CRACK!!
At the last second, Christos’ back flopped onto the surface of the water, making that sickening slapping sound you hear when someone does the most painful belly flop of all time, except on his back. He had missed the cement side by inches, yet he still sank slowly into the water.
Kamiko gasped, “Oh no…”
Was Christos okay? I didn’t know. I swam toward him as fast as I could to check.
The backyard had gone suddenly silent.
Romeo stood up from his chair where he sat in the shade like he wanted to help somehow.
Jake had swum over to check on Christos too.
I was about to dive under the water to pull Christos out when he slowly rose to the surface head first, bubbling water out of his mouth. “Man,” he laughed, “that fucking hurt.”
“Are you okay?” I asked nervously.
“I’m fine,” he smiled.
“What the fuck was that?” Jake asked.
“Did you miss it?” Christos quipped. “I can do it again if you did.”
“No!” I shouted. “We don’t need to see it again. Maybe we should be done with the diving board?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Madison said, now floating beside us.
We all climbed out of the pool and everyone stood around Christos. I think we were all still shaken.
“Are you okay, C-Man?” Romeo asked.
Christos nodded, “I’m good.”
Spiridon had been inside and came walking out onto the deck. “Does anybody need anything?” He’d missed the whole thing.
“Maybe some towels?” I suggested.
Spiridon nodded and went inside. He returned with a stack of towels.
After toweling off, everyone laid out on the loungers in our damp swimsuits. Romeo and Kamiko sat under a sun umbrella around a circular glass table.
Ten minutes later, I think my heart was still doing a drum roll in my chest because of Christos’ brush with disaster.
Christos stood up and stopped at the foot of my lounger. He asked, “You need another beer?”
I shook my head, “I’m good.”
“Anybody else?” Christos asked the group.
“I’ll take one,” Jake said.
When Christos was gone, Madison leaned over to me and muttered, “Is it just me, or is Christos drinking too much today?”
“You noticed?” I winced.
“Yeah,” she scoffed, “but I wasn’t worried about it until his back flop. I don’t remember him drinking this much before. Has something been bothering him?”
“I think he’s just blowing off leftover steam from his trial.”
“Oh,” Madison said thoughtfully.
A few days after Christos’ court case had been dismissed, I’d asked if he minded me telling Madison and the gang about it. He said he didn’t care. So I’d given them a rundown of all the hair raising events over fish tacos a couple days later.
I said, “Do you think I should talk to him about his drinking?”
“Maybe you should,” Madison said seriously.
I resolved to have a conversation with Christos about it tonight. In the meantime, I just needed to keep him out of the pool and off the diving board until he sobered up.
I eased back onto my lounger and closed my eyes, letting the warm sun wash over me. I should’ve been more relaxed, but something nagged at me, like I was missing some obvious looming threat that would inevitably injure Christos or take him away from me forever.
But I couldn’t figure out what it was.
===
When people were ready for a shade break from tanning, Romeo and Kamiko asked Christos for a tour of his art studio, which neither of them had seen. Christos took everyone inside to check it out.
“Wow, Christos,” Kamiko marveled, “these paintings are even better than the ones you sold at your solo show at Charboneau.”
“Thanks,” Christos said casually, leaning against the nude portrait of Jacqueline, which he’d pulled out of the drying rack. I’d met Jacqueline several times while Christos was painting her. She was nice.
I felt better now that Christos was far from the pool. There wasn’t anything he could really hurt himself on inside the studio. But I kept a close eye on him, just in case. I didn’t want him knocking over an easel by accident and ruining a painting or something.
“Yeah, Christos,” Romeo said, “these new paintings are awesome.”
Christos frowned seriously, “Even better than my painting of Tiffany with the mustache you added?”
Romeo laughed nervously. “Your painting of her was awesome, but you have to admit, the mustache made her look way better.”
The anger melted from Christos’ face and he smiled at Romeo, “Yeah, totally.”
Romeo heaved a sigh of relief. I think he still felt guilty about triggering Tiffany’s tirade on New Year’s Eve.
Madison rolled her eyes. “Tiffany was totally lameballs that night.”
I had to agree. What a trip that had been on Tiffany’s yacht. If I never saw that hot air ho-bag Tiffany again, it would be too soon.
Christos clinked his fresh beer against Romeo’s glass of wine, then gulped down several swallows.
I sighed to myself. How much was Christos going to drink? I’d resolved that as long as he wasn’t driving or diving, I wasn’t going to stop him. He was over twenty one. He could drink all he wanted. If he ended up passed out on a couch, so much the better. I wouldn’t have to worry about him breaking his neck. All I’d have to do was make sure he didn’t drown in puke.
Christos pushed the painting of Jacqueline back into the drying rack. Then he tried to pull out another one, but it seemed stuck.
I think the real problem was that Christos was too fumbly drunk to manage it himself.
“Let me help,” I said, stepping forward.
“I’ve got it,” he said, wrestling with it. Suddenly, it popped out of the drying rack. Because of how he’d been standing, he stumbled backward and threw his hands out to keep his balance, causing him to release the painting, which started tipping forward. At the same time, Christos bumped heavily into the table behind him which was covered with painting supplies. The table rocked and a glass jar sitting on the corner containing a bunch of brushes fell to the floor and shattered on the concrete. Wooden brushes clattered and danced.
I was laser focused on stopping the falling painting. I clenched my teeth, and lunged for it, but Kamiko was in the way, and I would’ve had to put my foot right through the middle of the canvas to reach the falling edge because it was so tall. There was nothing I could do to stop it.
I was expecting the worst, but the painting acted like a big sail. It was so light, it caught enough air to cushion its fall. It landed softly on the floor of the studio. Phew. Disaster averted.
“Whoops,” Christos slurred.
Romeo quickly bent to pick up the painting, a concerned look on his face.
“Don’t worry, it’s dry,” Christos reassured from where he now sat on the floor. I could tell he felt a bit stupid for his drunken clumsiness.
I helped Christos to his feet and he dusted off his ass.
“I’ll get a broom,” he said.
I squatted and started picking up paint brushes.
“Be careful of the glass,” Madison said.
Christos returned with a hand broom and dust pan, “I’ve got it.” He squatted and swept up the mess.
Trying to defuse the awkwardness of the situation, Kamiko said, “Err, ah, who are all the women in the paintings, Christos? They’re all so beautiful.”
“Brandon hired them,” Christos said as he shook the last of the glass out of the dustpan and into a wastebasket. “They’re all kind of bland, don’t you think?”
“Totally,” Romeo joked, also trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe you could paint some hot muscled guys with big dicks?”
“Dicks and fine art don’t go together,” Christos chuckled.
“That is so sexi
st,” Romeo growled. “I want more dicks in fine art! Dicks, dicks, dicks! I want to see them exploding all over the place like fire hoses!” Romeo was trying his hardest to make people laugh, but it wasn’t working. Discomfort still filled the air.
Kamiko said, “So, Christos, how many paintings do you still have to do for your upcoming show?”
“I don’t know,” he dismissed, “a bunch.”
“Who else are you going to paint?” Madison asked.
“More of Brandon’s models,” Christos said apathetically.
“Why don’t you paint Samantha?” Madison suggested.
“Because Brandon wants nudes. That’s what sells,” Christos said.
“I’ll pose nude for you,” Romeo said enthusiastically.
“Who would buy a nude painting of you?” Kamiko asked.
“I would!” he said. “I’d pay a million bucks for a painting of me.”
“Do you have a million dollars?” Kamiko asked.
“No,” he sighed.
“Exactly,” Kamiko frowned.
“Christos, I think you should paint Romeo,” I winked at Romeo. “He is super sexy. But with clothes on. That’s when he’s at his sexiest.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Romeo smiled at me, then glared spears and arrows at Kamiko. “At least someone around here has good taste,” he hissed.
Kamiko rolled her eyes.
Christos laughed, “I’ll keep it in mind, Romeo.”
At least no one was making a big deal out of how drunk Christos was.
===
A dog barked softly somewhere outside our bedroom the next morning. The winter sun was up, brightening the bedroom.
“Somebody shut that fucking dog up,” Christos moaned. “It sounds like it’s barking inside my head.” He slid his head under his pillow and pulled it tightly around his ears.
“Do you need some water?” I asked.
He peaked out from under the pillow. “Can you add some vodka to it?”
“No. The bar is closed. I’ll get you some cold water from the fridge.” I threw on my robe and padded downstairs to the kitchen. When I returned with the glass, Christos was sprawled out in bed face up with the pillow over his face, the blanket pushed down to his waist, revealing his rippled abs.
I considered resting the cold glass on his stomach, but that would be cruel. I sat next to him and rested my hand on his abs instead. Yum. Even hungover, he was ten times sexier than mortal men.
He sat up and drank the water thirstily.
“Thanks,” he sighed. “I could use five more of those.”
“Do you want me to get the pitcher for you?”
“No, thanks, I can get it. I might have to crawl, but I can do it,” he grinned.
“Christos, is everything okay?”
He blinked and looked at me seriously. “What do you mean?”
“Uh, um, you’ve kind of been drinking a lot lately.”
Christos’ brows drew together in a frown.
I winced, expecting an argument. Memories of short fused Damian Wolfram gnawed at the edges of my awareness. I reminded myself that Christos wasn’t a hothead. He might be drinking more than he should, but never once had he raised his voice at me, or shown a single sign of anger. That was one thing I loved about Christos. He never seemed to get angry. He knew how to handle his emotions like an adult. I hoped this discussion wouldn’t be the exception.
“Yeah,” he sighed and laid his forearm across his eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe later?”
At least he didn’t get angry at me for bringing it up. Maybe I should’ve waited until he wasn’t hung over.
“Do you want some breakfast?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“How about I make you breakfast in bed? You’re always doing all the cooking anyway.”
He lifted his forearm off his face and smiled at me with his dimples and brilliant blue eyes. “Sounds awesome.”
“Eggs and toast?” I suggested.
“Perfect,” he said sleepily.
“You wait here, and I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
I went down to the kitchen and made breakfast for both of us. When I brought it upstairs on a tray, Christos was fast asleep.
I didn’t have the heart to wake him.
===
When Monday morning rolled around, I woke up to an empty bed. I threw on a robe and went downstairs to find Christos. I heard slashing and rattling noises as I approached the studio.
I leaned my head through the door to the studio, afraid of what I might find.
Christos stood behind the big canvas of Isabella, practically attacking it by throwing big gobs of paint at it with a loaded brush.
“What are you doing?” I asked tentatively.
Between slapping paint on the canvas, Christos said, “Getting the canvas…” WHACK! “…ready for Isabella…” SPLAT! “She’s going to be here…” GLOP!” “…at ten.”
I walked around behind Christos and the canvas. The painting of Isabella was almost entirely covered in wet brown paint. The only part that wasn’t covered was the face. “Oh my god, Christos,” I gasped, “what did you do to your painting?”
Now he was working the blobs of paint into the canvas with a big brush. “It needed some work…” SMEAR! “…a lot of work.” SCRUB! “I’m going to change…” RUB! RUB! RUB! “…the pose.” He took a step back from the canvas to assess it.
“But it was almost finished,” I said, feeling an overwhelming sense of defeat. He had put a tremendous amount of work into this painting. It had looked amazing to me before. Now it seemed, I don’t know, ruined. “You’re starting over?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? It was beautiful. Kamiko and Romeo and Madison and Jake all thought it was amazing. I thought it was amazing.”
He grimaced, “It wasn’t working.”
I sighed. Oh well. I wasn’t the one who’d sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of paintings. I trusted that Christos knew what he was doing. Besides, it was too late to do anything about it now. He really did have to start over, no matter how far it put him behind on his deadline.
Since I had the week off and Christos had to work, I decided to spend the day in the studio with him. When Isabella arrived and they went to work, I sat down at my drawing table to work on some cartoons for The Wombat based on ideas Romeo and I had discussed.
Isabella got undressed and Christos had her sit in a variety of different poses until he found one he liked. They all looked good to me, but based on Christos’ brooding demeanor, I could tell he wasn’t happy with any of them.
Once he started painting, he sighed audibly at least once every five minutes. He wasn’t enjoying himself. Too bad the weather was so nice outside. It was the perfect day to get out of the house and take a road trip or do something relaxing in San Diego. There were a hundred options of fun things to do in town, but Christos needed to work. He didn’t need to add more stress by losing another work day today.
So I sat quietly at my drawing table and worked. If Christos had to work today, I would too.
After painting Isabella for half an hour, they took a break. Christos walked into the living room and returned with a glass of bourbon and the bottle. When he went back to work, it seemed like every time I looked over, he was taking another swallow of liquor. I couldn’t decide if the bourbon was helping his mood or making it worse.
I contemplated finding Spiridon and asking him if he could throw away all his booze or at least hide it until after Christos’ gallery show. Too bad that wouldn’t actually solve anything.
Around one o’clock, I was ready for a break. I set down my pencil and closed my sketchbook. “Does anybody want a sandwich or something?” I asked, standing behind Christos.
Christos laid down his brushes like they weighed a ton each. “Sure,” he mumbled, sounding exhausted. I knew it was the stress.
“May I break, Christos?” Isabella asked demurely i
n her Portuguese accent.
“Sure,” he huffed dismissively and walked through the French doors to the back deck.
“Isabella,” I asked, “do you want a sandwich?”
“Please,” she smiled.
It wasn’t at all weird to me anymore that Isabella sat naked in front of my boyfriend on a regular basis. The jealousy I’d felt the first time I’d been in the room with Christos painting her nude had shrunk to almost nothing. It helped that she seemed to have lost interest in him, which was odd because before she’d been all over him. Maybe she had met a cute guy of her own. “I’ll go make those sandwiches,” I said. “Care to join me in the kitchen?”
She followed me and we chatted while I pulled ingredients out of the refrigerator.
“Have a seat,” I said, motioning to the chairs at the kitchen table.
“Oh, no sitting. I sitting all day. Now I stand,” she smiled. “Standing good.”
“How’s the modeling up in Los Angeles?”
“L.A. is good. I busy, all the time busy.”
“That’s good,” I smiled as I pulled a loaf of sourdough out of its paper sack and sliced off several pieces with a bread knife. “I imagine you’re making good money?”
“Very good. Also nice to work here with Christos. No cameras. He make me perfect without the Photoshop.”
“Yeah,” I grinned. “Christos is an amazing painter.”
“I thought I heard you in here,” Spiridon said as he walked into the kitchen.
“Do you want a sandwich?” I asked him.
“Please,” he smiled. “Isabella, can I get you anything to drink?”
“Agua, por favor?” she said. “Oh, uh, I mean the water, please?”
“We have plenty of água,” he winked at her as he pulled out the pitcher from the fridge.
A loud crash echoed in from the studio.
I jumped where I stood at the counter, “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Spiridon said, setting the pitcher down. “I’ll go look.”
There was another crash.
“Fuck!” Christos shouted.
Was he hurt? I dropped the knife I’d been using to slice a tomato and ran past Spiridon into the studio.
Christos held the painting of Isabella over his head.
“Christos! What are you doing?” I gasped.
Painless (The Story of Samantha Smith #3) Page 23