TWENTY NINE
Mia
“Luke, we have to leave. Are you ready?”
“Don’t come up!” A moment later, Luke bounds down the stairs he built to the master suite he’s adding on to our house. He looks amazing. All dressed up in a navy suit with a light blue shirt and a dark tie. He even has on fancy dress shoes.
“You look great! What were you doing up there dressed like that?” He still hasn’t finished the construction. In fact, he’s warned me off going up there because he says there could be loose cables or something.
He grins. “Just checking on something.” His gaze roves over my new dress. It’s actually an old one of Tegan’s, but I’ve never worn it before. It has a high neckline, but it hugs my figure and the open back drops almost to my buttocks. That’s fine, since the weather is warmer now, and I’m pretty sure Luke will lend me his jacket at the first sign of a shiver.
Luke walks around me to take a look at the back and whistles. “Babe, you should have warned me. I would have come down earlier, so I could appreciate you properly. Now I have to go out in public with you looking like that, and I haven’t made you cum in hours.”
I laugh, because it’s literally only been hours. He woke me up this morning with his head between my legs and made me cum four times before breakfast as his way of wishing me good luck with my first ever art exhibition.
We hurry into Luke’s truck and he drives me to the gallery about fifteen minutes out of town. It’s been converted from an old farm outbuilding and still has that rustic wool shed feel, complete with a corrugated iron roof. Inside, it's been fully renovated. There are clean white walls where all my paintings hang just the way I left them. Exposed beams and a wooden floor give the place a semi-industrial feel, though, which I love. It goes with the sort of half-finished look I’ve gone for with this collection. I kept the edges of the paintings white, fading out the picture so it looks almost like an impression, rather than a finished image. Full of muted greys and blacks, the collection is supposed to represent dreams or desires you realise don’t quite turn out the way you thought.
The carpark is so full I think for a moment we’re not going to find a spot. I can’t believe it. There has to be more people here than just locals .
Sandra, the gallery owner, rushes over as soon as she spots Luke’s truck. Of course, my first instinct is to think something’s gone horribly wrong.
“Mia! Oh, my gosh.” Her long earrings are jangling around in her excitement.
“Sandra, what is it?” I close the door behind me and prepare myself for the worst.
“It’s sold out.”
I blink at her. “It’s what?”
“Completely sold out. I just had a phone call from a Sydney buyer. They want everything. They asked for your contact details to commission more.”
My jaw drops open and I just stare at her for a long moment.
Luke nudges me. “Babe, that’s amazing. I knew you could do it.”
I shake my head, unable to believe this is real. “Do we know who the buyer is? Are you sure they want everything?”
Sandra nods. “Yup. Already sent through a holding deposit.”
I float into the gallery and stare at all the people dressed up and holding cocktails, walking around looking at my art. My sold out art! This can’t be real. I stop when I spot two familiar figures. My heart jumps into my throat.
I reach out blindly and grab Luke’s hand, holding tight as I tow him across the short distance to where my parents are standing. “Mum, Dad. How did you find out about this?”
Beside me, Luke coughs. “I, uh... I might have had a hand in that. I hope you’re not mad. ”
Mum jumps in before I can react, laying an elegant hand on my arm. “Mia, I just want to say that we’re sorry. We were wrong. We came tonight to support you, and to ask for your forgiveness.” She looks to Luke. “Both of you.”
Dad clears his throat. “When you left like that, I have to admit, it was a bit of a wake-up call.” He holds out his hand to Luke. “You’re a better man than I am, son. It was very gracious of you to reach out to us. I want to apologise again for the things I did.”
Luke takes his hand and shakes it, but I can tell he’s uncomfortable. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly. I’d do anything to make Mia happy.”
I look from my mum to my dad, and take it all in. My throat feels tight and scratchy when I finally say, “I’m glad you came. I’m not coming back to work, though. Or to Sydney. Things are all settled with Oliver, and the apartment’s sold. My life is here now.”
Dad smiles. “So I see. I have to say, Mia, this is a great success. You’ve done well.”
Something occurs to me, and I narrow my eyes. “You didn’t buy out the exhibition did you?”
Dad shakes his head and Mum brushes a tiny speck from her classic little black dress. “I might have mentioned it to some friends of mine, but I assure you, we did nothing more than that. This success is all yours, honey.”
For some reason that is the thing that finally makes me cry. I brush stupidly beneath my eyes, trying to keep my makeup from running .
“Come on. Let’s get you a drink.” Luke looks around. He steers me aside from the crowd for a moment while I collect myself.
Noah and Jack approach, drinks in hand, that they hold up to me. “Well done, Mia.”
Jack grins. “We should run more of these things. I’ve had more bookings this week at Inlet Views than we had for the last two months!”
I smile. “That’s great. You know it would be fun to have a sort of festival of arts. I bet the Rotary Club would be in on that. There are so many wonderful local artists.”
Jack nods. “You know, I think you might be onto something. Could be a great little tourism booster.”
My parents excuse themselves with a promise to come and visit tomorrow, saying they’re staying in town.
Luke goes off to hunt down a glass of champagne for me, and Mr and Mrs Wilson come over.
“Let me give you a hug, love.” Mrs Wilson leans in to kiss my cheek and brings me into one of her special brand of warm hugs I’ve grown addicted to. They’re even better with all eight tentacles, but here in the art gallery she makes her two arms feel like they’re wrapped all the way around me. “You did so well, love!”
“Thank you.” I give Mr Wilson a wave. “How are you feeling? Are you recovering OK?”
He grimaces. “I’ll just be glad when everyone in town stops asking about it. There’s only so many times a kraken wants to make small talk about his arse with all his neighbours.”
We all laugh, even Mr Wilson, who is mostly joking. I can understand, though. I’d probably feel the same .
The night is a brilliant success. I’m complimented by so many people I lose count, and Luke tells everyone he sees how I sold out on night one, and how I’m going to win the Archibald Prize.
At the end of the night, I need to stop smiling so hard because my cheeks hurt. And I need to not have to make polite small talk with another person for at least a week. I’m surprised, though, when it’s easy to pull Luke away and get him to agree to take me home. I suppose it’s all the unfamiliar people. If the gallery was only full of Kraken Cove folks, I’d never drag him away.
“I hope you’re not too tired,” he tells me as he helps me up into the truck. “I’ve got a surprise I’ve been waiting to show you when we get home.”
I grin. “Oh, I’m not too tired for a Luke Wilson surprise. I’m never too tired for that.”
I expect him to give me a hint about what he’s got planned, but he won’t say anything about it. When we get home, he opens the front door and takes my hand. I expect him to lead me into the living room or our bedroom, but he leads us to the stairs. “The surprise is up here. Go on.”
Instinctively, I begin up the steps. “I thought it wasn’t finished.”
“Yeah, I’ve been keeping it a secret, because I didn’t build a master suite.”
“You didn’t?” I look back down the stairs at him in surprise. “What is it?”
“Go see.” He grins and shoos me up the stairs. When I get to the top, I peer around in the darkness, but all I can make out is something on the far wall that looks like a desk and a sink in the corner.
Luke steps close behind me, flicking on the light to give me a better look. I gasp when I realise what he’s done.
“Oh, Luke, it’s perfect.”
I spin in his arms to let him gather me up into the hug he’s been waiting to give me.
“Now you’ve got somewhere to paint your prize-winning picture, babe. Somewhere that’ll have light from every angle, and no worries about making a mess.”
I stretch up on my toes and kiss him, thinking just how lucky I am. “Luke, it’s my dream studio.” I don’t even need the daylight to know that I’ll be surrounded by gum trees and I might even have a view of the water from up here. “You built me my dream.”
He grins and presses one more soft kiss to my lips. “Baby, I’m going to fix it so all your dreams come true. Dream studio, dream house. You name it. ’Cause I got everything I ever wanted in you.”
I’m about to tell him to take me to bed when he drops to his knees. When he looks up at me and reaches into his pocket, I know what he’s reaching for and I’m excited to see it.
The ring he pulls out is as perfect as the rest of it. It’s a white gold band with a small elegant diamond set in a simple box setting.
“Mia, is it too soon to ask you to marry me?” The look he gives me is full of longing and I feel nothing but warmth when I take the ring and slip it onto my finger.
“No.”
His face falls just a little .
“I mean no, it’s not too soon! And yes! Yes, I’ll marry you. Only let’s have a small wedding. Just family and friends.”
He jumps up to kiss me hungrily. “Exactly what I was thinking. Kraken weddings are always on the beach. Shoes are optional. Absolutely no stationery required.”
I wrap my arms around his strong shoulders and sneak a peek at my new ring sparkling on my finger as I hug him. It looks so good there. It’s as if Luke somehow came and gave my life a renovation, and all of a sudden I’ve got everything I always needed, but never knew I wanted.
When he lifts me to carry me down the stairs to our bedroom, I look up at him in absolute awe.
“I love you, Luke.”
“Love you, too, Mia. Always.”