The paintings in the first room are all modern, and as we stare at a white canvas with one red dot on it, River holds his hand up to the card on the wall and asks, “What do you think this one is named?”
I stare at the one red spot and contemplate. “Is it calledOops, I dripped paint?”
River laughs and shakes his head. “Nope. Guess again.”
“Rudolph in a Snowstorm?”
We laugh so hard I start wheezing.
River holds his sides. “I think it should be namedI Sneezed While Painting.”
A couple of ladies enter the room, and we straighten up, hiding our laughter. I look at the real name of the painting, and it’s calledRed Dot Number 16. Boring. I liked the sneeze one best.
We walk into the next room, which is full of watercolor paintings. We walk past several that look like the beach behind my house. They have the same rock formations. The waves are crafted masterfully. They mesmerize me.
The next painting is a watercolor of a lighthouse. “I love the way the shadows are painted in this one,” I say, pointing to the darker areas.
River slips his arm around me. “Look how they captured the light hitting the water. Those subtle reflections are so realistic. This artist is talented.”
“Thank you,” a voice says from behind us.
We turn around to see Kiki standing there, a huge grin on her face. My mouth drops. “Are these your paintings?”
She gives me a shy nod. “Yes.”
“Wow, they’re incredible,” River says.
“Thank you.” She looks curiously at River, and I realize she has no idea who he is.
“Sorry, where are my manners? Kiki, this is River, my date. River, this is Kiki, Micah’s sister-in-law.”
Kiki holds out her hand. “So nice to meet you, River. I didn’t know you were dating anyone, Cricket.”
River takes Kiki’s hand. “This is kind of new. It’s only our second date. But we have another one scheduled for this Friday, for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.”
“Lovely.” Kiki’s grin widens. “Are you new in town?”
“Just visiting.”
“Are you doing anything for Thanksgiving tomorrow?” Kiki gets a calculating look in her eye.
River shakes his head. “No, ma’am.”
“Why don’t you come with Cricket? We can pull up one more chair to the table.”
River looks to me, asking silent permission. I nod at him. I think it would be fun for him to meet the whole Barrett family. He turns back to Kiki. “I’d love to join you.”
Kiki clasps her hands together. “Great! I’ll tell Tobias. He will be thrilled.”
We walk through the rooms, looking at the rest of the art, then we leave the gallery and head over to The Salty Claw. At dinner, River is the perfect gentleman. He pulls out my chair, asks thoughtful questions about my classes, and even remembers details from our previous conversations. But my thoughts keep turning back to Micah and his record deal.
“You know what’s funny?” I say, twirling linguine on my fork. “Micah was so nervous about signing with a record label, but I knew he could handle it. He’s stronger than he thinks he is.”
River sets down his water glass and studies me for a moment. “You really care about him.”
“Of course I do. He’s my best friend.”
Something flickers across River’s face, but he just nods. “That’s… that’s really nice, Cricket.”
