Need to be punished
Need to be punished
Blair
\---
Deception, intrigue, and hidden meaning in plain sight are some of the most appreciated Art themes in history. Artists have incorporated hidden meanings, symbolism, and techniques since the dawn of time to convey a message beyond what the eye can see on a canvas, making their work stand out in its intellectual reasoning and depth. Art that makes the viewer think and engage critically is, in my opinion, the richest of all.
For example, when first glancing at a painting like “Las Meninas” by the most celebrated Spanish painter of all time, Velásquez, you see a typical court scene with young princesses posing in a royally decorated room, but on further inspection you realize it’s so much more than just a masterful painting. The hidden messages of the social instability of the time, the subtle nods to the dwindling power of the Spanish crown, the allusion of hope by painting the infanta in a ray of sunlight, and even the presence of Velásquez himself in a corner to signify the power of artists as interpreters of historical events deeply change the meaning of the painting.
This is what I have been taught to analyse when I look at an art piece: to rethink my initial assumptions, to question meaning and symbols, to go beyond what my eyes tell me and dive head first into the artist’s mind and intentions.
As I got ready to go to Felix’s house on Friday night, this was all I could think about: rethinking, seeking meaning, going beyond what the eyes could see. Could Felix be hiding something from me, something that never crossed my mind because I never looked deep enough, because I never went beyond what my eyes were seeing?
After the whole ordeal on Wednesday, Felix’s increase in texts was obvious. It had only been two days since I caught him red-handed, but even in that short period of time he changed his behavior to make up for what had happened. We didn’t discuss it further, both telepathically agreeing that this was better to sweep under the rug.
Even though I had a hunch he had lied to me about being with Kent, I didn’t want to ruin our weekend. We had finally restarted being intimate with each other and I wasn’t going to ruin it because of a gut feeling. And what if he had lied? I trusted him. I knew he wasn’t cheating on me, I knew he wasn’t hurting me behind my back. It was abundantly clear to me that after everything we went through that was the last thing he wanted to do.
These were the thoughts that played in my mind as I rummaged through my apartment’s board games cupboard. Felix had asked me to bring my favorite board game on Friday so we could do something different rather than watch a movie like we always did. I decided on Trivial Pursuit knowing that Felix’s favorite thing in the world were game shows.
When I got to his apartment, I was greeted with warm arms and the smell of cologne. He had lit up the fireplace and placed pillows under the coffee table so we could sit on the floor while we played, but first he had cooked a simple pasta dinner for us to eat.
“Nice to see you in a skirt Mr. De Montmorency,” he said as he pulled the chair behind me so I could sit at the dinner table. “I realize I never followed through with my promise to burn all your pants, but it’s never too late.”
I bit my lip shyly, but deep down I was extremely pleased that he was being so flirty.
“I’m just glad you didn’t burn dinner,” I replied, teasing him. He clicked his tongue and chuckled, my comeback on par with his playfulness.
“Speaking of burning,” he said after chewing his food.
“What game am I going to have the pleasure of seeing you crash and burn tonight?”
I laughed. “Well, you might be in luck Professor, because I brought Trivial Pursuit.”
His eyes lit up at the mention of the game and a smile slowly grew on his face.
“But I should warn you,” I said. “If I win there will be consequences.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
I looked down at my plate and tried to keep my voice firm. “You’ll have to do everything I want tonight.”
He was silent for a few seconds, pondering my words. He finished his plate of food, joining the cutlery on the edge.
“Alright,” he said, fidgeting with his bottom lip. “But if I win you’ll have to do everything I want. Deal?”
The intention behind his words were clear. The chances of him winning were high and we both knew it. He was only using this bet as an excuse to ask for my permission to be in control.
“Deal,” I replied instantly.
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, we wasted no time in setting up the game. We took off our shoes to sit comfortably at the coffee table, the fireplace illuminating the colorful board. A few questions in I decided to open a bottle of wine and in no time we were laughing at my stupid guesses.
“Who was the architect who rebuilt London after the Great Fire of 1666?” asked Felix as he took a sip of the red wine, the small card in his left hand.
I chuckled. “I have no fucking clue.”
“What?” he said, putting his glass down. “This was in one of the papers I gave you to read for Art History.”
“That was so long ago!” I whined, smacking my forehead with the palm of my hand.
“Bullshit,” he said incredulously. “Mr. De Montmorency, if you don’t get this answer right you will seriously hurt my ego.”
I couldn’t keep my laughter in.
“I don’t know! Some dude named John? Maybe?”
Felix laughed so hard tears welled up in his eyes. “For fuck’s sake man! The guy has my name!”
I placed my hands on my cheeks. “Felix… Felix… Nolan?”
Felix’s eyes widened as he dropped the question card on the floor. Swiftly, he snatched the wine away from me. I extended my arms over the coffee table to get it back, but he pushed me back by placing his hand on my chest.
“You aren’t drinking anymore. Punishment for your stupid answer.”
I grabbed his hand, going around the table to get back my drink. My heart suddenly caught on fire and my mouth hurt from smiling so hard. I was so happy we were being silly. Felix was smiling too as we fought each other playfully.