“You’re already at the gallery?” He moved so the clock was visible. It read a couple of minutes after nine.
“Yep. Since you’ve been out so much the past few days, it’s easier for me to clean up in here if I show up early. Parking’s easier too.”
“Okay. If I need to be there, I can be. But I hope it won’t take long. I’m supposed to do things before I pick up Leo from the hospital.”
“So get out of bed and get moving. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She hung up.
Aud stretched and yawned. He’d gone to bed after midnight, when the nurse had finally kicked him out of Leo’s room for the second night in a row. From what he could tell, he and Leo were going to be equally relieved at Leo being released from the hospital. If for nothing else, they would be able to do what they wanted and not worry about people telling them they were staying up too late. Unless Leo’s folks stayed around more than a day or two.
He climbed out of bed and shambled toward the bathroom, pausing to glance into the living room and make sure the window was still there. It had become a strange, uncomfortable reflex. Even after the bay window was repaired, he still kept expecting it to be gone and just leave either a huge hole in his wall where it had been or the hideous plywood back in its place.
Half an hour later, without grabbing even a cup of coffee but hoping Heather had some at the gallery, Aud headed out of the house. He took particular care in locking the door, then chided himself for checking it twice to make sure it was locked.
Randal’s still in jail. There’s nothing he can do to me from there. Everything’s safe.
HEATHER HANDED
him a cup of coffee before he made it halfway from the door to the counter. “You were fast.”
“So the artist isn’t here yet?” He sipped the steaming blackness from his favorite mug.
“Nope.” She glanced at the clock behind the counter. “But he still has five minutes before he’s late.”
“Good.” Aud took another sip of coffee. “That will give me time to get this down. Any chance you brought in some donuts?”
She put a hand on her hip and gave him a scathing look. “Do I look like the breakfast lady to you? You’re lucky I made coffee.”
He flashed her a quick smile. “I am. So why didn’t you call and let me know about this new artist last night?”
“You were at the hospital the whole time, or you were supposed to be.”
“Right.” He finished off his coffee and headed for a second cup. “But you could’ve left me a message.”
She trailed behind him toward the back room. “I considered that, but I also thought if you couldn’t make it this morning, I could at least give a preliminary evaluation and let you know what I thought.”
“That’s a good idea. So what’s his medium?”
“From the e-mail and the basic examples he sent over, it’s mixed media but has a strong painter influence.”
She started to lean against the doorframe, but the ringing of the door chime stopped her. “That should be him. Do you want him out front or back here?”
“It’s Monday morning. Out front should be fine.” Aud kept his coffee cup and followed her.
Standing in the gallery was a tall, stocky man with a large box in his arms. With slicked-back black hair, a stringy goatee, and a rumpled gray suit coat, his initial appearance didn’t impress Aud.
Setting his coffee mug on the counter, Aud walked up to the man. “Hello, I’m Aud Sorenson, owner.”
“Hey, I’m Carl Dunworthy.” He stuck out a graphite and paint-stained hand.
Aud gestured to Heather. “This is my manager, Heather Ramsey. She’s the one who set up your appointment.”
“Hi, Heather.” Carl nodded in her direction.
“Heather tells me you do mixed media.” Aud wanted to get the interview over with and make it to Leo’s house.
“That’s right. I’ve never really found one medium that really talks to me, but when I work with several at one time, I can truly get the look and feel I’m trying for.”
“Why don’t you show me something you’ve done?” Aud gestured to the box under Carl’s arm. The artist hadn’t set it down to shake his hand.
“Oh, sure.” Carl finally put the box on the floor at his feet. “This is some of my more recent stuff. I’ve been super inspired lately. A good friend of mine just got back from Iraq and was telling me about some of the things he’s done and seen. So much of that made me want to go over there, but I could never join the military. I don’t want to expose myself to those people over there. So I opted to express my feeling through my art. All my family think they’re great. Dad hung one of my paintings next to his Confederate flag in his office.” He pulled out an eight-by-ten canvas that was mostly dark paint. Sand was epoxied across the bottom of the image with four copper bullet casings. Red paint dripped from the central figure who held the reins of a dead camel that lay sprawled at its feet.
Aud couldn’t decide if the figure was supposed to be male or female, but its vacant eyes sent a shiver through him. It took him a moment to find the words he needed to try and stay polite about the unpleasant image. “This is very dark. What else do you have?” He set the canvas on the counter, careful not to get it near his coffee.
Carl pulled out another similar-sized canvas. Like the first one, this one was mostly black paint, but there were little foil stars scattered across the top of it. The silver stars dominated the scene, but red stars dripped like blood across the red metal crescent moon. Aud studied the moon for a moment, then realized the tips were slight raised sections that still had a little bit of white on them. The moon had obviously been cut out of a stop sign. He didn’t like the symbolism Carl was trying to display. Over the years he’d had an occasional controversial artist in the gallery, but on the whole he tried to find works that would appeal to a large number of clients. Carl’s work wasn’t doing much for him.
“Another dark piece.” Aud set it next to the first one. “Are any of your works not dark?”
Carl’s bushy eyebrows knit into a single line. “I’m an artist trying to portray the current state of our world. Don’t you like my work?”
“Your ability and style are both very good. I just think this subject matter is a bit dark for me. Most of my clients are looking for work to help lighten up their environment and their lives.” He gestured at the two canvases lying on the counter. “This might make a statement, and it is possible some people would find it appealing, but I don’t think it’s the image I want in Bright Thoughts Gallery. We try and promote peace and light here. In these pieces, all I see is war and darkness. There are other galleries in town where I think your work would be more appreciated.”
“But Bright Thoughts is one of the top galleries in Colorado.” Carl shuffled from foot to foot.
“And you’re just starting out.” Aud reached for his coffee mug. “Carl, have you ever had a gallery opening before?” The warmth from the mug helped push away the coldness the two canvases had started in him.
“No.” He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. “I’m just beginning to put myself out there and let people see what I can do.”
“Tell you what. Heather has your e-mail address. I’m going to get her to put together a list of possible galleries that might be interested. Like I said, your renditions are strong and clean. I just don’t think the subject matter is good for my gallery. Some others will welcome you with open arms. You obviously care about your art very much. That’s important for a starting artist.”
“But you’re not going to help me?”
Aud took a sip of the coffee. “Outside of getting a list of places to go, not with what you’ve brought in here. Bring me things I think my clients will be interested in, and I’ll be happy to have your quality work here.”
Carl pulled his hands out of his pockets and jerked the first canvas off the counter and shoved it back into his box. “Fine. I’ll go find someplace that realizes how dark and dingy our world is getting and doesn’t just want to be a Pollyanna about the whole thing.” He jammed the second canvas in, picked up the box, and stomped out the door.
Finishing off the coffee, Aud turned to Heather. “Please tell me that neither one of those pieces were the samples he sent via e-mail.”
She shook her head. “No, the ones he sent in e-mail were a bit brighter and not so obviously attacks on other cultures. We don’t need hate art in here.”
“No we don’t.” Aud walked toward the back room. “So is there anything else I have to do before I hit the road again?”
“I don’t think so. Do you think you’ll be in tomorrow?”
He paused as he flooded the coffee cup with water to help avoid stains. “Most likely. You’ve been putting in a lot of time the past few days. You probably need a day off or two off, don’t you?”
“That would be good. It’s not a huge deal. I can wait a couple more days if you need to spend more time with Leo.”
“I’d like to. But he’s got his folks, Felix, and Julie. I’m sure he’ll get tired of everyone hanging around all the time. Why don’t you plan on taking the next two days off? If that changes, I’ll call and let you know.”
“Okay. Sounds great.” She huffed. “Of course, a good part of that will be cleaning house and doing laundry.”
“Shit. Laundry.” Aud turned the water off forcefully. “I forgot to pick up all the stuff I took to the cleaners Saturday. I can’t believe they didn’t call to remind me.”
“I guess that’s something else you’ve got to do today.” She stepped out of the doorway to let him pass through.
“Yeah. Just what I needed: something else to do.” All he really wanted to accomplish was getting Leo home and settled in so they could both relax.
WAITING TO
leave the hospital was hard. Leo wanted to stand and pace in anticipation of the doctor arriving and telling him he could go home, but every time he made a move to get out of his bed and do anything more than go for the bathroom, his mother frowned at him and started fussing. His heart leapt as Aud walked into the room.
“Hey, how are you doing today?” Aud came over and sat down on the bed next to Leo after he set a gym bag on the windowsill.
Leo leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. Not for the first time, he was thankful his parents were accepting of his life and he didn’t have to hide anything from them. “Better now that you’re here. I’ll be great once the doctor arrives and signs the papers so I can go home. The nurse came by a little while ago and said he should be here within a couple of hours.” Leo rolled his eyes. “Why they can’t just show up at a set time and get us out of here is beyond me.”
His mother chuckled. “As you get older and have to deal with them more, you’ll find out that most doctors have their own schedules and don’t really care much about their patients as long as the bills are paid. Money is all they really care about.”
“Which is why I prefer my nurse-practitioner,” Aud added. “She has a much better bedside manner than my doctor does. I think she cares more.”
There was a sharp knock on the door as the doctor came in. An uneasy silence filled the room for a moment, and Leo hoped he hadn’t heard what they’d been talking about.
The doctor glanced up from the tablet computer in his hands. “So, Mr. Caldwell, it looks like they want to get rid of you this afternoon. I’ll need to take a final look at your sutures. Has your nurse been through to give you instructions for once you get home?”
Aud rose from the bed and went to stand near the window.
“Right here.” Leo patted a stack of paper on the bed table. “She went over being careful in the shower for the next couple of days and no major lifting for at least two weeks.”
“That’s right.” The doctor set the tablet on top of the papers. “Now, let’s see about your stitches.”
Leo pulled up his green hospital gown.
Bending closer, the doctor peered at the six-inch row of stitches. The little black knots still gave Leo the willies to look at, but he was thankful they weren’t staples. Pieces of metal in his side would’ve been harder to deal with.
The doctor’s finger was cold when he pushed it gently against Leo’s skin. “Swelling is starting to go down. That’s very good. Redness is less too.
“I suggest you make an appointment with your primary care physician as soon as you can. The stitches can probably come out in a week to ten days and can be done in an office visit.” He straightened and picked up the tablet, then made some notes on it with a small stylus he pulled out of his shirt pocket. “I’ve sent authorization to the nurses’ station to get you released. The nurse will be down shortly with a wheelchair and your prescriptions. Make sure you get them filled today and continue taking them until they are gone, except for the painkillers. Just take those as needed.”
“Thanks,” Leo said.
“Yes, Doctor. Thanks for patching up our Leo. You saved his life,” his mother babbled. It was the same thing she’d done the other times the doctor stopped by to see Leo. It was one of the many reasons Leo was happy to be going home.
“You’re welcome.” The doctor left the room without any further comment.
Leo breathed a sigh of relief. “I really hope he wasn’t standing out there listening to us. That would be really embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry about it, dear,” his mother said. “You’ll probably never run into him again.”
“Actually, we might,” Aud said. “I’ve checked with my lawyer on everything that will happen when Randal goes to trial. Since he was the doctor who did the surgery on Leo, he might be called in for the trial. It’s hard to say at this point, since we haven’t even had a preliminary hearing.”
“Well, it’s not like we weren’t saying anything that isn’t true.” Leo’s mother shifted in her chair.
A cheerful nurse walked in. “So, Mr. Caldwell, looks like you can go home. Did anyone think to bring you street clothes, or are you leaving in your hospital robe?” She grinned at him. “You know we’ll have to charge extra if you take it with you.”
“I brought something for him,” Aud said, holding up the gym bag. “Just sweats, a shirt, and clean underwear, but it should be enough to get you home. I couldn’t find any slippers at your place, so I bought you some.”