by Neil Crenner
and applauded a little applaud. Reason glanced at him with a look of 'what are you doing, applauding yourself?'
"Oh Please," you know you have talent. "I will hang this over my studio desk. So are these what you will be showing at Joe Handel's gallery?"
"Yes, but different objects and trying to keep it real and stark," Trevor exclaimed.
"Black and white would be the starkest and realist." Reason interjected. "I love this one especially."
"Thank you Reason. I was hoping you would love it," Trevor exclaimed.
"When did you take the photo?"
"Sunday morning when the sun was just coming up, it was a beautiful morning."
"I see you did a great job. So do you have all the pieces for your show at Donna-Janie's West End Girls?"
"Oh yes. Actually I have had them done for quite some time. I have been working on them for over two years."
"Fantastic! You have been perfecting your talent, I love that. An artist never stops doing what he loves."
"Oh no, I always work on my art."
"How about if you make a few pieces for me with some of my own negatives?" Reason asked slowly.
"I would love to Reason," Trevor said quickly.
"Stand up and take a look at what I have." Trevor stood up and examined the negatives of the lighthouse. Trevor didn't look through the magnifying glass as Reason had been doing; he picked them up and held them to the natural light first. Then he laid them back down on the table and used the magnifier.
"So what do you think of them?"
"They are beautiful. I would love to have taken these. So clear and the light is perfect."
"Do you see anything odd in them?"
"Odd?"
Reason paused a moment letting Trevor examine them.
"I see this strange figure on the porch. It kind of looks like the shadow of a person."
"So you do see it too," Reason exclaimed. "I am so glad that you do. I thought I was seeing things or there was something on the film."
"I definitely see something. It's spooky."
"Isn't it?" Reason asked.
"Do you think it was a ghost?" Trevor asked.
"I really don't believe in ghosts of people. Maybe ghosts of something else."
"Now that's really creepy. What would the ghost be of if not from people?"
"I don't know. I just don't believe they are from people."
"Well that is a first for me. Never heard of a ghost if it wasn't from a person."
"Now you have," Reason quipped.
After a few moments of silence Trevor said, "Well I need about 5 of them to make a piece."
Reason shook his head, "Take them all."
"Oh no, I don't need all of them. I only need about 5, maybe 6, if I am to do more than one piece. And I promise I will be extremely careful with them and return them as soon as I am finished. They are really beautiful pictures."
"Just take them all and see what you can make of them. If you do a few pieces I will hang them up here in my gallery."
"I would love that. Sure then, I will take them all."
Reason had wanted to discuss the ghost idea more but it was apparent that Trevor didn't want too. He left it at that.
"Are you hungry? I was going to walk down to the bagel shop and get a bite to eat, join me? I'm buying."
"Sure, I would love to. I'll leave these here for now."
"Let me lock up, can you flip that sign next to the door, it's says closed?"
"Yes, I can."
Reason went to the back to lock the rear door and then grabbed his keys.
“Colbert, do you want to come?" With that question she began to get excited, prancing up and down. Reason grabbed the leash and attached it to her collar.
"Are we taking Colbert?" Trevor asked.
"Oh yes, she wants to go. They have an outdoor sitting area. Here you take the leash and hold on tight." Reason handed the leash to Trevor as they walked outside. Reason locked the door and they were off. It was a few blocks down and the weather was beautiful.
"So you're perfectly fine after last week? Nothing else almost happen to you?"
"Yeah, I am fine, and I almost forgot about it, and nothing scary like that has happened. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering, that is all."
"Colbert is so easy to walk. She just trots in front of us."
"That's because I walked her earlier and she did her business."
"Oh I see."
"Are you a man who has any faith?" Reason asked out of the blue.
"Faith in what? Like God?"
"Yes, God."
"Oh yes I do, but I am still trying to figure out what I believe."
"Do read the bible?"
"Yes I have read it a lot. I think it's one of the greatest books ever written."
"Oh you do, that's interesting."
"I believe that we should treat everyone like we would want to be treated.'
"So you believe in the second commandment?"
"The second commandment."
"Yes love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as thyself."
"Wow is that in the Bible?"
"Yes it is, in the new testament."
"Well I believe that then."
"Good to hear it then."
"Here we are. Have a seat and I'll get the menus." Trevor sat down at the small table and Colbert sat down next to him. Reason went inside and grabbed two of their paper menus and brought it outside so Trevor could choose what he wanted.
"I want the salmon, capers and cream cheese on an onion bagel and large iced tea."
"Sound's good." Reason went back inside and ordered. He came out with 2 large iced teas. "Here's some Sweet-N-Low." He threw the packets on the table.
"I like real sugar."
"Give me the leash and you can get it." Reason said matter-of-factly. Trevor got up and went inside. Reason added 2 packets to his iced tea and took a long sip thru the straw.
"Here we go." Trevor came out with two plastic baskets. He sat one in front of Reason. "It smells good, they heated the bagel, and it feels soft."
"I asked them to nuke it first, it softens the bagel." Reason answered. "God bless this food we are about to eat and sanctify it. Amen."
"Wow I have never seen anyone pray for their food out in public."
"You should bless and sanctify every meal. No matter where you are. You can pray silently."
"I think I will do that. Let's eat now." They sat and ate together chatting away about the weather and Colbert laying there and not begging for food.
"That was delicious. I loved the bagel soft and warm." Trevor said as he finished his last bite.
"I am glad you enjoyed it. I love bagels as well."
"That was a treat."
"Next time you come over, call me first and I'll order Pizza. We can eat in the back."
"That sounds fun."
"Shall we go?"
"Do we just leave the baskets here?"
"Take them inside, I don't like leaving them here," Reason handed his to Trevor.
They walked back to the gallery and Trevor asked, "Is that why you don't believe in people ghosts, because you believe in the Bible?"
"Well yes that is why. I believe that when people die they either go to heaven or hell and their spirit does not linger on the earth. Now I also believe that the fallen angels, the ones that followed Lucifer and were thrown out of heaven, might be the ghosts that we think we see, but they are not of people."
"That is so spooky. So a ghost is a fallen angel?"
"Or more like a demon, that's what we call the fallen angels. However, I believe that we have good angels as well, we might be seeing them and think it's a ghost."
"Wow that is so true. So why do people think that their spirit is a ghost?"
"They haven't seen what I've seen and I will leave it at that," Reason said.
"You have seen ghosts then? I mean demons, angels?"
"Trevor I have been sh
own things that don't always make sense to me, and by whom I am not sure."
"How fun is that?"
Reason laughed at this. "It is more frightening than it is fun."
"Tell me more."
"Another time. Now take the negatives and go on and get." Reason said with a very pronounced tone.
Trevor grabbed the negatives and then departed after saying his good-byes to Colbert. Reason was once again alone in the gallery. He had forgotten about Didier and love. It was a healthy distraction he thought. He just didn't want to tell Trevor anymore about his gift.
He decided to log into America Online and look up the place where he saw the lighthouse. He didn't know if it was a town or just county. Maybe there would be some history about it. An hour later he had printed out a map of the surrounding area of the bed and breakfast where he stayed at, Pacific Coast Inn. It was just north of Big Sur Coast Highway, in a secluded area of California.
He was now satisfied to discuss the lighthouse further, and decided to check his e-mail. He began to hate reading his e-mail for the simple fact that so much of it was junk mail. Now he filtered his email to a point where he only receives messages in his inbox of those he wished. This meant he rarely had email. He wondered if anyone sent him something, most of his friends were not on email yet and he had it mostly for work.
He opened it up and it was from Mr. Mike Estenes, who he hadn't chatted with for over six months. They had met in college and had stayed friends through the years, keeping each other abreast of their lives. Mike always had the idea of marriage even though it was not yet legal for gay men. He was writing him to let him know that he would be getting an invitation to his wedding and wanted him to come up and stay a few days.
Reason read this with surprise, as he didn't even know the current boyfriend, the man he was to marry. He quickly typed out, 'Who is He???' with three questions marks. "I will be very glad to come up and stay a few days. May I bring a guest?" Reason new that this would peak his curiosity and he would soon be