“You’re a flatterer, Buddy. But I’ll take it.” I look at Levi. Normally, when some people look at my work, if they don’t necessarily have an eye for fine art or photography, they usually just pay me some lip service. Which is fine. But I know the difference. When someone looks at my work, with more than just a passing glance, I know that they’re impressed. Levi is all but examining it. It’s almost like he’s a teacher, called over to inspect his student's efforts.
“I confess, I could see from behind you. I could see the screen where you were taking the shot from. It looked magnificent from back there, but this, this takes my breath away. How much do you want for it?"
“Well, gosh, I couldn’t charge you for that. seeing as it was taken right on your ranch."
“That’s nonsense. And it’s not my ranch, it’s Billy’s. And I love that photograph. I’m not sure where I’ll hang it at the moment, but I know that I want it. How much can I give you for it?" He repeats.
I stammer and stumble on my words, having difficulty figuring out the right ones to use. Normally, with a custom frame and matting like that, I’d sell that picture for no less than fifteen hundred dollars. It’s an original, and it will not be duplicated, making it a unique piece of work, And with my originalautograph on it, there’s no question that it’s worth that much. But I can’t bring myself to charge him anything for it. For all intents and purposes, he’s my landlord’s friend. And I owe a lot to Buddy, so I would never charge his friends a thing for my work, not that they’d ever come around here asking for it.
“You said you work on Billy Barnes's Ranch, right?”
He nods once. “ That’s right."
“How about a trade? You give me some riding lessons and I’ll give you the picture for free."
“From the looks of that, I could give you a year's worth of free lessons."
“You can have free reign of the entire property for a lifetime." Buddy volunteers only half jokingly.
“I can’t take it for free, ma’am. It wouldn’t feel right. I’d feel like I was taking advantage. But I’ll give you free lessons all you want, anyway, because you’re a friend of Buddy's. And the way that this town works, is one mouth spreads news everywhere, both good and bad. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that you give away your hard work for free. Not that I would tell anyone, mind, but you get what I’m saying."
“I can’t take your money, Levi. If you were anyone else’s friend, I would. But Buddy has given me so much grace, and the fact that you didn’t give me any trouble for trespassing on Billy‘s ranch, I owe it to you to give you this photograph."
Buddy looks entertained. He looks like he’s watching a ping-pong match. The way that we’re bantering back-and-forth, he’s trying to stifle a chuckle. “The problem here is that both of you are too nice. It’s something to see for a change. Hell, in my store, people bicker back-and-forth, lowballing the asking price, but I don’t budge a smidgen see, because I’m running a business, and I know that people come from far and wide to see our store. Now, I don’t mean to interfere, but why don’t you to come up with some kind of a compromise? Lennie, you knock down theasking price fifty percent for Levi here, and he can still give you them riding lessons. That way, if word gets around, which it won’t, seeing is it’s just the three of us here. But it’ll keep the story honest."
“I’m not sure if you have that kind of money, Levi. A photograph like this is worth a lot of money. And I know that a rancher's salary is not much."
With a keen eye, Levi notices the pink sticker on the photo frame, and he sees the price list posted behind the counter. He realizes that the photograph is worth two thousand dollars. “You put that picture on hold for me, Lennie. I’ll be back with the cash."
I don’t have the heart to tell him that we take cards, too. “If that’s what will make you happy.”
“It’s settled then.“ Buddy is pleased. “Best for me to head on back to the store. Need anything, Lennie, you know where to find me."
“Thank you, Buddy. I appreciate it.“
He winks at me as he and Levi leave the store. Glancing at the picture on the wall, I have mixed feelings. Because of the way that Levi looked at that picture, I know that he really likes it. He wasn’t just trying to impress his friend. Besides, I have no idea how close Buddy and Levi are. There is no question that that photograph is perfection. It almost feels like I took advantage of nature in stealing that shot from it. The beauty was merely captured by my lens, but the maker is the true artist. The filter and finishing touches I placed on the photograph are my own, but they merely brought out some of the beauty of the image.
I pull it off the wall and start packaging it up, taking special care to wrap it up in several wads of tissue paper. Just as I turn my back to grab a large specialty box for it, a client walks in the front door. It’s a female, late fifties if I had to guess, and she doesn’t look like she’s from around here, based on the fact thatshe’s dressed like she belongs somewhere in New York, with a tailored pants suit. A local woman would be in the same tailored pants suit, however, she would have a matching hat. Especially in that age group.
I’ve made it a habit just to welcome newcomers, but I never hover. This isn’t a perfume store. This is a place where people come to spend money, where nothing here is less than five hundred dollars. It seems almost ironic, how my customers come in for investment items for their home or office here, yet next-door, they barter and negotiate over items that cost of little as one hundred dollars. Don’t get me wrong, he only sells the highest quality antiques. You won’t find a trinket in his store that belongs in a garage sale. The man has an eye for pieces. He travels all over the states and beyond, finding pieces that he can perfect and resell.
But he recently hired an antique scout as well. And with my thriving business next-door, with items at high ticketed prices, he also offers pawn services, where people can bring their precious antiques to sell, in hopes that they will come to my store and buy with the money that they just pocketed. It’s a fantastic system that has been working well for several years now. And as I watch this customer peruse one of my five thousand dollar items, I smile.
“Were you looking for something in particular?“ I ask the woman who definitely has a fine eye for art. With her progressive lenses, I can tell that she’s looking at my autograph on the bottom, right hand corner, and the edition number. “That’s one of a kind, as you can see. I snapped up that photograph in Oklahoma City last year during a storm.” Of course, anyone with a good eye for art would know by the edition number that the photograph is the only one of its kind. But I do like to emphasize that I am the artist here, and I only have one part-time staff to cover during peak times. I believe strongly that that is one ofthe reasons why my inventory sells so well, because I give it that personal touch in being here.
“You are the photographer?“ She sticks out her hand for me to shake. “Clever. Very clever.“
I’m not sure what exactly she thinks is clever. Whether it’s me being here selling my own inventory, or the picture itself, where one can see a lightning strike, as it licks the top of a tree in twilight. You can see in the bark where the lightning strike is separating it. Had I waited a millisecond longer to snap the shot, I would’ve lost it. If you look closely, you can see a tiny plume of smoke at the center, where tiny shards of bark are being instantaneously burned by the lightning bolt.
I just smile, not saying anything. It’s important to only volunteer the first sentence. If the customer is truly interested in the piece, they’ll ask questions of their own volition. This is not a business where sales pitches are fruitful. None of these pieces are needs. These are all items that a person wants, but don’t require.
“My grandson is turning twenty this weekend. He’s obsessed with the weather. He would be crazy enough to go storm chasing, I’m sure.”
“That’s how I got that shot, as a matter of fact.”
“I wondered.” Her eyes search my face. “Are you hearing impaired?”
“Yes, I am. But I can read lips just fine.”
