"Cherry wood," he said. "It's been polished and burnished until it's as smooth as silk. I had it made for you. Expressly for you."
Tears ran down Tanya's cheeks. She brushed them away, not even aware they were there. "Gadgets," she said. "Look at all the gadgets. Kevin, what do they do?"
"Let me show you," Kevin said, eager to display his gift's many functions. He pressed one button and the easel turned right; another, and it tilted forward.
"And lights… Kevin, it even has its own lights!" Tanya pressed the switch for the halogen light on the top, then for the two on each side.
"And it slides, Tanya. Look, you can move it around to catch 'that special light.' " Bursting with pride, Kevin demonstrated.
The tears flooded Tanya's eyes and flowed down her face again. "Oh, Kevin, how can I thank you? It's marvelous, fantastic! And so is the man who gave it to me…"
Almost bouncing in eagerness, he pulled her by the hand. "But wait, that isn't all. Wait…wait…come and see." He pushed the easel outside. "Look there," he said, pointing to a large metal box on the patio beneath the marble column. "It hides the electrical switches and outside connections. You just plug it in, and you can work just as easily outside as in."
Tanya stared, speechless again and flooded with emotion. Kevin beamed, pleased with the result of his surprise.
At dinner, Tanya could hardly eat. Her eyes flitted from the easel to the man seated across the table from her. Her vision was hungry for him, anxious to fill itself with his image. He had been gone for several days and would leave again soon.
"Where are you, little one?" Kevin asked. "You seem a million miles away."
She smiled, shook her head, and pushed the food around on her plate. She looked up at him. "I'm curious…why did you decide to be my 'experiment'?"
"You provoked me," he replied, lifting a forkful of lobster in a bisque sauce into his mouth. "And then I decided it'd be appropriate to teach you a lesson."
Shocked, Tanya placed her fork beside her plate and dropped her hands to her lap. "Lesson? What are you talking about?"
Kevin looked deep into her eyes. "Yes. A lesson. I used all my charms to make you fall in love with me, to make you want me so much you'd stop breathing each time you thought of me."