"Ahh I see, so this is the talk of the town, a pleasure to meet you Miss Nnandi. This is my wife Aaminah, she's an artist too." I exchanged pleasantries with her as well, "Now I must go before she has to drag me inside, congratulations!"
"Evelyn was my mentor when I was in high school," River told me and I nodded slowly in agreement,
"She's-" I begin but he cuts me off,
"Yeah." He responded with a slight laugh.
We made our way over to the banquet hall first where I was being introduced to so many people in the art community whose names I'd only seen in magazines or on newspaper headlines. They wanted to know more about me, my background, my inspiration, and my future plans. And how on earth was I to tell them that I didn’t know and I didn't have any? It was a little overwhelming I had to admit. A waiter came around with glasses of champagne and I attempted to drink it all in one go but River noticed and took the glass away from me.
"Okay, that's enough socialising for one evening." He laughed and I groaned in frustration,
"It's like they want this amazing story about my life, family and history that I just don't have, I don't want to lie to them but it's like when I tell them the truth they're already bored of me." I admitted and River smiled warmly, "I don't think I'm made for this River."
"How about we take a break, yeah?" He suggested and took me away from the crowd to the quiet and empty room where all the art was being kept. We sat down on the cold floor and I pressed my forehead against his and took a few deep breaths, "You're the best artist I know."
"You don't mean that." I retaliated, and he looked up and looked around him,
"I don't see anything even remotely better than your painting here and I'm pretty sure everyone agrees with me otherwise yours wouldn't be the one on display." River said softly, getting up and pulling me up with him by my hand, "Come on let's scope out the competition and determine this ourselves."
"What?" I asked not really in the mood,
"I said let's scope out the competition!" He insisted, but I didn’t budge. "Come on ma lumière, let me prove to you that you deserve all the good things."
"Okay." I agreed and he smiled and we walked over to the first painting by an artist called Jane Pauline.
It was an eerie painting of a house on a hill built atop a cemetery and all the lost souls were clawing up the hill to get revenge of sorts. In all honesty, it was mediocre at best and all wrong for this competition.
"Someone needed to tell Jane that this was an art competition and not a weekly meeting for the Stephen King fan club." River joked, "Because it's definitely not IT."
I laughed at the pennywise reference and his eyes lit up when I did. I appreciated what he was trying to do more than anything. Before I could say anything he dragged me along to the next piece which was by an artist who used the pen name, Mary Jane. It was an abstract painting of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland smoking away at a pipe dreaming up a world of his own. The brush strokes were in the wrong direction and there was a clash of colours, too many going on at the same time, perhaps that was to enhance the whole trippy effect.
"I don't even think the mad hatter would approve of this one." River critiqued,
"Curiouser and curiouser..." I replied in reference and he winked, "I don't think McDonald's recommends slipping the devil's lettuce into your Big Mac before an exhibit."
We took a look at the last piece which caught my eye far more than anything else in the entire room, it was a collection of photographs of random objects belonging to a woman. A used toothbrush, a loch of her hair, pages of her diary, the soles of her feet, her naked silhouette, a jar that saidall the tears you cried for me, and her toenail clippings. It was beautiful but it was also undeniably disturbing, where one might see the love I saw a dangerous obsession. There was lettering on one of the Polaroids that read,for my wife, I serve you this instead of divorce papers.I read the artist's name, Anon.
"Oh wow." Was all I could possibly bring myself to say, "This is...odd."
"Odd is an understatement." River cringed,
"If you were my husband I'd collect pieces of your hair rather than divorce you too." I joked and he laughed,
"I'd expect nothing less." He chuckled, "If you were my wife I'd bathe in your bath water to absorb your very essence."
I laughed so hard I had to place a hand on my stomach because I couldn't breathe, "if you were my husband I'd knock your teeth out and bargain with the tooth fairy to keep them."
"If you were my wife I'd make an entire shrine for you and make daily offerings." He laughed so hard tears of mirth spilt over from his eyes,
"If you were my husband I'd write an entire book about how much I love you, and I appreciate you more than you know," I said holding his hand in mine,
"If you were my wife I'd tell you that I love you more and that I'm only ever happy when you are, and that we may be standing in a room full of art but I am still only mesmerised by you." He said placing a kiss on the palm of my hand,
"If I was your wife I-" I began but he interrupts me with a kiss, his lips were soft and passionate.
"When." He mumbled against my lips,
"What?" I questioned,
