A NOTE BEFORE READING: I began sharing weekly excerpts from my novel, The Somebody Who, on June 26, 2010. If you want to begin at the beginning, go here. If you want to read the book in its entirety, head over to Amazon and purchase a copy. (There’s a button on the left that will take you there).
CHAPTER TWO
I
“So, how was the event?” Claudia asks Evelyn, when she finds her way into the kitchen late the next morning.
“Oh, Claudia, it was so lovely,” Evelyn replies, making her ritualistic beeline to the coffeemaker. “The Waldorf was gorgeous, as always. The food was good. I saw an old friend. Davy’s art was auctioned off for some amazingly high prices—
“Is he?” Evelyn then asks, interrupting herself.
Claudia nods, indicating that he is indeed, and once again, asleep with the television.
“Anyway,” Evelyn continues, “it was really touching. And, of course, I had a great time with Joy.”
“I’m glad for you, Evelyn. You know, I’d be happy to do that again. Spend the night, I mean.”
“Really?”
“Are you kidding? It’s a good deal, getting Friday off!”
“Good, then,” Evelyn replies, remembering her plan to call Adam, “because I think I might be going into the City for dinner sometime soon.”
“A hot date?”
“I’m too old for a hot date, Claudia!” Evelyn says, in a tone that mocks scolding.
The phone suddenly rings, causing Evelyn to make a dash to the family room. And by the time she gets there, Davy is stirring.
“Hello, dear!” he says to his wife, as she reaches for the handset beside his chair.
“Good morning,” she replies to him, before pushing the Talk button.
“Hello?” says Evelyn, into the phone.
“Good morning!” says Davy, from his chair.
“Evelyn!” the caller intones enthusiastically.
“Yes?” Evelyn replies, somewhat tentatively.
“It’s Ashley!”
“Oh! Ashley! I didn’t recognize your voice. How are you doing this morning? I hope you were able to take the day off after your fabulous success last night.”
“No, I’m at school. But, I’m letting all my classes sort of have an improv art day. I am definitely too tired to teach.”
“Well, your event was fantastic. We had such a good time, and my goodness, you did a lovely job matting and framing those pieces!”
“They looked good, didn’t they?”
“They really did,” Evelyn says, smiling down at Davy and wishing he could have seen his work so beautifully presented.
“So, who won?” Evelyn asks then, having not learned, by the end of the night, whether Gus or his competitor had walked away with the prize.
“Gus did; isn’t that great? The final bid was eleven-fifty.”
“One thousand one hundred and fifty?” Evelyn asks, amazed and delighted.
“Yup. How ‘bout that?”
“That’s… remarkable.”
“And, Evelyn, Ed Thomas—the other bidder—is still interested.”
“What do you mean?” Evelyn asks, feeling herself flush a bit at the mention of Mister Two-First-Names.
“Well, he called Elder Haven this morning, and they called me. He is wondering, apparently, if there are more of Davy’s pieces available for sale.”
“Really?” Evelyn asks, quite astonished by her husband’s sudden popularity.
“So, I’m calling to see if I can pass your number along to him.”
“Well, I guess...” Evelyn says, not at all prepared for the feeling of intrigue that is surging through her veins right now. “I mean, I don’t see why not.”
“Great. So I’ll do that in the next day or so, and I imagine you’ll be hearing from him,” Ashley says. “He seems like a really nice guy, by the way. Apparently, he lost his wife to Alzheimer’s.”
“Yes,” Evelyn says, looking at Davy, who has fallen back into his nap. “He mentioned that last night.”
“Anyway, I need to get back to class. Expect a call from Ed, and please pass my number along to Joy. I’d love to hook up with her some night when I’m in her neighborhood.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Great. And, hopefully, our paths will cross again, too!”
“Let’s make a point of it.”
“You got it. Have a great day, Evelyn.”
“You, too.”
* * *
to be continued on June 4th.
In the meantime, if you want to read a short piece about the back story, click here.
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