HUGE HOUSE HATES: Chapter 20

Happiness is a funny thing. You can believe you’re happy. Life can feel good. Experiences can be engaging. Plans can be exciting. Friends and family can seem to fill all the places in life that breed contentment. It’s only when real happiness comes along that you look back and wonder how you lived your life before it arrived.

Life without Cora was fine. I thought I had what I needed, hooking up with women every so often for fun dates and casual sex.

But everything before Cora now seems dull, like a gray tinge has settled over my recent past, and a bright yellow beam has illuminated the present.

My brothers have been walking around with stupid grins on their faces. The house has been filled with laughter. We’ve had cookouts and movie nights. Cora’s joined us to watch River and Tobias play ball, and she’s even accompanied Danny to one of his shoots. She’s a regular at Mark’s gym too.

She fits into our lives like the centerpiece of a puzzle that links all the outer pieces.

As brothers, we’ve always been close, but it’s different now. We’re not just family. We’re a unit brought together to love one woman.

For me, it’s having someone to talk to about my work that has made all the difference. Cora gets my dilemmas. She helps me work through my creative problems with new design concepts, and I’ve successfully gotten her in front of the right people to kickstart her business. Between us, we’re inspiring new ideas and coming up with ways to take our art forward to new markets. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a woman in my life who understand what it takes to work in a field so connected to your heart and soul.

She knows what it’s like to feel drained of inspiration and the frustration that this brings.

After a few days like that, she dragged me to see a quirky multimedia sculptor, and then took me to walk through a dense forest on the outskirts of town. New places gave me the fresh perspective I needed to reinvigorate my creative process. That’s what Cora brings to my life.

And Cora’s new collection is taking shape. After our forest visit, she began using a new technique to burn feathers and other organic materials into her pots and vases.

Today, I’m meeting Cora downtown at an old printing factory that has been converted to offer a large space for exhibiting art. Mason, an artist I met through a friend, is exhibiting his huge colorful paintings. Molly, a friend from college who specializes in wooden sculpture, is joining too. My metalwork is being featured, and Cora is showcasing her best ceramics.

It’s Cora’s first time exhibiting her work, and when she appears in the doorway, clutching a box containing two large vases, her eyes look like they’re going to bug out of her head.

“Oh my God, this place is awesome,” she says. Her wide eyes scan the room, taking in my largest pieces first and then drifting over Molly’s section and finally to the walls where Mason’s art is hanging. He’s currently talking to the exhibition coordinator about adjusting the hanging height for two of his largest pieces. They’re paintings of female nudes in the abstract, and his use of color and textured brushwork really sets his work apart from anything I’ve seen before.

Molly is sitting cross-legged in the corner, with her attention focused on her phone. She’s really great at growing her social media presence. It’s something she’s promised to help me with when the exhibition is over.

I make my way over to Cora, placing a kiss on her lips as I take the weight of the box into my hands. “The light is unbelievable, isn’t it? Look at the shadows.”

She turns to follow my line of sight, taking in the stretched and distorted shapes my sculptures are spreading across the polished concrete floor.

“And that tree of Molly’s,” she says, nodding to where the largest wooden sculpture is standing. Its fabricated branches almost seem like arms waving on the far wall.

“I’m almost disappointed we’re not showing in daylight. It creates a different mood when you see everything in natural light.”

Mason turns, nodding his head. “Natural light is great, but the lighting in this place is pretty special too.”

I usher Cora forward, wanting her to meet Mason so that she’s as comfortable with the setup as possible. “Mason, this is Cora Horton. Cora, this is…”

“Mason Banbury,” she says. Sticking out her hand, she blushes hard when he shakes it firmly. The crazy colorful bangles she has on her wrist jangle noisily. “I’ve followed your career,” she says.

“Career?” He laughs, rolling his eyes. “You make me sound old. I’ve only been at this for a few years.”

“You’ve only been recognized for a few years,” she corrects. “I read about how you resorted to modeling because of a lack of confidence in your work. It really resonated with me.”

“You definitely shouldn’t have a lack of confidence,” Mason says, gazing at the pots I’m now holding. “Those are awesome.”

“Thank you.” Her cheeks flame again at Mason’s compliment. If I didn’t know he’s happily married in a poly relationship with Natalie and his two brothers, I’d be filled with jealousy right now. But I know Cora’s swooning because of his creative talent, not his broad shoulders or ridiculous biceps.

“In fact, I’m going to tell Natalie to get here early. She’s been looking for something to sit on a new console table she shipped in from Vietnam. It’s lacquered and rich, and that pot could be perfect. Plus, she’s agreed to be the official photographer for tonight.”

“Natalie?” Cora asks.

“My wife,” Mason says. With pride, he pulls out his phone, and the screen lights up with a picture of a pretty woman surrounded by three men – Mason and his triplet brothers – and two small boys. “We have twins.”

“They’re gorgeous,” Cora says. “The kids, I mean.” Another blush spreads across her cheeks, and she glances at me with pleading eyes that say Rescue me from putting my foot in it anymore. She’s too adorable.

“Let me help you get set up,” I say, and she nods gratefully.

Later, when we’ve returned home to change into our professional clothes – for me, black dress pants and a white button-down, and for Cora, a slinky yellow silk dress – we return just before the doors open. My brothers are already there, waiting for us by the door.

“This place looks amazing,” Mark says, sipping a glass of fizz.

Cora beams, bouncing on the balls of her feet, so buzzed at seeing her work professionally displayed that she’s struggling to stand still.

People begin to drift in, taking the gallery brochure and something boozy from the table, and I smile at River and Tobias, who are wandering around the room, trying to look less like men who usually have grass stains on their pants and more like those who understand art and culture. I don’t mean to sound snooty. It’s just this kind of thing wouldn’t ordinarily be their scene.

“Cora!” a woman’s voice calls from the doorway. It’s Maggie, flanked by two women who look familiar and another I don’t think I’ve seen before.

“Hey!” Cora dashes forward, her jitteriness obvious in the way her hands flutter before she embraces Maggie like she’s a life buoy and Cora’s drowning in the roughest of seas.

“Hey yourself,” Maggie says, disentangling herself from Cora’s arms. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you.” Cora greets each of her friends with hugs, but I notice that there is a little frostiness with the last girl. I make a vow to ask Cora about it later. Eventually, she drags Maggie by the hand in my direction.

“Alden, you remember Maggie. And this is Tori and Jasmine, and Cathy.”

Cathy’s the girl whose smile doesn’t quite meet her eyes, but she’s the first to step forward to plant kisses on my cheek. As I politely held out my hand, the exchange was a little awkward.

“So you’re the artist stepbrother,” she drawls. “Which are yours?”

“The metalwork sculpture,” I say.

“Really.” Cathy glances around. “Metalwork is a little harsh for me, but those paintings…” She trails off, cutting her eyes back to me to assess my reaction. Seriously, if she thinks I’m so fragile that her attempt at a biting remark is going to wound my ego, she has another thing coming. I wonder why the hell Cora is friends with someone like that, but then I remember that I counted Kyle as my buddy until I found out what he did.

“Your ceramics look stunning,” Maggie says. “I’m going to grab a brochure and have a proper look around.”

“I’ll come,” Tori says.

“Me too.” Jasmine darts behind them and Cathy is left for a moment. I see the way her spine stiffens, and it gives me the creeps.

“Cora, can I get your thoughts on something?” I say, gently taking her by the arm and leading her away until we’re standing in front of Mason’s biggest painting.

“What is it?”

“Your friend is horrible,” I whisper.

“Cathy?” she laughs at my screwed-up expression. “She really is a very difficult character, but I’ve known her for years, and it’s hard work to cut her out. You have no idea how desperately that girl can cling on. I swear, I’d have to machete her fingers from her palms to get rid of her.”

“Nice visual,” I say.

“I never let her get to me. You should have seen what she was like when Maggie got pregnant by her ex-boyfriend. I thought there was going to be a murder.”

“Maggie had a baby with Cathy’s ex?”

“Yep. They were on a break. Cathy and Justin got back together after, but even Justin has seen what she’s like. Since we left college, Cathy seems to have lost her stranglehold over a lot of people. It’s only because Maggie’s so forgiving, and I just feel sorry for her, that we still see each other occasionally.”

“Yeah, well, I get a bad feeling about that girl,” I tell her. “Maybe it’s time to sever the digits.”

She shrugs, but I won’t push it. Cathy’s her friend, and she has to make her own decision about whether to keep her close or push her out of her life. I just know people like that don’t think anything about stabbing people in the back if it suits their agenda, or just for sheer malicious enjoyment. Jealousy can be a powerful driver, and Cora’s on the up. Cathy definitely won’t like that.

“Cora, you’ve sold five pieces already,” Dustin, the exhibition coordinator, says as he passes.

“What?” Cora’s hand flies to her mouth, and Dustin grins.

“I’m just putting the ‘sold’ cards on everything that’s been purchased. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of future orders too.”

“I can’t repeat anything exactly,” she says nervously. “You know what this technique is like. Each piece is unique. The chance of even getting close to something vaguely similar is really low.”

“I know,” Dustin says. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll have all the details for the clients. You’ll be able to liaise with them over specifics.”

Cora’s shoulders drop, and she lets out a breath through pursed lips. “I’m not very good at this,” she whispers to me, clutching my sleeve. “I’m happy when I’m in my studio, making my ceramics, but actually doing something with my creations fills my stomach with frightened bats.”

“That’s normal.” I pull her close and wrap my arms around her so that she’s resting her cheek against my heart. I know that hearing its steady rhythm will calm her. Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, I glance across the room, noticing Cathy watching us with a knowing half-smile dancing on her lips.

By the end of the evening, Cora has sold over eighty percent of her display stock and has thirty orders too. Mason is grinning, having secured buyers for most of his paintings, and Molly, in addition to selling all her work, has a commission to create an installation for a new building opening in the city next year. I’ve also been lucky to sell most of my sculptures, and I’m exceptionally happy that my idea to bring together four artists who use different mediums has been met with so much enthusiasm.

Most of the attendees have already left, but Maggie and the rest of Cora’s friends are still chatting with Charli and Naomi, laughing raucously in a way that reflects their alcohol intake.

River has his arms wrapped around Cora and is murmuring something in her ear. Tobias moves closer, trapping her between them and pressing a kiss to her lips. It’s as though my brothers have forgotten where we are. We’re not keeping our relationship a total secret, but I don’t think any of us want it to be totally public yet.

Clearing my throat, I shake Dustin’s hand. “Thanks for everything, man. I really appreciate everything you’ve done to make tonight such a success.”

“It’s easy to sell beautiful things,” Dustin smiles. “Especially when they’re made by beautiful people.”

His eyes travel over Cora and Molly and land firmly on Mason’s ass. A snort almost leaves my nose, but I bury it in a cough.

“Well, we’ll be in touch to arrange transportation for everything that’s sold and collection for the pieces we need to take back with us.”

“Sure. We’ll chat tomorrow. Time to go home and get some well-deserved sleep.”

The way my brothers are pawing at Cora, I’m doubtful that sleep will be top of the priority list tonight, but I’m okay with that. She did so well tonight, and I want her to know just how proud of her I am.

Later, when my tongue touches the tip of her sweet clit, I’ll show her just what a good girl she’s been and just how much of a bad boy that makes me feel.