Meeting Jenny

I was given the task of creating a backstory for a character from the movie "Ship of Fools". I chose David Scott.

            David stepped out of the cab, letting out an exasperated sigh.  He was tired after a long day of work, and frankly, did not plan on long attending his friend Jim’s party tonight, which was a full twenty minutes away from his own apartment in downtown San Francisco.

            Once inside, David surveyed the packed apartment.  Jim had a habit of redecorating his swanky studio apartment every few months.  Tonight, the apartment passed for a jazz club.  Little table were set up all about the living and dining rooms, and an assortment of drinks lined the counter of the tiny kitchen in the back corner.  There, David spotted his friend fixing drinks, and he beelined through the small crowd to greet the host. 

“David, you came!”

            Jim was decked out in a lavish suit, a little too fancy for a small gathering, David thought.  Jim had a glass of brandy in one hand and his arm around a young woman.  That doesn’t look like Trudy, David thought.  Jim had a knack for switching up girlfriends every few parties.

            “Wouldn’t miss it, Jim,” David said, waving to the girl.  Why bother introducing myself, he thought.

            “And yet you haven’t shown to the last three,” Jim gave David a pointed look, then laughed it off and handed him a drink.  “Enjoy yourself!  Also take a gander at my new masterpiece over there!”

            Jim pointed towards the wall opposite them, where a colorful square ornamented the wall. 

David tipped his glass to Jim in thanks and wandered over towards the painting.  Masterpiece? David scoffed to himself, shaking his head at his friend’s boastfulness.

“Personally, I find it to be very pretentious,” a voice behind David says.

            David turned his head to find a grinning brunette standing by his right shoulder, a mischievous grin illuminating her blue eyes.  She stepped forward towards the painting, cocking her head and crossing her arms.  She looked over at David with a raised eyebrow, waiting for his reply.

            Taking the bait, David casually retorted, “Now I assume you don’t mean this party?”

            The woman chuckled, encouraging him to continue.

“No, no, I see what you mean.  Jim loves to boast his originality, but really all of his paintings are Picasso knock-offs.”

            David couldn’t help but laugh along with the woman at what he had said.  Normally he would never say something negative about a friend’s piece, especially in front of a stranger, and a woman no less.  But something about this woman made him feel at ease.

            Said woman let her giggles subside as she continued surveying the painting, nodding her agreement.  “That is exactly how I would put it.  It kills me that he gets paintings like these displayed and sold.  Maybe we should all be mimicking cubism.  Oh!  I’m sorry, I am awfully rude, sneaking up on a man without introducing myself.  I’m Jenny Brown, a friend of Jim’s.”

            She held out her hand and David shook it.  He was surprised at how firm her grip was.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m David Scott.  I am fairly certain that Jim has mentioned you to me before.”

            Jenny barked out a laugh, saying, “Oh, I am sure he has.  We went out a few times, but never committed.  Jim is like that, though he’ll tell you I’m like that.  Either way he’s a dear friend, and he helps promote my work by displaying it in his studio.”

            “You’re an artist?” David asked.

            “A painter!  Honestly, I didn’t know that Jim knew anybody who wasn’t one.  Frankly, I saw the way you were staring down this painting and figured you knew a thing or two about handling a brush.”

            David blushed and nodded.  “I paint, yes.  Haven’t really made much of it yet.  Definitely not where the money’s at, that’s for sure.”

            Jenny considered him and asked, “Is that what’s important to you?  Money?”

            David looked down and fiddled with the glass in his hand.  “Well money is important to everyone, isn’t it?  Can’t live off of no money.  These are hard times.  You have to work to make money.  Me, for instance, I work so that I can paint.”

            “And hopefully make money from your paintings?”

            “Well, sure!  That’s the idea, isn’t it?  Do you not want to sell your paintings?”

            Jenny looked towards the ceiling and said, “I do, I do…but my paintings are more for me than anybody else or anybody’s money.”

            David smirked and narrowed his eyes.  “If your paintings are for you, then why do you let a pompous phony like Jim display them?”

            Jenny crossed her arms and raised a challenging eyebrow.  “Like you said…we all have to live somehow.”

            David quickly looked down, avoiding her offended stance and regretting his boldness.  He glanced at his empty glass and wished he had another one to pound as a way of avoiding this conversational stalemate.

            When he dared look up, he caught Jenny’s eye and she was wearing a broad, playful smile.  She started laughing, saying, “David, you are mighty serious!  I was only teasing.  Of course, I know you’re right.  Jim is as phony as they come!  And I’m phony for contradicting myself and selling my art.  All artists, on some level, are phonies.”

            “I most certainly am not a phony,” David said.

            That mischievous smirk was back.  “Oh?  Where do you work, David?”

            David, having some idea where she was going with this line of questioning, hesitantly replied, “I am a timekeeper in a coal mine.”

            Jenny raised her eyebrows and nodded, saying, “Well that seems a far cry from being a painter, now doesn’t it?”

            David huffed, “Well just because I do a job I don’t like to make a living doesn’t make me a phony.”

            Jenny’s smirk deepened.  “Now the problem with men is that they always have to explain the reasons they do everything.  You work in the mine to earn a living and be able to paint on the side because you cannot earn a living from painting.  I didn’t need to know all of that.  You could have said ‘I’m a miner and a painter’ and I would have thought that’s swell.  So you don’t have to explain away being a phony.  Nothing wrong with it.  Hell!  About ninety percent of the human race is made up of phonies.  The trick is to own up to it.  Embrace it!”

            Before he knew it, David was chuckling deeply, covering his mouth to stifle his deep rumble.  “Well,” he said, trying to catch his breath, “if that wasn’t the phoniest speech of them all!”

            Jenny, taken aback by his initial reaction, couldn’t help but add to his laughter.  “What can I say…I’m full of it!”

            David nodded in teasing agreement as his laughter died down, but did not fully disappear.  He took another moment to survey this strange but beautiful person who had snuck up on him.  He had expected to come to this party, have a drink out of obligation, half-heartedly mingle, and leave lickity-split.  How is it that this was turning out to be the first time he had laughed in what seemed like forever?

            Jenny noticed David taking her in and an almost unnoticeable tint glazed her cheeks.  She boldly downed the remaining half of her glass, took David’s from his hands, and set the empty glasses on the nearest table.  David’s eyes widened questioningly.

            Jenny turned to David, one hand on her cocked hip as she said, “So…can I see your paintings, Mr. Miner?”

            David, though smiling, faltered.  “Right now?”

            Jenny moved towards the door, indicating for him to follow.  “What are you afraid of?”

            Another challenge.  “Absolutely nothing.”

            With that, Jenny grabbed David’s hand and pulled him through the crowd and out of the apartment.  David followed in a daze, still not believing what was happening to him.  Is this a dream? he thought as the vixen pulled him into the elevator.  Dear God, never wake me up!

            Out on the street, Jenny whistled for a cab, and one immediately stopped and let them in.  Jim told the cabby his address, and Jenny smiled at him.

            The entire situation had stroked David’s confidence.  “You know, not many women would go home with a man they just met simply because they’re both artists.”

            Jenny’s eyelashes batted flirtatiously.  “Maybe I just want to see your work so that I can tell you to stick to mining.”

            David’s eyes widened in mock offense, and Jenny’s giggles filled the backseat.  “I am just playing, I promise!  I don’t know, David.  There is something about you that I find…intriguing.  I want to know more about you.  I figure that the best place to start is seeing your paintings.”

            She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze as she blushed and turned her head to look out the window.

            David’s heart beat a mile a minute, and he wanted to roll down the window and sing to the world.  I am never passing up one of Jim’s parties ever again!