graduating high school, is definitely nearing her last days. I refuse to give up on her, though. I’ve made some good memories with this car. Also—I can’t afford a new one right now, so I need her to hold on, at least for another year or two.
It only takes me ten minutes to drive to work; but by the time I find a parking space and walk the distance to our front entrance, it’s ten ‘til nine. The doors are still locked, so I knock, hoping that either Andrew or Geoffrey will hear me. One of these days, they’ll make me a copy of the key. Andy said he would at the beginning of the summer, when I got hired on as a full-time employee, he just hasn’t gotten around to it yet. It’s not a huge inconvenience, me not having one, and the last thing I want to do is badger him about it. I’m so incredibly thankful that he gave me this job, I almost hate to ask him for anything.
My friendship with Geoff definitely made it easy to convince them to take me on as an intern spring semester of my junior year. I worked for free the first few months, and then Andy offered me a paid internship that summer. These men have always been so good to me. I hoped and prayed that when I graduated, I wouldn’t have to say goodbye. MTA’s two-year anniversary is just right around the corner, and they’ve done really well for themselves. In light of their success, they could afford to keep me around.
Though, something tells me they would have made it work for me to stay, no matter what.
I smile when Andy makes his way to the door, twisting the deadbolt to grant me entrance.
“Morning, Teddy.”
“Good morning. How are you?”
“Good,” he replies with his usual smile. “You?”
“I’m good, too. And Mr. Fink?”
His smile grows brighter before he answers. “Cameron just got here with the new shipment.”
“Ah,” I say with a small laugh, understanding the significance of Cameron’s presence. “He’s being bossy, isn’t he?”
“You could say that.” As we make our way further into the gallery, I hear Geoff giving orders—asking Cam to move whatever piece he must be hanging a quarter of an inch to the right. Andy and I share an amused look. “Don’t worry. Cam knows about Reeve, so he’s taking it in stride.”
“Good.”
“All right, I have a few phone calls to make and a little paperwork I need to attend to. I have an appointment with a new artist later this morning, and I was thinking of taking Geoff with me if you think you can manage.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine. Please, take him.”
“We should be back by lunch,” he says with a nod before glancing at his watch.
“Okay. Sounds good. Go do your boss thing. I’ve got the floor.”
“Thanks, Teddy,” he says with a wink.
As he heads toward his office, I make my way to the reception desk to stow away my purse and check the main line for messages. When I hear Geoffrey tell Cameron that the piece he’s hung is perfect, I make a mental note to venture around the corner a little later to check out the new collection.
The gallery is pretty quiet through the morning, but time still seems to slip away from me. I complete a few tasks at Andy’s request while he and Geoff are out on their appointment. After I’m finished, a couple people come in to do a little browsing. I chat with them for only a moment and then give them their space to look around, staying close by in case they need me. It’s a quarter after noon when I receive a text from Geoff, asking me what I’d like for lunch. I don’t bother telling him I can grab my own, knowing that he’ll ignore me and bring me whatever he pleases if I don’t just give him an answer. I opt for a salad, sure that I didn’t eat a single nutritious thing all weekend, and then wander around the gallery for a while.
I never get tired of looking at our ever changing collection. Even when some canvases hang here for months at a time, I still like to make my way around, paying homage to the heart and the