“Do you have any finished pieces?” he asks.
“Yeah, if you open that wooden box, you’ll find some.”
I almost don’t want to look at him as he looks at my art for the first time. How will I feel if he doesn’t like it? And why do I care?
Levi pulls out one of my favorite pieces. It’s a hanging decoration made by dyeing the fabric using Bandhani and then stretching it around the frame. The colors are bright, depicting the sunset behind the Gujarat mountains.
“Where is this?” he asks.
“What makes you think it’s a real place?”
Levi raises the frame up against the light coming from the window. “Because it’s woven in the fabric. The colors, the landscape.”
When he looks at me, my breath catches, and I need a moment to compose myself. No one has ever looked at my art that way.
Heat rises up my spine, and I don’t know what to do with the feelings inside me, so I focus on attaching the finished wings onto the strap so Levi can wear them like a backpack.
“You mentioned band…bandan…”
“Bandhani, or Bandhini. Yes, it’s a craft used in some areas in India. Bandhani is a type of tie-dye textile decorated by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings to form a design. The term Bandhani is derived from the Sanskrit word banda, which means to tie— I'm sorry, I don't mean to geek out on you.”
Way to go, Arlo. Just give the guy a load of irrelevant information. He'll get naked and fall at your feet in three seconds flat.
“You should sell these at the craft fair,” he says.
My hands drop onto the table, and from the corner of my eye, I see Levi putting the piece back inside the box. He comes over and sits next to me.
“Why do I get the feeling that Mrs. Martin is somewhat responsible for your reaction to what I just said?”
I look at him, letting myself get a little lost in his brown eyes. When he touches my hand, I take in a breath and then say, “I’ve been trying, but the committee refuses to grant me a license to sell at the craft fair.”
“Why?”
“Mrs. Jenkins decided she doesn’t want me in the fair because I’m not a local. I guess everyone else on the committee agrees with her, including Mrs. Martin…especially Mrs. Martin. I’ve applied every month over the last six, and I’ve been declined every time.”
“Fucking old hags,” Levi says with an anger I don’t expect, but then he straightens up and looks around. “Christ, I need to stop swearing before I go broke.”
I smile and look toward the house. Through the window, I can see Ava holding Rosie.
“You’re safe. She’s got a snake around her neck.”
He turns around so quickly I almost fall off the stool.
“Fuck me, she’s holding the snake. That’s far worse than having it around her neck.”
“Why?”
“Because it means she’s not afraid and she’s going to want one now.” He shudders.
“Tell her you’ll buy it with the proceeds from the swear jar. But don’t forget to stop swearing.”
“Shit, I’ll have a zoo by next month.”
He turns around, and the way he leans on the workbench and tilts his head makes my own spin. There’s something in the way he’s looking at me.
“Arlo, Arlo. Why do I have a feeling you’re going to be trouble?”
“The good kind of trouble?” I ask, even though I think I’m the one who’s in trouble when it comes to Levi.
