She slowly backed the car into a spot, then pulled up a bit, then backed up a little as he eyed up the row of artwork lined up at a yard sale.
“Would you park already!” he yelled playfully. She giggled and started pulling forward again just to get him riled.
“Hey!” he said, pretending to shove her. She laughed harder.
“It’s fine! Go on without me!”
“You know I can’t do that. Yard sale etiquette.”
She stopped the car and turned off the engine, but by that time he was already out the door.
“Come on!” she heard him say, muffled through the closed windows. She smiled; she couldn’t help but love him. She undid her seatbelt and joined him.
They were both pulled toward the same piece of art at the same time.
“Wow,” he said, picking it up. “I love this.”
“Me too,” she agreed.
The artwork was a dark blue silhouette screen print of a man with a big had, bushy beard and old-fashioned glasses. Next to the image was the name Lautrec in fancy lettering.
“I wonder who this is! I want it.”
“It would look great on our red wall,” she said as she pulled out her phone and started typing what he could only assume was the name on Google. He waited a moment knowing what she would say.
“Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa.”
“Well that’s a mouthful. Glad the artist shortened it for this print.”
She ignored him and continued. “Post-impressionist French painter, printmaker, draftsman and illustrator, wow he sounds interesting. Says he is as well known as Cezanne and Van Gogh.”
“Hmm…then why haven’t I heard of him, but I know them?”
She ran her finger up the screen. “Um…you have. We brought one of his back from Paris.”
“No we didn’t!” He thought for a moment. “Did we?”
“Yup. Look!” She showed him the phone.
“Funny. Who knew? I like Lautrec!”
“We do, honey. We do.”
He looked at the print once more then held it up to the purveyor of the sale.
“How much?”
A Flash of Inspiration 