The Weight of Love

Chapter 17

At three that afternoon, Ed Krueger's long-expected call came in while Lila was mixing colors for her new project, blacks, whites, and shades of gray. She picked up, remembering her manners.

"Hello, Lila speaking. Who is this?"

"Hello, Lila." The voice on the other end was older, male, gravelly. "This is Edward Krueger. You can call me Ed. I got your number from a friend of mine, Cameron Winthrop. He tipped me off that you might be a young artist to watch."

Lila blushed.

"Yes, he told me you'd call," she said carefully. "I think that my father used to work for you. Do you remember a Nicholas Henson? He probably went by Nick."

"Yes, Cameron told me about our connection." The voice remained level. "Of course I remember Nick. He was a talented artist in his own right, and I was looking forward to working with him in building his little gallery. I was at the funeral, though I'm sure you don't remember me -- but I remember you. You were such a little thing then, clinging to your mother's hand in a little black dress and staring at his body in the coffin. Forgive me for going into so much detail. But I painted it afterward. It stuck with me. Imagine my surprise when Cameron told me he had made your acquaintance. And when I learned that you had followed in your father's footsteps as an artist. I was thrilled! Forgive me for being so verbose, but one must marvel at the workings of serendipity."

"Happy chance," Lila said softly. "Yes, it's a funny thing."

He laughed.

"I think we'll get along well. It's my desire to teach you and set you on the right path. How does this Wednesday work for an introductory meeting? You can come into Boston and see me at the gallery. Perhaps you'll remember the place. It's much the same as it was when your father worked there."

"I'd love to come meet you on Wednesday," Lila said. "I'll have to ask my mom if it's all right with her."

Ed chuckled.

"Cameron told me this might come up, so he armed me with some words of wisdom for you," he said. His voice pressed into her ear. "You're eighteen. You can do what you want, especially when it comes to things like this. It'll be an hour or two. Your mother can tolerate it."

"You're right. He's right, I mean," said Lila softly. "All right. Wednesday will work. What time?"

"How about four in the afternoon? I have a feeling someone would be very pleased if you paid him a visit afterward."

"How much did he tell you?" Lila asked, blushing again. She was amazed at how easy she found it to talk to Ed, but she was a little daunted by how much he seemed to know.

"Not much, honestly. But I'm known for my insight. And Cameron's generally an open book, I expect you've noticed. He's a very direct man."

"Yes, I've gathered," Lila said. She drew a breath. "Anything I should bring to our meeting?"

"Some samples of your work, if you can. Pictures at least. I'm looking forward to it, Lila."

"I'm looking forward to it, too," Lila said.

They exchanged goodbyes. As soon as she hung up, she called Cameron, who picked up with two rings.

"You're lucky I make time for you," he said. "It's mad at the office right now. What's going on?"

"What exactly did you tell Ed Krueger?"

"Nothing, I swear!" He laughed. "Ed's a perceptive son-of-a-bitch. He saw right through me. Besides, he'll never tell a soul."

"Hannah Barclay knows," Lila said. She had been intending to wait to tell him, but her conversation with Ed had changed her mind. "Junior heard me say your name, and I told him that you were my special friend, and he went and blabbed to her."