The Sagging Orchid
Sunday, December 07, 2003
First Scene (2nd post)
“Art isn’t art until you’re alone,” he comforted, “It frustrates them.”
“True,” she replied.
He stepped cautiously into the living room, his loafers sounding on the wooden floor. Clarisse was stationary, her black hair haloed by the nearby lamp. Her arms were folded, clutching her shawl, as she looked through the white, brocaded curtains at the trees shaking wildly.
“I’ve been offered a spot in Boston.”
He was tentative. “Really,” he asked, “By whom?”
“Choate. An opening has come up.”
“Well, that’s not a chance you’re going to pass up, is it?”
Silence for a moment.
“It would be a long move,” she remarked.
“After where you’ve come from?,” he countered halfheartedly.
She turned from the window, now looking towards a radiator in the near corner. A soft pinging sound was heard in its pipes as the heat came up. “Choate is the only person I know in Boston,” she said.
“But you were complaining about your students here -”
“- Not complaining, just remarking,” she insisted. She grew slightly annoyed and looked straight into his eyes. “Everyone I know is on the Cape. What do you want from me?”
“Nothing,” he answered elusively, “But you’ve always talked about going to a city.”
She calmed down, remembering whom she was speaking to and lowering her head in regret. “Yes, I have talked about that. In the past. But things change.”
“How good a job is he offering you?”
“One of the smaller studios and tutorial work. It’s not bad.”
“So, then?” The prospect sickened him. Clarisse paused.
“You have to paint for an audience. This could bring me one.” She stepped over to the hi-fi and checked for dust. “This could bring me one,” she said again, “I admit that.”
Reason got the best of Taylor’s urges again. “You have to let go of your roots to get what you want sometimes.”
Clarisse folded her arms and looked at him suspiciously. “What do you really know about my roots? Hm?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
Her thick lips went into a devious smile.
“It’s a serious business,” she joked.
Taylor looked away as he grinned. “Yeah, heh.”
Their bond was reaffirmed and she became serious again.
