The Memory Painter

Linz was silent for a moment. “Thank you.”


Neither said a word for a minute, just listened to the sound of each other breathing. Bryan wanted to hang up the phone and drive over there. He needed to see her soon.

Linz started talking again. She sounded nervous. “So I’ve been reading some more of those library books. I still can’t figure out our dream. I mean, why ancient Rome? Why not some other time?”

Bryan looked around at all his paintings. She had no idea. She was still stuck on that one life. Then it occurred to him, maybe if she saw everything in his studio she would remember more. “Come over tomorrow night?” he offered. “I’ll make dinner.”

He could detect a hint of a smile in her voice when she asked, “What time?”



SEVENTEEN

“You slept with him?” Derek yelped.

“I didn’t sleep with him. I said I attacked him in my sand garden.” Linz was beginning to question her impulse to drop by the gallery for a little girl talk. Even though they had sequestered themselves in the back room, she hoped no one else could hear their conversation.

Penelope gave her a look and went for the leftover chardonnay in the fridge.

Linz tried to defend herself. “It just happened. There’s this bizarre, intense chemistry between us.” Intense was putting it mildly. She blushed at the thought of their last meeting.

Penelope handed her a glass. “The guy is a freak of nature, an artistic genius. I’ll grant you he’s sexy, but my God, can he even talk?”

“Of course he can talk!” Linz knew she sounded defensive. So what if he was a little eccentric. So was she.

Derek rolled his eyes. “Fine, he talks to you. We get it. So how was the hanky-spanky?”

Linz shook her head and laughed. “Derek, come on.”

“What? Let us ride the roller coaster with you. I haven’t had sex in a year and Penel’s about to become a lesbian.”

Penelope gave him a withering look and sat next to Linz. “Okay, let’s do a reality check. First, he’s not your type. Trust me.”

Derek agreed. “Yeah, wasn’t your last boyfriend some bald, fat accountant named Todd?”

Penelope reminded him, “You’re forgetting about Greg.”

Derek snorted, “Honey, I think we’ve all forgotten about Greg.”

Linz had to laugh at that. “Todd wasn’t fat. And he was a financial consultant.”

“And you took his DNA sample before you had sex with him. What’s up with that?” Derek snickered.

Linz turned to Penelope. “You told him?”

Penelope looked sheepish. “Oops.”