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    CLJobe
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

ARROW - 51. Chapter 51

Saturday the club reopened, we were back on schedule. Marcel was smart, if he served turkey, no one knew it. The buzz was Thanksgiving with family. Holidays with family always was a great time for me. It seemed that families were closer on a Holiday. For Colin and I, it was special. We had our families and most important we had each other.

Sunday morning before the club opened, we took the family and Carlo to the gallery. Carlo was surprised, I showed him a painting of him as a young man and one of him with a lamb. Our parents got lost in the village.

“Mary, I think we should take a trip this summer to Italy.” I looked at my mom, I wasn’t sure if my mom was kidding or not. John spoke right up, “That’s a great idea.”

So as they looked at the painting of the village, they were planning their trip.

Carlo wanted to know about the village. I left Colin to explain it to him. He just smiled.

Later that evening as we were sitting on the roof, “Carlo, have you traveled in Europe?”

“Not really. I’ve been to Madrid and Barcelona. My school had a trip to Madrid. My mom and dad were with me when we went to Barcelona.”

Then I listened as Colin took over. I chuckled, he would ask if they ate at this restaurant and did they see this sight. I knew we would be visiting Europe quite frequently.

The week-end after Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad went home. I gave them a few paintings for Mrs. McNiel.

Carlo left two weeks before Christmas with his painting. He knew the value of the painting he had as he had seen the opening bid on his paintings in the gallery.

During the Christmas holidays, “What do you think Armand, should we invite Tony and his wife to view the village? Maybe if he sees it he’ll change his mind.”

“You can try but I don’t think it will work.”

The day after Christmas all of the businesses were closed. Colin invited Tony and his wife to see the mural in the club and the paintings in the galleria

Arriving at the galleria, “Tony, you have those plain walls. I’m sure Armand could paint something you would like on those walls. Look at these paintings.” Colin led them to the section where my paintings were on display. I noticed Anna, his wife, looking at the painting of Carlo with the lamb. I watched as they looked at paintings of the parks at the coast, paintings of the ocean, a painting of a fishing boat and a painting of the flowers on our roof.

As Colin was talking to them, I went to the office. I knew Colin would eventually show them the village. I watched, from the office, as they approached the room with the village. Colin opened the door, turned on the light and waited. I moved to the doorway. At first Tony didn’t say anything but I heard Anna gasp.

Tony walked around stopping on occasions. He looked at Colin and he wasn’t happy. “This, is what you brought us here to see, take us home. I don’t want to see you, or him, ever in my restaurant again.”

I was shocked and I know Colin was as well. This was not the reaction we expected. Without another word, Colin drove them home.

Something didn’t seem right to me. Why would they react like that? Most people would want some token of their home being so far away.

Over the next few weeks, I thought about Tony’s and Anna’s reactions. I sketched a picture of Tony and Anna, wrote a letter to Carmella, including the drawings. Now I needed to wait for an answer.

With the holidays over, Colin went to work with his dad, I painted and took the finished paintings to the gallery. Mary always had coffee and if I timed it right, we would have lunch. I noticed there were always students there. The village became a big hit, and it showed. I saw more paintings from the students mimicking the village or rural scenes.

Mary was becoming quite popular among the college artists. They were actually selling their works of art.

GG still made her visits. On one of her visits, I thought about what she would look like as a young woman. I called Mom to send me photos of GG and photos of the past. When they came, I started to paint people in homes. I would paint a couple having dinner like a hundred years ago. I painted a couple sitting before a fireplace. Mary liked that one. She said they have a secret. That reminded me of someone else who had a secret.

Mary started to hang a few of my paintings in the main hall. She said she needed them to provide balanced. I didn’t believe her, but that was okay by me. Only I didn’t anticipated where these paintings would lead.

Copyright © 2022 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

On 7/8/2022 at 11:43 AM, weinerdog said:

All good except for Tony and Anna of course. I

The only thing I can think of is they have a painful memory of what was painted 

All due respect to the previous comment write how you feel if it's short so be it

Be careful what you wish for although short chapters get posted more frequently. 

Tony's reaction would suggest he left under pressure. I would bet it wasn't the village but the people'

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On 7/8/2022 at 12:41 PM, mikedup said:

Tony is an idiot , you can't see something and then loose your cool and leave , some reason and explanation is necessary, GG is still inspiring him , and I think a painting of her will no doubt end up in the Louvre, interesting developments and times ahead 

I agree, Tony's reaction was way overboard 

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On 7/8/2022 at 1:28 PM, chris191070 said:

I wonder what upset Tony so much.

Armand is really developing his painting style.

Armand's paintings are moving up. think about buying a painting for 50 dollars and 10 yeas later it's worth 5000 

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On 7/9/2022 at 12:27 AM, Anton_Cloche said:

"In GA respect is everything"

This chapter provides additional insight into some of the characters, in particular their reactions to visiting Armand's new gallery. Carlo seems to be most touched and appreciative of Armand's painting of him and the lamb.

A surprising reaction is from Anna and Tony, and his anger at the mural depicting the village in Italy. I suspect the next chapters will reveal what in  Tony's memories troubles him so much that he bars Armand and Colin from returning to his restaurant.

As for some comments by others, @Gary L of @Timejun seems to be apt. However, to paraphrase a noted NYC attorney with expertise in publishing, "Consider the source" (in this case of the critique / comment). Is he/she/they a published author in their own right?

Various other learned people including authors, educators and statesmen have opined: "Everyone is entitled to an opinion. What they are not entitled to is respect for that opinion. If they have unpleasant or stupid opinions, it’s fine to criticise or mock them".

Another said: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how wrong they are".

The original 'comnent' stating a want for "a chapter" (note lack of all caps normally equated to shouting) and "...not just a few paragraphs". First, according to Webster's, Oxford and other dictionaries "a few" is generally considered 'to be a smaller number, greater than two and usually less than six'. Second, a paragraph is: a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering. By these definitions, this 'Chapter' consists of 23 paragraphs. 

If one wants lengthy chapters, may I suggest War and Peace or perhaps The Brilliant Boy Billionaire by Altemexis, which is truly a wonderfully unique and timely book, and an amazing reading experience.

(All the above is offered IMHO).

🇺🇦Season 17 Wow GIF by America's Got Talent

Thanks, Tony. You are really something. From now on I'll refer to you as my defender.

I am not a grammarian. I pretty much write as I speak. my education has been in the sciences, my degree is in chemical engineering. My stories are written in my vocabulary as if I was one of the characters. 

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Sorry playing catchup yet again... Mind this time I do have good news, I've just been made store manager so not having time to read feels justified for once.

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The most surprising thing was Tony's anger and Anna's gasp.  What could cause something like this?  I hope Armand's attempt at reconciliation is successful.

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