The Lottery (26 page)

In the weeks preceding her Klimpt show, she threw herself into
her work, wanting to have many pieces to choose from when she met with the
Gallery Director. Her thoughts had recently strayed back to Ethan more and more,
as she found continued success and wanted to share it with him. Ultimately, his
form made its way into many of her paintings, in one degree or another.

Her cityscapes always had a small mass of a hunky man in one
corner or another, lounging in the park, drinking wine in an outdoor bistro, or
dancing in one of the jazz clubs. Her father had told her jokingly of an
ancient set of books he had adored, where children would search for one odd
little man within the chaos of an illustration. This was her small tribute to
both the men she had loved.

Two days before the show, the moving crew came to ship her pieces
to the Klimpt, and her anxiety nearly got the best of her when one of her
favorite pieces went tumbling down the stairs. Fortunately for everyone
involved, the piece suffered no damage, unless one counted Karlyn’s raw nerves.
Besides the one incident, everything was delivered in one piece, and Karlyn met
with the director to decide which pieces would grace the walls.

A whirlwind of activity surrounded her as the show was set into
motion. Arriving early to ensure all pieces were up and lit properly, Karlyn
was a jumble of apprehension when Sam and Evangeline arrived just before the
show was to begin.

“You look beautiful, Karlyn” Evangeline gave her a gentle
squeeze. “Tonight is your night. Are you ready?”

“I feel like I am about to throw up. But besides that, ready as I
will ever be.”

Sam spoke up. “People have been talking about this show for
weeks. There is enough buzz, that I am pretty sure you are going to have a huge
hit on your hands. But I always knew you would eventually get here.”

“Too bad it took charges of fraud and potential incarceration to
get me here, hmm?”

“Oh, stop it. Before all that happened, things were falling into
place. The connections you were making, and had made at the community center
were the start of something great. So, yeah, maybe the whole media circus
propelled you further faster, but so be it. You have the talent to back it up,
so that is all that really matters.”

“But you know that even now, some of the people that will be here
tonight want to get a glimpse of me, to be part of the chaos.”

“Fuck those old whores.” A shocked sigh came out of Evangeline at
Sam’s response. “Sorry, Eva, but seriously. If they want to come look let them.
I hope they get a good damned eyeful.”

“Did you just call me Eva?” The manicured eyebrow rose.

“Yep. Sure did.”

“I have told you not to call me that.”

“You know you like it.”

Karlyn rolled her eyes at the pair, laughing inwardly at the fact
that they were so much alike. It was uncanny; even though they sometimes acted
as if they couldn’t stand each other, Karlyn knew they enjoyed the scathing
repartee each time they were in the same room. Extricating herself from the
situation, she quietly slipped away as the pair still argued, seeing the
Klimpt’s Director, Etienne Fournier, readying the staff to open the doors.

Moving towards the entrance, the glass front of the gallery was
within view. She sucked in a shocked expression at the crowds and photographers
who had already set up shop outside. Tired of being put on display since the
whole incident with Ethan, she knew it was a necessary evil at this point, as
it was assisting in her success. Tonight she was grateful that the glass was
slightly mirrored, so she could spend the evening networking and not worrying
that every single moment would be caught on vid.

Etienne checked her staff, as well as the caterers and their
trays laden with beautiful hors d’oeuvres and champagne flutes before giving
the nod to open the gallery doors. Karlyn watched the first of the crowd enter,
beautiful women in exquisite gowns, some surrounded by hot studs in tuxes, all
backlit by the rapid fire
click, click,
click
of vid cams taking shot after shot. The light from the paparazzi was
almost blinding. Karlyn would never get used to it.

The crowd swelled as she watched from the corner, watched as the
groups lined the walls, looking at her work, her life’s blood. Hints of
conversation echoed their way to her ears, bits and pieces flooded her bouncing
around the high ceilinged space. What she heard was positive, excitement
thrumming through her.

Thoughts shifted to Ethan, as she so wanted to share this success
with him. To have him on her arm as she navigated the space, nothing could have
made her day more. As usual, she needed to tamp down her fantasies, knowing
that she needed to focus on the here and now, not what could have been.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she felt a scream lodge
in her throat. Twisting around, she was ready to battle, but calmed when she
saw Sam standing behind her.

“What are you doing, hiding back here? Scared much?”

“Sorry Sam, I was just in another world. I was listening in on
the crowd’s response before I made my ‘grand’ entrance. I didn’t want to walk
out and work the crowd if I was going down in a flaming disaster.”

“You knew full well walking into this building that it would not
be a disaster. Get out there in the crowd and work that room. You have been
waiting for this moment your entire life.”

Sam gently pushed her out into the main space of the gallery, and
she was immediately noticed. Dozens of smiles turned her way, as she heard the
first echo of a clap. Turning to see who was clapping, she strained until the
person walked out of the crowd.

Lydia
.
Tears welled up into her eyes as she saw her mother standing in the middle of
the crowd, sincerely applauding her daughter for the first time in her entire
life. Looking around her mother, she saw her siblings and cousins. They all
began pitching in, and soon the entire crowd was applauding, even expelling the
occasional hoot of victory.

Tears streamed down her face, ruining her makeup, but she didn’t
care. She was in her moment. Even if that moment was bittersweet without Ethan.

****

The party was over. Etienne had told her that almost every single
painting had been sold that night, all for the staggering figures she had
thought were astronomical. Now Karlyn was glad she had deferred to Etienne’s
wisdom. She was a rich woman after tonight.

Her entire life, all she had wanted was to make it as an artist. To
be successful in her career and to have her mother’s respect. She had those
things now, yet she felt emptier than she had ever felt.

She sat on a padded bench, looking at the works on the walls. Her
lifeblood, splattered across the canvas, sold to the highest bidder. Sipping
the expensive champagne, she had told her friends and family to go home, lying about
needing to finish up a few things with Etienne.

What she needed was to have a moment alone with the pieces that
had helped her survive the worst of her heartbreak. This had been her therapy. And
now, she needed to say goodbye to them, and hopefully, goodbye to Ethan as
well.

As the caterers finished cleaning up, Etienne came out to check
on her and to let her know that they would be closing up within the hour. Most
of the lights were extinguished, and Karlyn sat in the dimmed space, allowing
the final tears to fall, sipping the champagne, hoping to dim the pain.

A familiar male voice echoed in her ears. “Why so sad? I hear
tonight was a big success.”

Twisting across the bench, she looked at the face that had been splashed
across almost every canvas she had made for the past year. Shocked into
silence, she watched him, not breathing, not knowing what to say, scared that
he was but a figment of her imagination and would disappear if she released one
breath, one word.

“You look like you have seen a ghost, Karlyn.” Stepping forward
into a shaft of light, she saw the twinkle of his eye, the chiseled cheekbone,
the soft fall of his hair.

“Maybe I have.”

“I’m no ghost. Flesh and blood male. Here, I will let you check.”
With that he walked the last few steps between then, pulling her into his
embrace.

His warmth seeped into her chilled skin, and when he took her
lips in his, she opened wide to his heat, allowing it to burn her from the
inside out. His hands were everywhere, pulling her to him. Leaning back, he
looked down at her face.

Wiping his hand along her cheek, he felt the dampness there. “No
tears allowed tonight. This is a happy occasion. It’s your big night.”

“Not that I mind, but what are you doing here?”

“Don’t you remember? One year ago today, I was delivered to a new
lottery winner.”

“Of course I remember. It broke my heart when I didn’t win.”

“You bought another ticket?” Shock streaked across his face, as a
small smile began to form.

“I thought if we were meant to be together that you would come
back to me.”

“It was a waste of your money.”

“Well, maybe I was a silly…”

“No, you weren’t silly.” He interrupted. “You were wonderful. And
because of that, you didn’t need a ticket to get me to come back to you.”

“I didn’t?”

“Nope, because here I am. Finally a free man.”

Karlyn’s eyes widened, hope filling her, but she tamped it down,
fear that she was reading too much into his words.

“And what are you going to do with that freedom?”

Ethan rubbed his thumbs along the tops of her arms. “The second
lottery was even more popular than the first, being that the media had spread
the word so well. It was the most successful, and lucrative lottery in history.
So, I received a nice chunk of change from that as ticket sales were almost
quadruple the first.”

“So you are a rich man now?”

“Add in the fact that Evangeline felt compelled to invest most of
the money and has nearly doubled that in the past year, I shouldn’t have to
worry about money ever again. I am truly a free man now. I can choose the
people in my company, and never be tied to a woman I don’t want to be.”

“That’s wonderful, Ethan, I really am happy for you.” Sadness
struck her as she realized that he was here to gloat over his newfound freedom
and the fact he didn’t need her anymore. Her heart hurt that he could be so
cruel.

Slowly, he descended, dropping down below her. She tried to catch
him as he went, but suddenly he was below her, looking up to her face.

“Why so sad?” He smiled up to her, pulling something from his
pocket.

All of a sudden, a light flipped on nearly blinding her, and she
turned to see Etienne standing on the far side of the room with tears in her
eyes. Turning back, she realized Ethan was on one knee, and the small velvet box
he pulled from his pocket sat in his palm. The sparkle from the stunning pink
diamond sent shafts of light glistening around his hand.

“Be mine forever.”

Her heart stopped inside her chest as his statement gradually
began to penetrate her thickened mind. Tears freely flowed as she dropped down
in front of him to nod her agreement and flung her arms over his broad
shoulders, kissing all about his face.

“Wait, wait…I have been waiting a year to put this on your
finger, let me slip it on.” He pushed her back slightly and grasped her hand. It
fit perfectly. It was more than she ever dreamed of getting.

“I love you, Karlyn.” They sat on the floor in the middle of the
main gallery surrounded by her paintings, most of him and her emotions. Looking
around, Ethan apparently absorbed all he saw, swallowing thickly before he
spoke.. “I hurt you so much, and I’m sorry, I never realized how much until
now. Can you ever forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive. I love you, scars and all. I hoped
one day you would come back to let me heal you.”

“You made life bearable again. I’m nothing without you. The last
year was hell, but I knew you would be there when I emerged.”

Rising to his feet, he pulled her up in front of him. “You look
stunning, you really do. I wanted to be here for you tonight, but today was
officially her last, and she wanted to give me a going away party.”

Pulling away slightly, she wrinkled her nose and looked up to
him. “You spent this evening servicing another woman?”

“No, I think she assumed I would give her a going away present,
but I left before it could even go there. Tonight is all about you.”

Kissing her before pulling her towards the gallery doors, he
hailed an aerocab and continued to kiss her urgently as they waited for one to
stop. The early fall evening was warm and directly across the street from one
of the hottest new S&M nightclubs in the art district. The throng outside
the club was interesting to say the least, and the catcalls from their outdoor
escapades didn’t stop their actions, only pushed them to enjoy the moment that
much more.

Pulling back before they took things too far, they looked across
at all the leather clad bodies, and one stood out. She began to walk across the
street, followed by two minions.

“Well, if it isn’t the two lovebirds. How sweet. Is it legal for
the two of you to be together? I would hate for any legal action to be taken
against you.”

Ethan turned to Ophelia, and Karlyn saw the small tick in his jaw
working, and knew he was holding back his anger.

Karlyn inserted her soft hand inside his and squeezed.

“Ophelia, always a pleasure to see you and your little bought
toys. But unfortunately, we need to go. This is the first night since he was
released from his lottery contract, and we have been waiting for this moment
for quite some time.”

“I am glad that you have done well with your career, so much so,
you can finally afford to buy your own toy. You had better keep working hard so
you can continue to afford him.”