Chapter 2

‘No silly. I like the painting so much. It is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much.’ ‘Trish! Stop. Rewind. What painting?’

‘Oh Gareth, stop messing with my mind. I just got home and the painting was here. So don’t pretend you don’t know what I am talking about.’

Gareth was silent for a while. ‘Trish I am having a dilemma of conscience. If I tell you I sent it to you, I might finally find myself in your bed tonight. But if I say that I didn’t send it, then some other man gets the pleasure. Shit, Trish, such a hard choice. Okay, okay. I have decided on the path of truth and honesty. I didn’t send it you.’ ‘Gareth, are you sure?’

‘Yes. Please don’t make me say it again. I am already regretting it. Trish are you sure it’s the same painting?’

‘Yes, of course. I am looking at it now. Wait, there’s a card, you horrible tease.’ ‘Read it. I am dying to know. Wait, I need to go outside. I am at Jocelyn’s. Okay, now, tell all.’

‘Oh shit!’

‘What? What?’

‘I must be drunk.’

‘Trish! Tell me! Now! Or I will come over right now and....’

‘It’s from him.’

‘Who Trish?’

‘The dark eyes.’

Gareth waited, hoping he would not have to squeeze every last detail from her. He sensed her unease and excitement and knew, from years of experience with her, that her instincts were always right. He kept quiet, hoping it would jolt her back to him. ‘Okay Rod, you know. We met him this afternoon. He has the cheek to make fun of me. It says, Dear Patricia, I hope you get the full pleasure of the strong, sensual strokes. Rod.’ Gareth laughed so hard that he was starting to choke. Jocelyn came outside. ‘Gareth?’ ‘I am fine Joss. I am having a very amusing conversation. Sorry, I will be inside in a few moments.’

‘Fine. Rod has just arrived. We will start dinner shortly.’

Jocelyn smiled politely and went back inside.

He nodded. ‘Trish, sorry about that. You must admit he has a good sense of humor. He is here now. He is pacing around inside. Gosh, I knew he was interested in you, but this is a bit over the top.’

Trisha sighed. ‘I don’t know. I suppose you are right. It is quite cute and funny. I will return it tomorrow with a suitable note. I’ll think of an equally cute response.’ ‘No, you can’t send it back. He bought it this afternoon. Joss was very excited that he bought her art. But how did he know where you live?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘Oh.... yes, I remember. He phoned me and asked me where you worked. He was very sneaky. He chatted about Jocelyn and asked me questions about a dentist she knows. Then he asked me about you. But it was very casual. He asked some general questions about you.’

‘Like what?’

‘Oh, Hi Rod. Yes, yes, I am coming inside. Have to go, Trish. I will call you later, okay?’ ‘Fine, fine.’

‘Hey Rod. Good to see you again. Sorry to hold you guys up. Something urgent. Sorry Joss, my dear. I will switch my phone off.’

‘Who is the woman who makes you smile so widely?’ Jocelyn was smiling. ‘Just a friend who needed some help. Just a friend, I am sad to say.’ Rod was watching him closely.

‘I doubt that. You seemed to almost die with laughter just now. What kind of woman makes you laugh like that?’ Jocelyn was not going to let it go.

‘Oh my friend Trisha. She has a wonderful sense of humor.’

‘Ah, the one you brought to the studio? She seemed a bit unfriendly.’ ‘Oh no, she was just a little distracted. She only came along because I begged her to. She had some meeting in the afternoon and was doing me a favor. Tonight, she had a small problem.... you know......’ Gareth trailed off when he realized that Rod was watching him closely.

‘Is she alright?’ Rod’s eyes were concerned.

‘Oh yes, yes. A little confused, but absolutely fine.’

‘Good.’

‘Anyway, I have very good news. After Rod bought that painting, everything just seemed to go. I have absolutely nothing left to sell from that set. Thank you Rod.’ She caressed his arm and grinned.

‘Oh that is great stuff, Joss. I am very pleased.’

Gareth looked at Rod, smiling broadly. ‘Yes, Rod, you took the most interesting one. Where will you hang it?’

Rod glared hard at Gareth. He looked away suddenly and spoke quietly. ‘I don’t know. It was a gift for someone. I hope she likes it.’

‘Ah, I see. You bought my work for a woman.’ Jocelyn gave him a pained expression. ‘Yes, that panting made me think of a particular woman. So I bought it for her.’ ‘Rod never buys my stuff. But today, he told me that nobody was to touch it. It is probably the only one I never named. It seemed to belong nowhere in my scheme of things.’ ‘Yes. I found the right home for it. I call it sensual pleasures. Because of the strong, sensual strokes....’ Rod spoke slowly and he had a distant, quietness in his eyes. Gareth cleared his throat. ‘Yes, that it definitely the right name for it.’ ‘I don’t know what you are talking about. I really never thought about it in such an erotic way. It was intended to show the blending of the different roles of a woman in the world. But, men, they only see the erotic part. You men!’

Both Rod and Gareth looked at each other and laughed then, knowing that it Trisha who had interpreted it in such a sexual way.

‘Oh I give up! Fine. Make my work the object of your sexual perversion.’ Jocelyn was getting agitated and Rod quickly changed the subject to her other paintings. She seemed happy enough and delighted them with tales about moments that had inspired her art.

But Jocelyn was not happy. She was spitting mad and deeply disappointed. She had assumed that Rod had finally bought one of her paintings as a symbol of his acceptance of her. She had spent the whole afternoon floating around, thinking how sexy it would be to find it hanging in his bedroom. She had planned to seduce him tonight, but she could tell that he was not in the mood and was thinking of that woman. She wondered who she was. Who is the woman who has my painting and my man’s attention?

Rod left quickly. His mind was flooded with images of her, the way her long brown hair sat so neatly around her shoulders and the way her green eyes had looked at him, knowing him. He had been sure she knew what he was thinking. There was something unusual about her, he was sure about that. He was also sure that he would do anything just to hold her, to touch her and to make love to her. He knew when she laughed and threw her head back so deliciously, that he needed to be the one who made her laugh. He wanted her to whisper sensual words to him in public places. He wanted her and the irrational urge to be near her overwhelmed him, confusing his logical brain. He wished he had not heard her talk so sexually. Yes. It is her fault. All that talk about sensual strokes.... I am simply aroused by her. He nodded his head in approval at himself for having solved the problem. But he wondered why he was pleased when he realized that Gareth was not her lover. He shook his head, hoping he could dismiss the nagging disquiet that was slowly seeping into him. He sighed and he drove home slowly. He felt the urge again that had plagued him the whole evening. It was an unfamiliar urge to feel her heart beat wildly against his. Patricia, Patricia. The name spun around in his head.

When he eventually got home, he was disappointed. He had hoped she would have phoned him. He had hoped she would be pleased. But there were no messages from her. Should he try and phone her? Should he just go to her? But fear of her rejection kept his desire to see her again under control. When he had left Jocelyn’s house, Gareth had warned him. ‘Rod, this is none of my business. But you need to know that she is a very special woman. She is different. So tread carefully.’

‘Tell me Gareth.’

‘Just be careful how you deal with her. She is special to me and to everyone else.’ ‘Fine, okay. I just sent her a painting. I didn’t attack her, you know.’ ‘I know. She is also very delicate.’

‘Are you in love with her, Gareth?’

Gareth had laughed. ‘Not in the way you think. No, I tease her sometimes, but not in a sexual way. But I do love her. She has a beautiful soul. She has helped me through a lot of difficult times. So she is special to me and I suppose I sound like a protective brother, don’t I?’

‘Yes, yes, was she pleased?’

‘Yes, but also very confused. She doesn’t know what to make of you.’ ‘Really, why?’

‘I don’t know.’

But before he could say anything else, Jocelyn had come to the door. Rod had left, thinking he would phone Gareth the next day.