His Art, His Music, His Notebook Pt. 2

It was a very hot day in Chicago. It was not one of those “cooler by the lake days”. It was hot throughout the entire city. Hot with no relief. I sat outside the cafe drinking iced oolong tea to help reduce the anxiety I was feeling while I waited for the stranger. I was also praying that the stranger, would not stand me up. Then all hopes of me finding her lover and receiving $20,000 would disappear. I want to pay off my student loans and build my business. There was a lot I could do with $20,000. But I actually really wanted to help her. My desire to help her find her lost love was so genuine. I was living through her; I wanted him for her. I wanted a happy ending.

A week after our first phone call, she was ready to get to work. She was more than determined to find the love of her life. I decided to meet her on a Monday, the busiest cleaning day for me but she was now my boss and paying me good money to find him. She couldn't wait any longer but I had no idea of how I was going to find him.

And then I saw her and my heart fluttered. I was officially starting my career as a private detective. I didn't notice the heat any more.

I immediately knew who I was looking at. I then matched her name with her look. Rosetta became more real to me. She gracefully walked across the busy street and I knew why he fell in love with her. Her skin glowed under the sun. She was picturesque. She was dressed in a short orange halter dress and orange flat sandals that made her walk easily. She was straight from an Instagram travel page. It was her. I was sure of it. I saw her enter the front door and waited a minute before she reached the cafe’s patio.

She was putting her phone away when she spotted me with my cleaning uniform on. I smiled. She walked over.

We got right to the business at hand. I asked her about his family, friends, acquaintances, and his circle of fellow artists. She gave me a few names. He was a pianist as well as a guitarist and painter. Rosetta would see a few pictures here and there when they were together but she was not connected to any of them. They were together but people didn’t know; he was private and he was her secret love. So she was very satisfied with their incredible secret filled with music, art, laughter and silence.

“How did you meet?” I asked.

She remembered the moment with a smile.

“I was having one of those days where I needed to be alone and regroup,” she started. “Problems at home. My husband was interested in everything but helping me work on making things better between us. So I looked forward to this particular weekend. It was one of those amazing Chicago events that featured artists across the country. There was food, music, people, vendors, culture, you know? And I took it all in with a deep breath and just as I was exhaling, I saw JC speaking with someone and his eyes met mine. That’s exactly how it was. His energy matched the entire event. He was standing at a booth with his artwork. I finally walked away. I couldn’t take my mind off of what I had just experienced. I walked to other vendors but no matter where I roamed, I was drawn back to him so I walked over to his booth. Closer this time."

She took a breath continued. "His work was breathtaking, some of it was simple, some perplexing. His style varies but he has a unique signature touch. He let me stand there to soak it all in and I did. When I was finally ready to speak, I turned to look at him. I took him in. He was an art piece himself, his eyes, his full lips, his mannerisms. I wanted to hear him speak so I said, "you move me". I immediately regretted what and how I said it. He smiled and it was the most amazing smile I had ever seen. So we had a great conversation for an hour while others dropped by. I ended up buying a painting of a beautiful black snarling jaguar standing on his hind legs with fire eyes. He got my contact information and called me the following day. Our conversations were always magical and easy. He still moves me. Even today." She inhaled and exhaled. She had never told anyone her story. I could tell.

She then pulled something from her purse. She unfolded the white fabric and I realized it was the pillowcase she’d told me about. She touched the rose that JC painted for her using the pillowcase as a canvas. I wanted to touch it as well. It read:

You are my rose, Rose.

She continued. “Two summers. The best of my life.”

I had to get to work but I couldn't move. I needed more. I wanted more. I wanted this probably just as much as she did. I looked at the pillowcase and ran my fingertips across the rose. So detailed and unique. What a true artist JC was.

“Did he ever play for you?” I asked.

“Yes. He has an acoustic guitar that I loved for him to play. He played it as if it was a woman and he took his time with every part of her. He made me feel like the guitar was me. And he sings a little. I fell in love after the first song. I was so intrigued by him but love came when the music came. It was a beautiful warm night. A beautiful thing.”

Oh My God. I was falling in love with both of them.

She continued. “But then I eventually told him. About me being married and how unhappy I was. The whole truth and then he fell away. He stopped believing in me. He left me emotionally and then there was no more music, just one word answers. And he told me he knew I was too good to be true. And that what we had was now tainted with distrust. And it hurt like hell. Can I see the notebook?"

“Sure”. I answered. I reached into my bag and pulled it out. She quietly looked through it. I wanted to tell her to keep it and that I had get to work but I didn't. I wanted to experience the notebook with her.

I decided to take the chance of showing up late for my next customer. This was important.

Rose continued. “Five years later and I miss him more than ever. How does that happen? I guess love makes it happen.” She wiped her eyes. Tears were coming and falling. She took some tissue from her purse. The smell of perfume came from it. “I hate that I was so careless with him and treated him carelessly. He didn’t deserve that. I was so selfish and didn’t realize it. He needed me so much. It was so good and I took it for granted. I'm crying because I lost the love of my life. I was in a painful place. So where do you want to start?" She wiped her eyes to gain composure.

“I’m not sure. If he’s still active in his circle then we can probably start with finding out what’s happening. I’ll check websites. If he’s not on social media, it may be a little difficult but if he’s still active, it may not be as hard as we think.” I was getting excited.

“I try looking for him on social media sometimes, but no luck”. Rose said.

“Unless he goes by another social media name”. I was feeling more and more like a detective. “Any nicknames?" I asked.

“Just JC,” Rose answered.

"Wait.” The light bulb that comes to visit me quite often suddenly came on.

“What?”

“What if he uses something with your name in it?”

“Naw. Not likely.” She waved her hand, brushing off the idea.

“It could be very likely since he loved you so much.” I continued.

“Girl, please. Why am I even doing this? This man has moved on.” She sat back in the chair and I can see hope starting to dissipate.

“How can you say that when he left his notebook in hopes that it will get to you?”

“True, but that doesn't mean he wants to see me again.” I can tell she was trying to not let her hopes up but I knew she wanted this more than anything. She wanted JC to love her as he once did.

“But you’re trying. That’s all you can do.”

I really had to get to work. I didn’t want to lose my excellent reputation as a cleaning lady. But my mind stayed on locating JC. My most immediate mission was becoming more real.

As soon as I got home from work, I started searching the internet for any events that JC may be involved in. I saw an event that featured him a year prior but it was something. It motivated me to keep going. I was getting close. My excitement was starting to boil. I decided to try my hand at using “rose” to try and locate him on Instagram. I typed “rose” to begin my search. There were many results but I was willing to scroll through them all. And then..

Oh.. my.. god.. Rose! I found JC! @myroseart. He is “My rose art”. Oh..my..God..HE IS MY ROSE ART. I felt at that very moment that I was becoming the best detective on the planet but then at the next moment I felt that it had nothing to do with my intelligence at all. But my willingness to allow fate to use little ole me in this vast universe to bring two people together.

I began to scroll through his profile and videos. And he became a real person. Real with his voice. His mannerisms. His smile. Wait..is that a female? Who is this woman? Woman, get away!! Shoo shoo. You’re not supposed to be there. How did you get there?! I frantically began to scroll through more shots and there she was. Kissing on his cheek. There she was. Looking into his eyes. There she was. Selfies. There she was dancing with him. There were many "couple" photos and videos. Well damn! What did I expect? Not sure but definitely not this. Another woman never crossed my mind. My journey with Rose and JC was a perfect one so far and I guess I was expecting for it to remain that way. I checked his profile for more clues of his relationship with this woman. He didn’t say much with the pictures of her and there was no reason to believe that she was his wife. Ok maybe there was a chance. But even so, I was starting to feel a little guilty. But no. He was the one that wanted his notebook to be found! So I was on a mission and I was getting paid. So there. I continued.

Two days later, I met Rose at the same cafe to tell her of my findings. She wanted to meet in person. I had already prepared her by telling her it wasn't all good news. When she sat down, she bit her bottom lip and slowly rubbed her hands together. She seemed very nervous. I began, getting straight to the point.

“The good news is I found him. The bad news is, it looks like he’s in a relationship.” I couldn’t quite read her reaction but she did want more information.

“So where is he?”

“So you still want to see him?”

She hesitated. “Yes.”

“Well, at this very moment, I don’t know where he is but his work is going on display here.” I showed her the website of the venue where his work will be featured. There were pictures of him and his art. All the information we needed to see him in a few days.

She smiled. Silence.

I interrupted her silence. “It’s a public place. I think you should just show up. I think you should just let him see you and then go from there.”

She smiled again and thanked me and I felt the genuine appreciation in her touch as she reached out to me.

Opening day of the art exhibit, I went with her. She wanted me to. We were friends now. She knew exactly what she was doing by choosing the yellow maxi dress that revealed her shoulders. The sun kissed her shoulders and added a glow to her already flawless bronze skin. Rose wanted to go in the daytime in case he rejected her and she needed to cry before nightfall. She said she didn’t like crying at night.

“Even if I just see him,” she said.

“Sure. That’s all you have to do,” I said. But I wondered if that would be enough for her.

We walked into the gallery just as he was walking away from a group of admirers. He immediately saw us. His eyes, in slow motion, moved to focus only on Rose and her yellow dress. It was a yellow afternoon and I didn't think that Rose would be crying tonight. His world stopped and I knew it because he stopped with it. He still loved her.

My work was done so I left quietly and stepped into my very own yellow and smiled. I immediately wanted another case.