Being Adalyne (Sequel)

Spring Brings Responsibility

New York is freaking cold, and this year, it's rainy as well. There wasn't an event I showed up to with my hair completely out of place because of the sense of humour mother nature has. Vincent is going through a kitty depression similar to the one he went through when I convinced Jazmin to let me get a kitten for him. I should have listened to her then, but right now, I could use her advice on how to handle the ball of fur sitting in front of the glass doors and meowing. I tried opening them, but he just looks outside, then back to me and continues to scream as if I can stop the rain. I would for him if I could.

Moira has been extra busy lately and it's showing in her dramatic weight loss and dark circles under her eyes from lack of food and sleep. She still shows up for my events and was there to meet with the contractors and architects that drew up plans for the gallery and other buildings, but otherwise, I only see her in the late evenings. I've stayed out of her way as much as possible, but still insisted she take better care of herself; that just started a superficial fight about her believing we're not spending enough time together and to stop mothering her. I seriously can't win with her sometimes.

To remedy this and keep the peace, I started showing up at her company and even claimed a small corner in her massive office for my easel and supplies so we could still be together when we had to work, which was constantly, plus I could make sure she was at least snacking on something here and there.

I've been getting a lot of personal requests lately asking for an original, painted solely for them with no chance of being copied and for what they're willing to pay; I gave in. I was skeptical at first because it seemed an abuse of my talent, but Moira said this is common among the art admirers in our community with more money than logic and I may as well benefit. She also convinced me to mass produce my more popular paintings into copies so that the art admirers with not as much money could afford them. Strangely enough, that didn't bother me near as much as letting someone's pocketbook dictate what I put on a canvas at their request. It felt like a prostitution of my talent. I could always say no, I suppose, but I figured it would cause an unnecessary ripple among the community and I didn't want to be at the center of it.

"What in the name of all that is holy?" Moira asked, looking up from her computer.

"This guy wanted a nude painting of his wife." I muttered from my space in Moira's office.

"Ok, Adalyne, you can say no. You're far too talented to paint porn for the perves with more money than couth."

I shrugged, then looked in her direction and said, "$80,000."

Moira blinked a few times, then mumbled, "Carry on," and went back to whatever was on her computer.

I hated this, but it had to be done. I haven't been hurting financially for a while, but now, I kind of need the money. Moira recently decided it was time for me to handle the responsibilities in our home and I agreed because it was only fair, but also, to give her a much needed break so she could focus on the work that seemed to be piling up on her. I learned quickly that it takes a lot of money to keep the lights on in the home I share with Moira and not only that, the water bill is outrageous, the gas bill is plain robbery, and why the hell is the trash bill over $500 a month??? I don't even want to get into how much it costs to insure all of Moira's cars. She tried to give me money to help out, of course, but I stubbornly declined it thinking I could handle a month of simple household bills. There's nothing simple about funding a mansion. Before this, I was just giving Moira money every month to help pay for my living expenses, but obviously, it was nowhere near enough. It took two weeks and a nearly depleted bank account before I was basically begging Moira for the money I stupidly declined.

Moira thought my groveling was hilarious and I nearly told her to forget it, but somehow, she knew I wouldn't be able to afford everything and ended up apologizing for laughing, then handing me a checkbook with both of our names on it and a black credit card that had my name in silver on the bottom. She is always one step ahead and I find it creepy, but also admirable.

After that embarrassing moment in time I wished could be erased from my memory; Moira dropped the full responsibility of the mansion in my lap. Tossed me in the deep end and let me swim alone, so to speak. I learned that she cares fiercely for the staff she pretends to dislike most of the time because I pay their salary now, along with their health insurance and retirement. It's more than I made in a year working for the gallery 5 times over. I gained a lot more respect for Moira after living in her shoes for a short time. I don't know how she did all of this and still made time for a personal life, but then again, I don't think she really had much of a personal life until I came along.

Sometimes, I would sit with Moira during her board meetings and sketch or work from my laptop whilst she and her associates would argue over artists and disgustingly enough - numbers.

Artists were just numbers to them in every sense of the word. They were another number to join their team of talent and they were the number of dollars they either cost or made for the company. If the cost number was higher than the made number, the artist would be dropped and their contract would magically have some clause that let them do it without breaching the contract. It all seemed very dirty to me, but then again, I didn't study business, so this is probably what it's like for every successful company out there.

The evenings were the best and we made a deal that work would be left at the door and walking through the threshold of our home would be only about us... and occasionally, Leslie and Laiken will join us for dinner, or go out to whatever club they drag us to.

Last week, it was another country club that Leslie insisted wouldn't be a repeat of the night we met Emily and it wasn't for the most part, but the music was still terrible. Moira ended up telling Laiken to cover for us, so we could slip out before Leslie noticed and she took me to her fancy club instead. That was a fun night, since the awkwardness of a first night together was out of the way, and we danced the whole time, then left together when it was time to go home, except this time, neither of us was exactly sober. It made our love making wild, but sloppy, yet I wouldn't change a thing.

March brought responsibilities, but it also moved Moira and me into the comfortable part of what I've learned is a somewhat normal relationship. What I had with Jazmin was a dream come true and will always be there in the back of my heart, but what I have with Moira is a reality and a solid foundation that I can confidently stand on without fear of breaking.