Harrison frowns and exhales at that. He’d never considered that there might be a reason for Jack’s stammering shyness, that it might in fact have been a defense mechanism against a world that was often nasty and cruel to him as a child. Now he feels a little bit guilty for having judged him so harshly.
“It doesn’t bother me to hear about it, though I certainly won’t press the issue,” Harrison replied thoughtfully. ”We’ve all had our crosses to bear. Being raised in a prison kept me away from most of that kind of thing, but I can’t deny being a little jealous that you got such loving adoptive parents. You’re very lucky,” he confessed.
A hint of embarrassed color rose in Jack’s cheeks. “I have to admit, I never, ever thought I’d hear you say you were jealous of me.” He was too ashamed to meet Harrison’s eyes as he added, “I’m the one who’s always envied you. You’ve accomplished so much, and it’s so easy for you to be confident.” He gave short, weak chuckle. “Sometimes I think I’m the only one of the blue people who had that left out of them.”
Harrison certainly wasn’t going to agree with him that the confidence gene seemed to have skipped his pool all together. Instead he simply shrugged. “It’s immensely flattering to hear that anyone envies me, but I think we all have our strengths and weaknesses. I, for one, am excellent at drawing up technical specs and blue prints but actual art? Atrocious! And I like it that way. Just think how terribly dull it would be if we were all the same.” And he made a face.
That got a more genuine chuckle out of Jack. Now that the two of them were finally talking openly, he’d started to feel that they really were clearing the air. “You have a point there. I may not know anything about running a business or arranging security detail, but I’m a good artist, and I like what I do.”
Jack Maple 