I took the photographer to a summer backyard party hosted by an artist and his girlfriend who are fixtures on the local art scene. The photographer knew the host as they have both taught art at local colleges. The photographer also knew many of the artists at the party. There were many reunion conversations as the photographer has strayed from the social art scene. A jazz ensemble played while guests socialized and dined on the buffet. It was a most enjoyable evening.
The photographer had two of his black and white photographs with him when he arrived at my house. Both were very beautiful homoerotic images of nude men. We spent the next hour looking at the art in my house, including my wall of shame, which are pieces hanging in the basement stairwell that have fallen out of favor. When we returned to my house after the party, he asked which of his photographs I liked best. The photographer gave the photograph to me. I was honored but a little reluctant to accept the gift.
Is it too soon for gifts? The cost of the photograph is next to nothing but it’s a high value gift given his photographs start in the high hundreds of dollars and reach into the thousands. Giving a gift of high value on second date seems a little too soon. If it was a jar of homemade strawberry jam I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Perhaps I’m overthinking it. I have a history of men giving me gifts over the years. Although, most of those gifts were given when I much younger. My first boyfriend gave me a Gucci belt after dating a month. One man, who was the only “daddy” I dated, gave me a Tiffany key ring with my initials engraved on it, which I still use. The following week it was a Steuben hand cooler. A month later he bought himself a Porsche for his birthday, which, he gave to me a week later to drive. I had if for a few days and returned it to him, as he was more into me, than I was into him. What’s a simple unframed black and white photograph?
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The Corporate Slave 