Love Hurts (3 page)

“That’s incredible!”

“Yes, I love art that isn’t obvious on the surface. That’s one of the main reasons I love Catarina di Rossi’s work.” Mel waved her arm in the direction of the shrouded piece. “The mystery behind the little face in each painting is so intriguing for me. Plus, her work has such intense emotion. She must be a very passionate person.”

Anna shuddered as she thought of her cold, emotionless mother, but forced a smile onto her face. Regardless of the subject, she loved Mel’s enthusiasm. Jilly used to be passionate about her art, but she’d lost it after Matthew’s birth. Anna wished Jilly still painted, but maybe it was for the best. Painting had been the arena for some of Jilly and Mamma’s biggest fights. She wondered at herself. What took away her passion for words? Anna spent her days writing, but mostly on mundane pieces about news in their small town, or once in a while a human interest piece. Those were her favorites, but were often hard to come by. Anna used to love to write children’s stories for Jilly, stories she would tell her before bed. Jilly always begged for more, which made Anna proud. It had been a long time since she’d felt proud of herself.

Anna followed Mel through the exhibit and did her best to smile and comment in the right places. Mel had done a really good job, so Anna felt guilty that she wasn’t giving her friend the adulation she deserved. She promised herself she’d make up for it later.

They arrived back at the lobby, and Mel said, “So that’s it. What do you think?”

“Oh Mel, you’ve done an incredible job.” Anna pulled Mel into a bear hug. “I’m so proud of you. This is going to be talked about for months, no years.” When she stepped back, Mel’s eyes were watery.

“Thanks, Anna. That means a lot to me.” She dabbed under her eyes. “Now, stop making me cry! The caterers will be here soon. Would you help me set up the tables?”

“Of course.” Anna put her clutch on a chair near the table. “The gallery looks beautiful. All these lights, they must have taken hours to arrange.”

Mel spun around in a circle, her head back, laughing delightedly. “Isn’t it like a fairytale, Anna? I’ve always dreamed of putting on a first-class art exhibition. I never thought I’d get the chance to do it in this backwater town.”

“Is it because of the painting?” Anna flapped her hand at the main attraction, unable to say Mamma’s name.

Mel turned and looked at Anna, her face now serious. “Are you okay, Anna?”

Anna started, surprised she hadn’t been able to keep her feelings hidden. “Oh, yes, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.”

Mel studied Anna. “I don’t know. You’re definitely not yourself tonight. Something’s up.”

Anna knew once Mel got a hold of something like this, she could be unstoppable. Anna decided to head her off. “I’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s nothing that can’t keep. I want to enjoy myself tonight, and I want you to as well. You’ve worked hard and you deserve a wonderful evening to celebrate.”

Mel smiled. “Thanks, Anna, but don’t think I’ll forget.”

Anna laughed, the sound hollow to her own ears. “Whatever would have given me that idea? Trust me, I never thought that for a second.”

Mel wagged a finger at her but didn’t comment further. They continued setting up the tables in silence. Anna hoped she hadn’t dampened Mel’s spirits, but felt sure she’d recover soon enough if that were the case. Probably as soon as the first person stepped through the doors.

The caterers soon arrived and began to set out the food and champagne. Mel had put a lot of effort and budget money behind the event. Anna hoped she hadn’t overextended the small gallery, but she had to admit, the overall effect did her great credit. Anna decided she would beg her boss for the privilege of writing the requisite article about the gala.

Anna and Mel stood at the door, quietly talking while the servers prepared for the guests. “You ready?” Anna asked her.

Mel grinned.

Jilly’s husband, Gregg, happened to be the first one to arrive. He looked devastatingly handsome in a black tux with tails.
My sister is a lucky woman.
Gregg smiled when he saw Anna and gave her a hug.

“How’s my second favorite girl?”

“I’m good, thanks, Gregg.”

He stepped back, studied her, and gave a long, low whistle. “You look terrific, Anna. Wow. I might have to rethink who my favorite girl is.” He winked at her, but Anna knew only Jilly held the key to Gregg’s heart.

“Where’s Jilly?”

“She ran across the street for a minute. She needed some stockings. I think Matty got into her drawer and played with the last pair she had. I heard a few choice words coming from the bedroom as she got dressed.”

“Those are the hazards of having children. Where is the little scamp this evening?”

“Angela has him. His favorite babysitter.”

Anna nodded, “I know her. She’s really good from what I hear. Always in demand.”

“Yes, we were lucky to get her. Good thing Jilly booked her as soon as we received our invitation, or someone else would’ve snapped her up. I’m sure babysitters were in short supply for this evening.” Gregg turned. “Ah, here’s my beautiful wife.”

Jilly entered the gallery with a dazzling smile. Only the sister who knew her best could see the brittle edges. She and Gregg were probably the only ones who knew how much pain Jilly carried.

“Hi, sis.” Jilly kissed Anna’s cheek. “You look wonderful! Hi Mel, wow, you’ve done a great job.”

It was even worse than she’d thought. Maybe Matthew hadn’t taken away all the passion Jilly used to have for her painting. Otherwise, why would it hurt so much for her to come to the gallery? Jilly’s pain showed in the shadows under her eyes, in the slight droop of her lips.

“What’s the mysterious painting all about, Mel?” Jilly asked.

Anna’s heart leaped in her chest. She’d nearly forgotten. She had to pull Jilly aside soon.

Anna waited while Mel talked about “the wonderful artist who’d so generously lent the gallery the painting for our event.” Her toe tapped an impatient rhythm waiting for Mel to stop talking. Once she got onto her favorite subject, it could be a while.

People started filling the gallery, all dressed in their finest. They filled the room with beautiful colors, like they were competing with the paintings. Anna would have loved to paint a picture of an art show. It would show the contrast between life captured and stilled on canvas, and life moving and flowing in the people who smiled and chatted.

Anna moved to Jilly’s side, who now greeted people she knew from her school, where she taught art to elementary students. Jilly had gotten an art degree in Toronto and taught others instead of creating her own.

“Jilly?” she whispered. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”

Jilly turned. “What is it?”

“Can we go outside?”

“Oh Anna, do we need to?” Jilly sounded impatient. She hated to be interrupted at a party. Jilly loved nothing more than a social gathering. The more people, the better. “We’ll talk later,” she said and turned back to Kathy, the principal of the school where Jilly worked. “Kathy, this is my sister, Anna.”

“Hi, Anna. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Anna shook her hand and gave an automatic smile. She could feel a sheen of sweat break out across her skin at the thought of the unveiling. She dreaded Jilly’s reaction. Jilly had never been afraid of making a scene. Anna had to make sure that didn’t happen.

Jilly moved on to another colleague and Anna followed, afraid to let her sister out of her sight. She began to fear she wouldn’t be able to tear Jilly away. A hand landed on Anna’s shoulder and she jumped and gasped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Rob asked in her ear.

Anna was tempted to say, “What’s wrong with you?”, but she held her tongue. “You startled me, that’s all.”

“Very nice event. Mel has done a great job.”

“Yes.” Anna looked around the room. People laughed, chatted and drank champagne while carrying plates of hors d'oeuvres.

“Your sister looks great.”

Anna winced at the tone in Rob’s voice. Even after all these years, Anna had never gotten used to seeing her husband undress her sister with his eyes. She’d tried to ignore it, but tonight she couldn’t take it anymore. He was
her
husband. Why did she stand by and allow him to disrespect her?

“You’re a pig, you know that?”

Rob’s head snapped around, shock quickly giving way to anger.

Anna didn’t stick around to hear his response. She moved away, snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and found her sister again. Jilly chatted with a group of women about her son. They all sounded like mothers, each talking about the perfection of their own offspring. Anna wished to join the group, but she hadn’t been shown the secret handshake for the motherhood society. She didn’t belong. She stayed near, hoping for a chance to pull Jilly aside. The panic rode high in her chest.
What will Jilly do if I don’t warn her?

A hand slid up Anna’s arm. Paul, a colleague from work, the
Hope Standard,
smiled at her. Anna liked him, but he could be a pest.

“Don’t you look smashing this evening?”

It took everything she had to keep from rolling her eyes at his flamboyant words. He fancied himself a poet.

“Have you seen Cliff?”

He looked around then pointed with his champagne glass. “Over there.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a quick smile, ignored the disappointment on his face and headed to her island of rescue. Cliff, her boss, was nearly as large as an island.

“Anna!” Cliff’s booming voice carried her to safety at his side. “You’re beautiful tonight, girl. Good for you.”

For the first time that night, Anna felt the compliment deep in her heart. Cliff never said a thing he didn’t mean. It could be hard to handle at times because if he didn’t like a story, he told you, and why. There were many times Anna had argued with him over the validity of a piece, but she always ended up squarely on his side. If anyone knew good journalism, Clifford Haines did.

“How’s things?” she asked.

“Good, good. Isn’t this a great party?” His voice boomed and several people turned to smile at them. Anna normally hated being the center of attention, but in Cliff’s orbit, she never minded. It was like she could take on his comfortable presence and not care what others thought.

She looked around the room and spotted Rob’s back. He was partially hidden behind one of the large statues. She couldn’t see who he was speaking to, but his body language told her it was someone important. He leaned in, his back to the room. Gooseflesh rose up on her body.
He’s up to something.

Anna took a hesitant step. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what was going on. For the first time she wondered if he’d ever cheated on her. Her mind roamed back over the past few weeks and the late nights. Another wave of gooseflesh hit her just as Rob lifted his head and scanned the room. He looked furtive. He noticed Anna watching him and immediately stepped toward a painting, scanning it as if it held him rapt. She couldn’t see the face of whoever he’d been talking to. Anna set her empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray and decided to find out.

“Everyone, can I have your attention, please?”

Anna whirled around in shock. It couldn’t be time already. Mel had said she would wait until the last half of the evening and an hour hadn’t even passed since they’d gotten started. Mel was obviously impatient to show off her pièce de résistance. Anna scanned the room for her sister. She found her in a group of couples, standing with Gregg’s arm around her. Anna’s shoulders slumped when she realized she couldn’t reach Jilly in time. She stared at Jilly’s face as she listened to Mel introduce the painting.

The room took on an expectant hush as Mel spoke. Anna felt only dread. Not only for Jilly’s reaction, but her own. What would it do to the carefully walled parts of her heart to be confronted with her mother’s passion?

“And now may I present—” Mel whipped off the cover and the entire room drew breath as one.

Mamma had done it again. There was no question the painting was a masterpiece, but her heart squeezed tighter and tighter, and she struggled to breathe around the knot of it. Her head whipped up at the scream and she stepped forward instinctively to protect her sister, her foot crushing the glass she didn’t even realize she’d dropped.

“Jilly,” she whispered.

Cliff’s arm came around her. “You okay, Anna? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong with Jilly?”

Anna looked up at him, his face shadowed with concern. Anna pulled herself together, refused to look at the painting and rushed across the room to her sister.

Jilly stared at the painting, her mouth a stark O, tears streaming down her face. “No, no,” she whispered.

Anna pulled her into her arms and tried to turn Jilly away from the painting, but she was as immovable as stone.

“Jilly, please,” Anna whispered, “Honey, don’t look at it.”