PORTRAITS FOR LIFE

Something very funny happened to us the other day as we were sitting at Cafe Masko. I was sketching people, like always, and Kevin was reading. I vaguely noticed a woman going from table to table, distributing leaflets and explaining something, but I was much too concentrated in my work to be able to listen what it was all about. But I noticed that she avoided coming to our table.
Just before she left, I saw her standing not far away, observing us, She could not see that I was observing her myself, from behind my sunglasses. Suddenly she took the decision and approached our table:
„Hello, darling!”

she said to me,
I am always quite upset when people interrupt me while I am sketching, but well, I guess they don’t realise that, in a way, they’re invading my workplace! And well, I never could get used to strangers calling me “Darling”… I hate it in fact, even if Kevin explains to me every time, that it does not mean anything. At the beginning when we met, he used to call some women “darling” himself, and I went bananas! The darlings are gone now, although sometimes the even worse “Hi, Love”" escapes from his mouth…
Anyway… after this ceremonial greeting the woman started reading from a leaflet which looked like the dead sea scrolls…
“Complete care for hands and feet
Manicure and varnish
Luxury manicure and varnish
Full set nail extension
Infills
Nail art…”
I really tried to stay polite and patient. But as I heard the word “art”, I simply lost it! You need to know, I don’t care for my nails, and even less than other people care for them, it is simply not my thing. And anyway I wanted to go on sketching, seeing that my model was about to leave. Suddenly, in an instant of genial inspiration, I took the paper from her hand, handed it to Kevin and said:
“Look, this is more something for him!”

(and in fact it is!)

The woman was shocked to stony silence for a long while, her sales rhythm interrupted. She had surely not planned for this scenario, frozen, with an open mouth, and eyes wandering back and forth from me to Kevin. But eventually, she recovered her words:

“Oh great, I love mens feet!”

And she started to tell Kevin that he should come to her and she would care for his feet. My desire to sketch had disappeared in an instant!

“Hey, wait a moment… let me have a look at you, to see if I really can trust you with my Kevin’s feet!”

Yet again, she was rocked back on her heels, and I really started to look at her, to ensure if she was ugly enough to care for my Kevin’s feet. She was.

“Yes, I guess I can…”

“Of course you can, He will love it!”

At that moment, I lost the will to live, and just sat there depressed, while she read the whole anti ageing recipe to Kevin. And as she left, she said to him:

“Bye, love, see you soon!”

I DOUBT IT…