THE DOOR - PART 2 The Door – Part 2 2 Milling around her Bungalow, which was about a block or two from a charming oceanfront village, she glanced at the paintings she already had. The farmhouse door was white with peeling paint had been her favorite up till now. There was on in her bedroom hanging over her bed. It was a painting of double doors that looked like they might open to a beautiful Victorian house. She even had a couple of old paintings and photographs wrapped in plastic in her basement still undecided as to where they’d go. Her friends kidded her about her collection and one even suggested she try collecting some paintings of windows for awhile. At long last the week came to an end. It was Sunday morning and she was all dressed and made up. She wanted to be one of the first at the gallery for fear that someone else might try to scoop the painting before she got there. There was quite a bit of traffic but Sundays were usually busy in the artsy end of town where brunch was a favorite weekend outing. Shelly parked her car and headed for Larue. The gallery was tastefully decorated with bouquets of exotic flowers and Chinese screens. A bar was set up and waiters were already walking around with trays of champagne. One table was covered with mini bite size eggs Benedicts, mini waffles and melon wrapped with prosciutto. A large fruit tray with dipping sauce and several breakfast breads and tiny muffins were laid out with napkins printed especially for Larue’s grand opening. Shelly spied Patel on the other side of the room chatting with guests. He saw her pass by on her way to see the painting. Finally she got the chance to see the paining up close and it was exquisite. Everything about it was perfect, the size, the colors and the door itself. She was tempted to reach out and touch its dry paint. She hurriedly searched through her catalogue to find out how much the piece being sold for when Patel arrived at her side. “So you did come back. Welcome. I’m so sorry I was unable to let you in last week but we wanted everything to be perfect for our grand opening. I’m sure you understand,” Patel said. Shelly nodded but continued looking for a price. “Are you looking for the price of this painting?” asked Patel. She found his business practices a bit annoying. Then he asked “Tell me, what is it about the painting that draws you?” As she paused considering his question she too wondered what it was about the painting that made her feel so passionate about acquiring it. “I can’t explain why I like it so much. I mean it’s clearly beautiful and very well done. I know this might sound strange but the energy of this painting speaks to me,” she said quietly. Saliba didn’t act surprised by her comment. His eyes smiled in a way that made Shelly feel a tad uncomfortable. “So how much is it?” she asked. “That my dear is a very complicated question. No one will ever truly be able to own this painting. I’m afraid it’s too long a story for me to go into here and now,” he said giving her his business card. “Why don’t you call me and make an appointment to discuss the painting, and its history and how you could rent it,” he said. Shelly didn’t quite understand and was in fact a little put off by his comment. She was about to protest when Patel assured her that he wouldn’t let the painting leave the gallery until she had met with him. Rent a painting? It was a most odd set of circumstances and as she left the gallery she couldn’t help but wonder what the big secret was. Patel was odd and there was something about him she didn’t trust, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her so the next day she called and made an appointment to see him on Wednesday.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:44:02 +0000
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