by June Tate
‘Are you serious?’
‘Absolutely!’
‘But you have a job to do, apart from that you have your own pictures to work on, you don’t have time.’
‘We’ll work out a schedule. As you know, I’m able to work from home, it’s not as if I’m stuck in an office from nine to five. It would be a privilege and a pleasure. I’ll make some coffee and we’ll work out a plan.’
During the following two months, Valerie still attended the art class but three afternoons a week, she and Max painted together. Sometimes in his studio, sometimes out in the open. They travelled to various parts of the city, armed with canvas and paints, where they would settle together and work. He would stop her and show her how to improve or change the light or shade of her scene, how to use various ways with her paints, to improve the depth or to lighten the sky to enhance the weather. She had never been happier.
Ross had no idea that this was taking place. Indeed he hardly asked how she spent her day, so involved was he in his business. Before long, Valerie realised that he was just like his father in this regard. But she didn’t care because it was Max who encouraged her, who was interested in her and who understood her needs.
Then one evening when Ross was away on business, Max invited her round to his studio to dinner, saying he had a proposition he wanted to put to her. Alone and intrigued, she agreed and made her way to the Village wondering what he was going to say.
When she arrived she saw that he had laid the table, lit several candles, which filled the room with a soft scent, and was busy in the kitchen.
‘That smells good,’ she said as she took off her coat.
He poured her a glass of wine. ‘It won’t be long,’ he promised.
He served her a delicious beef stew on a bed of rice, followed by profiteroles, which he admitted to buying ready-made. They drank red wine and talked. Valerie was so relaxed in his company and found him easy to talk to. But they never mentioned her husband.
At the end of the meal, Max made some coffee and they sat on a settee to enjoy it. It was then that he told her the reason for his invitation. It took her breath away.
‘I’m holding an exhibition of my own work in the gallery you came to and I would like you to exhibit with me.’
Valerie was speechless for a moment. ‘You can’t possibly be serious!’
‘Why ever not? You’re ready, believe me.’
‘But my pictures alongside yours! People would laugh!’
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘I can’t believe you just said that! If I didn’t think they were good enough, would I ask you to show them?’
Her hands were shaking and he took her coffee cup from her. ‘For goodness’ sake woman, calm down. Lovely Valerie, you have a God-given gift and you still don’t realise it. What do I have to do to convince you?’
She just sat shaking her head. He took her hands in his. ‘You said you wanted to be a professional, well here’s your chance.’
Looking into his eyes, she asked, ‘Do you really think that my pictures are good enough?’
‘Yes! Your paintings have an honesty about them. You see things in a different way and that shows in your pictures. It’s really refreshing and different. The public will love them. Trust me. Come along and I’ll show you the ones I have chosen.’
Valerie had stored her paintings in Max’s studio as there was more room and now she followed him and saw the six he had chosen. Recovering from her shock, she looked carefully at them and was pleased with his choice. Slowly she began to feel more confident. These were good, she knew that, but were they good enough? She supposed if Max thought so, she would have to trust him. Then he showed her the publicity poster.
She couldn’t believe what she read. It gave the name of the gallery, the date, the time and underneath …
An exhibition of Max Brennen’s paintings and introducing Valerie Johnson, an exciting new talent.
She looked at him. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
He gazed back at her and said, ‘If I’m not very much mistaken, Valerie, your life is about to change. It will be a pleasure to stand back and watch.’ He leant forward and kissed her softly. ‘I am going to be so proud!’
‘Oh, Max. I owe it all to you. If you hadn’t asked to see my work, I wouldn’t have started drawing again, let alone use watercolours.’
‘Fate is a very strange thing, Valerie. We were brought together for some reason, of that I’m sure.’
There was such affection in his look, that Valerie felt her legs weaken and she hurriedly said, ‘I must go. Will you call me a cab?’
‘If we walk outside I’m sure we can pick one up. Come on a short walk will do us both good.’
They walked hand in hand to Columbus Circle. The April night air was balmy and several people were out for a stroll. He hailed a cab and put her inside.
‘See you tomorrow afternoon as usual.’
Valerie sat in the back of the cab lost in her own thoughts. An exhibition! Would Ross bother to come to this one? she wondered. She looked at the poster Max had given her.
An exciting new talent! Well, that would show him. She would just leave it on the table for him to see when he returned.
Chapter Eleven
Gracie tidied away the table and washed up the breakfast dishes, all the time trying to decide what to say to Jeff when he came home. She couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to lose most of his wage packet. Surely when he’d started losing he could have quit before it became serious, he knew they had a budget to keep to. She remembered him saying that he used to play poker before she came out to the States, so this might have been a regular thing. It wasn’t that she minded him having a night with the boys, she thought that was a healthy thing to do, but not when it meant losing the money they had to live on.
She was so upset that the thought of staying inside to continue decorating the house was the last thing on her mind. She needed space and time to think, so she left the apartment and walked until she found a quiet park at the far end of the town. Here she bought a coffee from a diner and sat down upon a bench to gather her thoughts.
Jeff hadn’t taken to the idea of a budget; he’d found the whole idea repellent. It seemed to him to take away his manhood and she wondered what his reaction was going to be when he came home tonight. He’d looked shamefaced when he left but he didn’t take kindly to being told what to do and Gracie knew that she had a difficult time ahead of her. What if it all went wrong? Here she was, stuck in a foreign country with no way of getting back to Britain, if things didn’t work out. Without money she couldn’t leave. Her family couldn’t afford to send her enough for the fare, so there was no one she could turn to if things went pear-shaped. She walked slowly home.
In the general store where he worked, Jeff Rider was also wondering what would happen when he went home after work. He knew he’d let his wife down by losing at cards last night, but he’d been sure that if he doubled up on the next hand and the next he would recover his losses, but of course the cards hadn’t been kind to him. Eventually he’d quit, but far too late.
Nevertheless, he’d enjoyed the camaraderie of his male friends. He hadn’t met up with them since Gracie had arrived and he’d taken a lot of ribbing about this from them.
‘Under the little woman’s thumb are we?’ one jibed.
‘Not your own man any more, Jeff?’ asked another.
He’d laughed, but they had made their mark. His father had ruled his household. His word had been law and, as a boy, Jeff knew that if he crossed him the feel of his belt would be suffered for days after. He didn’t rule his house and he didn’t like it, not one bit. He needed to regain his position.
Gracie was in the kitchen preparing the dinner when he eventually arrived home. She had decided not to confront him but to wait and see what her husband had to say first and take it from there. She placed the chicken dish and vegetables before him and sat down.
Jeff sat and ate, without saying a wo
rd. She waited. He finished what was left of the apple pie, got up from the table, took a can of beer out of the fridge, picked up the local paper and sat down.
She was astonished. There was not a word said about the food, nor of the previous evening’s happenings. Nothing! She walked over to where he sat and stood in front of him.
‘Did you enjoy your dinner?’ she demanded.
He looked at her with surprise. ‘Yes it was fine.’
‘Yet you didn’t think to say anything, just took it for granted.’
He gave her a thunderous look. ‘It’s what wives do, they look after their man after a day’s work.’
‘Even when their man has lost nearly all his weekly wage playing poker?’ There was a note of steel in her voice.
‘For Christ’s sake, Gracie! So I lost at cards, that’s hardly a crime!’
‘It is a crime when it takes food out of our mouths, stops us for saving for the future, the future you brought me across an ocean for!’
His eyes blazed. ‘The trouble with you is that you don’t give a man any room to manoeuvre, to spend time with his friends. You are all about saving. Where’s the fun in that?’
She was taken aback. ‘I thought you wanted your own home? Well, that’s what you led me to believe. A home of our own, a family. That’s what you promised me, have you changed your mind? If so, don’t you think you should have told me?’
‘Yes, of course I still want those things, but I’m prepared to wait for them – but not you! You want everything now. You might as well get used to the idea, Gracie, I enjoy a night with my male buddies and I will continue to do so.’
She tried to reason with him. ‘I don’t mind you enjoying such a night, Jeff, but if you lose more money we’ll never have a home to call ours. But if you must play poker, then we’ll allow a certain amount for you to play with.’
This was too much for him. ‘You make it sound like giving pocket money to a small child! I will take what money I want and don’t you dare try to interfere. I’m the wage earner in this house and in future I’ll be the one to say how it will be spent!’
Gracie was seething now. ‘Fine! If there isn’t enough money for food, you won’t eat. If the bills aren’t paid. I’ll refer the suppliers to you. I will be sleeping in the spare room from now on. You may decide how to spend your money but I decide who I will share my bed with!’
She removed some of her clothes into the spare room. Quickly washed and got undressed, but before getting into bed, she pushed the back of a chair under the knob after locking it from the inside. No way was she letting her husband in. He had to learn that she too had choices to make, but she knew he’d be angry. Jeff was a highly sexed man and he wouldn’t be happy being shut out of the bedroom.
An hour later, Gracie heard him moving around, he stopped outside her door and tried the handle. She heard him curse when he found it locked, but to her relief he moved on to the main bedroom. She wondered just how long that would last? But she was determined to stay there until things returned to normal.
The week passed with hardly a word exchanged between them and when Friday night came, Jeff ate his dinner, donned his coat and left the house.
Gracie said nothing. She’d been wracking her brains wondering just how to make some money. Money that she could save and book a passage back to England. Jeff, she’d decided was not the man she’d believed him to be. When they met, he’d seemed reliable, caring and fun. Here in his own environment, he was different. They didn’t go out often, except to a movie or a meal but, other than that, when he came home from work he ate, read the paper, watched TV and went to bed. It was almost as if he didn’t have to try anymore. Gracie was there to see to his needs, pleasure him in bed and do as she was told. That was no life for her!
Whilst Jeff was out playing poker, Gracie cleared the dishes away and tidied up, had a bath and went to bed early with a book. She didn’t want to be around when her husband returned in a drunken state and she was therefore surprised to hear him return earlier than the previous week. There was no banging about and she found she was holding her breath wondering what was going on. Then she heard him walk past her door, go to the bathroom and eventually shut the door to the main bedroom. It was more unnerving than when he’d returned legless!
The following morning, after eating his breakfast, Jeff threw a handful of dollar bills onto the table. Gracie looked at them with surprise.
‘Now you’ve got nothing to complain about,’ he said. ‘There’s the equivalent to three weeks’ money there. You see poker isn’t always a bad game, you just have to learn to take the bad with the good.’ He put on his jacket and turned to her.
‘When I come home, I expect to find you have moved back into our bedroom.’
She glared at him. ‘I am not a prostitute! You can’t buy sex with me. I am your wife!’
‘Then behave like one! You will be in my bed tonight or there will be trouble!’ He left, slamming the door behind him.
Gracie sat at the table with a cup of coffee, wondering what to do for the best. She would not be treated like a chattel by anyone, least of all her husband, but she’d never seen Jeff as angry as he was when he’d left for work this morning. How would he behave when she defied him, because no way was she returning to their bedroom until things were settled between them. She needed the security of knowing there was a regular amount of money coming in, that wouldn’t be frittered away every Friday night. But she would hide some away that he’d given her this morning. She had come with a small amount of savings, a little of which she had spent when they had moved into the apartment, but she’d some left and she would add part of Jeff’s ill-gotten gains to it. It would be a start towards going home. Her own private little fund. She’d stow away the odd dollar whenever she could. But now, she’d walk to the local grocery store to stock up for the week.
Gracie didn’t see Rick, Jeff’s brother, until their shopping carts collided as they emerged from two adjacent aisles. She looked up to apologise then realised who she was about to talk to.
‘Hi Rick, sorry about that.’
Laughing he said, ‘There you go, you haven’t yet learnt to drive on the right-hand side!’
She laughed back. Rick always seemed to make her smile and at this moment in her life, she needed that. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve moved out into a place of your own,’ she teased.
‘Nah! Ma asked me to pick up a few things for her that’s all.’ They walked up and down the aisles together and eventually out to the car park.
Rick pointed to the diner opposite. ‘Fancy a coffee, Gracie, before we go home?’
She nodded, ‘Thanks, that would be great.’
They settled in a booth and Gracie asked after Rick’s mother.
‘She’s fine thanks, you know Ma, she never changes. How about you, Gracie, how are things with you?’
Without meaning to, she hesitated and then said, ‘Fine, just fine.’
Rick’s eyes narrowed and he looked at her as he said, ‘You’re not telling me the truth, young lady.’ She looked away but didn’t answer. He caught hold of her hand. ‘What’s wrong, honey? Is there anything I can do?’
The sudden kindness caught her unawares and she fought to stop the tears brimming, but to no avail. She brushed them away hurriedly.
Rick took a paper napkin out of the holder on the table and handed it to her. ‘Now wipe your tears or else people in here will think I’ve made you unhappy and I’ll probably get lynched for nothing!’
She smiled at him and wiped her cheeks.
‘That’s better. Now, Gracie, out with it. What’s wrong?’
‘Do you play poker?’ she asked.
‘No, not me, I’m never going to throw away my hard earned cash that way … but my brother used to.’ He studied his companion. ‘He’s started playing again would be my guess. Am I right?’
She nodded. She didn’t want to say more, she’d said too much already, this was Jeff’s brother after all.
‘Did he lose his money, is that why you’re upset?’
Despite everything she found herself telling him what happened. ‘He did the first time, but on Friday he won a small stack, but what if he keeps losing, what will happen to us then?’
His gaze was full of sympathy. ‘Gee, Gracie I’m real sorry to hear this. Jeff always liked a gamble and that’s fine when you are a single man, but now he has responsibilities and it’s not right.’
She looked at him in surprise. ‘I didn’t expect you to think like that,’ she confessed.
He raised his eyebrows and with a wry smile said, ‘I guess you thought I was irresponsible, right?’
She shrugged. ‘I suppose I did and for that I apologise.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up about it honey. I am a free man and I like a good time but I’m no fool. I have my own plans for the future, I just keep them to myself.’
Intrigued she asked, ‘What are they, these plans?’
‘I aim to open a small workshop, repairing cars and trucks. I trained as a motor mechanic and now I want to work for myself, be my own man.’
She hid a smile. ‘Leave home? Get away from your mother?’
He laughed loudly. ‘Something like that. Ma’s alright but she treats me like a child, which believe me I’m not and I need my own place so I can live and breathe.’
‘When is all this going to happen?’
‘Next month. I’ve got a place lined up. A small garage with living accommodation over the top. I’m hoping to get it all signed up in a couple of weeks.’
‘That’s great!’ Gracie enthused. ‘I hope it all works out for you.’
‘Thanks, but that doesn’t solve your problem, Gracie. What are we going to do about my brother?’
Gracie felt her heart beat faster. There was already trouble between the brothers, she didn’t want to make it worse. ‘You don’t do anything!’ she said. ‘This is my problem. We’ll work it out, you’ll see. Please don’t interfere, you’ll only complicate matters.’