please.”
“I’m j ust looking out for the welfare of my girls that’s all.” She walks out of the room with an injured look .
We start setting the table for dessert . Mother has join ed t he men telling some jibb erish about my many suitors in her loud voice. T hen I hear Jay say very cl early, in his soft voice, “I love your daughter.” Every sound in the condo seems to stop except my heart which suddenly pounds loudly in my chest. It ’s one th ing to have Jay tell me quietly he loves me but to announ ce it boldly to my family gi ve s me goose bumps .
Cara hoots , “I like a n ardent man ; one that s hut s up Mother is even better . Kate , you have a powerhouse with a gentle voice . I would love to see Mother’s face at this moment. ”
As we ta k e the elevator down, Jay put his arms around me and asks , “Does your Mother know a lot of Native New York history?”
“Probably just enough to make dinner conversation or 20 questions , if that’s what you want to call it.”
“Is your Mother always like that or is she like that because I’m sleeping with her daughter?”
“Yes to both questions. I’m s orry if you were uncomfortable. I totally understand if you go strai ght back to Arizona after this. My parents are an acquired taste.”
Jay laughs and kisses my nose. “To tell you th e truth I wasn’t uncomfortable. I was to o bemused by all I was seeing. I t was like being thrown into a TV sit com.”
“Well , stay tuned, Thanksgiving dinner will be next.”
Chapter 8
By the end of Nove mber Jay’s job at the museum has dried up giving him time to paint all day . For a while everything seems fine. Slowly I notice he has trouble painting. H is crystalline colors morph into muddy hues . He go es for long walks. He becomes moody. I feel the city is cl osing in on him. Once he could roam the mountains and paint wherever he cho se. I am caging hi m in a little patch of garden. Winter i s here. Soon he wo n’t even have that tiny backyard to use . It i sn’t fair to him to stay . We talk the whole weeken d but he doesn’t want to leave. I plead with him to go home for at least the winter months.
“If I go I’ll only miss you and just turn aroun d and come back again,” he says in his soft voice . “Your D ad said he would dr ive me to the mountains upstate maybe that will help.”
“Jay, the y’ re not the same kind of mountains.”
“He sa id he’d drive me to the Hamptons , on Long Island, too . I’ve never been there. The ocea n and sand will be new for me. Kate, I’ll be all right. I just have to get used to this city living . ”
I look at his sad face. “I don’t know if I want you to get used to this city.” He’s breaking my heart. I can’t do this to him, he must paint.
T he ball i s in my court now .
***
At Christmas I mak e my announcement, “I’ve resigned from the museum. I’ve given my two weeks ’ notice , ” I pause until everyone around the family table has time to gasp. I smile and continued, “Jay and I are moving to Santa Fe. We flew down there last week end and in 48 hours we both got jobs in galleries and rented an apartment.” Jay grins and squeezes my hand under the table while my mother has the vapors and everyone else prattles at once.
You see i t really was a no brainer once I realized we could compromise our li fe styles and s till be happy. Santa Fe gives me the cosmopolitan art atmosphere I’m happy to live and work in and give s Jay the mountains and the des ert he loves and needs to paint .
Mother remains sullen and stoic the rest o f the day but calls the next morning to meet for lunch. I try to make exc uses but she will accept none. So I leave my darling painter happily packing boxes and trek over to my parent’s apartment. I strain to stay cheerful but I feel nauseous as I ring the bell. It is sure to be an unpleasant grilling.
“You don’t look so good. Are you sick?” Mother guards the entrance.
“Oh,
“I’m j ust looking out for the welfare of my girls that’s all.” She walks out of the room with an injured look .
We start setting the table for dessert . Mother has join ed t he men telling some jibb erish about my many suitors in her loud voice. T hen I hear Jay say very cl early, in his soft voice, “I love your daughter.” Every sound in the condo seems to stop except my heart which suddenly pounds loudly in my chest. It ’s one th ing to have Jay tell me quietly he loves me but to announ ce it boldly to my family gi ve s me goose bumps .
Cara hoots , “I like a n ardent man ; one that s hut s up Mother is even better . Kate , you have a powerhouse with a gentle voice . I would love to see Mother’s face at this moment. ”
As we ta k e the elevator down, Jay put his arms around me and asks , “Does your Mother know a lot of Native New York history?”
“Probably just enough to make dinner conversation or 20 questions , if that’s what you want to call it.”
“Is your Mother always like that or is she like that because I’m sleeping with her daughter?”
“Yes to both questions. I’m s orry if you were uncomfortable. I totally understand if you go strai ght back to Arizona after this. My parents are an acquired taste.”
Jay laughs and kisses my nose. “To tell you th e truth I wasn’t uncomfortable. I was to o bemused by all I was seeing. I t was like being thrown into a TV sit com.”
“Well , stay tuned, Thanksgiving dinner will be next.”
Chapter 8
By the end of Nove mber Jay’s job at the museum has dried up giving him time to paint all day . For a while everything seems fine. Slowly I notice he has trouble painting. H is crystalline colors morph into muddy hues . He go es for long walks. He becomes moody. I feel the city is cl osing in on him. Once he could roam the mountains and paint wherever he cho se. I am caging hi m in a little patch of garden. Winter i s here. Soon he wo n’t even have that tiny backyard to use . It i sn’t fair to him to stay . We talk the whole weeken d but he doesn’t want to leave. I plead with him to go home for at least the winter months.
“If I go I’ll only miss you and just turn aroun d and come back again,” he says in his soft voice . “Your D ad said he would dr ive me to the mountains upstate maybe that will help.”
“Jay, the y’ re not the same kind of mountains.”
“He sa id he’d drive me to the Hamptons , on Long Island, too . I’ve never been there. The ocea n and sand will be new for me. Kate, I’ll be all right. I just have to get used to this city living . ”
I look at his sad face. “I don’t know if I want you to get used to this city.” He’s breaking my heart. I can’t do this to him, he must paint.
T he ball i s in my court now .
***
At Christmas I mak e my announcement, “I’ve resigned from the museum. I’ve given my two weeks ’ notice , ” I pause until everyone around the family table has time to gasp. I smile and continued, “Jay and I are moving to Santa Fe. We flew down there last week end and in 48 hours we both got jobs in galleries and rented an apartment.” Jay grins and squeezes my hand under the table while my mother has the vapors and everyone else prattles at once.
You see i t really was a no brainer once I realized we could compromise our li fe styles and s till be happy. Santa Fe gives me the cosmopolitan art atmosphere I’m happy to live and work in and give s Jay the mountains and the des ert he loves and needs to paint .
Mother remains sullen and stoic the rest o f the day but calls the next morning to meet for lunch. I try to make exc uses but she will accept none. So I leave my darling painter happily packing boxes and trek over to my parent’s apartment. I strain to stay cheerful but I feel nauseous as I ring the bell. It is sure to be an unpleasant grilling.
“You don’t look so good. Are you sick?” Mother guards the entrance.
“Oh,
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