Assets by Shannon Dermott

work. He showed up late to my door each night after I’d gone to sleep. I’d yet to get a straight answer about how he’d gotten in. Lizzy said she hadn’t let him in. This left Matt.  And I hadn’t seen him since our lunch.
    On Friday, I made it home just in time to hug him goodbye. It was hard to have him come and go so quickly. I didn’t ask about Kalen. It seemed weird too. He had to be letting him in. And it didn’t seem right to spoil his departure by pouring salt in a wound by asking about the guy I was currently seeing. What I really wanted to ask was if he had been avoiding me. But I had no right to his feelings when I’d turned down his offer.
    “I can’t believe you won’t stay for my showing tonight,” Lizzy protested to her brother.
    Looking at his sister with much love, he said, “You’ll be fine. Peanut will be with you. You won’t need me. Besides, this isn’t your first showing.”
    And with another round of hugs, he was gone. His cab was already waiting at the curb when we followed him down. Back in our place with the door closed behind us, Lizzy and I turned to each other. We both had a few tears in our eyes. “He’ll be fine,” I said.
    “I know,” she said with a muffled sob. “I’m just afraid one day we’ll get that call.” I understood. His being a cop was amazing. But it was a tough and thankless job, especially for those who loved you, left to wait each time their loved one went to work. He knew this. There was no reason for me to say anything or he’d possibly cut me out of his life, too.  That is, if I hadn’t done it already with my rejection of his offer.
    Patting then rubbing her back, I said, “We just have to believe he’ll be fine.”
    “Yeah, I know,” she said, straightening her spine. “Let’s get this party started. And don’t you dare bail on me. We’re going for drinks afterwards.” She threw her hands in the air and gave her hips a little shake.
    Smiling, I responded with, “And where is your supermodel?”
    Waving her already outstretched hands, she said, “Another event tonight he had to go to. In the biz, it’s all about appearances.”
    Shaking my head, I made my way to my room to get ready for the night. Talk about appearances—we were purposefully but fashionable late for her gallery showing. None of the artists were scheduled to be there, so Lizzy said our tardiness would be fine. The place was packed when we made our way in. It pays to know people like she and her family did.
    Lizzy’s gallery was set up like a maze. It probably resembled an old-fashioned mouse maze from a bird’s eye view with one exception; it wasn’t a true maze because there was access to a main front and back corridor in each linear passageway. The walls were white, of course, leaving the art to make the space. The floors were bamboo. And I only knew that because Lizzy had pointed that out the first time I’d visited. Above, the place reminded you of a warehouse with exposed beams and pipes, painted so it was clear that they were made to be seen.
    We walked the maze and each corridor progressed with synergy to the next. It was amazing what Lizzy could do with her art major and family money. Fresh out of college, she should have been someone’s assistant. Here, she was her own boss. Even though she had a leg up, she had an eye for art. Hell, her apartment looked like an ad in a home and garden magazine.
    “Lizzy, this is great,” I said, giving her hand a quick squeeze as we looked around.
    “I know,” she said in hushed excitement.
    “All but this,” I said, when we stopped in front of a painting that was one of those things that didn’t fit with all the other pieces. qct
    Giggling she said, “Yeah, I was confused by it as well, but it was the price I had to pay to get,” she spanned her arms out and looked side to side, “these. So I had to take it.” She pointed directly ahead of us.
    Shaking my head, she added, “You don’t mind if I leave you