Renee looks to Gordon as if she’s seeing him anew. “Twenty-four hours is a lifetime.”
But Art! won’t let go of Chihuly. “He’s not nice. Chihuly’s missing an eye. He sketches out what he wants done, and someone else in his studio actually blows the glass for him. Even though he doesn’t do the work, he makes millions.”
Gordon hears jealousy and turns to Renee. “I saw Chihuly’s show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. His multicolored glass pieces covered the ceiling of the main room: vases and shells and reeds and plants and flowers and chandeliers. Everything made out of blown glass. It took my breath away.”
Gordon outlines the story with his hands above his head, remembering the overwhelming sense of moving from dark to light, of seeing new possibilities in light. He felt free of his demons for a while and never saw beauty the same way again.
“The installation was eight feet up in the air above a false ceiling of thick sheets of Plexiglas. The glass artworks were piled three- to four-feet deep on top of one another, spread out across the twenty-by-sixty-foot ceiling. The room was dark, and rotating colored lights shone through from above all the glass. It felt like I was walking underwater across a flowing sea of refracted colors. It was life-changing. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like that art show. I’d wasted my life up to then compared to what Chihuly had done with his. I became a new person. It’s one of the reasons I decided to fulfill my dream of becoming a chef.”
Art! says, “Everyone says that about Chihuly: life-changing, what a load of shit.”
“Well, you can buy a vase, but you can’t buy that experience. You have to live it.” Gordon thinks he knows something about life-changing experiences. He’s living one right now.
He takes Renee’s hand. “Let’s go make some tapas.”
***
At the restaurant Gordon prepares to talk about their relationship. He brings her to the bar, turns on quiet Erik Satie music, lays down two place settings. He lights some candles. It’s low-lit, beautiful, musical, and intimate. He opens a bottle of Moët champagne and they toast. Gordon puts his apron on and starts making scallops in a white wine, shallot, and green onion sauce. He puts bacon in a fry pan and pulls out a few skewers.