Chapter 69

"Yes. Your husband has been buried in the grave, so his cousin will play with you." Harris patted his chest. "Your husband has just been buried," I muttered unhappily. Harris smacked his lips. "Did you defend him?" I didn't want to waste my time on the argument, so I ran over and asked, "Mr. Carroll, may I go?" "Go if you want to. Just don't use your real name," Carroll warned. "Yes, sir!" I didn't figure out the reason for Carroll's weird request till I arrived at the exhibition. The reason was that this exhibition was held by David, my uncle. "Well... does the famous actor like embroidery?" Looking at the poster at the door, I asked Harris. Harris almost spat the coffee out of his mouth. "Hey, come on, is this embroidery? This is a work of art, the top-level one!" I read the introduction on the pamphlet and then looked at Harris with confusion. Harris liked to tease me, but this speech sounded serious. "Why do you look at me in this way?" He looked at me warily. I pointed to a work with ten fishes and said, "This one is the curtain of a granny next door to my house." "What? Pardon?" He cleaned his ears. After a sign, I said in a serious tone, "The old woman next door to my house uses this embroidery as a door curtain." Harris pulled me closer to the embroidery by the arm. "Keep your eyes wide open, and look carefully at the techniques, the patterns, and the colors here! Are they the same as that on the door curtain of the old woman next door to your house?" Forced, I scrutinized the embroidery carefully. Then, I stuck to my answer. "Yes, exactly the same." "Kelly, I, on the spur of the moment, want to visit your neighbor and tell her to buy me one." Harris was confused. I did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Not for sale. She embroidered it herself. If you like it, I can embroider one for you." Hearing this, Harris looked astonished. There was surprise in his eyes. "Don't try to fool me." "Why? Can I make money with that?" I rolled my eyes at Harris and went to the snacks prepared for the visitors. Almond cake. The almond cake Granny Luisa made was yummy. I took two cakes and handed one to Harris. While I ate the cake, my gaze swept around the visitors standing in front of various works. "Why does nobody like these good desserts?" "This is the exhibition. Most of these visitors don't understand the artwork here. They go through the motions to tell others that they are artistic." After one cake, Harris took another one. "Wow, it's quite delicious." I was enlightened. "I see. Just to show off." "You are right!" Harris agreed with me and handed me one glass of juice. "What about you? Are you artistic?" I picked up two egg rolls and handed them to Harris. Harris took the two balls and bit them hard. "Is that sarcasm?" "I don't think these people are artistic. Granny Luisa told me that embroidery was a decoration of life." "It should be made most of. One embroidery is art, but five are too much!" I pointed to the embroidery with fishes in every corner of the hall. "Haha, you're practical. By the way, there will be a live show of how to produce this embroidery," Harris said. "Again? Nothing else?" I didn't come for an embroidered curtain. Harris leaned over and lowered his voice. "This is a masterwork, so its embroiderer uses it for a live show." "Thanks to this embroidery, he got a golden award in an international competition. If you keep belittling his work, we will be driven out." Suddenly, I understood the meaning of masters. They must have patrons. If Granny Luisa had patrons, she would become a master too. After all, her door curtain had gotten a golden award.  A few minutes passed.  A few girls in delicate attire walked onto the stage for the preparation of the live show.  Harris and I sat near the snacks and ate desserts, out of tune with this elegant atmosphere. I figured out that the embroidery work would be completed by ten girls, and each was responsible for one fish.  The embroidery on the stage was half-finished, and all the girls needed to do was to add the eyes onto the fishes. "I can do that." I put a cherry in my mouth. Harris got up and said, "Let's go. I'll take you to the backstage to see if you can do that." "OK, OK!" I followed Harris to the backstage smoothly.  Why was it a smooth trip? Because Harris knew all the beautiful girls. No wonder that he could hold yacht parties.  In the backstage, several girls were in a fight. Among the ten girls, eight wore red and white dresses, and the other two wore either golden or black.  The girl in golden blamed the girl in black. "Maria, what is wrong with you? Why are your arms numb before the show?" "You, the leading role, are responsible for the eyes of the main fish. Now your arm is numb. How will you finish the show?" "Amy, I, I don't know. After the anti-inflammatory, my arm became numb." Maria looked aggrieved.  Right then, David came over. "Shout on! Don't you try to tell the whole world that you screw the show?" Amy said, "Mr. Smith, it's Maria. Her arm can't move. I'm afraid she can't get on the stage." Amy's voice sounded familiar to me. David looked at Maria with a sullen face. "Maria, come on. My new drama is about embroidery, and you are here for promotion!" Maria burst into tears, and I felt sorry for her. "I don't know why. I did nothing!" "You, delicate, shouldn't work as the chief embroiderer. Nobody will wait for you to adapt to the new environment. How about this? Let me take your place!" Speaking, Amy tugged at Maria's black dress.  Suddenly, I saw a light, "I see." "What do you see?" Harris asked. "Maria's arm, Amy's scheme." Then, I walked to Maria. "Who are you?" Amy looked at me unhappily. I said with a smile, "I'm a substitute she invited. Look! She's thin and small, and so am I. Don't we look like each other?" "A substitute? Are you kidding me? How can you be a substitute? Do you know how to embroider the eyes of the black fish?" "In this world, only I, Maria, and our teacher can do it. Who do you think you are?" Amy looked at me with contempt. She didn't know that her so-called exclusive technique was a shortcut I had learned from Granny Luisa.