Page 108 of Pining for Pierce
I step around the counter, and although he offers his hand again, I give him a hug. He hugs me back and then leaves, neither of us saying another word.
That felt good. So good, I can’t wait to tell Harley about it, and although it’s not quite four, I don’t care. I’m closing the store.
I swallow down my coffee, and lock the front door, switching off the lights and going through to the back of the store just as my phone rings. I roll my eyes. It feels like it’s been one of those days, and I pull my phone from my pocket, seeing that it’s an unknown caller. I could ignore it, but it might be something to do with the exhibition, or with tomorrow’s photo shoot, and I answer, my breath catching when I hear who’s on the other end of the line.
I’m still in a daze.
How I drove from Hart’s Creek to Willmont Vale is beyond me, but I’ve made it, and I park Harley’s car next to Rob’s, getting out and hurrying to the front door.
I ring the bell, but only have to wait a few seconds before Harley answers, her smile becoming a bemused frown as she looks up at me.
“What’s happened now?” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me inside. I can’t speak, even when Rob and Bridget come out from the kitchen, having clearly heard me arrive. “Something’s happened to Pierce,” Harley says, sounding anxious, and her parents come over.
“What’s wrong with you?” Rob asks. “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Then tell me what’s going on,” Harley says and I look down at her, taking a couple of deep breaths.
“It’s hard to say.”
“Try.”
“I will. But do you think we could sit down first?”
She nods her head, leading me into the living room, where she sits on the couch facing the front windows. I join her, while Rob and Bridget sit opposite. I look across at them, noting how rested they look, and remember my manners.
“Did you have a good vacation?” I ask.
Rob nods his head. “We did, thanks, but do you think you could put us all out of our misery and explain what’s happened?”
“Okay.” I turn back to Harley, taking her hands in mine and twisting slightly, so I’m facing her. “I—I had a phone call just as I was leaving work and… well, it could change everything.”
“In a good way?” she asks.
“That depends on you, babe.”
“Why?” Harley tips her head to one side.
“Because the call was from a really well-known art gallery in New York. It seems they’d seen all the activity online, and they were calling to ask if they could exhibit my work.”
Harley jumps up, throwing herself at me, and I catch her, pulling her into my arms. “That’s amazing, Pierce. It’s… It’s just what you’ve been waiting for.”
“I haven’t finished yet,” I say, twisting her around on my lap.
“You mean there’s more?”
“Yeah. They don’t just wanna run an exhibition in New York, they also wanna run one at their sister gallery in Seattle.”
“At the same time?”
“No. The one in New York would probably be sometime in the spring next year, and the one in Seattle would be afterwards… maybe in the fall.”
“Oh, my gosh, but this is fabulous. You’ll have time to get some more paintings done, and…”
“Before you get too carried away, the thing they like most is my seascapes. That’s what they wanna focus on.”
“And?” she says, her brow furrowing.
