The Singing Trees by Boo Walker
Chapter 13
SHARON MAXWELL’S SILVER EYES
When Annalisa first looked at Sharon Maxwell, she felt like she was laying eyes on someone from out of this world. The antithesis of Payton Mills in every way, she wasn’t only an artist; she was art itself. Her flamboyant dress made Annalisa want to throw away her own entire wardrobe.
Sharon’s long white hair had a streak of purple dye running through it and was held back by a purple headband. She wore giant turquoise earrings that matched the color of her dress, which was more like a layer of fabrics elegantly draped over her generous body. Her large loop scarf was designed with bright peacock feather patterns that didn’t quite match the turquoise but worked in the most dazzling of ways.
And her silver eyes and confident smile . . . so soothing. Annalisa had never seen a woman so comfortable in her body and with whom she was as a woman. Her magnetism pulled at Annalisa, literally forcing her to stare as Sharon entertained the people circled around her. She was by no means beautiful but certainly striking, and even Thomas was drawn to her.
It was a few minutes past one in the afternoon, and Annalisa and Thomas had been walking through Sharon’s warehouse space off Exchange Street, staring at exorbitantly priced and miraculous pieces—many of them very counterculture and risqué—from all over New England. Annalisa would graduate in six weeks, and then this art life would be her life, and she could barely stand the wait.
They were in the Old Port, which was the sketchier part of Portland, mostly made up of old shipping warehouses that had long stood empty. Annalisa had once joked to Nonna that she would slum it in one of these if she couldn’t afford a proper place to live after her move. Sharon made the whole block hip, though, and had transformed the giant first floor into a gallery and studio, making Annalisa both inspired and jealous.
Never had she considered the idea of owning a gallery, despite her mother wanting to open one, but being here now showed the appeal. Sharon had it all: her own abstract works (which Annalisa had decided were absolutely brilliant) hung on one of the brick walls of the enormous room, but on the other walls hung the pieces she’d curated throughout the year. The woman’s eye was beyond reproach, and Annalisa thought that maybe the skills of being a great curator could almost match the skills of a great artist. Or perhaps you had to be a great artist before you could be a great curator.
Sharon’s studio, which was open for perusing, was an artist’s dream. Annalisa began to see for the first time the beauty of abstract expressionism, perhaps because she caught a glimpse of Sharon’s less abstract works as well. Annalisa had read so many times that you had to learn the rules before you could break them. It could be said that Sharon had earned her right to chase the abstract after mastering the basics.
“Go talk to her,” Thomas said, poking her in the side.
“I don’t want to bug her,” Annalisa said, feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach as she looked past one of the brick columns that served to break up the vastness of the space.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “She should be nervous to talk to you.”
She slipped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek and thanked him. “I just want her to ask me to be a part of this show. That’s what I want more than anything.”
With eyes she hoped to wake next to one day soon, he said, “Then that’s what you’ll get.”
Her mind spun as she saw the prices written on cards under each painting. She imagined such a wonderfully fulfilling life ahead of her, one where she could do exactly what she was meant to do while making enough money to remove the worry about her financial situation. She wasn’t ashamed of being poor, but she did crave a world where her decisions were not always based on money in the bank.
In this moment she felt so incredibly fulfilled, both as an artist and as a woman. She hadn’t yet told Thomas that she wanted him to come to Portland, but as they’d stridden through the city before the show, and now, as they shared their thoughts on each piece, she was beyond sure she wanted him there. This moment was so much bigger because he was with her.
“Annalisa,” said a voice from around another brick column. “So easy to remember, sounds like Mona Lisa.” Jackie Burton, the curator with the blackberry hair who’d first told her about this show, approached.
“It’s so nice to see you,” Annalisa said. “Thank you for telling me about this show. I’m so jazzed.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Jackie dragged her finger through the air, pointing at some of the pieces. “Maybe one day your pieces will be on this wall.”
Annalisa touched her own chest, thinking that would be a lottery ticket win for her heart. She introduced Jackie to Thomas, and the three of them moved away from the traffic to speak.
Jackie told them of a few pieces they couldn’t miss and then asked, “Have you spoken with Sharon yet?”
“I haven’t gotten a chance,” Annalisa said, not wanting to confess that she was too intimidated.
Jackie opened up her arms. “You know she’s going to start teaching some classes in here? That are not affiliated with the college.”
“What?” Annalisa felt like someone had just handed her the final piece to the puzzle of her life.
“Yeah, you should sign up. Like right now. I don’t know if she has any spaces open, but she’s a great teacher.”
Forget the intimidation; she was about to bulldoze her way across the room. “Would you mind introducing me?”
“Let’s do it.” Jackie started directly toward Sharon. Annalisa whispered to Thomas that she’d be right back and then raced after her, thinking that if the classes were full, she’d simply have one of the students murdered. Not in a mean way, a gentle murder without any pain. No way she would miss out on this opportunity.
Jackie pulled Sharon away from the five people peppering her with questions about her work. She looked to be Annalisa’s mother’s age—if she were still alive—probably early fifties. It wasn’t exactly intimidation she felt at all, Annalisa realized. Being close to Sharon was more like being around someone who’d been blessed with superpowers. Annalisa was in awe.
Jackie clasped her hands together and introduced them. “Annalisa has real talent, Sharon, and she’s moving to Portland this summer. Are you still doing those classes? And more importantly, are they full?”
Annalisa held her breath as she watched for a tell on Sharon’s face, any hint that she had a chance, a ticket to the rest of her life.
Sharon put her hands on her waist and looked into Annalisa’s eyes as though she were interviewing Annalisa’s soul. She looked at Jackie and then back at Annalisa. “I just so happen to have one more spot available.” Even the way she spoke was magical, her voice like the sound of an angel. “If Jackie says you’re good, that’s all I need to hear.”
Annalisa froze. No more jokes about what she’d do to get into this class. This was a very serious moment. A wave of chills ran up her arms. She couldn’t believe what was happening as she swallowed a flood of emotions rushing up her throat.
Unsure how much time had passed, Annalisa came to her senses as Jackie waved a hand in her face. “You in there? She has a spot available.”
Coming to, Annalisa nodded like a woodpecker going after a spruce tree. Finding Sharon’s silver eyes, she said, “I want that spot.”
“I’d love for you to come with me,” Annalisa said, finally taking the leap into love.
They’d stopped on the way back to Payton Mills at a secluded beach Thomas knew about on the shore of Maquoit Bay. Pulling on jackets to fight the wind, they’d left his car along the road and hiked with two beers through a patch of woods until it opened up to the still water. Other than their talking, the only other sound was the birds calling to each other from their hiding spots in the trees.
He sat cross-legged, facing her. “Wait, really?”
Annalisa lay on her side a few feet away, sketching him. She was still high from the show, thinking she’d just met one of the most interesting people on planet Earth and that she had the chance to take lessons from her and that she’d one day show her pieces on that wall, no matter what it took.
There was something else too. She was high on Thomas.
“If you’re still interested,” she said, thinking he was the only man she’d ever want to walk through an art show with, the only man she’d ever love. She’d be crazy not to give him her all.
He pushed his beer can into the sand. With severe seriousness, he said, “Actually, no. I’ve decided to stay at Weston. Sorry to bust your bubble, but I love living with my parents, and my dad sure has come around.”
Catching his tone, she inclined an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
“You betcha. He and I played a round of golf yesterday. Said he was proud of me and profusely apologized for threatening to cut me off. In fact, he asked about you. Wants you to come by for tennis and dinner soon. Says he wants to commission one of your works.”
No one could make her smile like him. Even when his jokes were corny, his smile was as sweet as the candy at Harry’s General Store.
With her pencil, she shaded in his eyes on the page, wondering if the two of them could go the distance, if those eyes might be hers forever. “Then I guess I’ll find some other guy to go to Portland with. I was never into sculptors anyway.”
He crossed his arms. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I guess we’ll see.” She shrugged as she worked on the rest of his face. He was easy to look at and even easier to draw.
Jumping right ahead, he said, “So you really want me to join you?”
Her walls crumbled as her subject in this drawing she might call life waited for her to show that she was serious. He didn’t have to wait long. “I’m in if you’re in.”
“Hmm, let me weigh my options.” He lifted his hands like they were a scale. Jiggling his right hand, he said, “More years with my pain-in-the-ass, closed-minded father here.” He jiggled his left hand. “Or an adventure with you, my dreamy, brilliant, creative, funny, Elvis-loving girlfriend. Who do you think’s winning that one?”
Her heart suddenly sprang geysers of pure joy, rising out of her in a smile that melted all her doubt. This was the splash into the water after the leap, and it was everything she’d imagined and more. Forget all the reasons they couldn’t be together; forget all the worries she’d had about holding one another back. This was it, the reason for living.
He looked at her with a Buddha-like smile as she said, “You know what it is about you, Thomas Barnes? I can’t remember what it was like to be sad anymore. It’s like you came in and wiped it all away, and I feel very grateful and lucky to have met you. Why in the world wouldn’t I want this to continue?”
He looked genuinely touched by her words. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. That anyone’s ever said to me,” he added.
“You’d better bottle it,” she suggested, “because it doesn’t come easy.”
He started to push up and go to her, but she held up a hand. “Nope, I’m not done. Don’t move.” Using her finger, she shaded in his shadow cast by the setting sun, locking in this moment forever.
Her only reservation suddenly goaded her. “We’ll have to make it easy on your sister, make sure we include her. You know this will break her heart.”
“Yeah . . . ,” he said, “but I can’t always be there for her. I have to live my life too. And you’re right; we’ll make sure she knows we still care about her. She can come down whenever she wants. I’m happy to pick her up.”
Annalisa sighed, wanting to make sure, as though her doubts had one last stand in them and they needed to be slayed. “I’m all in, Thomas, but I don’t want to be responsible for messing up your family.”
“Then you know what?” he said, shifting in his seated position. “You shouldn’t have been at that museum. You shouldn’t have gone to the Eagles game that night. You shouldn’t be so . . . you. Because I’m in it now, and I’m not going anywhere. Forget my dad and forget my prestigious education. Right after this semester, you and I are driving down to Portland and not looking back.”
There it was, her feeble last stand slayed by his love for her. Nothing was going to get in their way. Except for this piece that she was determined to finish before he moved.
After telling him so, she picked back up her pencil and said as she worked, “But we can’t get a place together. Nonna would kill us both. And stop moving; you’re messing with my light.” Of course she was joking, and he went along with it, letting her, like always, put her art first.
He spoke without moving his mouth, like a ventriloquist. “How would Nonna know? And besides, I think she’s starting to like me.”
Bouncing her eyes back and forth from the page to him, she said, “You can move your lips, dummy. Just stop flapping your arms; I’m almost done. She might like you, but she’d never approve of us sharing a place.” Annalisa almost said, “Not until we’re married,” but she didn’t quite let that out. It was okay, though. One thing at a time.
He grinned. “So, seriously, how would she know?”
“How would she know?”Annalisa asked, feigning mild shock from the question. “Have you not met Nonna? We’re not talking New York here. Portland isn’t that far away. For one, she’ll send the family down to scout things out, and I’m sure she’ll drop by herself too. No way we’re getting a place together.” She raced to finish the drawing because she wanted to be closer to him, to let him come her way.
“Okay, fine, we’ll get two separate places.” He crossed his arms again in obvious defiance. “With adjoining doors. Until we make it legal.”
She pointed the pencil at him. “What did I say about moving your arms?”
He pushed up to his knees and started her way. “I’m having a hard time hearing you from over here.”
“You’re in so much trouble,” she said, tossing her pad and pencil to the sand. Who cared about a silly drawing when the real thing was right in front of her?
He crawled toward her, making a big deal of it, almost prowling like a lion. She felt playful, too, and laughed as she played the part of a tigress being circled by her mate. When he reached her, he lifted a leg over her waist and straddled her.
She lay back against the sand, his eyes like slivers of stardust staring down at her. A wolf howled from deep within the forest. Or was it deep within her?
He slowly lowered his head down, stopping an inch from her face. “I love you, Anna. More than you could ever know.”
She ran her fingers through his hair and stared into his irises, losing herself in the galaxy of his love. Without a doubt in the world, she said, “I love you too.”