ARIA'S POV
Something was wrong with my body and I was choosing to ignore it.
It started in the morning. I sat up in bed and my stomach lurched so hard I had to grab the headboard.
I sat very still for a full minute before it passed. Then I got up, got dressed, and told myself it was probably the wine from Petra's dinner party and went to the studio.
Ten days. I had ten days to the show. My body could fall apart on the eleventh.
I was at my easel by seven and by nine I had cracked the foreground problem on the penultimate piece that had been defeating me all week. The answer became clear when I stopped trying to force it. I made the mark, stepped back, and knew immediately it was right. Two more decisions came right after that one and the morning moved forward and good.
Then around
