‘Ah, the newbie is early, I see. Keen as a bean!’ a brusque voice called out from across the room. Eleanor jerked her head up to see a shrivelled old man, barely a wisp of existence, staggering unevenly towards her. ‘And you’ve even gone and sat her next to me. You sure that’s wise, Agatha? You don’t want to put her with the naughty kids on day dot.’ He waggled his gnarled fingers at Agatha, who had come over to accompany him to his seat.
‘Come on now, Reggie. I’ve got to try and find someone to keep an eye on you.’
‘Argh, don’t fuss. I can manage by myself.’ He waved her arm away and continued his slow and painful-looking journey to his seat.
‘Hi.’ Eleanor stood and reached out her hand. ‘I’m Eleanor.’
‘You’re on my cushion.’ He pointed accusingly.
‘Pardon?’ Eleanor looked behind her, confused.
‘That’s my cushion you’ve got there. Best one for my arthritic back. Nice and firm.’
Eleanor hurriedly grabbed the pillow and switched it with the one next to hers. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know.’
‘Course you didn’t. You’re new.’ He slowly lowered himself down into the chair. Eleanor swore she could hear his bones creaking in protestation. ‘Phew. Hardest bit done. Wouldn’t mind getting me a tea, would you, Eleanor? I’m parched after that marathon.’ He flashed her a crooked grin and winked.
‘Reginald Bates. Eleanor is not here as your servant. If you want tea, ask me and I’ll get it,’ Agatha scorned playfully.
‘It’s fine. Milk and sugar?’ Eleanor asked.
‘Yes, and yes. Oh, and four of the most chocolateybiscuits you can get your hands on. Better get the good ones before Enid snaffles them all.’
Eleanor made her way over to where Agatha was standing. ‘He’s quite something, isn’t he?’
‘That’s one way to put it.’ Agatha chortled, pouring hot water into two cups. ‘I suppose at nearly ninety he’s not doing too badly.’
‘Ninety? No way!’ Eleanor’s mouth was wide in shock. ‘And he can still paint?’
Agatha cast an affectionate look towards the old man, who was adjusting himself in his seat trying to get comfortable. ‘Not as well as he used to. You should see some of his early work. It’s breathtaking. But yes, I’d say he can still find his way around a canvas pretty well.’
Eleanor was impressed. ‘Also, I don’t mean to be rude but where is everyone else? I thought the class started at seven?’
Agatha looked up at the large clock behind her and smiled. ‘I probably should have mentioned that in my email too. We never start on time. And wealwaysrun over. But like I say, you can’t really time-box creativity, can you?’ She winked at Eleanor. ‘Ah, here come Enid and Lance.’
*
By half past seven all of the group were seated and ready to start. Eleanor and Reggie had made their way through two cups of tea and half the packet of biscuits before Agatha finally stood up in the centre and welcomed the group.
‘Hi, everybody. Before we get our brushes wet and our creative juices flowing, I’d like to introduce our newest member … Eleanor.’
Eleanor could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
‘Hi, Eleanor,’ the group chorused.
‘So, today we are going to be focusing on …’ Agatha’s eyes glimmered with excitement. She picked up the edges of a piece of material that was covering the contents of the table and flung it back dramatically. ‘Fruit!’ She threw her hands in the air and did an odd little dance.
One of the ladies gave a half-hearted clap whilst everyone else continued to stare at the bowl of overripe fruit that had now appeared in the centre of the room.
‘Pick one item, pick two, or heck … paint the whole bowl if you fancy! But whatever you do, make sure it reflectsyou.’
Eleanor felt the sweat bead on her forehead. All around her people were readying themselves to start. She could hear the scraping of chairs, the swirling of water and scratching of brushes, but Eleanor remained frozen, her eyes fixed on the blank page in front of her.
She closed her eyes as the ground became unsteady beneath her.
What if I can’t do it any more?
You won’t know unless you try.
