Gilly rolled her eyes. “Dramatic artists. This mysterious photographer revealed themselves to you.”
“Because I agreed to sit for them.”
Gilly crossed the room, her layered necklaces jingling with the movement. “You’re persuasive when you want to be. I’ve seen you close a deal faster than art brokers in New York.” She gave me her best puppy-dog face, which was comical on a woman in her mid-sixties. “Tell them what a hoot I am. That I’m charming, and oh, so good-looking.”
I couldn’t hold in my laugh. “You are all those things.”
She sighed, looking back at the photo. “I’d love to do a show of just their work.”
“I can ask, but I doubt they’ll go for that. Attention isn’t really what they’re after.” Attention was the last thing I wanted. I’d had enough of it to last a lifetime. Funerals. Trials. Anniversary press coverage. The only thing I wanted to do was make art that showed the truth of the human experience. To be brave enough to look it in the eye and not blink. I never wanted a soul to know it was me behind the lens.
Gilly threw her hands up. “Oh, fine. I’ll leave you and your mysterious artist be.” Her eyes twinkled. “But you have to tell me if he’s handsome.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “If I told you he was handsome, you’d never drop it.”
She flounced into a chair at the table. “What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic.”
I lowered myself into the chair opposite her. “I love that about you.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “What about you? Any strapping young men ruffling your feathers?”
My lips twitched. “I can’t say that’s been on the agenda.”
“It never is.”
“I’m happy with my life the way it is. I’ve got good friends, Gizmo, work that makes me happy, and a boss who only annoys me every third Tuesday when she hasn’t taken off to parts unknown.”
Gilly laughed, one of those bawdy, uninhibited ones I loved. “She’s nosy, though, and wants you to be happy.”
“Good thing I already am.”
“All right, all right. I’ll leave the topic be. How are things with your mom?”
I broke off a piece of my muffin and popped it into my mouth. “Fine.”
“You know what I think about the wordfine. It really stands for fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional.”
I choked on my muffin and took a sip of coffee. “Apologies for using the f-word.”
“You should apologize. You know I only want the truth. I don’t ask if I don’t want to know.”
That much was true. Gilly never played by the rules of polite society, and I loved her for it. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. “Speak of the devil.”
Mom:Change of plans. I’m heading to Chicago with some friends this afternoon so I can’t come visit. Next month?
I held my phone out to Gilly, who scanned the screen.
“How many girls’ trips can one woman take? You know I like my travel, but this is getting ridiculous.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “She likes her busy.”
I didn’t begrudge my mother that. It made her happy. Never a moment to sit still and think about the realities of life. Whereas I was all about exploring whatever I felt in the moment. And right now, that was hurt. As much as I tried to lower my expectations when it came to my mother, it still stung that I was the plan that always seemed to get canceled.
Gilly patted my hand. “Want me to go to Massachusetts with you?”
“The fact that you would endure a week with my mother for me really does tell me you love me.”
Travel was tough for me on a good day, and I usually needed a buddy to help me navigate it all. Gilly and Kay had both done that for me on more than one occasion, but I hated asking them.