Chapter 9 #3
Helen smiled. “You’re perfect. Very relatable.
People will love you, and that’s exactly what we want.
Oftentimes, people buy art because they like the artist, not because they’re wild about the art.
Resist the urge to tell people more than they want to hear, and avoid answering questions with insider art jargon that only MFAs can understand.
The best idea is to answer all questions in thirty seconds or less.
The longer your answers, the fewer people you’ll have time to talk to.
If someone wants to hear your life story, tell them you’ll be happy to get into it later, after the opening, and hand them your card. ”
“My…card?”
“Oh dear. You don’t have any with you?”
“Uh, no. I didn’t know I needed any.”
Helen reached into her drawer and extracted some business cards. “Here. You can give any interested parties one of mine, and I’ll get in touch with you.”
Mallory took the cards and tucked them in her dress pocket.
“Thank you.” She’d thought the pockets were a great idea in case she needed something to do with her hands.
Now, it seemed like stuffing her hands in her pockets and standing around would be a mistake.
Jeez, this whole thing seemed like a mistake.
“Oh, I almost forgot…” Helen said. “Most importantly, avoid the tendency to be argumentative or to correct anyone who misinterprets your art or sees it differently than you do. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, especially around art.”
“Got it.”
“Any questions?”
“I feel like I have a million, but I don’t know what they are.”
Helen laughed. She patted Mallory’s hand as she rose from her desk. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t drink too much. Stay sober for the show, and party your brains out later.”
It was Mallory’s turn to laugh. It was bad enough picturing her monkey running around, but a drunken monkey? Not. Happening.
“Well, I need to go check on some things,” Helen said. “If you’d like to relax with your young man for a while, you’re welcome to stay here in my office. Or go for a stroll. It’s a nice evening. Just be back at least five minutes early. Not one minute after that.”
“I guess I’d better stay right here. I don’t want to blow it by being late.”
“No,” Helen said seriously. “You don’t.” She left the office without a backward glance.
Mallory was terrified. Her first, and possibly last, gallery show was about to begin. At least no ghosts had shown up since they’d seen Kurt. Maybe the wizard was able to break one of her two curses. She just hoped her crazy little monkey didn’t make an appearance.
She had been practicing the self-hypnosis techniques she had learned from the hypnotherapist. She just needed to remember to use them when she started to panic. Before she started to panic, if possible. Once the panic took hold and the shaking started… Pop goes the monkey.
Mallory glanced at the clock on the wall.
Oh God. Half an hour. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.
Picturing herself in the woods, walking beside a stream, she listened to the babbling brook.
She did as the hypnotist had suggested and immersed herself in the pleasant setting completely.
Smelling the fresh pine-scented air, she felt the sun on her shoulders and the top of her head, then she let the warmth flow through her whole body.
After that, she lost track of time and her immediate surroundings.
Time was irrelevant. Gallery shows were…
not irrelevant, but not the end of the world either.
“Am I interrupting?” Dante’s whisper brought her back.
She let her eyes flutter open and took one last deep breath, letting any remaining stress slip away on exhalation. Dante was sitting next to her. When had he moved?
“No, it’s fine. What time is it?”
“It’s almost time for the show to start. I just wondered if you’d like me to get you a glass of wine.”
She chuckled. “For courage?”
Dante rose, stood behind her, leaned over, and massaged her shoulders. “I don’t think you need courage. I just thought it might help to relax you.”
“I’m actually pretty relaxed already. That self-hypnosis thing actually works.”
“Yeah, I’ve used the relaxation technique he taught us at the station when I have trouble going to sleep sometimes. I’m glad you gave it a try—but I was afraid you were falling asleep just now.”
“Ha! Not much chance of that happening.” Mallory rose and turned to face him. She draped her arms around his neck. “How about a kiss for luck?”
“You got it.”
He leaned down until their lips met. His kiss was always perfect. Soft but firm. She felt safe, secure, and loved in his arms. When they finally broke apart, she smiled. “I’m ready now.”
“Glad to hear it. Go get ’em.” Dante led the way but didn’t hold her hand or make her feel like she needed to lean on him—or anyone.
Since she had been seeing him, she’d changed and hoped the changes would continue.
Her self-confidence had grown. She felt less vulnerable and less defensive.
She had heard that love brought out the best in people and figured that must have something to do with it.
She always smiled when she thought about how much she loved Dante.
How lucky she was that he was there for her that day.
Things could have turned out much differently.
Walking out onto the gallery floor, she stopped in her tracks.
The gallery was full. She had never expected a turnout like this.
She recognized several of the Fierros, but they weren’t the only ones there.
For some reason, she’d thought they would be.
Okay, so I still have a ways to go with that self-esteem thing.
Gabriella came up to her and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. “Don’t you look lovely!”
“Thank you.” She didn’t know what to say after that.
She didn’t know what to say to anyone. She felt her panic begin to rise, but it wasn’t spiking like it ordinarily would.
She took a breath and made herself go back to her relaxed state from a few moments ago.
It had to last longer than a minute, right?
A pretty young woman with strawberry-blonde hair came over to her. She stuck out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Kristine. We didn’t get to meet the other day.”
“Oh, that’s right. How is your mother and the new baby?”
Kristine grinned. “They’re great. I love having a little sister I can cuddle and spoil.”
Mallory liked Kristine immediately.
“Hey, I saw this painting I thought would be perfect for Jayce’s and my living room. Can I ask you about it?”
“Sure.” She followed Kristine over to one of her recent pieces, which Jayce was currently admiring.
“I love the colors and long, gentle brushstrokes. It reminds me of sunset over the ocean. That’s one of our favorite times to go sailing.”
“You got it in one. I like to take walks along the beach at that time of day.”
“So it’s inspired by a calm evening on the sea?” Jayce asked.
“Essentially. I think my mood was pretty relaxed that day. Usually, I just paint what’s inside me at the moment.”
“Were you having a bad day when you painted that one?” Luca asked.
She hadn’t even seen him listening behind her.
She followed his pointing finger but had already guessed which painting he was referring to.
She glanced over at the gray-and-black painting.
The strokes were bold and sharp on one side, but on the other side, a face was emerging out of fog.
She remembered that day vividly—the day she was fired from her job.
Maybe it was the best thing that could have happened to her.
She wouldn’t be here now if the photo shoot had gone smoothly.
“Yeah. I was struggling with some confusing feelings that day. Painting them out was therapeutic.”
Luca crossed his arms and stared at it. “Yeah? Well, I kinda like it.”
The gallery owner picked up on their conversation and moved closer. “Quite often, that’s what art does for us. It brings out emotions we can identify with. The artist expresses what we all feel from time to time.”
“So what’s got you upset, Luca?” Dante asked.
Luca shrugged. “I don’t know. Stuff? The world?”
Gabriella put her arm around his waist. “This is my son, who’s in the police academy,” she said, as if that answered the question.
Helen nodded. “I imagine that job brings up all kinds of feelings. I know a couple of cops who are artists, and they talk about trying to counteract some of the aggravation they’re stuck with at the end of the day. Do you have any creative outlets?”
Luca laughed. “Not really. I’ve been in school for the past four years, and now I’m going through even more training. Maybe someday, I’ll have the time.”
Mallory didn’t know why she was surprised the sophisticated woman might know some cops well enough to be acquainted with their personal feelings.
She just pictured this woman only socializing with the rich and famous.
She was glad to have that stereotype busted and progressively felt more comfortable.
Then Helen excused herself. Just like she’d told Mallory to do. Quick conversations, then go on to the next. She did a nice job of modeling what that looked like.
Dante was striding toward the front door. “Hey, man! I’m glad you could make it.”
Mallory followed him with her gaze. Noah? She hadn’t expected him. Last she’d heard, the two were on the outs. She was almost as happy to see him as Dante was. The last thing she wanted to do was create a rift between brothers.
Behind Noah, a vaguely familiar young woman stepped through the door.
Oh my God. It’s the woman who got me fired! Mallory took a calming breath and remembered that the same woman put her in touch with Helen. She was wondering whether she should say hello when the woman made a beeline for Helen.