New York_ The Novel - Edward Rutherfurd [393]
“I think so. Why?”
“You remember I told you about Adele Cohen’s grandson. The boy who went to Harvard? The one that’s a doctor now?”
“The one who went to Philadelphia?”
“Yes, but he has a position in New York now. He’s just moving there. And he’s coming out to see his grandmother next weekend. I believe he’s very nice.”
“You’ve never met him.”
“If he’s Adele’s grandson, I’m sure he’s very nice.”
“How old is he?”
“Adele says he’ll be thirty next year. And he’s very interested in art. He bought a painting.”
“You know this?”
“Adele told me. She thinks he’s bought several.”
“What sort of paintings?”
“How should I know? They’re paintings.”
“We should marry.”
“You could meet him.”
“Does he have money?”
“He’s a doctor.” Her mother paused as if to indicate that this should be enough. “When his father married Adele’s daughter, he was an accountant. But he didn’t like accounting, so he set up a business selling heaters for houses. He sells air conditioning too. All over New Jersey. Adele says he’s done very well.”
So, Adele’s grandson had money. Sarah smiled. She could imagine her mother and Adele arranging all this. And why should she complain? Perhaps he would be perfect.
“I’ll meet him,” she promised.
As she returned from Brooklyn late that afternoon, however, it was not the doctor who occupied her thoughts in the subway. It was Charlie Master.
She’d flirted with him at Sardi’s, of course. She’d gently challenged him about his age. And he’d been interested, she was sure of it. But he’d been cautious, too, and she thought she knew the reason.
He wasn’t going to do anything that, if it went wrong, might jeopardize the exhibition of Theodore Keller’s photographs. He really cared about the work, and she respected that. So, half of him was attracted to her, and the other half wanted to keep the relationship professional. That challenge made the business of seducing him all the more interesting.
Sarah Adler liked her work. She loved her family. She respected her religion. But now and then, she also liked to break the rules.
Sarah Adler was not a virgin. Her parents did not need to know this.
Charlie Master was an interesting older man, and she was curious to know more about him. She wanted to learn what he knew. And, of course, he wasn’t Jewish.
So he was forbidden.
It was certainly something to think about.
The next day, she began to prepare a potential layout of the Keller show. As she thought about the balance and flow, it seemed to her that it could be improved if they had more examples of certain periods of Keller’s work. She made a note of these, and she also did a rough of the catalogue. Charlie Master was going to provide the text, but she outlined half a dozen points that she thought should be included.
The gallery had a good mailing list, but it occurred to her that if they had a list of collectors and institutions who’d acquired Stieglitz or Ansel Adams, then that would be useful. She made a note of this as well, asking if Charlie had any suggestions for how she could get this information. Then, having shown all the material to the gallery owner, she sent it to Charlie.
Whether I seduce you or not, Mr. Master, she thought, this is going to be one hell of an exhibition. Then she waited.
He did not fall in love with her at once. Ten days after he got the material, they met up at the little office near Columbia and spent a couple of hours going through the collection. Together they selected five more photographs for inclusion, and decided to leave out one of the previous selection.
She was wonderfully efficient. But she was also humble. He liked that.
“This is the first show I’ve organized for the gallery,” she told him, “and I have so much to learn. I’m really afraid of making mistakes.”
“You’re doing fine,” he assured her.
The following week they met at the gallery, and using a detailed diagram, she showed him how the show was going to look.
“We won’t be certain until we start to hang the work,” he said, “but so far I think it’s looking good. Very good.” When