ARIA'S POV
We sold the first painting at 7:23 PM, fifty-three minutes after we opened the doors.
Vincent found me in the corner. He leaned close so I could hear him over the crowd. "Elena's large piece, The Henderson’s are asking for the full price."
I nodded like I was calm about it but I was no way in hell calm about it.
This show had been mine from the beginning. Every artist, every placement, every conversation with collectors about what the work meant and why it mattered.
Three months ago, I was sleeping on an air mattress in an empty apartment wondering if I still knew how to be a person. Fast forward to tonight I was standing in a room I had built and it was working.
I let myself have thirty seconds of that fulfillment then I went back to work.
By eight the room was full. T
