Authors: Beverley Andi
He catches my eye.
For the second time
in 2 days
, Jay looks at me with surprise.
“
I’m sorry,
maybe I shouldn’t have said this
but
that’s
how you’re affecting me.”
He pulls me close to him and
w
hispers,
“Don’t be sorry.”
This i
s the first time
we kiss.
Now I don’t usually say, “Wow” when I
’ve
been kissed but I did
that day. The chemistry wa
s perfect.
Did I mention,
I had never met someone who seemed to touch my soul and this was even before I saw his
paintings?
Chapter 3
It’
s about 9:00 Sunday
morning when I reach for my cell phone and call
him, knowing he i
s to pick me up around
noon.
From his hello I realize I’ve
awa
ke
n
him
.
W
hen I say I’ve
just
awakened
a
nd
am
thinking about him, I realize
he i
s smiling.
He says
he has
to
clean his place before he picks me up and I have
to laugh
because it’s such a guy thing.
Oh
, yesterday I found out he’s
35
, a
perfect
age for me
.
I
breakfast in
the motel
café and try
to stay
calm
.
I tell
myself
slow down
;
I am
here on
a two week vacation.
I
must
n’t start acting like a fool.
I’m
not the
Hopi
girl he’ll ever marry. Have a good time but don’t leave your heart. Ye
t
,
as soon as I hear
his bike and see
him from
the window all my resolve melts
.
How could
he look so damn cool while I am
tied up in knots?
His
apartment/
studio
i
s
below
the
600’
foot
Mesa
in
Polacca
,
once
a potter’s commun
ity
and now a thriving suburb
.
As
I
expect
ed
,
a true
artist pad
to be
,
it is
a place
where you spend mo
r
e for art materials then you do
for personal luxuries
,
l
ike food.
There i
s no TV, computer, microwave,
AC
,
not even a fan.
But there i
s
an easel,
paint
in tubes and quart jars,
roll
s
of
canvas, brushes in all sizes
, and
drawing materials that a
re neatly stacked in a corner, for my benefit I’m su
re.
Leaning against the bed a
re six of his paintings that ta
k
e
my breath away.
I walk
to them directly
.
The sunlight
coming through the wi
ndow is excellent for viewing.
I si
t on the floo
r and look at each one slowly.
Jay
says
something
but I
shhh
him away, I want
total quiet to concentrate.
Twenty
minutes
or more pass before I speak
.
ce off the red stone cliffs.
plaining about the heat, she'e on Jay' our new lifestyle.entence.ad to the top of the butte.
XXX
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“Jay, I am saying this as a professional who has seen a lot of good art work, these paintings
belong in a gallery
, they are exquisite.
Now, I am saying this as Kate, if I could paint
,
this is how I would have captured the feelings of the canyons
, the colors, the abstra
ctions,
the
texture…brilliant!
I am blown away.”
Jay had by t
his time poured two cups of coffee
and seated himself
be
side me on the floor.
He smiles
his half smile
.
“Nobody’s ever reacted like that to my work.”
“Let me bring slides of your paintings back to Manhattan and I’m sure you’ll get reactions like mine.”
“Well, these six
are actually going to an exhibition in Santa Fe
next week.
So I’m hoping I can sell them in that market.”
“You’ll on
ly have to worry about selling five
because I’d like to buy this one.
It captures the spirit of yesterday
and
will
always remind me of y
ou.
You can keep it in the
show and mail it to me later.
I’ll give you a check now.”
“I don’t want a check.”
“OK, I can give you cash, I’ll just have to go to a bank an
d
cash travelers checks.”
“No, I don’t want money.
If you want the painting, it’s yours.”
“That isn’t fair to you. We’ve only met.
You deserve the money.”
“Why do yo
u think money is so important?
I’m
pleased you enjoy my work
and it
gives me pleasure to give you on
e.
If it reminds you of me, I’m gratified
.
It is my gift to you.
”
A tiny smile was barely discernible.
I want to
argue more but h
e begi
n
s
kissing me and well
,
one
thing le
a
d
s to another and soon we are
making love.
Now
,
I’m not a girl who’s slept with a lot of guys, in fact, I could c
ount them on one hand but Jay i
s amazing.
“Your ex must have been crazy to leave you for somebod
y else.” That
comment
seems
to score points
for me
.
Later he ta
k
es me back to the mote
l
.
I ask if he wants to come in and he surprises
me by saying yes.
He stays the night and we mak
e
more
fantastic love
.
I was right about h
is hands; they are remarkable.
It seems they have extraordinary powers once they touch my body.
I keep telling myself I can’
t fall in love;
he needs a Hopi woman for his children. Besides,
we live in two very different worlds.
But I know the damage has been done.
***
I
t’s
nice waking u
p with someone I still cared about
in the morning, another first for me.
As we eat
breakfast
in the cafe
,
J
ay as
ks
softly
,
“Do you usually moan so much when you make love?”
I gasp
,
totally surprised. I must be as red as the tomato juice I’m drinking because my cheeks are burning
.
I see his little smile.
“Uh, no…I don’t know if I ever
…
ur
…
have bef
ore. Was
this a problem?”
I suddenly feel very shy and
I look down at the blue pancakes I’m eating. Oh, they’re made from Hopi corn.
I think to myself, did anyone else hear me? Was I distracting? Did he find it too…go ahead and say it…slutty? I frown
,
thinking of all the negatives.
He’s so
serious
,
I don’t know what to think.
“No problem.
” He takes my hand. “
What are you
planning
today?”
“Well, I was su
ppose
d
to check out of here
this morning
and head to Sedona.
I guess I’ll just
make plans to stay
the week.”
I look
up
at him
teasingly
. “
That is, i
f you don’t mind having a moaner around.”
“No, check out.
I want you to stay with me.
If you don’t have a lot to pack, we can do it all before I have to be back for the first tour.”
“Are you sure?”
No guy ever asked me to live with him
...
even if it was for only a week
or two
.
“
I’m sure
,
are you?”
“Oh, yes
…
I can pack in ten minutes.
I’ll fol
low you over in the rental car.
I’d like to keep that for things I want to do while you’re working.”
So, that’s what we do.
Before
Jay leaves for work
, he kisses me deeply and says, “I don’t want to leave
you
.” The look on his face says so much. He kisses me again.
“
Is this
a problem?”
“Could be, little moaner. You’re making me fall in love with you.”
“
Oh, no!
Don’t blame this on me. You started the whole thing.
Why are you so dar
n incredible
?
This is
crazy,
we’ve only known each other a few days…”
He kisses m
e again so I can’t finish, grabs his keys
, gives me that smile
and closes the door.
I lean on th
e door with a sigh. He’s so
calm
, so composed
, and so
sexy.
I run to the window and watch him ride away on his bike and smile. Could this be real? More importantly could this be happening to me? Things like this only happen to
other people or in the movies.
I stand around feeling totally
bewildered.
Did he just say he was falling in love with me?
I feel my heart pounding in my chest. He did say it, right?
Suddenly
I do a victory dance around the apartment
singing;
“I
’ve
got a boyfriend, sha
h
-nah-nah” to a Motown beat a couple of times
.
After
the
seventh grade mentality
passes,
I caution myself to realize this can only be a summer romance, a two week lov
e affair, nothing beyond. Kate,
I tell myself, live these two weeks to the ultimate and
relish every second he enfolds
you
in his arms
. When you leave
,
pack your suitcase full of passionate memories not bitter regrets.
Yeah, right, like this is going to happen. I’ll be crying all the way back to New York.
I unpack and ta
k
e
a quick surve
y of the studio.
It’
s even wo
rse than I had suspected.
The only food
, I use the term loosely, is
a
can of coffee, a few bottles of soda, and a jar of peanut butter
.
Now
it’s o
ff to the store
. I manage
to buy enough to do some damage.
There are
the cleaning supplies, groceries…lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
…
some matching
glasses, some pretty plates, a coffee machine, a frying p
an, a fan…and yes, a microwave…
it was on sale.
If you want a wom
a
n you have to take her accessories
, end of story
!