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even though it had been a long time since
he’d had a relationship that was more than three dates in a row.
    “I don’t think I’ll be taking any more classes, but I hope
you have fun,” he said kindly but without any emotion.
    “It’d be a lot of fun,” she insisted.
    David shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to
partner with.”
    Gwen frowned, finally getting the hint and backed off.
    Lindsey was saying something about a homework assignment.
He’d missed what it was. Everyone was gathering up their jackets and purses and
leaving, so David quickly said goodbye to Gwen and marched to the front of the
room.
    “I apologize,” he frowned. “I didn’t hear what our
assignment was.”
    Lindsey looked up and smirked. “You were too busy chatting
with your friend.”
    “No,” he shook his head. “She was the one doing the
chatting. And she’s not my friend.”
    Lindsey chuckled. “I want you to go to the grocery store and
look at the items you’ll think you’ll need for our menu.”
    David whipped out his phone and quickly took a photo of the
menu written on the chalkboard. He would have to enlist help.
    “You wouldn’t want to go with me, would you?” he grinned.
    “That wouldn’t be fair to the other students, would it?”
    “We wouldn’t tell them,” he whispered.
    Lindsey laughed. David liked her laugh. “Is that a yes?” he
asked hopefully.
    She shook her head. “No, that’s not a yes.”
    “How am I ever going to become the teacher’s pet then?” he
grinned.
    “Just ask my employees. I don’t have pets. ”
    “Well that’s too bad. I would’ve made a good one.”
    “I’m sure you would have.”
    *****
    At lunch time on Friday, the delivery service dropped off a
large package for David at the gallery. He knew what it was so didn’t bother
opening it.
    “What is it?” Audrey asked him.
    “A gift for my brother and his wife.”
    “Oh,” she replied. “What is it?”
    “Nothing much,” he shrugged. “Just a sketch I did.”
    “You still draw?” Audrey was stunned. “I didn’t know that.
Can I see it?”
    David sighed. He didn’t like people looking at his sketches.
It made him uncomfortable. He never knew when people were genuinely praising
his work or when they were just trying to be polite. He would prefer that they
told him they hated it, if it were the truth, than to lie to him to spare his
feelings. So he just kept his art to himself and to the members of his family
that he’d given pieces to.
    “Please?” she insisted.
    David peeled back the brown paper to reveal the sleek black
minimal frame. It was square. Twenty-four inches by twenty-four with a crisp
white mat that held the sketch, eighteen inches square. Audrey gasped as she
beheld the picture.
    “It’s beautiful,” she gushed. “The emotion is perfectly
captured.”
    “They’d just announced she was pregnant,” David smiled,
recalling the day just a few weeks before.
    “Oh, David, really. It is quite superb.”
    “Well I hope they’ll like it.”
    “Well if they don’t, I’ll take it!” she smiled.
    David was flattered with Audrey’s response. She was one of
the people he could trust to tell him the truth. So if she said she liked it,
he believed her.
    “Thanks,” he smiled and rewrapped the brown paper as best he
could. He would take it to them after work.
    They finished their lunch and were cleaning up the paper
boxes when the receptionist rang back to say that Griffin was there and asking
to speak to David.
    “Send him back,” he replied.
    A few seconds later, Griffin appeared in the doorway.
    “Come on in and have a seat,” David said and pulled out a
chair at the table.
    “I can’t stay. I just came to say that I can’t do the show.”
    “NO!” exclaimed Audrey. “You said you’d have your pieces
ready!”
    “Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t do it. You’ll have to find
someone else.”
    David took a couple of steps toward him. “Griffin. This is
your