The Masterpiece

Dani was running late. Again. It didn’t help that it was pouring rain and her only umbrella was broken. Skipping a McDonald’s run, she pulled into work and prayed her boss was late as well. She sprinted to the building, dodging puddles but managing to soak her shoes anyway. Discarding the broken umbrella in the trash, she went in.

             “Morning Danielle,” Marissa, her boss said, spotting her first thing, smiling and shaking her head. “See me after you clock in, please.”

             Dani cringed and shook out her long, dark hair which curled when damp. She quickly clocked in at 8:15 and tossed her lunch in the fridge.

             “Someone’s in a bad mood this morning,” her co-worker Carrie mumbled. “Don’t let her get to you,” she warned Dani.

             Dani needed to catch a break. Nothing in her life was going right.

             “Sorry I’m late,” she told Marissa, breathlessly. 

             “Please close the door,” her boss directed. Marissa was a stickler for rules, and Dani didn’t see any sympathy in her eyes as she sat down.

             “This is the second time this week,” Marissa began to lecture. “You’ve been here ten years. You should be setting the example.”

             “I know I’m sorry,” Dani tried to explain. “I’m going through a hard time right now.  I just broke up with my boyfriend,” she said, and much to her horror she began to cry. And not a light sniffle either. It was an ugly cry. Marissa handed her a tissue like, get ahold of yourself. She was the last person Dani wanted to confide in.

             “It’s not professional to bring your drama to work,” was Marissa’s only reply. “You’re going to be okay. Go on now, go get to work.”

             Dani hid in the bathroom and tried to pull herself together. As she dabbed at her eyes, all she could think about was that she had been here 10 years. That had never been her plan. How had her life gotten so out of hand? It was time for her luck to change.

“Hey,” Dani texted her friend Judy, and former co-worker. “Can you meet for drinks tonight? I need a girl’s night.”

             “Sure thing, babe. Work is crazy but I’ll see you at 6:00? The usual?”

             “Perfect!” Dani texted back then got to work.

             A staff meeting at lunch kept her at the office, but they were getting a free lunch out of it, so Dani didn’t complain. They were ordering from her favorite deli and as she opened her ham and Swiss, she bit into a veggie sub instead. Everyone was already eating, and the meeting had started, so it was too late to figure out who had her sandwich. She tossed the sub in the trash and ate a bag of chips instead. She could not wait for this day to be over.

             By the time Dani left for the day, the rain had stopped. The rain had chased away some of the summer humidity and it almost felt like a spring evening. She stuffed her spring of curls into a messy bun and headed for Charlie’s Bar and Grille. It was a small bar – kind of a hole in the wall – but the atmosphere and food were great. It had been a favorite hang out when she had Judy had worked together. Dani missed working with Judy. She made the job so much more bearable, and it was not the same without her. Maybe it was time she thought about something new.

             The bar was dim, and the Eagles were playing in the background. Dani found their favorite table in the back where they could talk. They often sat for hours losing all track of time.

“Can I get you something to drink?” the waiter asked.

“Pink Moscato,” Dani told him, thinking she would nurse her drink while she waited for Judy.

Dani took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders, releasing some of her tension when Judy slid into the booth across from her.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said. “Oh, you started without me,” she admonished with a laugh. “So, fill me in. It’s been a while.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Dani told her. “I think there’s been a dark cloud following me,” she tried to joke.

“I know you and Neil broke up,” Judy said, patting her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks” Dani said, swallowing her grief. “I thought he might be the one, you know? But I don’t want to talk about him,” she shook her thoughts away. “How is work?”

“Busy. I just got another wedding today. I tell you it was the best thing I did when I left Marrons,” she gushed. “I’m finally in my element. Doing what I love.”

“I’m so glad for you,” Dani said, sincerely. “You smell like frosting,” she laughed.

“Par for the course. Here, I brought you a cupcake,” she said, sliding over a little box.

“It’s beautiful,” Dani told her. “I’m starving, but I almost hate to eat it,” she said, admiring the ornately decorated cake.

“How’s work?” Judy asked.

“It’s just a job now,” Dani confessed. “I miss being creative. Why did I major in Art,” she wondered?

“Because you are talented but it’s being wasted,” Judy pointed out. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Dani said, bitterly. “I really miss you. This is so nice.”

“Come by the café this weekend,” Judy invited. “I’m giving a cake decorating class. It’s so much fun.”

“Look at you,” Dani smiled. “Enjoying being your own boss. What you’ve done is amazing.”

“You can change your life too, Dani,” Judy pointed out. “I’m living proof that it can be done.”

“You make it seem so easy,” Dani said, wistfully.

“It wasn’t easy. I’ll be the first to tell you, but it’s possible. “You don’t have to stay at a job you hate. What would you do if you could do anything?”

“Arts and crafts,” Dani answered, without hesitation. “I wanted to teach kids.”

“Dani, your talents are being wasted at Marrons. You’re like me – you need to be creative.”

“Well, now that Neil has moved out, I have room to get my easel back out.”

“Now there’s something good out of it,” Judy encouraged. “Get your creative juices flowing again. Let it back into your life and it will guide you. I promise.”

The two friends talked for hours. After they ate, the waiter just left their bill on the table because whenever he came back, they were still deep in conversation. Dani’s bad day or weeks seemed behind her, and she felt hopeful.

“Thank you for tonight,” Dani said, hugging Judy. 

“That’s what friends are for, now go home and paint,” she demanded.

That night Dani set up her easel and got out her watercolors and felt herself begin to come alive. There were no masterpieces, but she was having fun, so she kept at it. Her creative nights made her day job tolerable, but Dani started thinking beyond that. What if her days could be filled with purpose too?

A few weeks later, Dani was at her local craft store getting supplies, when she noticed the community bulletin board. There was an ad for an art teacher at a local private school. Charged with an energy she didn’t know she possessed, Dani went home and researched the school then sent in her application. When she didn’t hear back right away, she sent them an email asking to show them her portfolio and to discuss the classes she could teach the children.

The next day she got a call for an interview. Dani carefully organized her portfolio showcasing all her work since college. She was proud of her work and for the first time in years, she felt like a real artist. Why was it so hard for her to believe in herself, but when she looked at her body of work, she began to think differently. She was an artist.

That Wednesday, she called in sick, and with her lumbering portfolio, headed for her interview. Her art gave her confidence as she pulled up to the school. She wondered if this was going to be her new job, and she went in knowing that she was making a permanent change in her life, regardless.