A Kachina Dance by Beverley Andi Read Free Book Online

was all I had.”
    I lie down next t o him and kiss his tender face. “No one has ever given me a mor e precious gift from the heart. I do have your paintings but I can’t wrap myself in them.”
    “Paintings?”   He notices the painting across the room. “That’s my painting but that’s not the one I gave you.”
    “No, that one is hanging in the living room. This one was the only painting that hadn’t sold when the exhibit closed in Santa Fe. I called the gallery on the last day and asked if any paintings of yours were left. They said only this one so I bought it with instructions that you were not to know who it was sold to.”
    “But you know I would have given it to you.”
    “Exactly.”
    He gives me that slight smile and I find out he i sn’t too tired for me after all.
    ***
    Over breakfast the next morning Jay says he ’s pack ed everything he owns and put it in storage, taken all the money he had from the sale of the paintings , and plans to stay in New York as long as the money h o ld s out . I figure he has fifteen to twenty thousand dollars on him which i s probably th e most money he ’s ever had. I do n’t want him to spen d it, especially on me. He never let s me pay fo r anything no matter how I try to reason with him. 
    I have to think fast. In Santa Fe I had tried to slip a twenty dollar bill in his pocket every once in a while but afte r the third time he caught on. I fi nd the ideal sol ution on our walk in Central Park that afternoon.
    “Jay, I don’t feel good about your using the money you earned fro m your paintings for this trip. Some of that money should be saved and some should be used t o buy new art supplies . New Y ork is a very expensive place. A cup of coffee can run you $6 .00. Selfishly I want you to be with me as lon g as you can so I have an idea. How do you feel about working?”
    “Sure, I guess I could go back to the galleries in SOHO and try there.”
    “No, I me an with me at A MA. Not literally with me because I’ll be upstairs but working downstairs with the art handlers . They’re a different department . ”
    “Um, I guess if you won’t feel strange having me there. But I don’t think I have enough experience to be working in a big museum like A MA, Kate.”
    “What do you mean by strange?”
    “You know what I mean. Everyone there is sophistic ated an d urbane and here I am a Hopi from a tiny reservation in the southwest that most people have never heard about . I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
    “We’re ba ck to the ethnic thing again, hu nh ?”
    “You can’t ignore it.”
    “Jay, there is a picture of you and me taken in Santa Fe that has been sitting on my desk in the office ever since I got back from Arizona. All my friends in the museum know a bout our romance. If you are here when we have a museum reception, I would want you to accompany me to the event. I will never feel uncomfortable if some urbane p erson hasn’t heard of the Hopis or if they are upset at seeing us as a couple. Their ignorance is their problem. ”
    He looks in my eyes and g ives me one of his half smiles. “K ate, that’s why I love you , but what about my lack of experience ? ”
    “ You have en ough experience to work there. W e’ll write a resume tomorrow. Besides , the guys in that department owe me big time for covering their a sses more than once . With the new exhibits coming in, they’ll need extra help this month.”
    ***
    Tuesday morning Jay star es at me and says , “Kate, I almost wouldn’t recognize you . ”
    “This is my professional look, hair up, make-up, business suit, heels . You’re use d to seeing me in jeans and a tee shirt, no make-up and long hair… that’s weekend Kate.” I laugh .
    “But that’s the Kate I love.”
    “Oh, you ’ll get use to this bossy one. Now, come on or I’ll be late.”
    Once in the museum , I show him around my office and the de partment. Not many people are in yet so I ta k e him downstairs to