“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah. Lots of other VIPs too.” I raised my glass in a derisive toast. “Here’s to the rules, may they only apply to little people.”
“Don’t we deserve it?” Terri said.
“Of course,” I lied. And Marie Antoinette probably said the same thing.
Terri shrugged and sipped her drink. “Will you give me a tour?”
“Sure. Let’s start with the painters…”
* * *
The evening passed in a blur of conversation and celebration. Christy was the star of the show, especially after she unveiled the Venus of Kanagawa pieces. The talk around her buzzed with awe and excitement.
Even I felt a sense of wonder at seeing the sculptures in all their glory. She’d imbued them with grace and dignity, but also a sense of humanity that transcended the cold stone. The man from the NEA showered her with compliments. Then he spoke with Siobhan and the Dean. He showered them with promises.
(In hindsight, that was probably the first time I fully understood how money pervaded everything at the University. Christy wasn’t doing art for art’s sake. She was an asset for Siobhan and the Dean to exploit, for fundraising and publicity. Everyone did it, but the knowledge came with a certain disillusionment. Worse, I couldn’t condemn them for it, since architecture was the same. Beautiful buildings cost a lot of money. Even ugly ones did. Finding that money was a constant struggle. But I digress.)
Trip found me after the hubbub around Christy had died down.
“I think Wren and I are gonna call it a night,” he said.
“Ah, now I understand why you drove separate.”
“Yeah, sorry. We’re totally beat. Besides, she has an exam in the morning.”
“I understand.”
“What about y’all?”
“Christy’s done. Everyone on her review panel is here, so tomorrow’s a formality. I don’t have anything until my first exam, tomorrow afternoon.”
“Sometimes I wonder,” he mused, “if this is what we’re supposed to do for the rest of our lives. Not the parties, but the work.”
“I wonder the same thing.”
We watched Christy and Wren in contemplative silence. They were talking by the Venuses, while Terri listened politely.
Trip shot me a grin. “You gonna bring her home?”
“Who, Terri? Ha! I wish. She isn’t interested. Not—”
“The hell she isn’t. She hasn’t stopped looking at you all night. Wren pointed it out, and I’ve been watching her ever since.”
Terri must have sensed us talking about her. She looked our way and smiled when she caught my eye.
“See?” Trip said.
“Yeah, I know. But she isn’t into girls at all.”
“Oh. That sucks.” He frowned. “She doesn’t wanna give it a try?”
“You wanna give guys a try?”
“God, no! Dealbreaker, remember?”
“Mmm.”
“Whatever.” He checked his watch. “What’re you doing tomorrow evening?”
“Studying, but not much else. Why?”
“We need to talk about schedules.”
“Oh? What’s up?”
“The girls’re planning a surprise party for your birthday. I’m not supposed to tell you, but…” He shrugged. “The reason I mention it is that Wren’ll probably want a private party afterward. I hate it when she springs that crap on me, so I figured I’d give you a heads-up.”
“Thanks.”
“Also, I wanna talk to you about the thing I mentioned, her job after the summer.”
The girls were still deep in conversation, so he decided to go into detail.
“Don’t say anything to Wren,” he cautioned. “This is still in the planning stages. But I talked to her father. I want him to open a restaurant in Knoxville. She can run it.”
My eyebrows rose with a question.
“Yeah. Back in January, we talked to the chef at that steakhouse I like. You know the one. Anyway, he mentioned this idea for a new kind of restaurant. Fusion something. I dunno, but Wren said it sounds cool. She didn’t say anything else, so I let it drop. But I’ve had the idea for a while. I want to get her father and this guy together. Friday night at the big graduation dinner.”
“You’ve put some thought into this,” I said.
“It’s what I do.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing yet. But I want you to design the restaurant if we move forward.”
“Can do.”
“Last but not least, we need to talk about the camp renovation.”
“What about it?”
“When’re you heading to San Diego?”
I frowned at the non sequitur but told him, “Saturday, the sixteenth. We’ll drive from camp to Charlotte and fly from there.”
“Have you already bought the tickets?”
“Yeah, but I can change them. Why?”
“Well, I was thinking… we all need a vacation. A real one,” he added, “not camp. So, why don’t you and Christy go to San Diego a little early? Visit her family. Or go to Atlanta and see yours. Whatever.”
“While you and Wren go on vacation? Sure, sounds—”
“Not quite,” he interrupted. “I have to be in camp by Monday, the eleventh. I’m meeting contractors. But you don’t have to be there. Neither does Wren, really. So I think I’ll take her to Atlanta after graduation. I can leave for camp from there.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a vacation. For you, I mean.”
“Well, I’m planning to come back and pick her up after I finish my meetings. Gonna take her to the condo in Florida. It’s a surprise. She loves the beach, and I know she’ll relax. And no offense, but I don’t want any distractions while we’re there.”
I sensed more, so I raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll tell you, but you have to swear to keep it secret. You can’t tell anyone, especially Christy.” He looked around and then leaned close. “I bought a ring.”
My eyebrows shot into low Earth orbit that time. They might’ve made it to geosynchronous, but Trip hustled me behind a column.
“Dude! You want the girls to see? They’ll know something’s up for sure.”
“Warn me next time!”
“I did,” he chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to go all Dee Snider on me.”
“I didn’t go Dee Snider,” I grumbled. “I was just surprised. I didn’t think you were that serious.”
“Did ya think I was playing around? Dude, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. You know that. Hell, you’ve said that, on more than one occasion.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you were ready to pop the question.”
“Are you kidding? After the year she’s had? She needs it now more than ever. I need it, for that matter. You know how I am. I like to have things planned in advance.”
“You can say that again.”
He shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“Yeah, it is. So, you want to do it in Florida?”
“Uh-huh, which is why I don’t want you or anyone else there. No offense,” he repeated.
“None taken. Still, this is a big step. Are you sure you’re ready for it?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be. What do you always say? Something ‘fair lady’?”
“Faint heart never won fair lady.”
“And Wren’s the fairest of the fair.”
“She is,” I agreed. “And you’re going to make her very happy.”
“That’s the plan. Uh-oh, here she comes. Can you get it together?”
“Of course.”
“And remember what I said, you can’t tell anyone. Including Christy.”
“Got it. Mum’s the word.”
He drew me from behind the column and pasted on a smile. I did the same, and Wren didn’t suspect a thing.