Art of Friendship by Erin Kaye

Author:Erin Kaye
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Female Friendship, General
ISBN: 9780007340361
Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Published: 2010-02-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

‘At least pretend that you’re pleased for me,’ said Clare. She hauled an old red jersey dress out of the wardrobe and stared at Liam’s reflection in the mirror mounted on the inside of the wardrobe door. He was standing behind her, in a pair of navy trousers, struggling to remove a pair of cufflinks from a pale blue shirt. His face was pinched. She tried not to let his grumpy mood infect her – another tough week at work, he’d said – but it was hard and she resented it. This was her night, her exhibition. And he was spoiling it.

‘Oh, Clare, of course I’m pleased. I just…damn, I can’t get these out.’

‘Here, let me help,’ said Clare and she quickly threaded the cufflinks through the holes. ‘There. What were you saying?’

‘Nothing,’ he said and untied the blue-and-red striped tie around his neck. ‘You’d better hurry up or you’re going to be late.’

Clare decided not to pursue the conversation. She would not be drawn into an argument. ‘I don’t know what people will expect me to look like,’ she said, holding the dress against her body and looking in the mirror. She pulled the stretchy fabric taut against the curve of her waist and could hardly bear to look at the heavy woman who stared back at her. Someone slightly eccentric or arty-looking, she thought, not a fat, frumpy housewife. It was no wonder she and Liam hardly had sex any more. Who would find her attractive? She threw the dress on the bed and sighed. ‘I think they’ll be disappointed when they see me.’

‘I don’t know what you’re worrying about, Clare,’ he said, without even looking at her. ‘People are coming to look at your paintings, not you. You should just be yourself.’ He threw the tie on the bed, turned his back on her and disappeared into the en-suite, the back of his untucked cotton shirt full like a sail.

It was sound advice but delivered with such a lack of interest, it crushed her spirit. She put the dress back in the wardrobe, pulled on black trousers and a black shirt and tied her hair back with a clasp the way she always did. As a concession to the occasion, she applied some bright red lipstick. It didn’t look right, and so she rubbed it off with a tissue. The reflection that looked back at her was severe – all in black, she looked, not like an artist, but the way she imagined someone in fashion or an architect might appear. Except they would be slimmer.

Liam came back into the room and unbuttoned his shirt unselfconsciously, revealing a smooth golden chest. He was still in good shape; his trim figure matched his boyish looks but the glimpse of his torso did nothing to excite desire in Clare. She remembered how it used to be, looked away and bit her lip.

‘That’s a terrible business about Laura and Pete,’ he said and shook his head.

Clare sighed, her heart

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.