“When you are married someday, you will see your husband as the handsome model that he is in your eyes,” Rebecca said as she kissed Robert.
The two of them were such a sweet couple. It was encouraging to see them together and how they interacted with each other. Rebecca was more of the caretaker for the family and Robert was the provider, but they switched roles as necessary and took care of each other very well.
“I’m really excited about this photography show. I hope there are a lot of people there,” I said, trying to change the subject.
“Yes, I’m sure there will be. There have been flyers all over Kansas City and I think they said all the tickets for the event were sold out.”
I couldn’t help but smile. All the tickets being sold out was a big deal. That meant there would be over a thousand people at my show. All of them interested in seeing my art and possibly buying some of it. I would really love to sell a few pieces to help pay for the renovation to my family’s home.
“How many total pieces do you have?” Robert asked.
“I should have twenty-six. I’m not sure if they will be showing all of the pieces or picking twenty of their favorite.”
“This is big Katelyn. Like really big. People will come to your show and be talking about your photography in the newspapers and stuff. You might just end up being really famous.”
I couldn’t help but smile at Rebecca’s enthusiasm. She was always one of my biggest supporters and it made me feel so optimistic about my show. I had sold a few photos through friends and local people, plus I had sold several pictures online, but I had never had a real show. I had never put my work on display for people to critique and judge with me standing right there. It made me nervous even to think about it.
The thought of people picking apart my work or saying bad things about my photos, it made me feel pretty anxious. I really did hope that Chris could make it to the show and I wanted him to be able to walk around with me to be my protector from the critiques. His physical presences would make it hard for people to say too many bad things to me. At 6’2 and with all the muscles Chris had, no one was likely to be talking very poorly in front of him at least. They would be too afraid of him.
Chris wasn’t a scary guy, even if he looked like it on the outside. In reality, he was a very kind man who seemed to have a lot of demons in his past that he liked to keep protected. He always seemed to be protecting something. I did really want to get to the bottom of what he did for a living and why he was here. It seemed like there was quite the story there and I just wasn’t hearing it yet.
Chapter 23
The night before the art show I didn’t sleep much at all. My brain raced with excitement over the event and all the people that would be there. It didn’t help that I was away from my bed and staying in a hotel nearer to the show. The gallery said it might take them a couple days to make sure they had all the sales cleared before they would be able to give me back the remaining photos. I didn’t mind though, it was nice to have a little bit of an adventure and stay in the city.
I got to the gallery nice and early and walked around to see how all the photos looked. The lighting in the gallery was simply amazing and it surprised me at just how perfect my photos looked there. I was confident in the quality of my photos, but seeing them on display here made them look even better.
My heart started racing as I looked around the gallery and saw my life’s work on display. I said a silent prayer that people wouldn’t think my work was horrible. That was all I wanted. Just not horrible. They didn’t need to love it; I just couldn’t take it if everyone thought my photos were bad.
“Katelyn!”
The gallery owner Sarah waved at me enthusiastically and started to walk over.
“Hi Sarah, the showroom looks amazing. I think your display and lighten is what is going to get people interested in my work tonight.”
“Oh shut up! Your work is amazing. I bet we sell at least half of your photos.”
Wow, half of them. I couldn’t even imagine it. That would mean I had enough money to finish the whole renovation on my family’s home. I would be able to do the kitchen too and that was going to be extremely expensive.
“Wow, Sarah that would be great. Thanks so much for believing in me.”
Sarah brought me around to show me where the drinks would be set up and the flyers about my work. She showed me where the balcony was in case I needed to take a breather.
“Many artists get overwhelmed at their first show. There will be a lot of people wanting to talk to you and a lot of questions. The hardest part will be consistently keeping a smile on your face and interacting with people. Use this balcony when you want to escape for a moment. It has stairs that go all the way down to the first floor if you decide to make a run for it.” Sarah winked and laughed a bit.
“I think I’ll be alright. I’m really excited to meet everyone and talk about my work.”
I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in a back room and trying to get some sleep. I had been up the whole night and really didn’t want to have bags under my eyes when I met everyone at the event that night. I was able to get an hour nap in before I needed to change and get ready for the show. I brought a black cocktail dress that I thought would help me blend in with the crowd if necessary. The back was cut really low and it fit me perfectly, like a glove. I had some basic black heels on to tie the whole outfit together.
When the evening started, there were at least thirty people outside the gallery door just waiting to get in. It was exciting to see that many people interested in the event. My body was so tense that I had to have a couple drinks to calm my nerves. My pulse raced and my face was flush with excitement.
I tried to just mingle around and see what people thought of the work. Since Sarah had not introduced me yet, it was nice to be anonymous and able to blend in. I really wanted to hear their thoughts and critiques without people being obliged to give me compliments. If they knew I was the artist it was more likely that they would feel like not saying the truth.
People seemed to really like the picture I took when I fell in the woods. It was one of my favorites as well. The dark circle around the moon and the trees that covered the corners made the picture very scary looking. It was ominous and I liked that. Especially because that night had been anything but ominous, it had been fantastic.
That photo was the first night Chris and I were together and I could still feel the ecstasy of his hands on my body. My body reacted as I let my thoughts drift back to that night and the power of Chris as he brought me to orgasm.
I pulled out a phone and sent a text to Chris to see if he was going to be able to make my show. Since I really didn’t know what he did for a living or where he was, I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to come to my show. It was perfectly fine with me if he didn’t show up. I had enough on my hands as I tried to relax before Sarah introduced me to the crowd. If Chris had been there, it would have made me even more nervous.
Chapter 24
“I know you all are dying to meet the artist of these amazing pictures, so please let me introduce you to Katelyn Peterson,” Sarah said over a small microphone.
The whole gallery stopped what they were doing and looked up at the small platform that Sarah was on. I begrudgingly made my way up there to say a few words. I was not the type of person who had a lot to say on a normal day, but in front of a thousand people I really didn’t have much to say at all.