“How did you know I was here?” I finally managed.
“Oh, little orphan Keri Annie, your life is public now. Or is this artistic endeavor of yours just a hobby? Hmm?”
I swallowed.
“I just came to let Keri Ann know,” he looked at Jazz, then back at me, his brown eyes unblinking, “that the story dropped tonight.”
I heard Jazz practically growl next to me.
“But you should have some time to enjoy your evening, your success, or what have you. Where is Jack, my boy, anyway?”
“You mean you hoped he’d be here so you could get some updated pictures of them together?” Jazz snapped.
“Well, yes. I didn’t come for the unimaginative finger food,” he said twiddling a toothpick between a fat thumb and forefinger. “But I’ll settle for a picture of just Keri Ann. I would have thought he’d be here getting you some additional exposure. Although I did overhear someone saying a New York critic is here. A friendly phone call from Jack perhaps, calling in a favor for his girlfriend?”
“Well, that’s blatantly untrue.” Jazz narrowed her eyes at him.
“Does that matter though, really?” Tom Price canted his head and drew the last word out like a piece of slime.
My face scorched with impotent frustration.
“But I wish you luck, Keri Ann. Truly. Excuse me.” He turned and moved slowly through the throng, for all appearances like a sweet gentle man admiring some art.
“He really is despicable,” I said quietly, my fingers trembling.
“Let’s get you some champagne and calm those nerves.”
“Do you think it’s true?” I asked Jazz. “Do you think Jack pulled favors to get me some press?”
“Honestly?” she handed me a glass. “No. I think the gallery did or word of mouth.” Jazz paused. “But if he did, I wouldn’t blame him. I’d do the same for you if I could. I love you, and I want you to succeed. If it was at all within my power to show your talent to the entire world, I would.” She looked at me seriously. “And if it was within my power, and you didn’t let me do that for you, I would be really hurt … I’d feel like you didn’t value me.”
I swallowed, thickly, raising my glass for a calming sip. The champagne tasted like sand as it passed my thudding heart and splashed into my belly. “I should eat something more substantial,” was all I said.
We found Joey, standing next to Colt and Karina, by the food table. Colt and Karina looked really, really good together. “Thank you so much for including me, Keri Ann,” Karina kissed my cheek in greeting.
I introduced her to Jazz. “Well, thank you so much for your help in getting us presentable.” I laughed lightly, but inside my mind was whirling, going over and over everything Jack said, and then what Tom Price said. I was a public figure now. Granted a teeny tiny fish in a tiny pond, but I was still putting myself out there. And I was cutting Jack out of it completely. Did I want him to cut me out if and when he got recognition for his work? I’d want to support him and share it with him.
Before I’d met him, I hadn’t even self-actualized as an artist. So much had changed in less than a year. Where would I be if Jack hadn’t turned my life upside down?
People would say what they wanted about me as an artist. I would never, nor could I ever try to, control it. Some people would like what I did. Some wouldn’t.
The thoughts crashed into one another noisily, but all pointed at the same thing. Jack.
Hell. I needed to go somewhere private and text him. Just tell him I was thinking about him or something. Or maybe just to please come here and be with me, and screw what anyone said. I missed him with a physical ache.
All the joys and successes of the evening were like castles being built on loose sand. I was grateful to have the support and love of all my friends, but I finally understood what Jack had meant when I first met him, when he talked about the void beneath the success. The hollowness beneath what he did. He was asking me to give it all meaning, be his foundation, his anchor, and I wasn’t willing to let him be mine.
Mira approached me as I was lost in thought, mindlessly nodding along at something Cooper or Vern had said. Our whole group was together, devouring the food, like they’d never seen any before.
“Keri Ann,” she said with a confused smile. “Someone put in a bid to buy Ever Broken Sea. I thought I should let you know.”
My eyes widened in surprise. Jazz, standing next to me, overheard. “I thought it wasn’t for sale.”
“Well, Keri Ann told me if someone offered the exact price,” she waved her hand, “this obscure amount she told me about back in December, that she’d sell.” She looked at me expectantly.
“What amount?” Jazz asked.
I sighed. “The exact amount I still owe Jack for the floors he had refinished at the house. I haven’t paid him anything since December so I still owe him. But I mean, it was down to the penny.” I furrowed my brow at Mira.
She smiled wide, presumably grateful to finally know the story behind the odd request.
“And he figured it out,” Mira said with satisfaction. “I met him when he came into the Gallery before your exhibition opened,” she explained. “It was the day you set it up, actually. He was mesmerized by it, the moment he walked in the door.”
“Oh my God, I could just die. This is so romantic,” Jazz slapped a hand to her chest.
“How is this romantic?” I asked Jazz and scowled. “I owe him money, and now he’s paying me so I can pay him?”
“For God’s sake,” said Jazz. “Get out of your own head, Keri Ann, and give the guy a break. He wants to be here for you and you won’t let him. He wants to help you, and you won’t accept anything. He loves that piece you made so much he doesn’t want anyone else to own it. And he knows how your mind works well enough to figure out your silly puzzles.” She grabbed my hand. “And he loves you enough to play by your rules, anyway.”
There was silence for a few moments between all three of us. A silence that allowed me to feel the full weight of the bucket of reality Jazz had just dumped on me. Even Mira got a dreamy look on her face and placed her hand on her heart.
I clutched my middle, nodding blindly.
“Sooooo … I should or shouldn’t call him back?” Mira finally asked.
Fumbling, I tried to get my phone out of my small evening bag. “I’ll call him.”
“I mean are we making the sale? There’ll be some disappointed guests who were told it wasn’t available. I’ve had a few people ask me.”
“Yes,” said Jazz. “We’re making the sale, she just doesn’t need his line tied up right now.”
“Gotcha. I’ll have to be careful how I handle that. There’s some high fallutin’ folks here tonight who won’t take too kindly to being told it wasn’t for sale, when in fact, it was. I’ll have to figure something out.”
I finally got his number pulled up and to my ear, even though my hands shook. Maybe I should have gone somewhere private … I motioned to Jazz, cocking my head to indicate I was walking away, and pressed my hand against my other ear to drown out the crowd.
There was suddenly a weird lurch in noise level around me in the foyer, an electrified moment, and I heard some voices die down as some gasps and squeals came from across the polished floor near the concierge desk.