A surprise

Vicky looked completely different from when I first met her. She had cut her hair to shoulder length, but that wouldn’t be enough of a disguise for what we had planned. In addition to her sapphire-blue maxi-dress, Vicky wore thick-rimmed false glasses, a dark shade of red lipstick, and smoky eyeliner. She had made a Cinderella-esque transformation, and one we hoped would give our night a fairytale ending.

“You ready?” I said.

“A bit nervous… but I think I’ll live.”

We entered Vincent’s massive house. Waiting inside was the who’s who of Costa Rosa’s social scene. All of them had come to gawk at the new art piece Vincent was about to unveil. We found him with Jessica, whose face lit up with a smile upon seeing us. We approached her, to which Jessica said, “So glad you could make it, Tony.”

“Thanks. This is Francesca.”

Jessica turned to Vicky. “Oh. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Jessica shook hands with ‘Francesca’, none the wiser that she was her maid. Vincent did the same. Again, he seemed oblivious to who he was shaking his hand with. I couldn’t help but wonder if Vicky’s nerves would get the better of her, but to my relief, she remained composed.

“You guys didn’t peek at the artwork, did you?” I asked.

“Of course not. We wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

The four of us looked at the picture, which was covered by a piece of cloth. Both Vicky and I looked at each other, certain that nobody in the room would expect what would be revealed. We were given a few more minutes to mingle before Vincent stepped into the center of his living space and called for everyone’s attention.

“Greetings everyone. I’ve invited you all here to witness the unveiling of an art piece that captures the beauty of my wife, Jessica Sinclair. This piece has been painstakingly crafted by one of Costa Rosa’s brightest up-and-coming artists, Tony Debicki.”

I received a round of applause.

“Now, without further ado, let’s see this masterpiece.”

I pulled the cloth off the artwork. The crowd gasped as they looked upon the abstract portrait of Jessica. The canvas was made of newspaper. Jessica was ‘divided’ into three sections, each section taken from a different photo I had taken. Rather than go with a realistic approach, Vicky had used simple, bold colors to illustrate Jessica. It was an unconventional piece, and one that seemed to leave both Vincent and Jessica speechless. The crowd nevertheless gave a round of applause. Once the clapping came to an end, Vincent said, “Wow… That’s a creative piece.”

“Well, I have another surprise.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’d like to introduce everyone to the creator of this piece, Vicky Nyuegn.”

Vincent’s face fell into shock as he heard his maid’s name. Jessica, however, seemed much more amused as she lead another chorus of clapping. Vicky waved in response as the crowd, most of whom had no real idea of what exactly was going on. Eager to save face, Vincent managed a smile before approaching Vicky.

“Congratulations. I never knew you were so talented.”

“Thank you.”

Vincent looked at me. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Well, truth be told, it just happened.”

“So uh… who should I write the cheque to?”

“To the artist, of course.”

Vicky and I spent the night talking to various socialites, but truth be told, we didn’t really care to be there. I could see the excitement glowing in Vicky’s eyes. With my help, she’d pulled off an art coup that would be the buzz of the local art scene for the foreseeable future. She wanted to sneak off, and I was more than willing to follow her.