Love & The Goddess (46 page)

“Kate … Kate.” He grabbed my arm. “Please give me a chance. There’s nothing between us apart from her setting up the exhibition. Joe asked me to mind her.
That’s why I stayed with her when she was upset.” Breaking free of his grip at just the right moment, I made a quick sprint across the street. He followed and once again clamped my arm,
tighter this time so I couldn’t move. “Kate, it’s all in her head. I care about you. Please come back to the exhibition with me.”

I hesitated. “If you let go of my arm … But don’t think it means anything.”

We walked another few yards before finding ourselves opposite the gallery. I thought about heading for my car but spotted Shannon waving across to us. If he was worth fighting for, then I had a
powerful ally on my side. Geoff looked at me, an endearing smile on his face as he held his hand out to me. “Have I told you how much I love holding your hand?”

“No.” I huffed, refusing to give him mine.

So instead, he placed his hand gently behind my back as we walked across the street towards the gallery where more guests were arriving. Red stickers had already appeared on nearly all of the
paintings, denoting a reserve, and the gallery manager hurried over to us. “It’s a sell out … Unbelievable! I’ve never known this gallery get a crowd like it.” Myra
was also coming towards us, a disapproving look on her face. Geoff once again placed his hand on my back, this time as a gesture of reassurance. Throwing me a look of utter contempt, Myra linked
her arm in his, trying to drag him away.

“Geoff, it’s time we opened. People were starting to miss you.” The manner in which she accented her vowels gave the impression she was a member of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy
class. The posh accent was perfect for waxing eloquent on matters of art. I found her intimidating.

“No problem. We can start now,” he said, bringing me through the crowd to the top of the main room.

“Kate!”

I swung around to see Ella and Billy. “What are you two doing here?”

“James rang me a few days ago to tell me you were coming and …” Ella started.

“… And I wanted to see Geoff’s work so I contacted him through his website and wangled an invite. Aren’t you pleased to see us?” Billy said, finishing her sentence
as if they were an old married couple.

“The two of you?” I said, looking from one to the other.

Ella laughed and kissed me. “We’ve been going out since your party and we’re getting on pretty fine so far. Happy days.”

“How’re you getting on with the artist?” Billy asked.

“So-so.” I said, balancing my hand like a scales.

“Kate, he’s mad about you,” Ella gushed.

“How would you know?”

“We had coffee with him earlier today. Don’t give me that look, Kate. Billy wanted first look at the paintings ’cos he needs some art for the café in the shop. When
Geoff heard you were moving to Wicklow he started jumping for joy.”

I shrugged. “The Myra situation is complicated.”

“Oh, I know she’s all over him like a bad rash, but it’s obvious he can’t stand her. He’s too polite to tell her where to go.” Then, wrapping a reassuring arm
around my shoulders, she continued, “Ignore her, lovey – she’s irrelevant!”

I was about to answer when Myra began hitting a gong to get the crowd’s attention. I could understand Shannon’s dislike of her now that I saw the possessive way she looked at Geoff.
Her condescending attitude was at odds with the bohemian air she worked so hard to affect and the hardness of her jaw hinted at a ruthless streak.

When the room finally fell quiet, she spoke: “Ladies and gentlemen. You’re all very welcome to Geoff Kelly’s much anticipated exhibition on ‘The Goddess’. This is
his first major solo show and judging by the reaction here tonight it certainly won’t be the last. Now please put your hands together to welcome the artist.”

“Thank you, Myra. Ladies and gentlemen, you’re all extremely welcome. I’m most grateful to you for leaving the warmth of your firesides to face the elements on a cold November
night.” He was obviously nervous, his shy blushes endearing, but the gentle laughter that ran around the room seemed to relax him. “Firstly, I want to thank all my Goddesses, some of
whom were unwitting models.” Yes, me, I thought, wondering what he would have done if I’d objected. He’d certainly taken a huge risk. “Thanks for being the women you are. I
have to posthumously thank my late friend Joe Riordan for all his support. And a special thanks to his wife Myra for organising this. We miss you, Joe, but you’re here in our hearts.”
The clapping that followed was controlled, reverential in its deliberate rhythm as Geoff wiped away a tear. He went on, “I’m going to talk to you about my fascination with
contradictions or opposites and how they exist side by side like male and female. It’s one of the reasons I love magical realism as an artistic genre, allowing me to combine the ordinary with
the extraordinary.

“I chose Hekate as my poster girl.” He smiled fleetingly at me. “Hekate has learned the gift of alchemy, whereby she can transform her life experience into the gold of wisdom.
She knows that a life which has been truly lived is like a multi-coloured tapestry; its inherent flaws adding to its overall beauty. And that brings me back to contradictions; the Goddess is seen
as an extraordinary woman, yet she is everywoman. Take Kate here!” He swept his hand over to where I was standing. Oh no! I hadn’t expected to be singled out. “A beautiful woman
who embodies the very essence of femininity and creativity while remaining grounded in reality.” Clapping erupted with the odd suggestive whistle. He winked at me, setting my heart fluttering
like a hummingbird. I blushed as I became conscious of several people throwing surreptitious glances in my direction. I was mortified by the attention and wished I’d stayed near the back of
the room. “Kate is the person who inspired this exhibition. From our first encounter it was obvious that we shared a love of mythology but never before had I met someone who understood the
significance of Goddess archetypes in the modern world. Kate was able to bring the myths to life for me, allowing me to see their rich symbolic meaning. As soon as that clicked with me, my art took
on a new, more vibrant energy. That’s the reason why I’m suddenly getting reviews like I never got before. To you, Kate, I owe my heartfelt gratitude.”

Somebody started to clap, then a few more and soon a mad clatter of clapping threatened to lift the roof off the building. I just couldn’t stop myself from smiling and laughing. I’m
sure I must have looked like the cheesiest cat that ever got the cream. Well it’s not every day a girl meets a gorgeous man who makes her the star of his show.

One year later ...

“M
am, stop fussing and leave the food alone. It looks amazing, but you don’t. You need to go upstairs and get ready right
now.”

“Okay, okay. As soon as I finish touching up the desserts.” I was just about to refill the piping bag when she snatched it out of my hand.

“So much for your suggestion that we’d do a twenty-minute meditation before everyone arrived for the book launch. Not a hope in hell.” Julie’s tone was authoritative.
“Get out and get ready now or you’ll regret it when it comes to getting photographs taken.”

“She’s right, you know,” Shannon chuckled from the doorway.

It was bad enough being bossed around by Julie, never mind Shannon chiming in. It was all very well for the pair of them, having had nothing else to do all day apart from dolling themselves up
like super models. They had a point though. The press would be arriving soon and I’d be disgraced if they caught me looking like the wreck of the Hesperus while sneaking into the big house.
It was great to have the use of a room here, so near the cookery school. Billy was magnanimous in opening his home to the world. Strange, I thought, for someone who was reared an only child.
Personally, I was glad of the solitude the cottage afforded me.

As I showered, the plumbing choked and rattled from the amount of water used throughout the day. Floor boards groaned and creaked as everyone ran around pulling on their glad rags. I needed to
keep an eye on the clock in order to get back downstairs ahead of time. After drying I pulled on my smalls. Well, no longer so small, after all the experimentation and food tasting. I looked in the
full-length mirror at my more voluptuous figure encased in a vintage bias-cut dress in shades of copper and gold. Next I back-combed and tweaked my hair in different directions. On appraisal, I was
pleased that my hair looked great, more natural than salon perfect. I was in the process of sliding into embroidered copper mules, when I heard a light tap on the door. “Come in.”

The door opened. He locked it behind him and walked towards me.

“You look and smell good enough to eat.” Geoff planted a kiss on my neck. “I’ve an idea?”

“What?”

“We keep the door locked. Then pretend there’s no one here when they come looking for us. We can surely keep ourselves amused – right?” He traced his fingers along my
neck as he spoke softly. The mere suggestion of intimacy with him caused desire to flush through every cell in my body, such was the delicious yet authentic nature of our love-making which could go
on for hours on end. “Then when they’re all getting sloshed because you’ve stood them up, we sneak down the fire escape and head for Dublin airport.”

I laughed as he tickled my imagination with his zany humour. Even when I was stressed he could make me loosen up and feel suddenly carefree, like we had a choice every minute of our lives either
to conform or just go off like Percy and Mary Shelley had in the eighteen hundreds. At times we were like two naughty children, yet our love allowed us to respect each other as two separate selves
coming together as one.

“How about heading for Buenos Aires and you read Borges to me each evening?” I said, before changing my tone to mock concern “But what if my publishers sue me for failing to
turn up at my own launch?” Taking my hand and holding me at the waist, he leaned me backwards into a tango pose.

“We’ll phone them after three weeks and tell them we’ve spent the advance so they’d better send us more money to get you home. What do you think?” he whispered in
my ear as he brought me back up towards him.

“I think you’re gorgeous and irresistible but we’d better be nice to everyone who’s coming to meet us.” I kissed him on the lips. “Later my love.”

“Is that a promise?” Teasing me, he waved the key in front of me, alternating with hiding it behind his back.

“Yes, a promise. Now, please open the door.”

“Here she is!” Ella announced as we came downstairs. The crowd clapped and cheered. After we’d greeted everyone fleetingly, Ella ushered us into the drawing
room to have photographs taken. Some of the furniture had been removed to make the room more spacious. A display stand stood to the right of the baby grand piano, filled with several copies of my
new cookery book.

Ella decided the order in which photographs were taken, telling each press photographer to take one of every frame as individual shots were set up. It was hard to believe how much had happened
in the last year. I’d thought Ella was really tempting fate when she accepted Billy’s offer of a management job while also dating him, but six months later she’d moved lock stock
and barrel to live with him.

They were both incredibly gregarious and together they were a formidable team, bouncing business ideas off each other the way Geoff and I did with more dreamy creative stuff. Billy said we were
like Yin and Yang; Geoff and I had the moon’s Yin energy while he and Ella channelled the fiery Yang of the sun. Maybe he was right, because Geoff and I had taken things a bit slower, still
living separately though we spent most of the week together.

Once the official photographs were over, it was time for more informal shots with friends and family. It had felt right standing with Geoff, Julie, Shannon, Liam and his dog Koda. My new family.
Yet I had a twinge of regret for Trevor since he had been part of my life for so long and I occasionally worried about him being lonely. I’d invited him along but he’d said it
wouldn’t be his thing. No, that’s how we’d always differed, each unable to find joy in the other’s interests. It was right that we had gone our separate ways.

“Geoff,” I said as our family photograph finished. “Tell everyone to start helping themselves to food from the trolley, will you?”

He clapped his hands above his head, announcing, “Right everyone. Food’s here.” Then he placed an arm around my mother as he led her over and started to serve her and my
father. There was no doubt about it – he was a natural, the way he fitted so effortlessly in with my friends and family, getting everyone to relax and enjoy themselves.

James’s cousin Maria came up to me. “Congratulations, Kate, you must be so proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“Yes, I’m thrilled. Thanks for coming, Maria – it means a lot to me to have you here.” I placed my arm around her shoulder. It felt wonderful to have so many people I
knew circulating and chatting with each other in this room. This was the key to my remaining calm – I was always relaxed with friends and family around.