felt like a bit of a waste; the whole thing resolved nothing.
During the weeks that followed, I was busy in
my art room creating paintings on the canvases Victor supplied for me. Some of
my subjects were no more than the people living in the mansion. Oscar, Karen,
and Betty all took turns sitting in a chair in front of my easel and patiently
waited as I painted their portraits.
I was happy with all of my work, but my
favorite piece was my painting of Victor. It used the largest canvas I had and
took several sittings for me to get right: his stylishly messy hair, his stark
blue eyes, and his stern, yet gentle mouth. Instead of portraying him in his
usual fitted suit and tie, I had him dressed in slacks and a t-shirt to convey
the less severe side of him that I was slowly coming to know. It took a few
sleepless nights to complete the painting, but the end result was worth it.
When I grew tired of drawing people, I
ventured outside. The days were starting to get longer and warmer, so I would
use that opportunity to set up my art supplies in the shade of the front yard.
From there I had the spectacular view of the emerald green pastures and
Victor’s horses grazing and frolicking in the sunshine. Sometimes, however, I
would drop everything to run over to the barn and ride Victor’s mare,
Butterscotch, in the pastures under the sunny, spring sky.
When the night of the Lotus Art Gallery
opening arrived, Victor allowed Karen and me to drive into town to pick out an
outfit to wear.
“It was nice of Mr. Draper to give us the day
off.”
I nodded. “We’ve only ever seen each other at
the mansion,” I told Karen. “It seems kind of strange for us to not be working
together.”
At Victor’s suggestion, we went to an
expensive boutique at the edge of town, and right when we headed through the
door we were bombarded by a salesperson greeting us.
“How can I help you?” the woman asked as she
walked up to us.
“Oh I—” This was the first time I had walked
into a clothing store since I had lost my memory; Victor was the one who picked
out clothes for me to wear and he was uncannily good at it. Now faced with the
task on my own and surrounded by so many items of clothing, I was starting to
become a bit overwhelmed. There were too many options to choose from but I wanted
to make sure I was dressed appropriately for my first gallery opening. “I’m
looking for something dressy, but not too dressy…but also casual, but not too
casual.” I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “I hope that makes sense.”
The salesperson smiled reassuringly. “Don’t
worry, I get that all the time.” She gestured with her hand, “Follow me, I
think I know a skirt that will look fantastic on you.”
I raised my eyebrows at Karen and she gave me
a supportive smile as we followed the woman to the back of the store. I
shimmied around racks of clothes lined up like little armies only to be
bombarded by a wall of skirts, blouses, and dresses.
The salesperson took a skirt from a rack and
held it up to me. It was a moss green cotton material, high waisted and cropped
just above the knees. Near the hem were small embroidered flowers. “We can pair
this with a white top, perhaps something a bit sheer, that you could wear a
camisole underneath. Try this.”
“Okay,” I said as she handed me the clothing.
I tried the outfit on in the fitting room, stepping out to show Karen when I
was finally dressed.
“It looks like what you wanted,” she said,
looking at my outfit from the top to the bottom. “Are you happy with it?” She
must have noted the hesitant look on my face.
“I don’t know, do you think it’s formal
enough for a gallery opening? Do you know what Victor will be wearing?"
Karen laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be in his
usual suit. What’re you so worried about?”
“I just want to look nice.” In reality I
didn’t want to embarrass Victor or
During the weeks that followed, I was busy in
my art room creating paintings on the canvases Victor supplied for me. Some of
my subjects were no more than the people living in the mansion. Oscar, Karen,
and Betty all took turns sitting in a chair in front of my easel and patiently
waited as I painted their portraits.
I was happy with all of my work, but my
favorite piece was my painting of Victor. It used the largest canvas I had and
took several sittings for me to get right: his stylishly messy hair, his stark
blue eyes, and his stern, yet gentle mouth. Instead of portraying him in his
usual fitted suit and tie, I had him dressed in slacks and a t-shirt to convey
the less severe side of him that I was slowly coming to know. It took a few
sleepless nights to complete the painting, but the end result was worth it.
When I grew tired of drawing people, I
ventured outside. The days were starting to get longer and warmer, so I would
use that opportunity to set up my art supplies in the shade of the front yard.
From there I had the spectacular view of the emerald green pastures and
Victor’s horses grazing and frolicking in the sunshine. Sometimes, however, I
would drop everything to run over to the barn and ride Victor’s mare,
Butterscotch, in the pastures under the sunny, spring sky.
When the night of the Lotus Art Gallery
opening arrived, Victor allowed Karen and me to drive into town to pick out an
outfit to wear.
“It was nice of Mr. Draper to give us the day
off.”
I nodded. “We’ve only ever seen each other at
the mansion,” I told Karen. “It seems kind of strange for us to not be working
together.”
At Victor’s suggestion, we went to an
expensive boutique at the edge of town, and right when we headed through the
door we were bombarded by a salesperson greeting us.
“How can I help you?” the woman asked as she
walked up to us.
“Oh I—” This was the first time I had walked
into a clothing store since I had lost my memory; Victor was the one who picked
out clothes for me to wear and he was uncannily good at it. Now faced with the
task on my own and surrounded by so many items of clothing, I was starting to
become a bit overwhelmed. There were too many options to choose from but I wanted
to make sure I was dressed appropriately for my first gallery opening. “I’m
looking for something dressy, but not too dressy…but also casual, but not too
casual.” I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “I hope that makes sense.”
The salesperson smiled reassuringly. “Don’t
worry, I get that all the time.” She gestured with her hand, “Follow me, I
think I know a skirt that will look fantastic on you.”
I raised my eyebrows at Karen and she gave me
a supportive smile as we followed the woman to the back of the store. I
shimmied around racks of clothes lined up like little armies only to be
bombarded by a wall of skirts, blouses, and dresses.
The salesperson took a skirt from a rack and
held it up to me. It was a moss green cotton material, high waisted and cropped
just above the knees. Near the hem were small embroidered flowers. “We can pair
this with a white top, perhaps something a bit sheer, that you could wear a
camisole underneath. Try this.”
“Okay,” I said as she handed me the clothing.
I tried the outfit on in the fitting room, stepping out to show Karen when I
was finally dressed.
“It looks like what you wanted,” she said,
looking at my outfit from the top to the bottom. “Are you happy with it?” She
must have noted the hesitant look on my face.
“I don’t know, do you think it’s formal
enough for a gallery opening? Do you know what Victor will be wearing?"
Karen laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be in his
usual suit. What’re you so worried about?”
“I just want to look nice.” In reality I
didn’t want to embarrass Victor or
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