Chapter 40

“No, Mom. So hecan have all this. He loves prestige. He likes to have the best of everything.”

“My point exactly. You need to be your best, sweetie. All the time.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “Do you want to see my new paintings now?”

We filed down the hall, silently. I could feel her eyes on me the whole way, scrutinizing me. She entered my workshop first. The room was washed in beautiful morning light and the colors were bursting almost supernaturally. She couldn’t have chosen a better time of day to see my work. I leaned my shoulder on the doorjamb and watched her face. She seemed pleased. She walked from canvas to canvas, squinting and nodding to herself.