La Photographie Moderne

by Neil Crenner

enthusiasm.

  "I am sure of it." Didier said agreeably.

  "Well it is a lot of fun, but do you think someone really tried to kill me to get the photos?"

  "That would be hard to believe." Didier said unsurely.

  "I am stuffed. What a great meal. Now for some dessert. I have some chocolate ice cream. Would you like some?"

  "Maybe later, I just want to relax. Let's go into the bedroom, I am beat."

  "I'll clean up and then be in there in a few."

  "I should help you clean up."

  "Oh no, go relax, the remote is on the bed stand"

  "Oh thank you. Are you sure you're up to it?"

  "I have been resting all day. I'm fine. Now go. Maintenant!" Reason said firmly.

  "I'll be waiting for you."

  Ten minutes later

  Reason went into the bedroom, Didier was fast asleep. He turned the lights down, and crawled into bed. Colbert jumped up on the bed too. "Now Colbert, move onto your own bed, but I'll let you rest here for awhile." Colbert wagged her tail. She was such a good girl. Reason flipped on the small 9" fan sitting on the bed stand. He always like air circulating, unless it was very hot, or very cold. The thermostat was set at 65 degrees. This was just right, not to cold, not to hot. In the winter it would be to cold. Very odd. Reason flipped the channels and found an old Japanese movie, Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People. Reason had seen it when he was a child. He didn't remember how cheesy it was.

  The next morning Reason awoke to the smell of coffee brewing. It was delicious smelling and made him want to wake up, just when Didier came in with a large cup of the brew. "Good morning sunshine. How did you sleep?" Didier asked as he handed over the cup to Reason.

  Reason took a sip, and then another and then one more and then smiled at Didier and said, "Wonderful! Now why are you up so early? And thank you for the coffee, you made it perfect."

  "Yes I can do that." Didier said boastfully with a smile on his face.

  "I want to go to the gallery today. I may do some work. Some detective work."

  "Oh really? Well I will keep reminding you to take it easy, get plenty of rest and don't overdo it. With that said," Didier leaned over and kissed Reason on the lips. "Yummy, coffee lips. Now I have to get ready for work."

  "When did you say your mother was coming into town?"

  "The end of the week. I can't wait for you to meet her."

  "You think so, good, I'm glad to hear that. I will probably like her too." Reason said to be fun.

  Didier was dressing and he stood there in the bathroom. Reason could see his back. He wondered how he had met such a wonderful man. Then he began to think about that morning he had actually met Didier. What luck was that he thought.

  "Reason, are you staying in bed longer?" Didier peeked out and asked.

  "I am going to finish this cup of coffee and then have another, and another. Why?"

  "I just was wondering. I have to leave soon. I'm sorry for falling asleep so soon last night, but I couldn't stay awake." Didier said squarely.

  "Don't worry about it, I figured you had a hard day at work and were tired and needed the rest. You should always listen to your body. I watched this old Japanese moved, it was dubbed, Attack of the Mushroom People." With that last sentence, Reason stopped. He didn't want to harp on it too much, it really hadn't bothered him, although he was wondering when they were going to make love all night again.

  "Great, I have to run now, see you later tonight.?"

  "Have fun and don't work too hard."

  "I won't." Didier replied. He was out the door. Reason laid back down on the pillow, he fell asleep.

  11:30 a.m.

  Reason woke up feeling groggy because of too much sleep, but he knew his body needed the rest, so he didn't mind feeling this way. He would have some ice-water. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the jug of water that he always kept in the frig. It was half full and he decided to drink directly from the bottle, he was the only one who drank from it he thought, and he was still convalescing.

  He drank it slowly and steadily until he couldn't breathe anymore. He gasp for breath as he pulled the bottle from his mouth. After several breaths, he gulped more water until he couldn't breathe again, and pulled the bottle from his mouth. He went to the bathroom and ran a warm bath. He loved to take a warm bath when he felt groggy.

  After the bath he dressed and groomed and sat down at his desk and called his insurance company. He would have a rental car brought to his house. He should have called before the bath, but he forgot. They would be there in 45 minutes or less. He didn't mind, he would listen to the messages from work.

  45 minutes later.

  A knock on the door. The time was flying, he went to the door and a young man was standing there. He signed the necessary paperwork and the guy handed him the keys. It took less than a couple minutes. "Boy Colbert, that was fast." She had been standing at his legs the entire time. "Let's go."

  He was missing it. He wanted to just sit there and enjoy the studio. When he drove up the back alley, he started to feel at home again. His studio was his home, his second home. He loved being there, drinking coffee, looking at new work from the college students. He might call Trevor, tell him to come by and visit.

  He had only been gone for four days, but it felt longer. His mind had been working overtime trying to figure out the mystery of the lighthouse. He was just going to have to wait until the end of the month to go up there and see it again. Didier's mother would be her soon, in a couple of days. Colbert went to her bed in the office and Reason went to look around.

  The place seemed a bit cold, and spooky. He turned on the lights and hit the heater. It was an old gas furnace in the floor. It would heat up very quickly, and then he would turn it off. He went to the front of the store and peered out, people were walking on the sidewalks, and maybe he would put the open sign up. That would be great.

  He went to the door and unlocked it, and pulled it open, he sat a door holder in front of it. It was a moderne aluminum square that resemble the square block in 2001 A Space Odyssey. It was a perfect décor piece to first see upon entering the gallery, it set the scene. The air outside was not much cooler than the studio air, but it soon would be warmer. A few window shoppers would be nice he thought.

  He went to the back studio, to the safe, where he would put the negatives of the lighthouse. He was going to sign on to America Online and search for the owners of the winery. His connection at work seemed to work faster, the phone lines were newer. He looked for about an hour and was exhausted. It seemed that legal information was not yet online.

  He would have to find out in person. He signed out and went up to the front. It was nice once again to be there alone with himself and Colbert. He sat on the round stool at the desk table and looked out on the street. Sometimes there were just lulls and no visitors. He didn't mind. Selling art didn't pay the bills.

  "Well I guess Colbert we can go home now. Didier's mom is coming in the day after next or was it tomorrow she was coming in he pondered. Anyway we are going to meet her at the airport. Let's git."

  Reason was home in ten minutes, in the bedroom changing into some loungers and a comfy shirt. He wanted to watch the Golden Girls and then have some pizza and diet coke and then watch an old black and white movie. Didier had called and was going to sleep at his place because he needed to do some chores around the house before his mother arrived, it would be just Colbert and Reason.

  They were snuggled up on the sofa watching television and eating until Reason feel asleep. He woke up in the dark, the television had shut itself off and the lamp as well. He got up and Colbert woke up, "Let's go to bed, it's more comfortable there."

  Colbert followed Reason to the bedroom and was in there before him, on the bed. "I had a nice evening, didn't you?" He spoke to Colbert as if she understood him, and maybe she did. The soft voice he used when speaking to her was reassuring and she always wagged her tail when he spoke to her. He crawl
ed into bed and fell asleep.

  The next morning.

  "Colbert please go make some coffee. Where's Didier when you need him." He lay in bed not moving, what was he dreaming? He was on his way to work and there was this ship that had to take him across this water which had submarines side by side and he was traveling over them.

  They came to a large ship and were waiting for a train to come and bring some passengers. There was a grassy knoll where a couple got off the small boat and sat on the grass. Then the man driving the boat asked Reason to lean a certain way, and when Reason did, the entire boat flew around knocking the man off the boat. The man crawled back onto the boat and asked him to move again but slowly, Reason did and the boat flew to the other side.

  The train seemed to come and go and they were running late, and he had to jump of the boat and swim to the submarine, which was rising out of the water, and he got caught on a piece of metal that seemed like a small walk way. He knew he would not drown. Then he woke up.

  That was going to stay in his mind all day. He would need to sit down and review the dream and then maybe he could figure it out. He didn't have time right now he wanted some coffee. Maybe he would have a diet coke instead, that had as much caffeine as cup of coffee. Colbert didn't get out of bed, she wanted to sleep some more.

  He sat at the kitchen table drinking his diet coke, and staring into the living room. He felt so tired, why, he slept