Celia's Puppies Read Online Free Page A

She
felt sorry for her mother.
    Grateful too.
    Her mother taught her independence, gave her
siblings to love and more than anything married her step-dad, her
only real parent. He loved her, understood her, and protected her
from awful, unspeakable things. Before he died, he even bought this
condo for her.
    When Jill told her that Jacob was adopting
Katy, she reminded Jill of what her step-dad used to say. Souls
find each other. Trevor never liked Katy much. Maybe Jacob was
supposed to be Katy’s father. Just like her step-dad believed that
he was supposed to be Sandy’s father.
    Sandy couldn’t be too mad at her mother.
    Finishing her coffee, she straightened the
bed, cleaned Cleo’s cat box then got dressed for the gym.
    And Aden.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Monday morning – 9:3O A.M.
     
    “ Um, okay. You want to
film this?”
    “ Yes, Dr. Lerner,” the
producer said. “We’re taping for Oprah. She’d like you to show the
painting and tell us how you found it.”
    “ Okay, yeah, I got a call
last night,” Adam Lerner said. A trim, handsome man, he looked more
like a rock climber than a curator of the Lab at the Denver Museum
of Art.
    “ Can you stand next to the
painting?” the camera man asked.
    “ Um, sure.” Adam moved
next to an oil painting.
    “ Okay, go ahead,” the
camera man said.
    “ It’s a funny kind of
thing,” Adam said. “Museum curators can make their entire careers
by finding a great painting. I’m pretty young to be a curator. And
I’ve been a curator for a long time. Finding a great work of art,
like this, would solidify my career. Not that I’m unhappy in my
career.”
    “ You’re doing great,” the
producer said. “Just tell us the story.”
    “ At the same time, artists
want their work to hang in museums. Most artists believe they’ve
created great works of art.”
    “ When they
haven’t?”
    “ Mostly? No. You can see
there’s this collision of forces. The artist and the museum curator
act in this kind of dance… of greatness.”
    Adam took a breath. Over the last five
years, he prepared for what he would say when someone finally asked
and Mike was ready to tell. He hoped he didn’t screw it up.
    “ Anyway, I received a call
from Senator Patrick Hargreaves about a painting. Usually, I don’t
respond to ‘come see my painting’ requests because...”
    “ There are so
many?”
    “ Well, yeah. And we don’t
have a permanent collection at the Lab. They got my name from
someone who knew me or met me. Anyway, the Senator said the
painting was a gift from a local artist and he felt it was too
important to keep in one collection. He wanted to donate it to the
museum. Would I come for dinner? Please bring your wife. Oh, and
the artist would like to remain anonymous. Of course, I was
suspicious. But can you really say no to a Senator who invites you
to his house for dinner? I couldn’t.”
    Adam shook his head.
    “ Please
continue.”
    “ I know they fed me
dinner, and I’m certain it was wonderful. My wife went with me. I
remember that. But honestly, when I saw this painting... I don’t
really remember anything else. I wanted to hide it, protect it…
like a naked child in the freezing rain...”
    “ And?”
    “ No one could believe we
had what we had. We did all the tests – paint, x-ray, whatever. Was
it a copy of a masterpiece? A fake? No, it was a new painter. This
painting is a huge find. A real masterpiece. Then we asked to meet
the artist. We had to force their hand as the artist didn’t want to
talk to us.”
    “ Michael
Roper.”
    “ If you say so,” Adam
said. “All I can tell you is that a really amazing human being
painted this piece and gifted it to the museum… through me. It’s
considered to be one of America’s great masterpieces. We’ve
received offers to buy it from major museums – New York,
Smithsonian... There’s no way we’re selling it. This painting
belongs to the people of Denver and their Museum.”
    “ Is there anything else
you can