Spaces in between (Stockholm Syndrome: Extended chapters)

April 2025 (2)

~Felix~

I wasn't happy about Archer leaving. I would have handled it better, except I had only come back home a week ago after spending a week in New York. Opening a new contemporary gallery meant I had to sometimes be there to oversee things. The new gallery was a major business venture. It wasn't just a gallery; it was part art school with rooms for theory classes and different studios catering to different art forms. It also had several bookstores and tattoo parlors.

The usual galleries showcased similar pieces. Chris Cruz gallery NY was meant to showcase different forms and cater to almost everyone. It was Archer and I's biggest investment. It was building on the success of Chris Cruz LA, and I was excited about it. While Chris Cruz LA was more into LA street art, Chris Cruz NY was more diverse. There were many galleries in New York, but our gallery was going to offer something different in terms of performances, events etc. We already had a lot of artists in our books and intended to show student artwork as well. There was a lot of buzz around it, which meant it had to be perfect, hence the many trips.

There were plans to open restaurants, but with everything else, those were shoved at the back of our minds at that moment. We had a young daughter and Archer had his work.

I was happy about being home. I'd missed Archer and Marie terribly. It sucked that Archer was going to his charity match, but I knew he had to. He'd made the commitment months ago. And hey, it was for charity. It was a joint venture between the University of California campuses. Both the men and women soccer matches were going to be composed of alumni players playing against current players in numerous exhibition matches. All the money made was going to charity.

Around 3 pm the next day, I drove Archer to the airport. Marie was in the backseat in her seat and Bucky was sitting next to her. Archer was giving me a list of things to do.

"...No sugary food near bedtime unless minimal, keep candy to a minimum, strawberry and yoghurt after dinner only 3 times a week and preferably not in succession, bedtime at 8 usually after bath time. She baths twice a day, naps around 12 am. I left you a list of snacks she likes in between meals on the fridge".

"Let's pretend I'm listening", I said grinning.

"Well you better listen to the next line; no guns anywhere", he said.

I gave him a look. "Why would I...?" I said and he cut in.

"Because I saw one in the laundry basket in our room", he said.

I had gotten rid of some of my arsenal, but I kept some guns for safety. These were hidden around the house and certainly not in areas Marie was supposed to be or reach. The rogue gun he was talking about had an empty magazine and was at the bottom of the pile. I'd thrown it in there after cleaning it when he called to boss me around and forgot about it.

"I'll put it in its place", I said.

"And please make sure the arrows are secure?" he said.

I nodded. He was referring to our archery arrows. I'd gotten him into archery and safe to say he was at that moment better than he'd been when he started.

We got to the airport and saw Archer off. Marie was a bit sad and I hid my sadness. We made the drive home.

As soon as we walked in I got a call.

"Felix", I said as I walked Marie in and closed the door.

"Hey. Sara Von Holten was trying to get hold of you earlier", the person on the other end of the line said. It was my artist "manager". I usually dealt with the artists, but lately I needed help. They were just too many.