Martine The Beginning (Cruising to Love, The Prequel) (13 page)

  Martine hugged her friend. 
“How wonderful, Penny.  You deserve it.  Totally deserve it.”

  Penny gave her all the details.  The contract would commence January 8
th
, allowing Penny to fulfill her obligations to the band and do the Caribbean cruise job.  John was taking her out to celebrate.

  Martine felt a little wounded.  Here Penny was her best friend, and a new boyfriend was taking her out to celebrate.  Penny saw immediately that Martine was hurt. 
“Darling, we wanted to take you with us, but we know you have to be in bed at eight, so we’re going to go out again Saturday, when Lucas is back, the four of us, for a bang up dinner and dancing!”

  Martine burst into tears.

  “Martine what’s wrong?”

 
“Lucas and I had a fight over the telephone.  He’s angry because I won’t sleep at the flat while he’s away.  He doesn’t understand….”

  Penny smiled. 
“Don’t worry, Martine.  The minute you’re back together, you’ll look at each other and kiss, and all will be well.”

  Martine sobbed,
“And then Belinda came in looking for him, she said he was supposed to call her, something about a picture, and she demanded to know where he was…oh, Penny, I’m so unhappy.  I should just have stayed at his flat…instead of being stubborn….”

  Penny gave her a hug.  She didn
’t like the Belinda business.  “Listen, Martine.  Lucas probably wants a picture for you, for Christmas…”

  Martine dried her eyes. 
“Thanks for listening, Pen.  Go off now, and have a wonderful time with John tonight.  Have a glass of champagne for me, won’t you?

  Penny left, after some more soothing words. Martine splashed cold water on her face and swept the Gallery floor.  A couple came in, they
’d read about the Gallery in the
Times
, and they bought two paintings. Martine looked at their coats. Expensive.  On impulse, Martine raised all her prices.  So they paid five hundred pounds without a murmur.

  Martine was amazed.  Ten minutes later, a well dressed woman walked through the door. She paid four hundred for a large Impressionist study by Tom Tyson
…Martine had been asking a

hundred for it, but again, on impulse asked for four hundred, and the woman paid without blinking. Martine asked her how she
’d learned about the Gallery as she wrapped up the paintings. The ‘
about town’
column was the reply. 

  Nine hundred pounds.  In an hour.  More than she
’d taken last week.

  Martine sat thinking for a while.  These articles had cost her nothing.  The ads she ran in the local paper brought in very little, but these two mentions brought her nine hundred pounds.  She began to map out a plan.  Have to talk to Lucas about it.  Her face fell.  If he was still talking to her that is
…

  She phoned her artists with the good news. Tom was over the moon, and insisted on taking her to Alfredo
’s to celebrate.  Four hundred gave him two hundred and forty, and Christmas was two and a half weeks away.

  Gloria was surprised to see Martine without Lucas. 
“Where’s Lucas, Martine?” she asked.

  Martine, in a much better mood, smiled at her. 
“In Glasgow, on business.  Hopefully he’ll be home tomorrow night.  I do miss him so much.  This is Tom Tyson, one of the artists who I represent, Gloria.  He’s going to have a One Man Show in February.  His paintings are so romantic, you’ll have to come in and see them.”

  Gloria eyed Tom.  Tom eyed Gloria.   
“Ha-ha,” thought Martine.  “Sparks are flying…”

  She was back in the Gallery at eight.  The phone was ringing.  She raced to answer it. 
“Hello, Martine’s Art Gallery of Notting Hill”.

 
“Hello, darling, how are you?  I just want to apologize for being so beastly on the telephone last night.  Where have you been, I’ve been ringing every ten minutes for the last hour…”

  
“Tom Tyson bought me a meal at Alfredo’s, sweetheart.  I just sold his big painting, the one in the alcove for four hundred pounds!”

 
“What????”

 
“Yes.  And less than an hour before that, a couple came in and I doubled up the prices on two watercolours, and they walked out with five hundred pounds out of their wallets into our till.”

 
“What????”

 
“Isn’t it marvelous, Lucas? Nine hundred pounds this afternoon, in an hour.  More than I

took all last week.
”

 
“Fantastic, darling.”

 
“It’s all due to the newspaper coverage, Lucas.  We have to talk about that when you’re back.”

 
“Yes, we do….Have you heard how Penny did at the audition?”

 
“She got a contract. Today.  She’s so happy.  John was taking her out tonight but they’re having a big celebration Saturday night, and have invited us to join them.”

 
“I’m flying back tomorrow afternoon.  I miss you so much, Martine.”

 
“Me too, darling.  I’m sorry I was so stubborn about staying at your flat…”

 
“It’s too easy to fight on the telephone, isn’t it, Martine?”

 
“Yes, Lucas, it is.  Oh…Belinda was in looking for you.  Quite miffed that you hadn’t called her.  Demanded to know where you are. 

Something about a painting
…”

  Lucas laughed. 
“I’ll tell you about that when I see you tomorrow night, darling.  I‘m getting in after seven, so why don‘t you just go up to the flat, turn the heat on, make yourself comfortable.  Stay over with me, baby, please.  I just need to hold you all night.  I‘ll get you to the bakery by four, I promise.”

  Martine breathed a sigh of relief. 
“I can do that, Lucas.  I’ll have a meal ready for you…”

 
“Scrambled eggs will be fine, darling.  I love your scrambled eggs…I love you.”

 
“I love you too, Lucas.”

  Martine rang Penny straight away.

  “Hello, Penny here.”

 
“Hi, Pen, Martine here.  Lucas just called and asked me to pass on his congratulations on your contract.”

 
“Oh, thank him, won’t you?  So things are all right between you again?”

 
“Yes, he apologized.  He’s coming home tomorrow evening after seven.”

 
“So are we ok for Saturday night?”

 
“I think so…it will be the first time I’ve been dancing, Penny.”

  Penny laughed. 
“I have some free time tomorrow, I’ll slip over and give you a lesson whenever the Gallery is empty, shall I?”

 
“Oh, Penny, I’d appreciate that so much, if you could.”

  Penny giggled.
“Nearly twenty and you don’t know how to dance, Martine.  We’ll have to fix that in a hurry.”

  Martine went to bed sleeping on Cloud Nine.  Lucas wasn
’t mad at her anymore. She wasn’t mad at him anymore.  Penny had her contract.  Penny liked John.  She’d raised prices and made money.  Penny was going to teach her how to dance.  Life was lovely.  The only niggledy bit was that Belinda had been expecting Lucas to call her.  And she didn’t like Belinda anywhere near Lucas…anywhere near Lucas.

  Martine didn
’t mind three o’clock Friday morning.  She was going to see Lucas in sixteen or seventeen hours…

  On her way between the bakery and the Gallery, carrying a bag with a sausage roll for her lunch and a lovely chicken pie for their dinner, Martine glanced in the window of the lingerie shop
…the shop she’d bought her lacy bra and panties from.  There was a sale on again.

  Well, Martine just had to go inside, didn
’t she, and see what they had on sale? Fifteen minutes later, she’d spent fifty pounds on a satin and lace nightgown and robe.  Emerald green.  Lovely with her red hair and green eyes.  It was half price, how could she resist? Then, on her way out the door she spied a white flannel nightie.  One that did up to her neck and reached the floor.  Long sleeves.  White, sprigged with little pink roses.  Perfect for cold nights.

  Martine got a wicked gleam in her eye.  Perfect for teasing Lucas.

  She opened the Gallery and hung three paintings from her store room to replace the ones she’d sold yesterday afternoon.  All Tom’s.  She knew he needed the money.  Not only was it Christmas soon and he had four brothers and sisters to buy presents for, but he desperately needed new tires for his car…and he delivered pizza most nights to pay for his Art School fees, so he needed the tires, not wanted, needed. Martine understood completely.        

 
She put the kettle on for tea.                     Went into the window and tidied it, adding a few sprigs of plastic holly she’d bought last December, sprayed some of the fake snow, also left over from last December, artistically at the bottom of the window.  Maybe she’d get some fairy lights and frame the window.  White ones…

  She made a pot of tea, and ate her sausage roll.  Put a
’back in ten
minutes
’ sign on the door and ran over to Lucas’s with the chicken pie, put it in the fridge.  Turned the heat on.  She was gone less than eight minutes.

  Nobody waiting to come in.  Maybe she should put some items on sale, some little paintings.  Then she could put a red
’sale’ sign in her window, like the lingerie shop.  It had drawn her in, twice…

  Martine slipped into the back room, and pulled the emerald nightie out of its bag.  Held it up to her.  It would be lovely, she thought.  She hoped Lucas would like it. She wouldn
’t wear it tonight, she decided.  Tomorrow night, when they came back from dancing.  Tomorrow night…Tonight, she’d wear his pajama top.

  She heard the bell ring as the Gallery door opened.  It was the lady who had bought Tom
’s painting the day before. She had two other women with her.  All very well dressed, very chic.

 
“Hello, Mrs. Huntley-Green.  So nice to see you again.”

 
“Hello, Martine.  These are my sisters.  We had lunch today, and I showed them the painting I got yesterday.  Both Lucy and Louise fell in love with it…they’d like to see some of the young man’s work.  We were all surprised at how reasonably priced my painting was…”

 
“I’m glad you like Tom’s work, ladies.  He’s a young artist. So his prices are on the rise.  These paintings will turn out to be a very good investment, I think.”

  The blonde woman with the scarlet coat that probably cost a thousand pounds nodded. 
“That’s what I told Leona. I think she made an excellent purchase.”

  Martine led them over to the pictures she had just hung. 
“Ladies, have a look at these.  I may have two others in the store room…he is going to feature in my  February charity gala, so he is starting to bring his paintings over to me…”  She turned and went into her store room, her eyes dancing with glee.   There were four more of Tom’s paintings.  She brought them all out.  Lined them up against the counter.

  Leona, Mrs. Huntley-Green that is, led her sisters to have a look. 
“February charity gala?  What is that in support of, Martine?”

 
“The Heart Foundation,” Martine smiled.  “How could I support any other charity in February, the month of love?  The gala will be February 10
th
.  I may even be lucky enough to

have Penelope Martin, the new recording artist, performing.  She won
’t be here for the January charity gala, unfortunately. Professional commitments.”

  The blonde went back to Tom
’s large painting in the alcove.  The red head, not natural, Martine was sure, in a beautiful black pants suit, pointed to the second painting along.  “I’d like this one, and I think, if Lucy doesn’t take the one on the wall, I will.”

 
“Good idea,” smiled Martine.  “I am going to raise his prices for his One Man Show.  The galas are always on opening nights of my Shows.”

 
“Who’s the January show?” asked Leona.

 
“Belinda Boyle.  She’s very talented.”

 
“And which charity?” asked Lucy.

 
“Friends of Conservation.”

 
“Oh, I’m on their mailing list.”

 
“Then, I expect I’ll be sending you an invitation.”

  All three ladies asked to be put on Martine
’s mailing list, so they would know of all her charity gala nights.  She gathered they liked to go to art shows where they could drink wine, and wear their glamorous outfits…she hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed.

  Between them, they bought five of the seven paintings she had shown them.  At four hundred pounds each.  Martine could see herself giving