Page 52 of Love Me

“Some of the paintings are from the 1950s when she was still a teenager. The last one is dated 1993.”

I nod with interest.

“I keep wondering what to do with them. I think she must’ve forgotten they’re even there. My grandmother married when she was just seventeen years old because she got pregnant. She had ten kids with mi abuelo. She even raised two of my cousins. A part of me wonders if …” Again, her voice peters out.

“If she had been allowed to explore her passion some more, what would’ve come of it?” I finish for Joseline.

She nods with a smile.

“I’ve never spoken to her about it though. She’s never told any of us that she likes painting. She spent her whole life putting her wants on the backburner to care for others.”

“It sounds like her work would be perfect for my gallery.”

I haven’t even seen the paintings, but I just have a gut feeling they’ll fit right in. This is the type of story I desire to have behind all of the work featured in my gallery.

“One day, I can bring the paintings to the gallery for you to look at them? And don’t be afraid to let me know if they’re not good enough to go into a gallery. I just …”

“I’m sure they’re beautiful. Let’s meet at Cup of Joy café over the weekend. Do you know where it is?”

“Of course. I love that place,” she gushes.

I nod. “My aunt owns it. It’s near my gallery. With renovations going on, it might be too loud to meet there.”

We talk for another twenty minutes or so about my gallery and then about Victoria’s House. I leave feeling excited.

I pull out my phone to dial Diego’s number but stop short.

The dynamic in our relationship has changed. Although, it shouldn’t give me pause, it does. Is he my boyfriend? Are we just in the dating stage? If he were my boyfriend, is it too early to call him and gush about the day I’ve had?

These questions send me into a tailspin, and right as the doubts start to drown out my common sense my phone rings.

It’s him.

How does he always know when to call?

My thumb hovers over the answer button. I can’t shake the doubts that still rattle through my mind. I want to talk to him but what we did after Kyle’s wedding feels like it’s clouding my judgment.

I put my phone away and head home, deciding that I’ll give him a call later.

CHAPTER12

Monique

Two hours pass before later comes. Too many what-ifs have clouded my mind since I received Diego’s call.

What if things between us don’t work out?

What if I lose my best friend?

What if he expects more from me than I can give?

What if, what if, what if. Even after a shower and some emails sent out to prospective artists, the questions in my head don’t stop.

Instead of contending with them, however, I sit down to respond to a web designer who I have creating the website for my gallery. Right as I finish responding to the web designer email and scheduling a conference call with her, there’s a knock on my door.

I don’t even have to check the monitor next to my door to know who it is. If I was thinking clearly, I would’ve known that after missing his previous call, he’d show up.

“Hey,” Diego says as I open the door.

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