
“Yes, YOU help ME!” he said, and I could actually visualize his smile when he said it.
“OK, how can I do that?”
“You can come work for me.”
“What?”
“Come run my gallery during the summer. My assistant met the love of her life and is moving to Moscow of all places.”
“Moscow?”
“Yes, Moscow,” now he was laughing. “Can you come and talk to me about it, maybe tomorrow?”
“Well, I can, but what are you doing right now?”
“Come on, girl, I like that attitude!”
Miko went to the beach with Billy. I went on an interview.
“I’ve seen you at virtually every art show since I met you through Molly, and that impresses me,” he said. “Makes me think you’re serious about art.
“I hadn’t thought of it as a way to get a job,” I said. “I just love to see what’s happening on the local scene. Plus, the art crawls offer lots of free cheese, crackers, grapes and wine. A single girl can live on that stuff.” I was babbling from nerves.
“The other thing I’ve noticed is your art at the school’s last show.”
“I had no idea that Bo, of the Bo Patterson Gallery, went to such thing,” I said.
“Let me assure you, I am always on the look-out for new talent.”
“And you think I may be one of them?” I asked.
“I think you’ve got great potential. I’ve seen one of your watercolors of Randy’s five guitars at a local coffee shop. Your drive is impressive. You’re a hustler, and that’s what I need.”
I would have loved it if he’d said he was impressed with the artwork, but I was happy enough to know he noticed it at all. He was easy to talk with, and I was already familiar with his space, so he wanted me to start quickly. As soon as I found out when I’d start, I called Margaret and then Molly. They were thrilled for me, and they both reassured me that this would be a great opportunity to learn the marketing side of the art world. He started me with a small salary, enough to pay the rent and buy some food, but my main source of income would be from commissions earned from sales. I had a lot to learn.
I turned in my apron at the grocery store that Friday night. Miko invited some of our co-workers and some neighbors over that evening, and we celebrated with Sangria, chips and guacamole. I danced with Billy that night. It was the first time I’d been in a man’s arms since Randy. Billy was as different as a guy could be, but it felt nice to lay my head on a broad shoulder and slow dance with him. He smelled like Aramis. I hadn’t smelled that since Aaron. It was a comforting smell, and I was glad it didn’t remind me of Randy.
I went to bed that night with a smile on my face. I hadn’t been on a date, but a man found me attractive. I’d been sought out by a famous gallery owner. I had a new job starting Monday. Life was finally going my way. I didn’t even mind the summer heat or the loud noise the air conditioner made as it came on during the night. I slept so soundly, I didn’t hear Miko when she left for work Saturday morning. I got up and had my coffee at the Hello Kitty table wearing a T-Shirt, sleep pants and flip flops. I had a Randy Travis CD in the player and was humming along when I heard a knock at the door. It was Billy. He wore his stained work clothes and had a baseball cap on - Go Texans.
“What are you up to?” he said, “I heard the music and thought it would be OK to stop by.”
“Sure,” I said, stepping aside so he could come in out of the heat. “Coffee?”
“No thanks, I’m a Dr. Pepper man,” he said, showing me the can in his hand.
“What’s up?”
He looked almost shy, something I’d not seen from him before, but he picked up his head and looked me in the eye.
“I’ve got a proposal for you,” he said, “and I hope you’ll take me up on it.”
“What?” I said, he really had my curiosity aroused.
“I need a model, and I was hoping you’d sit for me.”
“Oh, well, what does that entail?”
“You. No clothes. My camera.”
I felt heat crawl up my neck and hated that he would be able to see my embarrassment.
“Don’t be shy,” he said, “It’s for the art, you see.”
“For the art only?”
“Well, mostly,” he said, and then he broke into a smile that had my heart zinging in my chest.
“I have scars, you know.”
“Yes, even better.”
“Can I think about it?”
“Please do,” he said, “Why not come up to the studio and I’ll show you where you’d sit and some of my work.”
“This sounds a lot like come up to my room and see my art in a hokey movie, you know?”
“I know, but it’s really not like that.”
“OK, let me get dressed.”
“No need,” he said.
“Oh, I guess not.”
So that’s how it begins, I thought. A man expresses interest, and I get to decide if I am going to go on with my life or keep mourning. And just like that, I decided that it was time to live again. I had gone from hating my life, to wanting to end my life, to deciding to live for the purpose of honoring Randy and Margaret, to finding my own place in the world and my own name, to this. The smell of a new man, the lure of a new love, the possibility of a real career. He held my hand as we walked to his place. My life felt new, sparkling, like diamonds of light in the grass reflecting the morning sun after a night’s rain. For the first time in my life, I felt free to be myself, scars and all. I’m glad I enjoyed it, because it didn’t last.