The gallery (2013)

RW1-Prologue Apr05

Prologue

“Trevor! Where in the hell have you been?”

Jenna turned her head toward the male voice beckoning her boyfriend. Another artist. He had to be. There was too much difference between the artists and patrons at these parties for one to be mistaken for the other.

Trevor grasped the man’s hand, smiling a genuine glad-to-see-you smile instead of the practiced how-do-you-do smile he reserved for those who bought, or might possibly buy, his paintings. “Been kinda busy.” He released the guy and turned. “This is Jenna.”

She ignored the chuckle at the insinuation and accepted the handshake and return introduction. Mark. He didn’t look like a Mark. He did look like a buddy of Trevor’s, though, with the layered clothing hanging on his skinny frame, shirt tales too long and hanging outside his khaki trousers. And the goatee. Jenna had seen some that complemented the man. Mark’s didn’t.

“Well, I can see why you’ve been too busy for your buddies.” The guy threw her a wink. “I heard he got tied down. I’m guessing you’re the rope.”

Rope? Interesting. The woman beside him seemed to think he was amusing. Jenna didn’t, but she gave a polite greeting to the taller, thinner girl with model hair.

“This is Mandy, my fiancée. She’s an accountant – can you believe it? I guess one of us has to have a real job.” He pulled the woman tighter with a pale, lanky arm while she grinned at Trevor. Too much of a grin, as far as Jenna was concerned. “We’ve set a date, kind of, for the summer. Looking at churches and that kind of thing. Big-type wedding, easy-going reception. Compromise. You two have to come drink with us.”

“Sounds great, Man. Congrats.” Trevor avoided an actual answer to the invite.

Jenna watched his face. Wedding talk, they didn’t need. It would just get things started again.

“So give me the straight answers.” A slyness in Mark’s eyes warned of the coming conversation. “Lots of rumors around about you. Secret marriage. Not-so-secret kid. No marriage. And … something about Daniel Rhodes. You met him or something.”

With a sigh, Jenna set her eyes in the distance. She didn’t want to be part of this. Maybe she could excuse herself and just let Trevor tell what he wanted. A hand sliding up to her shoulder erased that thought. He was holding her there.

“Nah, I didn’t meet him. Wish I could have, for more reasons than one.”

Jenna looked at him. Why would her boyfriend want to meet her husband? Okay, for the sake of chatting with a well-known artist, she understood. But why other than that?

“So … there has to be a story there somewhere. What’s up with it?” Mark grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing server, handing one to his fiancee.

Trevor declined. Neither of them could stand the taste of the over-priced, over-valued stigma of wealth. A house wine, she wouldn’t mind. And she didn’t have to ask for it. Trevor did.

“No story. Other than happening to find one of his sketches at an auction once. A very nice find.”

“Oh? An arm and a leg, too, I would bet.”


“Should’ve been. Sellers had no idea what it was.”

“Okay, I’m jealous as hell.” Mark had to explain why he was to the woman beside him. She’d never heard of Daniel Rhodes. Then he apologized for her lack of knowledge. “She’s not much into this art stuff – just puts up with it for me. Kills me to think he was walking the streets of Chicago and I never got to run into the guy. Even before he got big and moved away. Man, that sketch has to be the pride of your collection.”

Trevor glanced at Jenna. “You can’t imagine.”

She grinned, moving closer against him. The sketch. One of those that had been stolen from Daniel in his early years, just after he and Jenna had married. She’d been astounded when Trevor had given it to her, even before they’d started dating. The seller didn’t know what it was worth, but Jenna did. An early sketch from the great Daniel Rhodes was a very rare find. He had never sold his sketches and almost never showed them to anyone, other than her. It was even more valuable to Jenna, since it was one he had done of her, with her shoulders bare and barely going low enough to hint that she’d been nude for the pose. It made no difference that she hadn’t been. She had never been comfortable enough with her body for that. Not even with her husband.

The sketch was now hanging in the bedroom she shared with Trevor; her way of returning it to him, to remind her of when she had started falling in love with him. She wasn’t sure she’d ever told him that.

Mark sipped from his champagne glass, studying them. “So, the rest of it? Married? No? Kid?”

Trevor’s hand lowered on her shoulder. “Not married, but living together. We have a little girl nearly two years old already and a three-year-old boy.”

“Damn, Man! It hasn’t been that long since I’ve seen you, has it? Wait. No, I ran into you … a couple of years ago. You were still all in black and not dating.”

“Just before I met Jenna.”

“Two years, right?”

“About that.”

“So what? You had to own up to one of your … uh …”

Jenna cringed. He was thinking she was just one of his conquests who pulled the kid thing on him and … tied him down with a rope. “It’s my son. Trevor just claims him because he’s a good dad.”

The look on the other woman’s face was unmistakeable. She was looking at Jenna as though she were street sleeze. Two kids. Two different guys. Not married. But she had no idea.

“Jenna was married before. Widowed when the baby was little.”

The expressions changed. Remarkable. As if it mattered. She brushed through the sympathies, briefly mentioning an illness. She wouldn’t go into it further with these two. It wasn’t their business.

“So are you going to marry the girl, or what, Trev? It’s not all that scary.” Mark squeezed his fiancee.

“We’re fine, thank you.” He began pulling away from her. “I think they forgot your wine. Why don’t we go find it?”

“Look at him run.” Mark laughed. “Hell, Man, what’s the big difference if you’re living together with a kid, anyway?”

Jenna sighed again. Let it go. Her thoughts tried to force themselves into Trevor’s brain. Just let it go. It doesn’t matter what they think. But Mark kept teasing. Trevor didn’t snap. He always stayed calm about the subject, but it always ended up silencing him until he got over it. Jenna didn’t want him silenced tonight. They were rarely out without the kids any more. She didn’t want it ruined.

“I’m the holdout on marriage.” She felt Trevor’s eyes but couldn’t look at him. “And we like where we are.”

Mark was silenced. Thankfully. And he allowed them a graceful departure.

It was too late, though. Trevor had withdrawn. He remained polite and showed no sign of conflict as they mingled with others in the too-crowded room, but the mood was broken. She determined to get it back before they went home together.

Staying by his side, Jenna wondered if he had any idea just how much she enjoyed being out with him, even at an artist party. He was her favorite companion, comfortable and secure. But he was so much more. It wasn’t anything like her marriage to Daniel. Trevor wasn’t an escape. He was an anchor.
He looked over at her when she grasped his arm and pulled closer. She didn’t often show affection in public; it was no one’s business. He had to know, though, how proud she was to be by his side. Regardless of anything else, Trevor had to understand that.