by Ferraro, W
“Really?” Colby said, as she crawled onto her bed and curled into a fetal-like position facing the other woman.
Paige grabbed hold of one of Colby’s hand, squeezing it in a sign of support. “I knew something was different about you lately, but I just couldn’t put my foot on it. Even your usual never shutting up mouth has been more tame. Love explains it.”
Holding tight to Paige, Colby finally let the tears fall. “Oh Paige, what am I going to do?
“Why do you have to do anything?”
Colby sat up quickly, looking at Paige as if she had lost her mind. “You are joking, right?”
Paige sat up too. “Why? I’m serious. Why do you have to do anything other than what you apparently have been doing?”
Taking one of the pillows from the head of the bed, Colby thrashed it against Paige’s face before screaming in frustration. “You are a big fucking help, you know that! You are supposed to sit here and tell me I am crazy and that I need to get my head screwed on straight! That loving Reed Dennison, hell, just being an easy lay for him, can never end in any way that doesn’t involve me broken.”
Taking the pillow and curling it so she now leaned on it, Paige asked with all seriousness. “No, I don’t think I will. Now that I am not in shell shock mode, I can honestly see you two together. You know, the whole opposites attract angle.”
Colby let out a frustrating cry before getting up and walking across the place. When she reached the small living area, she grabbed hold of one side of the large canvas that haunted her memory and dragged it over to the where the others leaned. She moved and slid different sized canvases out of the way before reaching the end of the pile, hauled the memory-inducing one to the far back, facing it toward the wall for good measure, before leaning the others back in front of it.
Once happy with her decision, she padded the short distance to the kitchen area and went about making a cup of tea.
Paige joined her; she placed a hand on her shoulder and said softly, “I wish I knew what to say.”
“Me too.” Colby didn’t say anything else, but she ceased all motion and just slumped her head against her chest in defeat.
Paige took over the duties of making the tea as Colby walked back over to her bed and crawled under the covers.
With a hot mug in hand, Paige walked back over to the small alcove and placed the cup on the bedside table. She sat on the edge of her bed and ran a hand through Colby’s short hair in a soothing motion.
“Please, Paige, help me stay away from him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I can’t live with myself if I had anything to do with him not getting elected. It was silly of me to think that this little affair would or could morph into anything else. I take responsibility for that, but I cannot stand in the way of his dreams. Especially not for something that would never work. We are from two different worlds.” The fight clearly drained from her, Colby’s voice was raspy and soft.
Paige just continued her soothing motions before asking quietly, “I think you are wrong. Your worlds, as you call it, are the same. Any man, including Reed Dennison, would be damn lucky to have you. But with all that being said, don’t you think that is a conversation you need to have with him?”
“No, no more conversations and no more moments of stupidity for me. I take responsibility for my actions and decisions, but when they have to do with him, they just need to stop now. Regardless of what I want in my dreams, this is what I need to do.”
Colby cried herself to sleep minutes later, all the while being lulled by Paige’s soothing movements.
Once Colby was asleep, Paige called the station then Gage explaining she could be reached by radio, but she would not be returning to the station tonight. She didn’t disclose to either person on the phone the real reason, only that she needed to take care of a personal matter.
Paige puttered around the apartment, picking up a few things before walking back to Colby’s bed. Once there, she removed her shoes and lay next to her cousin.
Her heart broke. Unable to fathom the pain in which Colby was going through, Paige was the type of person to take care of everyone around her. She would do anything to take this pain away from Colby if she could.
It was true at first that she was shocked to learn of Colby and Reed’s relationship, but she wasn’t lying when she told Colby that after she’d had time to think about it, they truly did complement each other. But Paige was also a realist, and she knew a relationship with someone like him couldn’t be easy.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth a try.
Watching Colby sleep, she wished she could do something for her only remaining family member. All she had to offer were kind words, which were all too familiar to her own ears.
“It’s true that the Dennison men are the type of things in which dreams are made of, but that doesn’t mean losing your heart to one of them is easy or worth it in the end.”
Four weeks have agonizingly gone by, and Paige and the girls have finally pulled Colby out of her apartment. No easy feat either.
In the time since she had left Reed’s place on the infamous night, Colby had become quite the recluse. Only leaving to go to work at the restaurant and trying to show a believable front that nothing had changed; functioning for the sake of appearances rather than sanity.
As far as she knew, no one in town knew her secret, aside from Paige and Reed’s campaign manager.
So every day she went to work, even picked up more shifts—anything that would keep her mind busy. Sleep had become as elusive as regaining childhood. So when much of the world was sleeping, Colby was painting . . . creating. It seemed her brushes were her only true confidants; nonetheless, she only found shreds of solace at this for all her recent work had a similar feel—tragic, blue, and broken. With every stroke, she was just reliving each memory and each decision. However, she couldn’t stop. She thought she could expel him from her system—purge the memory of his touch and eradicate the phantom feel of his hands and mouth.
Reed did reach out to her a few times afterward, once coming to her door in the middle of the night. He spoke through the door for her to open up as she sat quietly on the floor of the other side crying. The other two times were in Molly’s—once when followed by a small posse of reporters and Lacey, meeting and mingling with voters in the picture perfect small town restaurant, when anything personal was impossible. His eyes swung to hers on more than one occasion, but that was all it was. The other he had come in later one night, when some customers were eating, and tried to wait her out. Every time he would try to grab her attention, she feigned busyness or something forgotten to steer clear of him. After thirty minutes, he took the hint and left. That was almost three weeks ago, and she hasn’t laid eyes on him since. Well, other than on the television.
Through the grapevine, she knew he was busy working and campaigning hard, easily becoming the favored candidate to win.
True to her word, she valued every campaign point he made and knew he was the right man for the job.
Content to work and live within her four walls, she knew the time of reckoning was coming, but she would dig her heels in with all that she had.
Two days ago, Paige showed up at her place in the early hours of the morning.
“Thought I’d find you awake,” Paige said. She let herself in since Colby didn’t answer the door the first five times she knocked. Instead, Paige found her facing away standing in front of canvas, easel height, with Colby running a brush back and forth over it. “Let me guess. We are still working in the blue hues?”
Colby never missed a stroke. Knowing Paige, she was trying for the umpteenth time to get her out and about when she wasn’t working, but Colby just didn’t have it in her.
Aware that Paige wouldn’t leave until she acknowledged her, Colby finally put the brush in a rusted can of cleaner and walked away from her work.
“What do you want, Paige?”
Paige helped herself to the con
tents of Colby’s fridge. “I’m here on official business.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yup,” Paige answered as she ate a cold french fry from a two-day-old takeout carton from Molly’s. “Gage sent me. He wants to know if you have another painting that matches the one Delaney has. He wants to give it to her for an early Happy Thursday gift.”
“Happy Thursday?” Colby asked in confusion.
“Yeah. It’s too late to be their anniversary gift, way past her birthday, and too early for Mother’s Day or Christmas. Don’t ask! Just believe me when I say that man is always coming up with a reason to do something sweet for her, so I just took the liberty to finally give it its own holiday.”
“You are insane,” Colby said, but she did so with a smile before walking over to the pile of finished canvases and looking through them before pulling one out. When she reached her counter, she handed the canvas over to Paige and watched her look at it. It was similar to the one Delaney had liked; this one an abstract version of a rainy day through a stained glass window
“It’s beautiful,” Paige said being sure to clean her hands before she touched the painting.
“Thank you. And please tell Gage an early Happy Thursday from me.”
“Will do. So how much?”
“Nothing. It makes me happy to know it will go to someone who appreciates it.”
Paige groaned. She gently placed the art down before saying in all seriousness, “What did I ever do to you? You are going to make me go back to my boss and tell him that you refused his money, money he is more than happy to pay with a cheesy line about appreciation. Oh God, it will be awful!”
This had Colby laughing, knowing if Gage was anything like his wife, then this was an accurate depiction.
After Paige had left with canvas in hand, she called saying Gage would be by the restaurant to deliver the money he thought her painting was worth, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Following through with his threat, Colby found herself under the angry glare of the town sheriff, and in that moment of weakness, his fiery, clever female deputy asked her to leave the brushes at home tonight and go out.
Gage had Colby so rattled that she found herself agreeing to both money and an outing.
Cervone’s was fairly busy, but the four woman were able to get a table, which was currently covered with an array of empty glasses and bottles.
Colby had to admit she was having a good time. It was nice to laugh and not think about her current dilemma. Bree was currently getting another round of drinks while Delaney was talking about Jacob and Tessa’s obsession with decorating the new baby’s room.
By the time Bree rejoined the table, balancing a shot for three of them and a bottle of beer for her, Colby didn’t miss the look Bree, Delaney, and Paige passed one another.
Colby took a long pull from her beer before looking around the table at each of her friends. Each looked somewhere between giddy and nervous.
“What?” she asked, placing her beer back down on the table.
Paige motioned for Bree to start; Delaney nodded her head in agreement.
“So we’ve come up with a great idea. We think you should do an art show,” the youngest Dennison mentioned with obvious delight.
Both Delaney and Paige were bobbing their heads at the idea, smiling goofily at Colby.
Colby was grateful she had swallowed her beer before Bree spoke or it might have reappeared all over the table. She looked at each one of her friends, expecting one of them to break out in laughter at the joke, but no one cracked.
“Funny. Really, guys, that’s a good one,” Colby answered, picking up her bottle with a slightly shaky hand.
Bree leaned her elbows on the table and crossed her arms, never taking her eyes off Colby. “We aren’t joking. It is a great idea!”
Feeling her stomach drop that this, in fact, wasn’t a joke, she felt her cheeks redden and her eyes widen. “You guys are crazy. Who would even come to this art show?”
Now, it was Delaney’s turn to show her excitement at the idea. “I can pretty much guarantee the majority of the town will. You have wrapped this town and most of its residents around your little finger, Colby.”
They can’t be serious? No one has ever really shown interest in my art other than the three women who sat at this table with me. Yes, I had dreams to one day make a living off my art, but I knew the likelihood of that was right up there with winning the lottery.
Colby just sat there and shook her head, unable to even find words to respond with.
“Don’t worry! We have it all covered. It won’t cost that much, and we will all help in any way we can. Molly already offered up the food, and I’m sure I know some firefighters and cops who would be happy to help move all the canvases and set up. I’ve got a connection for all the fabrics and tablecloths, and Delaney just happens to know a great graphic artist who’d be happy to do the marketing!” Bree informed.
Unable to comprehend how much thought they had all put into this, Colby grasped on to the only thing she could think of. ”Well, that sounds all well and good, but you are forgetting one thing—the venue. And I can’t imagine that will come cheap.”
Now, it was Paige’s turn to join the conversation. “Oh, we already have that figured out too. We are going to have it at Sanctuary.”
“Where?”
“It is the old church. They redid it, but right now, it is an empty space. I bet if you smile and bat your lashes, we could get them to open up for it.”
“And why would they do that?” Colby asked.
“Because it just so happens that one of your friend’s family owns it.” Colby looked around the table trying to figure out whom, when Paige took mercy on her, but not before rolling her eyes. “Dustin’s uncle is the owner. I’m sure he would be happy to help out.” Paige winked, causing Colby to blush deeper.
That was the other topic Colby had avoided, or tried to avoid, over the last few weeks. Dustin.
He had been coming to both the restaurant and her place, trying to spend time with her. She felt horrible for how she had been treating him, so she finally caved to his hundredth invitation and they had coffee yesterday morning.
Much to her surprise, she had a really nice time. He got her to laugh, and she finally began to feel the tourniquet around her heart loosen. Never once in that ninety-minute meeting did she think of Reed or the abyss that seemed to be her insides. The laughter flowed freely and willingly with him. He was a good friend, and that was what she needed now.
“No, I don’t want to use Dustin in that way. I can’t ask him to put in a good word for me to his family.”
Paige perked up a bit more. “Would you be surprised if it was Dustin’s idea or that fact that he had already made the arrangements with his uncle?”
Of course, he did.
“Oh, come on, Colby, you have to!” Bree whined as she bounced in her seat to the left of Colby.
Looking around the table at all their pleading faces, she hesitated. “Guys . . . I don’t know. This is crazy. You want me to put my paintings up there for everyone who thinks I’m normal to look at and dissect. They’ll probably all think I’m insane and that my work is crap!”
“Oh, please!” Delaney rolled her eyes.
“Will you stop,” came from Paige.
“Stop your bitching,” was followed by Bree.
“Look, I appreciate what you are all trying to do, but I just don’t think I can,” Colby uttered, hoping they would understand.
However, understanding was the last thing she got. Well, at least from one surly brunette.
“Are you done being a chicken-shit, or are we going to play this game just a bit longer?” Bree asked, annoyance lacing her words.
“Bree . . .” Delaney warned.
Leaning back in her chair, Bree crossed her arms and squinted at the group. “No! We all know this is a great idea, yet here she is digging her heels in and we are just going to let her?” Grabbing one of the empt
y bottles from the table, she stood with it in hand and went to walk to the bar, saying loudly, “Hell, you might even make some money, but please, stop yourself without even trying.”
Colby watched the other woman walking away, knowing she wasn’t being open-minded. But what if everyone laughed? What if they told me I have no talent? Can I live through that? That one thought process got her really thinking. Considering what I’ve been through recently, is someone not understanding my art really that big of a thing?
Delaney, always the peacemaker, asked softly, “Did you think I was just being nice when I said I wanted that piece that is now hanging in my family room?”
What did she have to lose at the cost of honesty? “Well, yes.”
Colby returned Delaney’s smile at this.
“No, silly girl. I wanted it because I fell in love with it—truly. I made Gage hang it that very night. It is beautiful and something I was and still am willing to pay for. You have an amazing talent, so why shouldn’t you be paid appropriately for it? If I walked into a gallery and saw it, I would pay for it.”
“But my apartment is far from a gallery,” Colby inserted.
“However,” Paige argued, “it might as well be one. You have enough exquisite art there.” Giving Colby a look, Paige told her she would not put up with any bickering.
“So not only do you want me to have this show, but you also want me to ask people to actually spend real money on my pictures?”
Paige and Delaney answered in unison. “Yes!”
Colby just shook her head in confusion. “Of course, you’d say that. It’s official—you guys have gone around the bend! That’s it; you are all officially shut off. Especially you, Mrs. Dennison. They apparently gave you something other than spring water.”
“She still putting up a fight?” Bree demanded as she rejoined the group with a new beer in hand.
Paige started to show signs that she was growing tired of this fight too. “We are serious, Colby. At least think about it rather than shoot it down right away.”
Picking up her beer and draining the bottle, Colby wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before placing the now empty bottle back on the table. “Oh, I know you are all serious. That is what I’m afraid of.”
