4. Hatem was an artist

Hatem was an artist, a painter of abstract thoughts and conceptual forms that related to the issues of current events.  "I draw what I know" was often his declaration.  He also drew the human form in a unique and personal composition specific only to his style, which resembled none other in the known artistic world.  I hadn't yet seen his work, and on that day in the restaurant I secretly longed to see just how allegedly different and profound his paintings were as he described them and his ideas.

As we talked that day, I became keenly aware of how surprisingly comfortable I felt with this man.  I had met him as a dancer at The Grapeleaf, long before Gabe and I were married in 1986, and I felt I knew him somewhat having had a customer/dancer relationship.  It was good to be with someone of a like mind and feel that comfortable.  Gabe had been gone for over a year, and although I had several male friends, there was something about this man that made me feel alive and exhilarated.  We were both artists, and he was interested; interested in me -- my life, my past, my future.  We talked about my dance, about the restaurant and what it had been like married to Gabe and helping to run it (a story for another time).

My mother had helped me to buy the restaurant lease and so for now I was the owner of that lease.  I told him of my future plans for the restaurant, of how I was looking for a buyer, and of how I would split the buyout with half going to Gabe and half going to me after all bills and expenses were paid, including the price of the lease, which my mother had footed, paid back to her.  I told him that I had plans to take a military billet overseas as a Storekeeper after the sale of the lease, and that I was looking forward to spending the rest of my Navy Reserve career in an active billet in Germany.  I was in my 19th year of military reserve duty and wanted to go active in order to qualify for retirement pay at active duty rates.  I told him I had my future planned, but it rested on the sale of the lease.

Hatem listened with interest.  He asked about the lease and I showed it to him.  After reading it, he handed it back to me and, with his electrifying piercing brown eyes, looked at me and asked me to come to his studio to see his artwork.  I eagerly said yes, and we made a date.