Jacqueline returned to her apartment after buying a bottle of ibuprofen and a slushie from the gas station across the street. At the diner she’d ordered breakfast, but was only able to choke down a piece of toast. The rest she’d pushed over to Vincent who was more than happy to polish it off.
She was in a strange state at the moment, still hungover and feeling like absolute shit but also walking on air and elated. She’d made an absolute fool of herself, even worse than she’d originally thought, but in the end Vincent still wanted to stay with her. Over breakfast they’d made plans for their next date. She wanted to make it up to him. He admitted he wanted to do something other than a meal for once.
They’d settled on visiting an art gallery next weekend with some exhibits Vincent was interested in seeing. He loved checking out shows, especially local ones, but he didn’t like going alone. It was nice to have someone to talk about the art with. Seeing as she was an artist in her own right, Vincent really wanted to hear what she thought.
He called her an artist. Just thinking about it made her blush.
Soon as Jacqueline started digging for her keys, the door across from hers opened. “Wow, Jacqueline! What a surprise to see you out in the hall. Total coincidence!”
Jacqueline found her keys and stuck them in the lock. She didn’t turn to look at her neighbor. “What do you want, Irena?”
Irena approached so she had no choice but to look at her from the corner of her eye. The woman looked exaggeratedly down both ends of the hall then whispered conspirationally with her hand blocking sideview of her mouth. As if anyone would want to listen to her stage whisper. “I think it would be better if we talked in private. Can I come in?”
Jacqueline pushed her door open, but didn’t move into it. “That depends on what this is about.”
“You had a guy over yesterday.”
“I did, yes. My boyfriend.” Jacqueline finally turned around to face her neighbor. She leaned against the doorframe and slurped her slushie. It was melting fast. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Irena was a cliche if Jacqueline had ever seen one. Pursuing a dream of stardom after a dazzling career of local theater, she was naive and unworldly and disgustingly pure. Jacqueline didn’t mind any of these things on their own, but something about her young neighbor just rubbed her the wrong way. It didn’t feel real. It was like even now, Irena was acting.
“No. I was just wondering…” Irena looked down at her shoes and fiddled with the hem of her shirt, “is he okay?”
Jacqueline froze. When she was able to move again, she pushed her door all the way open. “Come in.”
Irena scurried in. Jacqueline was extremely thankful she’d taken the time that morning to clean up after herself. If there was anything she could be shamed with out in the open, she would have never invited her in. Jacqueline indicated a spot at the kitchen table for her to sit.
Irena obeyed dutifully, waiting as Jacqueline tossed the last of her slushie into the garbage. When Jacqueline approached her at the table she almost felt like this was an interrogation.
In a way, it was. “I was asleep when Vincent left yesterday. Did it look like something happened to him?”
“I was going to go out to get some fresh air last night, but then I saw him standing at your door. He was leaning against it and holding the doorknob, but otherwise he wasn’t moving. I was a little scared at first and I was going to wait for him to leave but he just… didn’t. He stayed there for a really long time. Eventually I stopped being scared and got worried instead.”
“Because he just kept standing there?”
“No, because he was crying.” Irena said. Jacqueline felt her heart break and plop into her roiling stomach acid. “I wanted to go out and ask him what was wrong, but before I got up the nerve to open the door, he ran away.”
“Oh.” Jacqueline fell into the empty chair across from Irena. She felt even worse now than she had at the diner.
“What happened last night, Jacqueline?”
“I… I messed up.” She was always messing up. “Don’t worry about it, though. I’m making it up to him. We’re working it out.”
Irena stood up and pushed her chair in. It made an ungodly noise against the floor that stabbed at Jacqueline’s still throbbing head. “That’s a relief to hear. Can you introduce me next time he comes around? I want to meet him.”
“No offense, Irena, but we’re not exactly friends. You're not really on the top of my list for people I'd introduce my boyfriend to. You’re just my neighbor.”
She didn’t take offense to this. “What’s a neighbor but a friend a few feet away? You should get some rest, you don’t look so good.”
Irena crossed the room. The squirming feeling in her stomach made it hard for Jacqueline to speak, but before Irena left she was finally able to reply.
“Thanks for the advice. Good bye.”
She didn't see her out.
The exhibition had become a key factor in his plan. If everything was going to work out how he wanted it to, he would have to execute this perfectly.
He met her at her apartment. She came out in a sleeveless dress, black and sleek and casual formal. She was wearing her hair up, but a lock of it kept coming undone and she had to push it back behind her ear and into the mess of pins keeping it in place.
“How do I look?” She asked, feigning shyness.
Jacqueline looked how she always looked. “Absolutely beautiful. Shall we?”
Vincent held out his arm to her, and she pressed herself against him.When they got to his car, he opened the passenger door for her and ushered her inside. He did the same when they reached their destination, opening her door and helping her out of it. He was determined to be nothing but a perfect gentleman tonight.
The exhibit they were going to see tonight was the debut of an old college friend of his. Vincent had focused on photography specifically, but his friend Aubrey Ross specialized in mixed media. While the photos she took she developed monochromatically, she sometimes used paint, markers, or even dollar store craft supplies like sequins to give her work a pop of color and as a way to explore whatever thematic elements she was playing with.
Aubrey’s exhibit this time was on family, love, and nature. The centerpiece was a collage she’d made of her family tree, using photos she’d taken of all her living relatives and connecting them all together with driftwood she’d recovered along the banks of a river she’d lived near in her childhood. There were other embellishments added to some of the photos, things that Vincent pointed out to Jacqueline, who nodded along in fascination.
Her eyes, he noted, had a shine to them.
He already knew how hard a subject family was for her. It was hard for him, too. The circumstances were different, of course, but still, it was one of the few things they had in common.
One of the few things that made him question if he wanted to go through with this or not.
But he would. He’d made up his mind on it and he was this far, already. If he gave up now, what was the point?
He asked Jacqueline what she thought of the collage and some of the other pieces. She said she liked them, but she didn’t know enough about this particular artform to really talk about it. He told her that didn’t really matter. Her reactions to the pieces were what was important here, not any sort of technical knowledge. She seemed to take comfort in that and spoke more openly.
The photo of Aubrey’s parents recreating their wedding photos for their fortieth anniversary was Jacqueline’s favorite. Aubrey had scrawled their vows into the background and hand painted the flowers in her mother’s bouquet.
“Have you ever thought about getting married, Jacqueline?” He probed the subject cautiously.
She was silent for longer than he expected, the answer lost in her head somewhere. “I’ve never really given it serious thought.”
But now that he’d planted the seed, he was sure she would. The thought would be nibbling away at the back of her head, and so, by virtue of being her partner, would he.
Vincent introduced her to the artist. He complimented her on her work with genuine praise. Jacqueline, out of her element but trying her best, agreed with everything he said.
It was nice to see her reduced to parroting him.
“Thanks, Vin,” Aubrey gushed with warmth, clearly buzzed from the free flowing compliments and champagne, “you know, I was actually a pretty big fan of your work in school, too. How come I haven’t seen any of your photos anywhere yet?”
“Honestly, even after we graduated I still felt like I had a lot to learn.” He shrugged. “I’m working as an assistant to a professional photographer right now. He’s been really great about showing me the ins and outs and getting me connections. Stuff like that.”
“So what, you’re gonna go into like, business photography?” Aubrey scoffed. “There’s nothing wrong with that but, like, that’s such a waste of your talents. You’re an artist, Vin. Have you ever seen his work?”
This last question was directed at Jacqueline, who jumped at suddenly being addressed. “I haven’t, actually.”
“Seriously? You need to. God it’s so…” Aubrey struggled to find the word she wanted, snapping her fingers together until it finally clicked into place, “sultry.”
Jacqueline laughed. “Sultry? I’ve never heard that used to describe a photo before.”
“Okay, now I know you haven’t seen his work.”
This was going so much better than he’d thought. Aubrey and Jacqueline were getting along even better than he’d anticipated. Vincent sipped his champagne and patted himself on the back for a job well done.
Time for his part now.“Do you… want to see my work, Jacqueline?”
He asked it like he was uncertain and shy. The slight self-deprecation was just this side of charming. And, Jacqueline being Jacqueline, it worked perfectly on her.
“Of course I do!” She reached out for his arm and squeezed it insistently. “Vincent, I’d love to see your work.”
He smiled. “And I’d love for you to see it.”
“Speaking of work,” Aubrey interrupted, tearing Vincent away from Jacqueline and pulling him over to her side, “I actually have a thing or two to discuss with this guy. It’ll only be a minute, I promise. You don’t mind, right?”
Jacqueline’s eyes were big with shock, but she hid it well behind the grinning facade. “Oh no, yeah, go ahead! I’ll just wander around and check out the rest of your exhibit. Congrats again, by the way.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet! Thank you.”
Aubrey dragged him away by the arm, both of them sloshing champagne from their glasses as they moved. He stumbled over his feet. This wasn’t part of his plan. When they were far enough away from Jacqueline, in a corner and out of ear shot, Aubrey leaned in close and whispered right into his face, blocking the side view with her hand so no one could read her lips.
“She’s great, Vinnie! I really like her.” Was this the thing she wanted to share with him? He already knew that from their conversation. How was this worth dragging him away for? Useless. Still, Aubrey was smiling so widely at him. She expected some sort of reply.
“I really like her, too.”
What a lame reply. Aubrey laughed and punched him in the arm.
“My shy little Vin finally put himself out there and found a nice girl. I’m so proud of you, man! Seriously, you guys look so happy together, that’s awesome.”
Vincent felt the blood go to his face. He tried to will it back to its proper place in his body. “You’re embarrassing me, Aubrey! Stop.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” she laughed, “but for real, it is nice to see you so happy. You were always a little on edge at school. To tell you the truth, it worried me. It’s probably why I tried to take you under my wing.”
“You were worried about me?” This was his first time hearing about it. He was strangely touched.
“Yeah,” Aubrey shrugged and drained the remains of her champagne, “I’m not anymore, though. Alright, I suppose I can let you get back to your date.”
“And I’ll let you get back to making your rounds.” He took the empty glass from her. “You’ve had enough of these for one night, though, I think.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun.”
He found Jacqueline again and interlocked her fingers with his. If he squeezed her hand tighter than usual, she didn’t seem to mind.
“Your friend seems really nice,” Jacqueline said, gazing intently at him instead of the art, “I like her a lot.”
Vincent smiled. “Funny, she said the same thing about you.”
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