The Suite Adult Life

September (13.3)

Cody threw on his leather moto jacket and grabbed his helmet and keys as he made his way out of his apartment. Today was the day! He had several reminders and texts coming in like he didn't just spend most of this month setting it all up. He was grateful that his name hadn't been released to the public. The last thing he wanted was some publicity tour on all of the twenty-four hour news cycles. That didn't stop the gossip mill in the journalism community from running. His agent had told him that there was major buzz for his opening - even knowing that there wouldn't be any pictures from his time in the West Bank. He had already been out earlier today to make sure everything was ready.

The one thing that hadn't been in the plan was the little red carpet moment she had devised in front of the event space. Paparazzi had been scheduled, a backdrop ordered, and an actual rented red carpet. He wasn't even used to being on the other side of these things. He wasn't in the fashion or style section. While he did value his coworkers that didn't stop him from hating the superficiality of celebrity culture.

"Can I bring a date?" He asked, practically begging.

"No, hun." She patted his cheek which made him recoil. "We need you to look available. All eyes need to be on you and we don't want anyone getting the opportunity to ask questions that aren't about your show. Besides, your family will be there and there will be plenty of opportunities to take pictures with everyone." That was the last thing he was afraid of. There was a reason he liked to be behind the camera.

"Can I at least arrive in on my bike?" Please say 'yes'! Please say 'yes'! Please say 'yes'! His mind begged.

"Absolutely! I've hired a valet company that has someone who knows bikes. You'll be well taken care of, I promise." Thank goodness for small miracles. But as she worked, yelling at people who she thought weren't doing their job, he realized he didn't know what pictures he would be showing. And none of them had names! How could he forget such a crucial detail?

"So I just remembered, you didn't give me any proofs to approve." He said slowly.

"Well, that's because the curator and I worked on it ourselves. We knew how important your recovery was." She shrugged her shoulders checking things off her list.

"Didn't you think that I might not want some of those pictures to be displayed? I think I accidentally sent you my pictures of the kids from the hospital." If she included those, he was calling it off right now!

She gave him a look that told him this wasn't her first rodeo and especially not with him. "If we didn't have a consent form they weren't considered."

"But what about-" He rushed.

"The titles? You already gave us those. They were the folder titles. Anything that didn't really fit, we tweaked." He nodded deftly. He was pretty shit at names. "Hey!" she called to someone that wasn't him. "Those don't go over there!" she snapped her fingers motioning to the other side of the room.

Cody backed away slowly knowing she was in her element right now. It was best not to poke the bear. He called out to her that he would see her that evening. She waved to him with her back still turned knowing he did not exist to her until the evening.

He had lived with Zack and Jackson for the couple of weeks after he got back. They made sure to take care of everything for him. He didn't want for anything, except his own space. He really appreciated everything they had done for him. They fed him, entertained him, and didn't use him as free babysitting - even though he enjoyed spending whole days with his nieces. But the week leading up to his newest gallery opening he needed to be in his own space. He had too much work he needed to get done. His agent had taken care of the selection to show but he had to approve frames and matting. He had to travel the city to find the right location. He kept wanting to do it in parks with lots of trees but she kept telling him that it would look like a midwestern farmer's market.