The Anomaly (3 page)

“These will taste even better than they look,” Dad says. “It’s eating things like this that helped me regain my strength.” He picks up a heap of dirt and lets it fall through his fingers. Dad plucks a ripe tomato from its vine. “And wait until you taste this tomato. Better than those store-bought ones.”

I giggle. It’s nice to see Dad so proud of his gardening skills.

“You laugh”—Dad wipes sweat off his forehead—“but there’s something to be said for being able to eat what you’ve planted.”

“I guess.”

“Linda’s making eggplant parmesan for dinner tonight with these very eggplants.”

“Dad, did you tell her that I love that dish?” I smile. When I was young, Dad always tried to do special things for my sister and me, whether it was stopping by the ice cream shop on a Friday after school or spending an extra twenty minutes waiting in a store while we tried on clothes.

He grins. “I did.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Whenever you and your sister visited us, the week always went by so quickly. I know I’ve told you this already, but we’re happy to have you here.”

I tear up a little, because I know that he’s saying he’s missed us, and I give him a hug. “I’ve missed you. Love you, Dad.”

“I love you too,” he says.

After I pick two eggplants that Dad points out to me, we head inside to prepare for dinner.

~

W
hen Nathan calls me about going on another date, anticipation shoots through my body. I take extra time picking out a pink summer dress that flatters my figure and matching pink sandals. After taking a shower, I focus on putting on my makeup as perfectly as possible― applying cream foundation before doing my eyes, sweeping on some blush, and sliding lipstick across my full lips. My lips have always gotten me the most compliments, so I put on a sheer color because I don’t want to seem
too
done up.

We meet at the Porter Bistro, a little restaurant wedged between a hair salon and a bagel place. We both arrive right before a heavy rainfall. I order a glass of pink lemonade and vegetarian lasagna, and Nathan orders the same dish and a margarita. We take our time eating, then order two slices of lemon cake.

“I’m so glad that you eat,” Nathan teases.

“So am I, otherwise we probably wouldn’t be on this date,” I shoot back with a wink.

Nathan chuckles.

By the time we go outside, the sky’s cloudless and the sun shines brightly. Rain water trickles down the sidewalk and spills over its edge, joining the wet street. Nathan and I decide to walk around a bit and window shop. I haven’t been in this area since I left Missouri, and a couple of the shops are new to me. Nathan steps close to me, and our shoulders bump.

I smile and lean in more. “It seems like this shopping complex has a couple stores that weren’t here before.”

Nathan nods and points at a restaurant whose entrance is a couple of feet farther down the sidewalk. “This space has gone through a rotation of different restaurants. That pizza place has lasted a while though.”

When we reach the store, we peek through the windows. Inside, the walls are painted a rustic green, and the furniture’s dynamic in shades of light green and yellow.

“Well, it’d be hard to be in bad mood with those colors.” I giggle.

Nathan arches an eyebrow. “Funny.” 

“I guess,” I say, examining the décor. “Just look at it. The colors alone are something. I bet it smells great in there.” I push open the door.

We get a whiff of baking dough, then the smells of melted cheese, tomato sauce, and various meats.

“Ahh, that smells awesome.” I let go of the door so that it closes.

“We’ll have to check it out sometime.”

I smile coolly though I feel giddy inside.
Another date.
“Sure.”

We stand outside the pizza place, looking into each other’s eyes. I glance nervously at my hands, wanting to kiss him.
Maybe it’s too soon.
When I look back up, Nathan’s attention is on a puddle in the parking lot. I move to his side, and we both gaze at the puddle, which shows a reflection of one of the shopping plaza’s lamp poles. A car approaches, and it sends ripples through the mirrored lamp pole.

Nathan smiles then looks at me. “You’re a cool girl, Shayna.”

~

T
wo weeks roll by hazily while Nathan and I continue to see each other. After I give him my address, he insists on picking me up. He hits it off with Dad and my stepmom from the get-go. Dad likes Nathan even more because he had worked on Dad’s Toyota before and did a great job.

Being with Nathan’s wonderful. He makes me feel vibrant when I’m around him, and he looks at me as though I’m something special. In the modeling world,
being special
is an interchangeable quality. Designers are always willing to replace a model with another beautiful girl. But with Nathan, it’s in the
way
he looks at me. He’s also the first person who’s ever complimented me on the small mole on my neck. When he did that, I was taken aback. No one’s ever noticed that mole—not even my modeling agency.

Nathan’s so handsome that I can barely take my eyes off of him when he’s talking. I study his mouth and the curve of his upper lip and how it fits so well above his angular jaw. From the first night I saw him walking toward the table, something about this man memorized me—he moved with a confident stride, with a purpose.

As we sit in his car on a hilltop, I study his profile and wonder if I’d know it’s him from a distance in the dark. His shoulders are manly and solid-looking, and I sigh. Desire fills me. Nathan, who’s been watching a squirrel run along a nearby tree trunk, turns his head my way. He doesn’t say anything. Neither do I. In the time we’ve spent with one another, I’ve learned that our relationship doesn’t require chatter to fill up silence spaces. I keep breathing, trying to absorb the moment. I lick my lips because they feel dry.

Nathan looks at them then trails his eyes up to mine. “I like being around you, Shayna.”

“Me too.” I clear my throat. “I mean, I feel the same way about you.” I give him a small smile.

Attraction is growing between us, but our relationship is moving at Nathan’s pace. As heady as I feel about him, it’s probably a good thing that our relationship’s building so slowly. I’ve had relationships that ran full steam ahead early on only to fizzle out as quickly as they’d started.

“I’ve wanted to tell you about the painting I have for a while now.”

I nod. I’ve had questions since I learned about the art piece, but I didn’t want to spook Nathan by bringing up the subject.

“I’ve always liked art, but more in a casual way. You know what I mean?”

I nod again.

“Who doesn’t like to look at beautiful things? It’s one of the few things my father and I have in common, except he studied art in college. He’s more into it.” Nathan’s eyebrows crinkle. A lot of emotion shows on his face when he mentions his father. “I read the sign about the yard sale while I was driving to work, and I didn’t think too much of it. I woke up that Saturday morning, and since I had nothing planned, on a whim, I decided to go.”

Nathan looks at me, so I say “Uh-huh,” indicating that I’m listening.

He tells me he milled around the lawn looking through odds and ends—backyard lounge chairs, clothing for various-sized family members, old board games, and other items. Nothing interested him. Then he went to a table near the sidewalk where the owner was speaking to another customer. He looked through the things on the table then through the brown boxes on it.

In the third and final box, he’d found a small, framed portrait of a house. He’d never seen anything like it and was intrigued by the color-scheme: shades of brown, white, and red. It was a simple and beautiful portrait.

“How much is this?” he’d asked.

The owner was a middle-aged woman with a kind smile and beady eyes. She looked at the painting. “Twenty dollars.”

Nathan didn’t mind paying twenty dollars, but he wanted to see if he could get it for a lower price. They bartered, and he felt the owner was going to remain firm on her current price of fifteen dollars, but another customer came rushing up. She wanted the lounge chairs, so the owner sold him the painting for the thirteen dollars he’d offered.

Nathan had been elated with his bargain find. He was on his way back to the car when a student stopped him. The student was doing an article for his high school paper on discounts that can be found at yard sales.

“Can you answer one or two questions about your experiences here today?” he’d asked.

The kid had looked genuinely interested, and Nathan had figured answering a question or two for the kid would be fine.

“Then he wanted a picture.” Nathan sighs. “He told me that he’d pull one photo from those he was taking that day. He even showed me pictures he had already taken of a couple of items. I should’ve never agreed to the photo, because the painting ended up being printed. Then William picked up his daughter’s high school paper and read about me.”

“So that’s how he found out? Did you know him before?”

Nathan shakes his head. “No.” He laughs dryly. “The funny thing is that his call was so jarring, I called my father right away, because I knew he knew art appraisers. He got me in contact with one. Imagine my shock when the appraiser said, after testing its authenticity that the painting was worth three million dollars.”

I let out a long whistle.

“I’m still not sure how he got my number,” Nathan says.

“He had your name from the story. A phone number was probably easy enough to get with today’s technology. Is your name listed in the White Pages?”

Nathan shakes his head. “But I guess you’re right.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I was going to loan it to a museum in New York, but then I changed my mind.”

“Okay, so now what?”

“Well, the painting is the prize, isn’t it?” Nathan sighs. “I’ve decided to carry it to someone.”

I examine Nathan’s face, looking for clues.

He glances at me then gazes out the window. “That’s all I can say about it.” His voice is matter-of-fact and his face stern.

In a way, I don’t want to know any more. Heat trickles in since the windows are down and the AC is off. I nod and gather my loose hair in one hand before releasing it back over my shoulders. I only hope that Nathan can keep William from bothering him too much.

––––––––

I
get a call from the agency asking if I’ll participate in a magazine photo shoot at the end of August. I haven’t done a lot of shoots, and I’m
way
excited about the offer. For some reason, Nathan crosses my mind.
Why are you thinking about him now?
I tell the agency representative that I’ll do the shoot.

“Are you positive?” she asks.

“Of course,” I say.

I plug the date in my cell phone, but for some reason, I’m rethinking my plans.
It’s because of him. Don’t tell me you’re falling for Nathan already, Shayna?
I shake off the thought and sigh, but in a way, the fact that my feelings for Nathan have become stronger is welcome. Who doesn’t like falling in love?

I’m presented with a dilemma I didn’t expect to face when I left New York City—wanting to stay in Missouri past the summer. I have enough money to live off of for a while, and I could always find a job flipping burgers or something. I chuckle. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to work in a restaurant or flip burgers at a fast-food joint. Life is a funny thing. I’m sure a girl somewhere would love to walk in my shoes, and I daydream about flipping burgers.

I’ll do the shoot. I can always come back to Missouri. Or not. I guess I’ll just have to see how things go with Nathan until August. Living with my dad and stepmom is great. I help around the house, spend time with Dad, and enjoy Linda’s home-cooked meals. I don’t think Mom will mind too much if I decide to come back since she was prepared for me to leave for college.

Magazine work will be a great opportunity, and the shoot will pay enough for a one-week vacation in the UK. I traveled there with my sister a year ago, and I’ve wanted to go back ever since. This time, I’ll visit all the tourist attractions, like the London Eye and O2, instead of work.

Right now, I really want to make the right choices in my life. I know that coming to Missouri was the right choice. I’m comfortable in my hometown, and I’m getting to know more about my dad, as well as my stepmom. I don’t want to look back at my life someday and feel as though I could’ve made better choices.

When Nathan calls me later in the evening, I share the good news with him. He’s excited for me and offers his congratulations.

“I hope you come back,” he says.

My heart pounds. He wants me here. I look at my feet as I sit on my bed.

“Well, I guess it’s been an interesting day for both of us,” Nathan says.

I shake my head.
Where’re my manners?
“How was your day?”

“It’s been good overall,” he says. “But I got the strangest call today.”

I straighten up.

“This guy named Russell Montclair, he says he’s an art collector, called me. He offered me a million dollars for the painting.”

I laugh, because the offer’s almost comical. “Does this Russell guy know you know the real value of the painting?”

“Apparently not,” Nathan deadpans. “I told him thanks for the offer―but no thanks.”

I sigh loudly and shake my head. “These people, man. I hope you sell it fast, if that’s what you really want to do.”

“I do.” Nathan sneezes. “I just got to wait a couple more weeks. My dad’s in Amsterdam on business. Even though we aren’t close, it’s his contact who’s buying the painting, so I’d feel more comfortable making the transaction with him here.”

“I understand.” I wonder about Nathan’s relationship with his dad.
Should I broach the subject?
I decide to dip a toe in this area of his life. If he opens up, I’ll take it as a good sign. It means he’s willing to let me in, even if only a little at a time. “How come your dad and you are so distant?”

Nathan doesn’t answer at first, then he sighs. “My parents had a bad split. Lots of cussing and my mom throwing things. My dad left home in the morning for work, came home to eat dinner, then promptly left again until the wee hours of the morning. He said he just couldn’t deal with her nagging anymore. Every day, it was the same old shitty routine, replayed over and over again.”