Sweet Caroline (Corey Crawford)

A Work Of Art

Corey

Christmas morning comes and I roll out of bed. I walk into the living room and I see Caroline asleep on the couch. She came over yesterday to decorate some and hang out. She's not shutting me out anymore which was great because I thought I was losing my mind without her. But it's been a while since that terrible night, 16 days to be exact, and I hate that she looks at me differently. I hate that she's quieter than normal and feels like I don't look at her the same way I used to. Every time I touch her she jumps and I know that's my own fault but I just want things to get back to the way they used to be.

Because I still feel the same, if not I love her more for putting up with me. I know I'm not perfect and I make mistakes, but that doesn't make what I did okay. I knew that girl was up to no good yet I still agreed to go off with her. Let her buy me drinks and take me to the bathroom. I knew what was happening, it's just happened so many times before and this time I should have stopped it. But I didn't and now I hurt the sweetest little girl in the world. The same girl I promised that I would never hurt.

I watch her sleep so peacefully on the couch and I go over to watch over her. I sit on the floor next to her and start to run my fingers through her hair. I missed rolling over in bed and seeing this, such beauty and simplicity. It was the best part of waking up, and not seeing her there is the worst part. But she was trying to make things work and I needed to respect that, so I'm letting her take her time and feel comfortable around me again before I even try to suggest to get things back to the way they used to be.

I lightly kiss her forehead before going to the kitchen. I pull out a pan and some eggs and other ingredients for a omelet. I throw all her favorite things into the pan and start to cook. I hear a little shuffling before Caroline appears at the island. Her expression so soft yet so warming.

"When did you learn to cook" she asks.

"When you were gone and if I didn't I would either starve to death or end up at Taco Bell every day" I joke and she giggles.

"It smells good" she admits.

"Thanks. I learned from the best" I wink.

We sit at the island and talk throughout the morning. Snow started to fall outside but the heat kept us warm as we chilled out. After we finish eating she helps me with dishes and puts everything back.

"Stay here" I insist and she nods.

I run back into my room and grab a bag. I come back out and find Caroline still standing in the kitchen. I hand her the bag and she smiles a little.

"What is this" she asks.

"Open it and find out" I say.

She digs into the bag and pulls out one of my jerseys. It was a game worn one and it was huge. She giggles as she slides it on. I know she loves her collection of jerseys, she has at least a hundred of her dads so I figured she could use some more red in there. She thanks me and claims she is never going to take it off.

"There's more" I assure her and she nods. She goes back into the bag and looks around. She pulls out a envelope and looks at me weirdly. She pulls out two tickets for a Montreal art show tonight.

"We're going to a art show" she asks.

"Yeah. There's something there I really want you to see. Plus I can use a bunch of cheesy lines on you until you forgive me" I smirk and she laughs.

"Alright, I always loved going to art shows. What time is it at" she asks.

"It's at six. I'll pick you up from your dads house" I tell her and she nods.

"Sounds like a date" she says and I perk up.

"Really" I ask.

"Yeah" she nods.

She gathers her things and hops in her car. I wave her goodbye and as soon as she leaves I start to do a happy dance. I skip into my room and pull out clothes for tonight. I hop in the shower and do my best Justin Timberlake impression before hopping out. I change and do my hair before putting on some cologne. There was still some time before I had to pick her up and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

I go to the store and buy some of her favorite candies for the show. Since it was outside in Montreal I grab some gloves and hats and scarves before leaving. I go over to her house and sit there for a while. I tap the steering wheel to try and calm my nerves but it doesn't work out too well.

Finally it comes time and right at 6 I knock on the door. It opens and this time Caroline answers and that makes me feel a lot better. She was still wearing my jersey with some layers on under it to stay warm. I smile big when her eyes meet mine and I felt like we might actually get past this.

I grab her hand and give it a squeeze and she squeezes mine back. We hop in my car and we drive downtown to the art show. It was outside so I hand her gloves and a scarf and some hand warmers. I grab our snacks as we start our trek down the strip.

We get let in and start to look around. I hand her a bag of sour patch kids and she eats almost the whole bag before we even get to the first piece of art.
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"Oh I know this artist" she cheers as we approach a painting and I smile at her excitement.

"Tell me about them" I beg.

"This is a piece from Rob Gonsalves, one of the most popular Canadian artists. He specialized in magic realism, a concept far beyond his time but still so enjoyable. My mother loved his paintings, had replicas of them in the house because they were elegant but they still made you think. It was quirky yet cute" she explains.

"Just like you" I smirk and she starts to blush.

"Come on, lets see what else this place has" she encourages.

We walk along the path and for once she was the talker and I was the listener. She usually didn't say much, and when she did talk it was soft, but then you find something she was passionate about and you can just watch her glow. It was amazing really.

Finally we get to what we were here to see and she stops in her tracks when she sees it. She walks over to a painting at the end of the sidewalk and steps right in front of it. She covers her mouth and I take that as my cue to walk over to her.

"How" she whispers.

"My parents have a painter friend, he's pretty good. He was over not too long ago and was looking for inspiration to enter a picture into this art exhibit. So I showed him a picture I took of you looking over the city, I assured him that you were a work of art and he agreed. So he took this picture and one upped me. He put you where you belong which is up in the clouds with all the other angels. And naturally he added your mom, made her sit up in the cloud right next to you. He was from around here and knew who you were and your family, the picture came together really quickly actually. He made it so you both you and your mom was looking down on all of us, smiling because you guys are together again. I asked your dad for permission before he entered it and naturally this made it big time. Everyone here knows who you and your mom are and what this means. But I'm sure it means more to you" I admit.

"This means everything. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you" she whispers.

"Your likeness belongs in a art show, so everyone can get the honor to see what I see every day."