Here's the next installment of RTW for your reading pleasure. :o) Hope you enjoy it as much as i am. For those of you who have expressed an interest in a continuing series of Bleeding Hearts...you are getting your wish. Go to my web site to find out more.
www.familyshoebox.com/family/BleedingHearts (if you have trouble with this url, email me and i'll help you out.)
Chapter 5
We piled into Killian's black Volkswagen Bug and drove to the downtown area. It didn't take long to find Avant Guard once we were there. It was the only place with a life-sized statue a man and a woman caught in the act of making love in the window. The people depicted in this particular sculpture actually had wings and what looked like horns coming out of their heads, not your typical couple. It looked like it was made of bronze and must have weighed a ton. We all stood in a kind of silent awe for several minutes before anyone spoke.
"Well...isn't that...amazingly accurate?" Aidan said.
"I wouldn't know. I'm still a virgin," Asher said with a giggle.
"You two might have to wait outside," I said, only half joking.
"Why?" Killian asked.
"It might over 21 only!"
We finally managed to tear ourselves away from the coupling couple and entered the gallery, which was indeed open.
There were no more pornographic statues in view, but everything I did see looked terribly expensive and elegant. I felt very out of place in my cargo-pocket shorts and surf t-shirt. I was having trouble picturing Nikki here as well.
I was just about to suggest we leave when a stuffy looking man in an Armani suit suddenly appeared out of thin air. "Hello, this is Avant Guard, can I help you with something?" His tone of voice clearly said that he seriously doubted that this would be the case.
Before I could say no, Aidan stepped forward and offered his hand. Mr. Armani looked at it disdainfully for a moment before reluctantly shaking it. He casually wiped it on his pant leg as if it had possibly become contaminated by Aidan's touch.
"I'm Aidan Scott," Aidan said in a cool, cultured voice that was so unlike his usual voice that I almost did a double take. "This is my client, Will Keegan, perhaps you've heard of him." He managed to make it sound like he was a fool if he hadn't.
The suit began to look a bit flustered. Meanwhile I turned a lovely shade of crimson.
"He's being called the next Wyeth. We met earlier today with Ms. Avanti," Aidan swept on, "and she expressed an interest in perhaps representing Mr. Keegan in this area. We thought we'd stop by unannounced and have a look around. You know we can't be represented by just anyone."
"Of course," Mr. Armani gushed, "I think you'll be very pleased with Avant Guard. We may be a small gallery but we've had some wonderful success on the international market. As you can see, we cater to a very specific clientele."
"Yes, so I see," Aidan said, allowing just a hint of disapproval to enter his voice. "I just hope the scope isn't too narrow."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"I'm afraid you don't." Aidan agreed. "We'll look around now. Thank you." It was clearly a dismissal but the man seemed hesitant to leave us alone in the gallery.
"Please let me know if I can help you with anything..." he tried.
"I doubt that very seriously, but thank you ever so much once again."
The man now looked completely unnerved and began to back away with a slight bow that would have been laughable if I wasn't so nervous myself.
"That was freaking awesome!" Killian whispered as soon as he was out of sight.
"Shhhh!" I hissed, then reeled to face Aidan, "What was that?" I said as quietly as I could and still let him know exactly how I felt about his little performance.
"What was what?" he asked innocently.
"The next Wyeth?"
"What? I called you that didn't I?"
"Your client?"
"Will, calm down. You're gonna pop a vein."
"What if Nikki finds out about this?"
"Relax. I know his type. He won't dare breathe a word of this to Nikki and make himself look bad. He'll wait and see if we say anything and what take we give her then he'll try to spin it to make himself look better. Trust me. I'm telling you I grew up in places like this."
I threw my hands up in defeat and started to look around. The work displayed was an eclectic mix of modern, abstract and traditional art; complete with everything from sculptures to paintings to collages. They really seemed to have something for everyone, although I couldn't help but wonder if the athletic couple in the window might not put off the more conservative folks. We did find one more statue on a pedestal in the back of the gallery. Once again it was life-sized and erotic, but this one was of two men. One was standing facing the viewer and the other stood behind him with his arms around him in an intimate and touching embrace as he kissed his neck.
Once again, we were all struck silent at first. Asher was the first to break the mood, "My God, he's hung like a horse," he whispered loudly.
We all cracked up. I thought for sure Mr. Armani would come running, but we actually made it out of the gallery without running into His Stuffiness again.
"Well, what did you think?" Aidan asked as we walked back to the car.
"I think I wanna try that!" Asher said with a leer directed at Killian.
"Not about that you perve" Aidan laughed, "about the gallery."
"I thought it was really cool but kinda stuffy," Killian volunteered.
"I think that sums it up pretty well," I agreed, "especially that stuffed suit."
"Stuffed Armani suit," Aidan corrected me, "and I agree too."
We all turned to look at Asher.
"I'm horny!" he announced happily.
When we got back to the apartment, Asher and Killian came in only long enough to grab their bags before they had to leave to get home.
"So how are you doing? I've been thinking a lot about what we talked about last night." Aidan asked as soon as they were gone.
"You and me both," I said with a sigh. "I'm ok I guess."
"Have you come to any conclusions?"
"No, and I don't think I will. Not right now anyway. I'm just going to let it slide for now. There's no reason I have to make up my mind right this second."
"Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away."
"Thank you, Dr. Laura."
"No, really. I mean it's your decision, but for your own sake I don't think you should put it off too long."
"Or what? I'll self-destruct?"
Aidan looked thoughtful, "Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened."
Before I could pursue that intriguing line of thought further a knock came at the door. I was closer so I answered it. It was Joey.
"Hey, Will," he said, "I haven't been able to get up with you all week. What's up?"
"I, uh...you know, with moving and work and stuff..."
"Can I come in?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." I stepped back to allow him in, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey Aidan!" he said.
"Hiya Joey. Hey, I'll be in my room on the computer if anyone needs me," he said as he left the room.
"I came by earlier but no one answered the door," Joey said somewhat accusingly.
"We weren't here," I said.
"Yeah, I figured that. Will, are you avoiding me?"
"Why would you think that?" I said evasively.
"You don't answer my calls, you don't call me back, and now you're acting like you can't wait to get rid of me."
"I told I've been busy."
"Too busy to call your best friend?"
"Yeah well, my best friend was too busy to tell me about his new girlfriend so it's a little like the pot calling the kettle black."
"Are you still mad about that? I said I was sorry. I made a mistake. Will, I really am sorry. I missed you this week."
"You did?"
"Yes. You're my best friend. Who else am I going to talk to about everything?"
"What about Shelley?"
"We've been going out three weeks; I've known you for 18 years."
I sighed, "I missed you too."
"I thought you were busy."
I grinned and playfully punched me in the arm. He ended up staying until about 11 that night. After a while, Aidan came out and joined us watching a movie on TV and talking. I went to bed that night thinking that maybe things didn't have to change so much after all. Little did I know.
When I got home from work the next day I found a note slipped under the door. It was from Nikki and simply said, "Dinner at 6." I glanced at my watch; it was 5:30 now. I had stopped by my old house on the way home and picked up the rest of my paintings so I kicked back on the couch to wait for Aidan.
I didn't have to wait long. "Lucy, I'm home," he called as he burst through the door, sounding eerily like Ricky Ricardo.
"Hey, dinner is at 6."
"Cool, then I have time for a shower. Guess who I just met?"
"Uh...Fred & Ethel?"
He chuckled, "No, but you're close. Guess again."
"I give up."
"You give up too easily. I met another one of our neighbors, name of Mr. Morris. He's in the first door to the left of the elevator. He's in the hall with a trash bag when I get off the elevator and he says, and I quote, 'I hope you two boys aren't fucking faggots. This is a respectable building.'"
"Oh my God! What did you say?"
"I said, 'Hello, nice to meet you too. My name is Aidan Scott." And he goes, 'Morris, Jim Morris; you can call me Mr. Morris.' So I said, 'Alright, Mr. Morris, it was nice meeting you. Have a nice day, and oh by the way; we prefer fucking queers.'"
I felt my mouth drop open as Aidan collapsed into a chair quite pleased with himself.
"You didn't really say that did you," I asked when I finally found my voice.
"Yes! You should have seen his face!"
"I can't believe you actually said that."
"Oh, loosen up, Will. It felt great. You should try it sometime."
"I don't think I will."
"Suit yourself. You don't know what you're missing. I'm gonna go take that shower now."
He was back out shortly, freshly showered and wearing a tropical print shirt and khakis.
"That is one ugly shirt," I couldn't help but say.
Aidan grinned, "You're just jealous cuz you don't got cool clothes like me. Is my client ready for his first business dinner?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good, let's go."
We walked across the hall and tapped on Nikki's door. She answered it almost immediately wearing a brightly colored sarong with a matching scarf wrapped around her head like a turban. She looked like a white Eryka Badu.
"Aidan, I love your shirt!" she said, "Come on in."
The first thing we saw as we stepped in was the life-sized statue of a mermaid and merman wrapped around each other with their heads thrown back in apparent ecstasy. It was sitting in the middle of what should have been the living room but Nikki apparently used as her studio. I guess we now knew who the sex-crazed artist was.
Nikki followed our gaze, "Like it? I just finished it last night. I haven't gotten it out of here yet. You'll have to excuse the mess."
"It's very life-like." Aidan said carefully.
"I use live models for the initial sittings. I do a small clay model and some sketches that I then use to create the statues.
"Where do you find fresh merpeople this time of year?" Aidan asked.
Nikki laughed, "I have my sources. This piece is most likely already sold. I just have to get it to the gallery so they can see it."
"How do you get it out of here?" I asked.
"The elevator."
"Isn't it too heavy?"
"It's no where near as heavy as it looks. It's hollow for one thing. More importantly though, it isn't really bronze. It's recycled aluminum that I paint with a metallic paint and then age and oxidize it."
"Cool."
"While we're talking shop are they your paintings?"
"Yeah," I held out the stack.
She took them and began to look through them carefully. She went through the stack of about 15 painting twice, then pulled out four, stood them on the couch and stepped back. After a few more minutes of scrutinizing she put one back in the pile and handed the rejected pieces back to me.
"These," she said. She had chosen three of my most unusually pieces, a study of a door on an abandoned house, a window of another abandoned house and an architectural detail of an old country church.
"Are you sure?" I asked. I was somewhat dubious.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"We went to the gallery yesterday," I told her, "Are you sure these will...fit in?"
"Oh God, you must have met Derrick."
"Would that be the guy with the stick up his butt and wearing an Armani suit?" Aidan asked.
"That would be him," Nikki sighed, "Derrick is my brother and part owner of Avant-garde. We have somewhat differing ideas about how the place should be run. And the very reason I like these pieces is because they aren't like the other things we have. You don't want to blend in, Will, you want to stand out."
Considering that I'd spent most of my life trying desperately to blend in and to not stand out I was still somewhat unconvinced. She must have been able to tell by my expression.
"Have you ever seen one of your paintings framed and matted?"
"No."
"Do you mind if I have these done?'
"No."
"Good, then come by the gallery...um...Saturday and see what you think then."
"Ok," I agreed.
"Dinner's ready," a voice called from the kitchen.
Aidan and I turned confused looks towards the strange voice and then to Nikki.
"That's my boyfriend, Sam. He cooks. I hope you like vegetable lasagna."
"I guess we're about to find out," Aidan quipped.
It turned out to be delicious and Sam was just as interesting as Nikki. He had long curly brown hair, which he had pulled back into a ponytail, intense blue eyes, a goatee and two earrings in his left ear. He looked a lot younger than Nikki, not much older than Aidan and I in fact, but after my miscalculation with Nikki's age I wasn't making any assumptions. Turned out I was right though, and was only two years older than Aidan and a senior at the same college. He and Nikki had met when he answered her ad in the paper for a live model. I couldn't help but wonder if he was the model who was "hung like a horse" as Asher had so elegantly put it.
We also learned that Nikki specialized in erotic art and was beginning to gain as international name for herself.
The rest of the evening passed by enjoyably and we left around 9 with two new friends.
The week went by uneventfully; there were no more run-ins with Mr. Morris and we met our other neighbors without incident. Joey, Shelley, Laura and Gabe came over one night and watched rented movies and that too came off without any problems. I was careful to pay more attention than usual about my feelings and reactions to Joey and it gave me food for thought. Aidan and I continued to grow closer and I was fast coming to think of him as one of my best friends. I wondered what effect if any it would have on my friendship with Joey, which despite the movie night, continued to grow ever more distant.
Saturday finally arrived. I dressed in a dress shirt and nice jeans and drove downtown once gain, this time by myself.
Today, loud Celtic music flowed out of the open door of Avant-garde and drifted down the brick plaza. When I walked in I spotted Nikki right away, she was hard to miss. Her hair was a purplish-red color and she was wearing a matching t-shirt dress that was cinched at the waist with a length of chain and a padlock. Clunky grandma shoes and dangly silver earrings completed the outfit. She was busy hanging a painting as I approached and didn't notice me. I looked over her shoulder and gasped when I saw what she was hanging. It was one of mine.
She spun around at my gasp, knocking the painting crooked on its hanger. "Oh, Will! You startled me. I didn't hear you come in. What do you think? Looks different huh?"
Did it ever! I hardly recognized it. I couldn't believe the difference a mat and frame could make. "Wow!" was all I could manage.
"You know you done good when you impress yourself," she said with a chuckle.
"It's not that..." I said quickly but she cut me off.
"Of course it is. And every artist feels the same way the first time they see their work displayed properly. There's a bit of vanity in it, sure, but that's only natural. Call it pride of ownership or something like that."
"It just looks so different. Did you do anything to it?'
"I would never tamper with someone else's work. It's all yours, kiddo. All I did was stick a mat and frame on it. There's your other two." She said pointing them out.
Once again I found myself in awe at the way they had turned out. Nikki seemed to be enjoying every second of my reaction.
"Nikki!" A male voice bellowed, "Why are there mermaids having sex in my office? Oh, excuse me, Mr. Keegan wasn't it?" It was Derrick.
"They're not mermaids, its one mermaid and one merman. And they're in your office because a potential buyer is on their way here and your office is bigger than mine. It's what you get for claiming the bigger office. I understand you two have met."
Derrick glared first at Nikki then at me as if this was somehow my fault. "Yes, Mr. Keegan came in last week with his agent. I'm assuming from your presence here today that we are in fact representing you in this region?"
"Oh for God's sake, Derrick!" Nikki said in an exasperated tone, "Get that damn stick outta your ass. Will is my neighbor and a friend and yes we are representing his work."
Derrick looked pissed for a moment, then spun on his heel of his Italian leather shoe and stormed off in the direction he had come from.
"Sorry about that," Nikki said with a little sigh. "We should never be working together but that was the terms of Father's will. He opened this gallery and made it the international success that it is today. He was a highly respected art critic for years and years. He left the gallery to Derrick and I when he died. We have to run it together for 5 years at which time one of us can buy the other out if we are so inclined. I think he thought it would force us to get along. So far it hasn't worked. We have two more years left, assuming we both survive."
I laughed.
"Come on back to my office. I'll have you fill out the paperwork, there isn't much, and then I need to get you to write on the back of each painting."
"Write what?"
"The title of the piece and any personal comments about it. Then you write Original Watercolor by Will Keegan."
I nodded and followed her behind a dividing wall and into her office. It turned out to be just as cluttered as I would have imagined. She shifted a stack of catalogs onto the floor to clear a space for me to sit and handed me a pen and some forms. While I was filling them out, it was mostly personal information for something called an artist's bio, Nikki asked, "Can I ask you a personal question? Feel free to tell me to mind my own business."
I looked up nervously. I didn't like the way this was sounding, but I said, "Uh...yeah, sure. I guess."
"Are you and Aidan a couple?"
I blushed, "No!" It came out a little more emphatically than I intended.
"I didn't mean any offense. As you can see from my art, it wouldn't bother me. I was just curious. The main reason I asked was that I'm always looking for subjects and I thought you two would be great."
The very thought of my posing nude with Aidan for Nikki caused my blush to deepen.
Nikki laughed, "You know, not all my art is erotic." She handed me a binder with glossy full-sheet photos of her past work. More than half were erotic, often mythical beings in the throes of passion; but the rest were simply beautiful expressions of love and affection, suggestive but not explicitly sexual.
"Think about it and let me know if you change your mind."
I still didn't think there was much chance of that happening but I nodded anyway. "Is Derrick an artist too?" I asked to change the subject.
"He thinks so," she said with a most unlady-like snort, "His stuff is that modern expressionist crap in the gallery. I wouldn't have it here if it weren't for him. Of course he says the same thing about my 'pornography.'" She shrugged.
I finished the paperwork, which she took and filed in a folder with my name on it, and we returned to the gallery floor. I wrote the requested information on the back of each painting with a felt tipped marker and after admiring my painting once more, we shook hands and I left.
It all seemed a little much to believe. In just two weeks my entire life had changed; I had a whole new set of friends, my paintings were hanging in a gallery, I had moved out into my own apartment and I had found out that I might be gay. What next? I wondered. I couldn't have imagined what was still to come.