Carl's Exhibition

Daniel and I went to Carl, Daniel's best mate’s art exhibition. He always wanted to be an artist, he's only being a doctor until he gets his art break.

"You wanna come?" asked Daniel.

"Yeah, sure I do."

"You still got the hots for Carl?"

"I'm interested in his art."

"Is that what you are calling it this year?" said Daniel.

"Don't you want me to come?"

"No, come, I want you to come. I asked you, didn't I?"

"You sure don't sound like it."

"Just don't fuck Carl," said Daniel.

"I thought he was straight."

"I know what you are like," said Daniel. "Anything in trousers..."

"Says Amanda."

"Well?" Daniel just looked at me.

"She says the same thing about you."

"In trousers?"

"No, anything in a skirt when she is talking about you."

"Bullshit."

"Haven't you heard her talk about her two slutty sons?"

"No. I have only ever heard he call us her two princess."

"We must have very different conversations with her?"

"Do you think that is true," said Daniel. "Conversations tailored for different sons?"

"Nyr, why waste thought, um, er, thinking about it."

"Anyway, I've called an Uber, are you ready?"

"Yep, I'm ready."

The exhibition was very cool, Carl looked gorgeous, quite the sexy artist in person. It was his night, he'd exhibited with two other artists, it was his final night. There was finger food and wine laid on.

Carl said he was surprised and pleased that I had agreed to come out. We’d bumped into each other in the street, a few days prior, just as it happened, when he'd mentioned it to me.

His friends seemed nice, apparently, they all loved me. Well, according to Carl, but he may have been trying to impress me. 

I was dressed in black. I dressed Daniel in black. (He had to be taken to his room, taken out of the clothes he chose, and re-dressed) I thought that was what you wear to inner suburban art galleries, isn’t it?

Carl was dressed in black too.

It was Melbourne, everyone was dressed in black.

We all met at Carl’s friend’s North Melbourne house afterwards and ate pizza and drank wine. It was a great house, a converted shop. Big open spaces, chic colours on the wall, with that lived in feel that made it feel that it had always been like that and was not a conversion at all.

Late in the evening, Daniel gave me the head nod towards the street.

I was pissed by the time we were leaving, it was late. Carl wanted me to stay, he was staying in the spare room at the guy's place.

“Why don’t you stay?” He was pissed too.

"What?"

"Come on, stay a while."

Huh? I thought.

But something told me to leave, leaving him, and avoiding a potentially awkward situation later. Is that too boring? I don't know, not so spontaneous, I guess?

"I've got a lot more wine to drink," he said.

Truthfully, he was so drunk, it was just pissed bravado, he'd passing out immediately the front door was closed, no doubt.

Anyway, my big bro took my hand on the front path to the house and lead me away.

"What are you fucking like?" Daniel said as we waited in the street for the Uber. Mustafa in a white Camry.

"What am I like?" I asked.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, I don't know. Pissed talk, from a very pissed mate, who probably didn't know what he was fucking doing."

"I don't know how you do it?" said Daniel. I couldn't read if his tone was disgust, or admiration.

"Don't you want me to sleep with Carl?" I was just stirring him up.

"No, I don't," said Daniel. "I have to have some certainty around some things."

At that point, a white Camry pulled up and the driver asked, "Daniel?"