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- 09/13/2022
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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 - 88. Chapter 88
I had started to budget my time, after dropping the boys off at school, I would paint. James would prepare lunches and when it was time, I would drive him to the school with the lunches. But we always stopped to buy milk, check the fruit and get any condiments we needed. Although it would be easier to buy straws and seasonal fruit at the bulk store, I felt buying at the little place where we would need the occasional use of his grill, would be a good future investment as well as a back up, if needed.
Colin was a great help, I’m sure he said something to Mom and Dad. He took over finding a small van and supervising James’s driving lessons.
The dreaded week-end was approaching. Professor called and wanted to know if I could serve a special lunch on Thursday. He wanted to use this luncheon as a welcoming to the arriving group of critiques. I told him I would check with Marcel and get back to him.
Going to the kitchen, James was busy making peanut butter, I had bought him a grinder that Marcel said would do the job. He put some on a cracker, “Taste this.” I did and now I knew why James was reading those labels at the bulk store. I went and got a roll, opened it and handed it to him. Laughing he made me a peanut sandwich.
Marcel came from the freezer with several packages of meat. “Marcel, I am expecting a group of art critics from Europe. The professor wanted to know if he could have a luncheon here Thursday, as a kick off to their meeting.”
“Will this be a full European lunch, with soup, main course, salads and desserts? If it is, then I’ll need more help. In the morning James needs to prepare the lunches. He won’t have time to help much in the kitchen.”
“Wait, I’ll call the professor and get an idea of what he has in mind.” I knew I would need several bottles of wine.
“Professor, Armand here. I have spoken to Marcel our chief about lunch on Thursday. Exactly what did you have in mind?”
“Armand, I don’t want a banquet. I know Marcel makes a good selection of tapas and perhaps some hor d’ oeuvres. Just make sure you have plenty of wine.” Laughing I said good-bye.
“Marcel” walking back into the kitchen, “I’ve spoken to the professor. He suggested tapas and hor d’oeuvres.”
“That we can handle. I’ll need the boys.”
I made a mental note to tell the servers I’ll need them earlier on Thursday. I called the professor back and told him we would expect them about 12.
That evening I told Colin. He said he would be here.
I was busy painting when James came running in with a big smile. He was waving his temporary driving license. He passed his tests. I grabbed him in a hug, “I’m so proud of you. Here take these keys, today you can deliver the lunches. Stop and get milk. Here this should cover the cost of milk.”
“If he has fresh fruit?”
“Use your judgement. But in case they do have some, here’s more money.” I’m not sure if he realizes how much money I gave him.
I went back to my painting, I finished Tommy and the elephant but I needed to make a frame. The next almost finished painting was the little girl feeding the lamb. I tried to capture her smile when the lamb walked up to her. As I was thinking about that day, I quickly sketched Colin and the monkey. I want back to my painting and that is where the boys caught up with me.
“Who brought you home?”
“Uncle James. Can we have a snack?”
“Is Uncle James in the kitchen?” They nodded yes. “Then go and see him. Ask him nicely to give you a snack.”
They were gone as fast as they showed up.
I was still painting when Colin showed up. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost 4:30. The club has been opened for an hour. “Who is at the book?”
“Paul, I called Marcel and he said you weren’t there. So I called Paul.”
“I’m sorry, Colin. I got so wrapped up in my painting, I forgot the time.”
“What have you done?”
“I finished Tommy on the elephant. Now I need to do the frame.”
“You want to show that painting at the gallery while those people are here?”
“Yes”
“Then go and make the frame. I’ll handle the club.”
Three hours later I had finished the frame. I needed to varnish it but I wanted to show it to Colin. Walking into the kitchen, James asked what I was carrying. I showed him the frame. “It still needs a coat of lacquer, but you can see the design. I had carved animals on the frame. James started, “Giraffe, lion, monkey, is this suppose to be a tiger?”
When he was finished I took the frame to show Colin and you know who else was there, the boys. Then they started naming the animals.
“Armand, that frame is worth a few dollars. If you decide to quit painting you can always make picture frames.” He saw the look on my face, kissed me, “Never stop painting.”
I took the frame back to the garage to finish the final coat of lacquer.”
The next morning, I took the frame and painting to the gallery. There I put the painting in the frame and hung it on my wall. Mom came in as I was leaving. “I hung a new painting, you need to price it. See you later.”
Arriving back at the club, I gave James the car keys and headed for our apartment. There I found Colin sitting at the table with a coffee and a roll. “Aren’t going to work today?”
“Aren’t the Professors guests arriving today?”
“Yes” “I said I’ll be here for you.”
I went and finished dressing, this morning that meant showering and shaving. Dressed I walked into the kitchen and sitting at the table with Colin was my friend, the Professor.
“Your early.”
“Two special friends wanted to meet you before the rest. They are in the club enjoying a coffee.”
I wonder who were these special friends. Walking into the club, I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Andre, Jean, what are you doing here. I never expected to see you here in the States.”
Welcoming French friends is a lot different than welcoming American friends. No handshakes, hugging was on order with a certain kiss sounds on the cheeks, ‘la bise’.
We no sooner had finished our greeting when they wanted to know about the mural. That was when I realized that was the true intent of the professor. Standing in front of the mural, my friends were amused as they saw the paintings I did of the Eiffel Tower with two faces peering out. One of our boys, John, brought out five expresso coffees and a French press coffee maker with more expresso in it. The coffee was strong, “This reminds me of the coffee we drank at your home, Andre. We normally drink American coffee which I’m sure you know. I think you called it colored water.”
“Yes and this morning at the hotel, it was horrible. But you have redeemed yourself.” Holding up his coffee cup, John added more coffee to it.
“I am told you own a gallery.”
“Yes, but it is small. Not like the Louvre.”
“The Louvre has been around for a long time. With time, maybe your gallery will become famous.” I heard Colin, ‘from his mouth to your ears.’
“Andre, Jean, I have to go and get the others. Armand and Colin can entertain you.”
I didn’t need to entertain them, John brought out a tray of hor d’oeuvres. I watch Andre take one and then Jean. They took another, “Who is your cook?”
“We don’t have a cook.”
“Okay who is your chef? We want to meet him.”
Walking into the kitchen, “Marcel, these men want to meet you.”
Colin and I sat back and listen. Every once in a while they would look at Colin and I. James was preparing lunches. I heard Andre ask Marcel if he was going to serve lunch in a paper bag. I told Colin and then we both laughed.
John came to tell us our guests had arrived. He filled his tray with small cups of the strong coffee and went back out. Colin and I followed. In the kitchen Marcel prepared trays of hor d’oeuvres. John went back into the kitchen and returned with a French press filled with strong coffee.
The next time he came out, he had a tray of hor d’oeuvres and small paper napkin. This continued until the other servers showed up. Then the boys worked the crowd, Colin’s words, not mine.
Coffee was followed by wine, there was Jimmy opening and pouring wine.
After the hor d’oeuvres, Marcel started to send out his version of Tapas. I say his version because they had a French twist.
French cheese on a thin cracker but the cracker had a distinct flavor that complemented the cheese. This was followed by small sandwiches that had prosciutto and brie cheese, small baguettes with ham and butter.
I believe that must of had a big breakfast, the hit was the wine. Checking the kitchen, Marcel had two trays filled with these sandwiches. “Marcel, there are enough sandwiches, serve these to the club tonight. Save a few for Colin and the boys for dinner.”
I’m not sure how Colin sold Marcel to come and work for us but he did. In many ways Marcel became part of the family.
“Armand, we are going to head to the gallery.”
“I’ll be along shortly.” I had to wait until James return from the lunch run. Andre and Jean came to invite Colin and I to have dinner with them. I invited them to have dinner with us at the club, which they accepted. Leaving, Andre whispered, “We were hoping you would invite us.” I laughed as I thought Marcel will be delighted.
James returned, he had stopped at the bulk shop to pick up supplies. Colin went to help him unload the car. I saw several sacks of peanuts and cases of fruit. “James, didn’t you say that the fruit was contaminated with spays?”
“Yes, but I soak this fruit to remove some of the spay and then I peel the skin, leaving the fruit.”
I wondered if there were farmers that grew fruit with out the use of sprays.
Car unloaded, Colin and I drove to the gallery. “I wonder what they think of my painting.”
“They would be fools if they didn’t equate it to the masters.”
“They all weren’t enthusiastic about my mural. One said it’s nice.”
“Nice? Ignore him he wouldn’t know a Michelangelo painting if it bit him.”
“Are you saying you think my paintings are as good as Michelangelo’s?”
“Better” “I love you, too.”
“What do you think about getting James a small car for deliveries?”
“I thought you were going to look for a small truck.”
“I did but I was thinking a car would be better.”
“I’ll look around.” “You could get Dad to help.”
He just looked at me and smiled. We were at the gallery.
Parking, “Let’s go in the back door.”
Walking into the office, “Mom, what’s going on?”
“Your friend and some of his colleagues are having a very loud discussion.”
We kissed her on the cheek, “We’ll be back.” Walking toward were my paintings were hung, we could hear them.
“A camera could have taken these. There is no imagination, at least these convey what the artist sees.”
Andre saw us, he bump Rene and they headed to us. “You are just in time.”
“It sounds like we should leave.”
“Roger said you defended yourself in class. Maybe you should do it now.”
Roger? Then it dawned on me. The professors first name was Roger. I started to laugh. Colin wanted to know why I was laughing, I told him.
“You never asked?”
“No, he was always the Professor. Now I wonder what his last name is.”
“You, shouldn’t have laughed. Look who is heading your way.”
“So this is your art?”
“Yes, some of this is mine. I see a few pieces of art which isn’t in my style.”
“Do you own this gallery?”
“Yes, it was a wedding present.”
“Now I know why so many of these paintings are photographs. You have very few modern paintings.”
I was getting a little angry. Colin noticed, he squeezed my hand. “I take it you prefer cubism?”
“Yes, what I was trying to explain that cubism is a mental expression of the artist.”
“So you don’t believe that art should imitate nature.”
“No, it should express what the artist feels.”
“Feels, but not sees?”
“Exactly. That is what I was telling these men. Take this painting. I look at it and feel the loneliness of the artist.”
I had listened to Colin and this gentlemen. I looked at the painting, he was referring in his discussion. I recognized it and almost broke out laughing. I looked at the professor he put his finger to his lips, indicating for me to be quiet. The man was referring to the cloth we used to clean our brushes after class. Now I knew why he wanted to hang some of his students paintings among mine.
Jean saw my smile, “What is so funny?”
“Follow me.” We went around the corner where the group couldn’t hear me. “That painting he is postulating about is the cloth we used to clean our brushes after art class. Roger must have created the painting.”
Now Jean laughed, very loudly. Andre who wasn’t far from Jean, came around the corner. Seeing us laughing he wanted to know what was so funny. Jean told him, he started to laugh, I quickly pulled both into the village and closed the door. As the light adjusted for the time of day, they stopped laughing and began to look at the village.
“Armand, I know you painted this and it’s a village. Where and why?”
“I’m not sure if I told you I spent summers in Europe. I stayed in this village, in fact, I stayed in this house and this woman was my host. I created this for someone who came from this village but when he saw it, he went into a rage, He was very angry. This woman will be arriving in October. This will be her second trip. The boys call her Nonna and I think the boys and girls in the orphanage will call her Nonna before she leaves this time.”
“This orphanage, is where the boys come from?”
“Yes, Thomas was the first, followed by Ronald and Richard.”
“I would love to hear the story how these three were selected.”
“I didn’t select them, in a way they selected Colin and I.” I wasn’t going to tell them about GG. They would think I was nuts.
“Tomorrow, they are going to sit through a few of the Roger’s classes and some of them may want to have a discussion with a few of his students, can we meet? Just the four of us?”
“Colin will need to arrange the day off. He works for a very strict man. I’ll pick you up in the morning at 6. You can have breakfast with us.”
Colin started to laugh. “I’m a partner with my dad.”
We were laughing as the door opened, the rest of the group started to enter. I turned the light up to my noon setting.
Colin, Andre and Jean left. I knew where they were going, to the office for coffee.
I let the Professor take over. He knew this village as well as I did. I stood close to the door.
A gentleman came over to stand next to me. “A friend of mine was here with the International Animal League and said you painted the poster in his office. Is that true?”
I had to think a while, “Yes, my husband had the publicity contract for that event. He wanted a flyer to hand out. Then he wanted a poster painted. Your friend made a nice contribution to the organization for that painting of the poster.”
“Do you still have that poster?”
“No, I gave it to someone for their office.”
“Have you done anything like that since?”
“I’m working on a series of paintings highlighting endangered species. I have one hanging in the gallery now. (Checking my watch) In fact the young boy who I used in that painting will be arriving here in a half hour.”
He smiled, “Before I leave, I’ll check the gallery for that painting.”
Leaving the professor with the visitors, I slipped out and headed to the office. I wanted a cup of coffee.
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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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