Terry and Gene 3

When Tuesday arrived, Terry woke up, showered, and planned her delivery route over breakfast. Her heart began to pound again as she thought about going to Gene's house. He was the farthest away, so she would go there last.

She dressed sensibly in jeans, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt because sometimes the clients asked her to hang the paintings for them.

By the time she reached Gene's house, it was almost four p.m. It was pretty modest for a rock star. No huge front gate. No security shack. It was still a large house. Probably has a woman in every room, she thought and smiled at her own joke.

She carefully removed the painting from her van and carried it to the front door. The door opened as she got there and, to her surprise, it was Gene who held it open for her.

"Hi," she said as she walked in. "Where would you like it?" She was out of breath, but not from the weight of the painting.

He led her to the back of the house in silence. Here was a room with black walls, purple carpet, and a purple ceiling. The curtains were heavy and also purple. All of the furniture was black. She set the painting down on the sofa and carefully unwrapped it. Gene picked it up and hung it over a desk on the left side of the room. He reached up and adjusted the track lights so they would show off the painting. Terry smiled as she looked at it.

When she looked at Gene again, he was staring at her, a half smile on his lips. Terry felt the heat boil over in her cheeks and looked down.

"Well, thank you." She turned to gather up the wrappings from the painting.

"Why were you smiling?" he asked. She could tell he had moved closer to her.

"I really love it when one of our paintings is hung in a place of honor." she said without turning around. This is weird.

"How do you know this is a 'place of honor'? Maybe I never even come in here." Terry slowly looked around the room. There were several guitars on stands, paper and pencils everywhere, and several notebooks on the desk beneath the painting.

Terry looked at him. His eyes were teasing her. "Right," she said. "This is a Genesis room, if I ever saw one."

"A Genesis room." he said. "Never thought of it that way."

Terry took the paper and crumpled it into a ball. She turned toward the door.

"How many more deliveries do you have?" Gene asked as he led her back to the front door.

"None. I'm heading home."

"To your husband?"

"No."

"Boyfriend?"

"No."

"Girlfriend?"

"No."

"Kids?"

"No. And no pets, either. Anything else you want to know?" Terry laughed.

"Your phone number."