I dropped my phone in my pocket and was about to grab my coat and head out the door when I suddenly heard my doorbell ring. I quickly crossed the distance to the door and looked through the peephole and was surprised to see my friend Katie standing there rolling back and forth on heels with a tentative look on her face. I quickly opened the door and said,
"Well, this is a surprise. I thought you and Brett had plans today."
"I thought we did too." she said sulkily as I stepped aside and let her in. "But apparently he thinks hanging out with his buddies and playing pool all afternoon is more fun than spending time with me even though I had spent weeks planning it."
"Wait what are you doing?" she asked as I moved back to the coatrack where I had been before she showed up. I grabbed my coat off of it and slipped it on.
"I have things to do today, and I have no intention of letting you sit here and sulk all day." I said.
Her face suddenly looked sullen again as she said, "So I've got to be by myself?"
"I didn't say that." I told her. "I said I have things to do. This is my only day off, so if this stuff isn't done today, it won't get done. You're welcome to come with me."
"Ok." she said quietly and followed me out the door. It was clear she really didn't want to go out but didn't want to be alone either, so it was the lesser of two evils. We both jumped in my car and headed out.
After getting my car serviced and stopping by the hardware store for some paint and plumbing supplies, I needed for my house I took us to our favorite little diner for lunch. While we were eating the inevitable therapy session I knew would happen sooner or later started.
"I can't believe he just up and cancelled on me like that." she said as we ate.
"I can." I told her. "It's not the first time he's done that to you and five out of ten it won't be the last. What was it about three or four months ago he cancelled on you after you went through hoops getting a reservation at Victor's?"
"Oh god don't remind me of that!" she said grimacing. "I was so mad about that I almost broke up with him on that spot. Luckily, Monica was free that night, so it turned into a girl's night out."
She got more and more animated as she continued to vent about the problems she had with her current boyfriend. I had thought for months that it wasn't going to work out between the two of them, thinking that he just wanted a relationship as it fit around his schedule with his buddies. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as gestured with her hands as she continued to vent about Brett. Katie is one of those people who are a bit amusing when they're mad. Not that I would ever tell her that though.
When she finally took a break from her rant I asked, "So what have you learned from all this?" I always refrained from giving my opinions on the men Katie dated, instead acting as a sounding board to let her figure out the solution on her own and not making it look like I was telling her how to live her life.
She gave me a scowl and said, "That he's a fucking prick, and he doesn't appreciate the fact that I've worked so hard to please him. And that he takes me for granted that I'll be there when he's done doing whatever him and his buddies have planned."
After we finished eating, we walked outside and as we got in the car she asked, "So what's next?"
"I'm not sure." I told her. "What exactly did you have planned to do with Brett?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she said. "I had signed us up for a painting class. Brett likes to draw, so I thought he might like painting too and I wouldn't mind expanding my art skills."
"Ok let's go." I said.
She gave me a funny look as she said, "Really? You want to go to an art class? I didn't know you liked art."
"While I'm not a connoisseur I used to be a halfway decent drawer back in the day." I said. "Besides, you've already paid for it so you may as well get the use out of it."
"Ok if you really want to." she said.
The art class was quite simple. A bowl of fruit was stationed at the front of the room and your mission was to paint it as close as possible. There were a couple of instructors who floated around the room giving tips as best they could. I had never dabbled in painting and neither had Katie and it was clear at our amateurish attempts to replicate the fruit bowl in front of us. Even with tips and tricks from the instructors neither Katie nor I would have any of our work hanging in the Louvre anytime soon.
What did surprise me is the fact despite our lackluster work with paintbrushes that we were actually having a blast. While we were doing our best to paint, we quit taking ourselves seriously after the first few minutes of work when we discovered it would take more than a couple of tips to pull out any hidden Leonardo DaVinci in either of us. While we continued to try our best, we ended up having more fun laughing at our failures. My original plan in coming here was so Katie's money wouldn't be wasted, but it turned out a lot better than I had planned.
Once we were basically done and the class was about over, I couldn't help but have a little fun and dabbed my finger in the red paint. "Hey Katie," I said as I dipped my finger. As she turned to face me again, I dabbed the paint on the end of her nose.
"Will!" she squealed. She reached to dab it off, but I grabbed her wrists. "Will let me go!" she said as she started to giggle.
I started chuckling as I said, "You look cute with a red nose. Goes good with your freckles."
I let go of her wrists and she quickly wiped the paint off her nose. "You little shit!" she said trying to scowl at me and not really succeeding.
After the class Katie and I walked out of the art studio with our completed works under our arms. If you squinted hard and tilted your head a bit you might be able to make it out as a bowl of fruit.
With nothing else on the agenda for the day we made our way back to my place where we both agreed a pizza was in order as well as a funny movie.
Just after the pizza arrived and I getting the movie ready to start Katie's phone beeped. She looked down and frowned. "Look at this." she said showing me her phone. It was Bret asking if she was free saying the power died at the poolhall.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"To hell with him." she said. "I've had more fun with you today than I've had with him in ages. It's over between me and him." She said as she quickly typed out a reply.
"Good girl." I said smiling at her. "You deserve better than him."