After I finished setting everything up, my mother came into the room with an upset look on her face.
“He’s not coming,” she said. “Apparently he’s having second thoughts, which is understandable, but the timing couldn’t be worse.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. There are plenty of other male models right?”
“I need a young adult. Most of the young male models who live nearby are university students. I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking someone from campus to come to my house to be nude. That wouldn’t exactly be great for my reputation.”
“Good point,” I replied. “Why don’t you just get another model that’s an older age? You’ve never had problems with that before.”
“The whole point of my collection is that I’m featuring a wide array of age groups. I already have several portraits of older men.”
“Does it matter? I don’t think people would notice if you used an older man and painted him to look younger.”
She flashed me a stern look. “Yes, it does matter. Artistic integrity is important to me. My collection has a theme to it. Without the final portrait, the collection would look incomplete.”
“If it’s that important, then I’m sure you’ll find someone soon enough.”
“I hope so,” she sighed. “Thank you for your help setting up my supplies. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it.”
She smiled, “We’ll leave everything here. I’ll make a few phone calls and hopefully I can find someone by tomorrow.”
“What’s the rush? The exhibit isn’t until next weekend.”
“I know. But it’s important for me to set everything up in the gallery as early as possible. I’ll have more time to prepare my oral presentations that way. Plus I don’t like rushing at the last minute. My work is better when I’m relaxed and my head is clear.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Thank you again for spending your Saturday morning with me. I know you could have done so many other things instead. I really appreciate it.”
With that said, my mother gave me a kiss on the cheek to show her gratitude. It felt nice. Her kisses were always special because they were loving. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. She knew I liked it.
***
The next morning I sat in front of the tv while I ate breakfast. I hadn’t seen my mother yet. I knew she was on the phone in her bedroom, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying since her door was closed.
When she came out of her room, she greeted me with an unusually warm expression on her face. She was dressed in the outfit she wears to paint. She gave me another kiss on the cheek, a big one. Then she thanked me again for all my help. She sat down next to me, and she placed my finished bowl of cereal on a nearby counter.
“I’m assuming you’re free today, right?” she asked curiously, and politely.
Something was off. My mother is a very nice woman, and she always treats everyone with kindness, but this was different. I knew my mother well enough to realize that she needed a big favor- but I didn’t know what.
“Yeah, I’m free today,” I replied skeptically. “Are you painting someone?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment. But you see the beauty in what I’m doing right?”