Brian spent every spare moment on the new painting. He wanted to finish it to give Conley as his second big Christmas present. He also kept the studio door locked whenever he wasn’t in there. He knew he wasn’t fooling his lover by doing so, but at least he wouldn’t see what the painting was until the time came.
Conley, on the other hand, was in panic mode. He had no idea what to get Brian, only that it needed to be something special. Very special, all things considered.
As soon as he got off work Thursday afternoon, with only five days left to find something, he decided to try one more time at the mall. He was halfway there when he passed a small shop he didn’t remember seeing before. He would have kept walking if something in the window hadn’t caught his eye.
“May I help you?” an older
