to grow and get deeper. I trusted her and I loved that she was so upfront with me. She wasn’t afraid to be honest, even if some of the things she said were inappropriate, I liked that about her. Actually, I loved it. I wanted the odd sense of humor, boldness and truth she brought to the friendship. It calmed me and could quickly make me smile. I shifted a little closer to Tess as she continued to pat my head. I was so happy she was finally here. Friendship is good for the soul. My soul then pinched me. I had been completely self-absorbed. “Damn I’m an awful friend. How was your flight? How is work? How long are you here for?”
I lifted my head up and off her shoulder, now wanting to hear anything and everything about her time in Europe.
“Whoa Norah, so many questions all at once. Hmmm, let’s see if I can do this. Well, work flew me here business class so it wasn’t that bad. My job is exciting and tiring, but I still find time to go out and mingle.” Tess smirked at that. “And I’m only here until Saturday morning.”
“So you’ll be here for my birthday Friday?” My face lit up. Clint and Josh had a party to attend on Friday night for the Lappell at Kyser Harkin’s penthouse and had arranged for us to come as guests. I couldn’t think of anything better than the four of us celebrating my birthday together. It felt like a dream come true. I was actually looking forward to the evening. It was more because of the company I would be keeping, and even though it was a Lappell party, it would still be drinks and dancing with my closest friends.
“Yes but I have to leave very early the next morning. I have to catch the red eye to London.”
I went round to where Tess was seated and put my arm around her shoulder. “I’m just happy you are here for my birthday. We will drink, dance and get up to mischief.”
Tess went quiet as she finished her espresso, not showing as much enthusiasm as I hoped she would about us all going out. When she finished, she got up and put the little espresso cup in the kitchen sink. She turned and looked around the apartment. “So Norah, you going to show me what you’ve been working on? You told me you’ve been preparing for your next show. I would love to see what you’ve put together.”
I smiled at Tess. She was always very supportive when it came to my art. She could see me in my art and I loved her feedback about what she saw. It was a way of showing her who I was inside, without having to talk about it. “I have a work space not too far from here. You want to come and see what pieces I’ve done so far?”
Tess nodded very enthusiastically, showing a lot more keenness than she did about going out on Friday night. We both showered and put on jeans and blouses and took a cab to a nearby building that housed various open-style work spaces. I had one of the top rooms that had large glass windows, allowing a lot of natural sunlight to come through. It had higher than normal ceilings which was one of the reasons I selected it as my work space. My canvases were each double in size from my last show, so I needed the extra height on the walls to put together my displays.
“Wow, this is your work space.” Tess looked around impressed by the size and layout of the room. It was a huge step-up from my paint room back in Morewell.
“Yep. As you can see, I still have a lot of drop sheets that are covering the place. Am still painting the same way - you know, naked.” Tess laughed. As we walked around the room, I also showed her my brush sets on another table. “I’ve also incorporated some brush strokes with some pieces to give it more dimension. I like incorporating the two styles. I feel it brings together my wild side versus my controlled one.”
Tess looked back and forth, and all around the room. “What, no music?” She looked at me puzzled.
I walked over to a table with a series of paint tubes and tins and picked up a small black remote. “I’m a little more high tech now. Got speakers set up