Timothy looked puzzled when I mentioned that. “You? I don’t know about your friends since I haven’t yet met them, but you would never do such a thing. There’s an aura about you of earnestness and devotion to the art. How remarkable that those docents didn’t see that.”
We were entering what Timothy had called the blue room, and an entry into modern art. Timothy might not have hung any Joan Miro or Picasso paintings, but he had found some very interesting pieces, most of which he was right that I’d never seen. One piece drew me. As I walked toward it, Timothy said, “Yes, that’s another local artist. It is a painting that describes the feel of rain.”
I saw the turbulence inside it. I could feel the roar of thunder, the wetness of the chilling rain, and the sudden streaks of light off in the distance.
The jaguar painting I would be delighted to live with. This piece I could not. It spoke of the unsettled nature of life, the way that it pummeled you with the elements, shouting in your ear. When I said that to Timothy, he laughed. “You are right. It does have the stormier elements of life, but I admire the patch of blue showing that the storm will end soon and the day will quickly brighten. And in the lower corner, see the touch of green. The plants have enjoyed this riot of rain. They are eager to burst through the trauma and send their leaves skyward.
I nodded, liking his viewpoint. It was the Yin and Yang, which always seemed to balance each other. I smiled up into Timothy’s eyes, accepting his positivity on this piece and on life. It was at that moment that a photographer flashed his spot light on the scene of our sharing. I was so startled by it that I cringed from having my soul so abruptly displayed. But Timothy only smiled. “Send me a copy,” he ordered the photographer.
We toured the gallery slowly and with great pleasure. Once, we were greeted by Simone who had come with a friend, a tall, handsome blonde, well-muscled but lithe as if he were a ballet star or a gymnast. His eyes were the purest blue I’d ever seen. Azure like lapis lazuli — no, that had a touch of green. Perhaps blue tanzanite?
I guess I stared so long that Timothy felt the need to become more demonstrative, or was it territorial? Anyway, his arm wrapped around my upper body and moved me closer.