up and running, as well as the gallery, and converting the
upstairs to a living space for both of them when they decided it
was time for Emily to move in, as well as keeping up with her
own art, she’d been too busy to actually decide when she
would do it. She would do it though, Dani had no doubt about
that. What Emily set her mind to, she absolutely achieved.
Dani walked past the walls that held all of Emily’s
paintings. They’d be on display for the next month before they
were taken down and sent to their new homes. The lights were
dimmed in the gallery, but that didn’t last long.
The new building had a stairway that they used for access to
their upstairs apartment. It was three times the size of Dani’s
last building and the upstairs was huge. They’d renovated the
existing set of rooms, opening them up and making them into
a living space that was uniquely theirs. Of course, they painted
every room a different color. Emily insisted. She also did a
mural of flowers and cactuses that was gorgeous. It really
livened up their living room. It didn’t matter to them if people
thought their place was too artsy or even strange. They liked it,
and that was all that counted.
In the back of the gallery was a small area which they had
walled off to keep stock for the store, art supplies, boxes, the
employee break and lunchroom—stuff the public didn’t need
to see. There was a metal door with a code that separated the
gallery from that area, and Dani watched it carefully while she
lit candles. They were all in jars so that they could be reused,
and she found that after lighting half, it was getting more than
a little warm in the place.
Emily was currently upstairs in their apartment with Mr.
Pickles, but she was due to come down at nine. Dani had