Page 76
Story: Caelon
We spend the next two hours setting out all the decorations and tablecloths for each table. Who knew that they had fancy ones that wrap around the legs to keep them from sliding off. Shocking, really.
The final pieces are being set when the door swings open again. Fern comes bustling in with a stack of pottery wrapped in protective wrap.
Her eyes scan around the place before she finds me standing next to the center podium, placing a small succulent next to the lamp above where the clipboard will sit tomorrow.
“Good morning Fern. What’s all that you have there?”
“Just some pieces that I think would look beautiful displayed here. These are just some of the pieces the locals made. I even included little tags acknowledging who made each piece,” Fern says as she sets the items down on one of the tables.
Gail walks over to the pieces and unwraps the first one. It’s a beautiful golden yellow sunflower plate. She tilts it towards me, her eyes wide with adoration.
“These are stunning Fern. Of course we would love to display them along with the photos. It’s a great way to show off the culture in Jasper,” I say.
“Thank you. I have one more piece, something for her desk. Something that would remind her of the things she loves.”
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a wrapped figurine that she hands over to me. Pulling the wrapping back, I find a porcelain wolf painted to look just like my wolf.Does everyone know what my wolf looks like now?
“I’ll be sure to put it there, thank you.”
Like Grand Central Station, the door swings open again, but this time it's Lou with the photographs for the walls. It's the final piece of this puzzle. Her metal cart bumps over the entryway as she walks in. The twelve framed photos we selected are all neatly wrapped in the cart, ready for us to hang up.
We work quickly, each of us hanging photos along the walls. Each one has a slick dark wood and a matte frame around each photo. Underneath we have a simple golden tag with a title for each image.
“I think we are done here,” Gail says as she comes to stand by the door, scanning over the room.
“Believe me, darlin’, that story’s just gorgeous the way it’s laid out, and viewers are gonna catch on to it right away,” Lou says as she comes to stand next to Gail.
Fern comes to Gail’s other side. “It’s amazing for sure. I can already see the tears of joy she will weep tomorrow.”
“Caelon did a wonderful job,” Gail says as she walks over to wrap her arms around me, kissing my cheek.
“Thank you,” I say, looking down at her fondly.
“We’ll get out of your hair, I’m sure you have a lot of things to get done,” Gail says as she gently smacks my cheek.
Gail, Lou, and Fern all walk out saying they will be back first thing in the morning.
I walk to the back, where I’ve left a print, a photo nobody has seen beside Selene and I. One from her private photo collection. The second she showed me the photo, I knew it was my favorite, even more than me walking towards her that day.
I pull it out from the cardboard box it was delivered in. I didn’t use Lou for this print because I wanted it to be a complete surprise for everyone tomorrow. This one is going to be the centerpiece, the main photo of the gallery. I ordered a tripod to hold the photo right in front of the entrance. Making this the first piece that each viewer will see when they come in.
Grabbing the tripod and the framed photo, I take everything out to the front to set it up. The display looks beautiful, exactly like I thought it would. I even test it out by walking outside and back in, just to make sure it’s exactly like I hoped it would be.
It’s beautiful, capturing the light in the exact way she’s been talking about. The emotions she’s been chasing. A true moment in time perfectly captured.
I can only hope that after she hears how everyone raves about her photos, that she will finally see herself the way I do.
It’s about time for a delivery when I hear a knock at the door.Finally.
Pulling the door open, I find two delivery workers holding a four foot tall, cloth wrapped sign.
“Where would you like it?” the first guy asks.
I swing the door open and point to an open space for them to lean it against. It takes them only a few moments to lean the sign against the wall and remove the wrap revealing it to me.
The deep, dark greens behind a howling wolf with a crescent moon behind it. The gold swirling frame around the edge wraps around them popping off the sign. But the real piece, the real money maker, is the bright gold lettering with the name of her gallery. A name I chose in hopes that she would love it.
The Howlery.
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