“I see.” Veronica quirked a sculpted eyebrow and nodded. “Well, it was a pleasure seeing you. I wish you the best.”
With that, Veronica sashayed to the door in her untenable heels and was gone.
“Was she wishing me the best, or you?” River took a sip of her water and then smiled.
“Regardless of who she was talking to, I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean it.”
River laughed.
“Let’s get out of here.” Clay tugged her jacket on and fished her wallet out of her back pocket. She left more than enough cash on the table to cover the bill plus tip, stood up, and extended her hand for River to take it.
They strolled along the busy street for three blocks before the small, understated sign for the Hemsworth Gallery came into view. Amelia had decided to keep the name for now, even though she’d bought River’s interest in the business entirely. This was Amelia’s gallery now. Clay stopped in front of it. Seeing her name painted in bold san serif type across the front window of the gallery sent butterflies into a frenzy in her stomach. No matter how many gallery shows she did, Clay figured the nerves would always be there.
Purely representational art was not always truth. Everything she thought, everything she felt, was on those abstract canvases hanging along the walls inside. And tonight, everyone would be there, milling around, commenting on things that mattered most, maybe only to her.
“Are you regretting that we’re not staying for the opening?”
Clay shook her head. They’d stayed in New York long enough to take care of things for River, and to hang the show, but they had an afternoon flight back to Atlanta, then a long drive to Pine Cone.
“Are you regretting that you sold the gallery?” Clay looked at River.
“No.” They were standing side by side in front of the huge plate glass window. River looped her arm through Clay’s and rested her cheek on Clay’s shoulder. “I have this really sweet gallery in this charming town called Pine Cone that I can’t wait to get back to.”
Clay could feel herself smiling, all the way to her toes. She leaned in and kissed the top of River’s head.
“Let’s go home, my love.”
They strolled arm in arm past trendy storefronts and coffee shops. As they passed a small park, dry leaves swirled around their feet, the last remnants of autumn in its transition to winter. They wound their way through pedestrian traffic and street noise toward River’s apartment, where the last box had been packed two hours ago and loaded on a truck bound for Georgia.
The End
About the Author
Missouri Vaun spent a large part of her childhood in southern Mississippi, before attending high school in North Carolina and college in Tennessee. Strong connections to her roots in the rural South have been a grounding force throughout her life. Vaun spent twelve years finding her voice working as a journalist in places as disparate as Chicago, Atlanta, and Jackson, MS, all along filing away characters and their stories. Her novels are heartfelt, earthy, and speak of loyalty and our responsibility to others. She and her wife currently live in northern California.
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