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The Painting by Catherine Thomas It was late and Ann was tired. David was happy. They were coming back from a late dinner at Paul’s studio, and David had got what he wanted: the painting. It had been sitting in a corner of the large, messy room for months, years maybe, but every time David tried to raise the subject, Paul would say: “It’s for my brother.” The apologetic tone and smile would shame David into insisting no further. But did he love this painting! Next time, maybe... It was particularly late tonight, and David had drunk more than usual. He nagged Paul again, unconvincingly, and was surprised to hear Paul give up: “...but just on loan, alright?” “Thank you so much! I really love this painting. If I could afford it, I’d buy it from you. “It’s for my brother.” David was happy. This painting represented a whole chunk of his life: running down the street to catch the late bus to school, running down the street having missed the last bus to school. And the friendly prostitutes, amused by the school uniform: “Come back when you’re sixteen, love, we’ll give you a freebee!” David loved this painting. He was very happy. Paul was a terrific artist. Ann helped hang the picture. All she could think of was bed, pillow, warmth, sleep. But it meant so much to David, she didn't want to spoil his joy with her indifference. The room wore the painting like a glove, it was beautiful. Ann regretted not showing more enthusiasm at Paul’s: this was a real piece of art. She would give a lot to keep it now! She smiled at David’s exulting face. “Our first piece of art. The room is transfigured.” But her thoughts still revolved around another concept: “Let’s go to bed now” The gloating went on for days. Then one day, Ann suddenly noted: “It’s funny, look at the painting, I had never noticed this guy before. The one in the corner, standing against the pole.” David glanced at the wall. The guy had always been there, what was she talking about? But Ann insisted, suddenly serious. “Hey, really, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there before” This was silly. Time to go anyway, they were going to be late. Ann forgot about her ridiculous assumption, until she noticed another new character again in the picture. This time, she was positive, this small boy playing with the dog was not there before. The dog was, but not the boy. How freaky. She shivered. “David, come and have a look” David was busy translating a very dull but difficult document. Rather annoyed, he still got up as he felt the urge in Ann’s voice. What now? “Look, that young boy there, with the red hair, he wasn’t in the picture before! David this is weird, this painting is scaring me” Ann looked genuinely disturbed. David tried to remember. How many times had he paused in front of this painting? And yet, he couldn’t tell for sure... Behind his closed eyes, the picture slowly faded into his memories of his life in the Cross. But he had work to do. He went back to his desk as Ann was blabbing on about how she counted the people the week before. She must have forgotten one. Nevertheless, the next morning over breakfast, he caught himself counting, almost unconsciously. Ann had this gift of putting the stupidest ideas deep into your head sometimes. He decided they would count the characters together tonight, when she came back from work. At 8 PM, he suddenly realised how late it was and wondered why Ann hadn’t called. He rang her number at work, but there was no answer, and her voice mail didn’t seem to be connected. At 9 PM, he was really worried, tried to ring her office again with no success, and considered calling the police to find out if there had been any accident on her route. As he was picking up the receiver, he heard someone knock at the door and rushed to open, hoping it would be her. It was Paul. He was carrying another painting and his usual vague smile. “I brought you this other painting. I’ve got to get this one back. It’s for my brother” David nodded absentmindedly and helped switch paintings. He didn’t even look at the replacement Paul had brought, he was too preoccupied. As Paul was leaving he said “Ann isn’t back yet. I’m a bit worried, she’s never that late from work.” Paul frowned “Who?” “Ann! You know Ann. My girlfriend Ann.” Paul looked surprised “Sorry, I didn’t know you had a new girlfriend. Did you break up with Katie?” He left. David was baffled. He slowly made his way back to the phone and was about to dial the police again when the door opened wide and a tall, dark-haired girl stormed in. She went straight to him and kissed him on the mouth, then dropped her coat on a chair and threw herself into the coach with a sigh. “What a day! I thought I’d never get away from this meeting. Did you get my message?” David felt scared. What was going on? Who was this girl? Where was Ann? He wanted to talk but his throat felt dry and his lips stuck. “Hey, look at the painting: I never noticed this girl before! Do you think she was there yesterday?” The dark-haired girl let out a short crispy laugh. “Don’t make such a face. I’m only kidding!” David felt his knees drop under him as he recognised Ann in the right corner of the new painting.
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