unit four

Reading
A Love Story

PART ONE

When I take vacatiuis, 1 enjoy driving around to different

towns in the southwestern part of the United States. I am
particularly interested in the many art galleries and shops in
that part of the country. These shops often exhibit paintings of
young artists who have not yet won much attention. If one has a
good eye for such things and chooses carefully, one can some-
times pick up some real bargains. At least it has been my
experience in the past that I can find paintings which later
prove to be true works of art. In fact, several of these now hang
on the walls of my apartment and give me pleasure each time I
look at them. They give mepleasure, first, because I was able to
pick them up at a low price and, second, because I had the good
work of a young artist who later became
Sense to recognize the
a state in he US
famous.
Thus it happened that one /summer I drove into the quaint
exhibits were c
little town of Taos, New Mexico, where many
of
being held. In one small shop my eye caught lovely painting
a

a young woman of perhaps nineteen or twenty. The painting

was extraordinary. Although there are many portraits of this
attracted me. The çomposi-
kind, this particular one especially
certain feeling of warmth ands
tion was good, and it had a who was about thirty-five
affection that touched me. A woman,
and I asked her the price of
years old, was in charge of the shop,
the painting. sale."
is not for
"Oh," she said, "that particular painting
I replied sadly.
But it's out here with the rest of the exhibit,"
o w n e r of the
store," she
That painting belongs to the
want it sold. Perhaps I can interest
explained, "and he doesn't
artists?"
you in one of the other works of our local
28
"Not today, thank you. I looked und her
arease.s
"No," I said. then left.
shop a bit longer and
towns on that vacation. hut .
I drove to several otherw o m a n in the portrait. I headed tept
thinking about the young ack
drove through Taos once again I .
toward Los Angeles and went
to the
same and asked about the same painting. Th
gallery
woman remembered
me at once.
"No," she said. "That painting s still not for sale. I'm afraid
it never will be. It belongs to the owner ot the store, as I told

you, and he seems to value it highly."

The last remark interested me. I tried not to appear too
curious, but nonetheless asked her if there was some story
behind the picture. "Perhaps the owner is waiting for a really
high price," I said as an opening move. "Who was the artist?"
The owner of the shop painted it himself," she said. "It was
done years ago, but he has always kept it. Do you really think
t s so good?"
"It's not bad."
Two other customers came into the shop at that moment,
and the woman left to attend to them. Nothing more was said
about the painting by either of us on this visit, but after that I
fell into the habit of driving through Taos and going to that
little gallery every chance I had. Over the years, I
got to know
the woman better, and one day she told me the whole
It seems that the owner of the story
store-some twenty years
ago-had gone to New York in order to complete his art studies.
While living and painting in Greenwich
York City where mnany artists work
Village, an area of New
and study, he met a young
woman from New Mexico.
She, too, was an art student. 'They
had a lot in common and
soon fell
wonderful place for young deeply in love. New York 1s a
people in love; they were very happy.
They decided to get married.
their student friends to They set a date and invited all
the wedding. They
painting and to planned to continue
encourage each other's careers.
Comprehension
toun n the
ie
1. What does the e S
vacations?
narrator oi this story like on
pecieally, t e c Fed t0
2. What has the i a t
, of the cOuntt.}
'narrator often bought on nis s
throughthe Southwest? 19,
ps
hourh thu .i
 29
w o m a n in the painting?
The w o m a n
3. How old was the
Ave yeas old.
in the shop? about ihin ho cuone oF 4hs
. Why was the painting not for sale? didost a n t
narrator think of the portrait of the
5. What did the u a s oash for a Teally
woman? , ovoner
young
of the
6. How did the narrator finally hear the story
s c m o n ahe
became, siendl.toith
the par
He
painting? his i t e r e s t . a r d i n th
rmxessçd by
When?
7. Where had the artist gone to study? oungeman
a
f
there? He met
8. Whom did he meet
9. What did the young couple a x s i eddo?
decide to What did they
decided to qeB T a nnea
other is coaree
nlan? e y ercourage each
Painting and to
so interested in the painting?
was the' narrator
10. Why
houabt thatu athe painandat s had
The no tator s aod
a

axt.he composihien
oy affeckion
and
eeluT f uoroth
PART TwO

the young woman fell

Then a few weeks before the wedding, even
did not have to go into the hospital; she did not
sick. She which left her
but she had sudden attacks of fainting
appear ill; or engaged oge co
inoman
aman
weak and shaking.
so she told him nothing
She did not wish to alarm her fiancé,
oxe that it was a passing
condition. But
of her sickness. She hoped in
continued.
doctor, who,
Finally, sh went to,amasr
the attacks
to two speçialists. She was told'that she hada rare

turn, sent her months to

there was no cure. She had six
blood disease and that /medicine (ncur)
her--a year at most. remedy
Jlive, they told emotions of the young
difficult to imagine the
It is not she was
concerned about herself, but
She was, of course,
woman.
her lover. If he learned
concerned about the situation of
equally insist on marrying
the truth about her condition, he might
of obligation. She did not want this d
her-simply out of a feeling
not be fair to him. He
had talent as a young
to happen. It would
wanted him to go on with his
studies instead of
painter, and she
his life for hers. abandonive a,ofe
foolishly sacrificing wrote the
to return home at once. She
She therefore decided
which she left in his room. In the letter,
man a long letter
young about her health; she
woman mentioned nothing
the young in
said that she had discovered that she was not really
simply
had decided not to get married.
love with him and that she
she wrote, the best thing for her to do
Under the circumstances,
Condition Considerahon
30
she had left. t h o . .
And she did. After oung
was to
return home.
his room.

m a n found
the letter in
the shop, who had been telling me the story,
The at
a moment, then remarker
w o m a n

this point. I waited tor

stopped at
haven't said anything Where does
about the painting. Where.
But you
that come into the
story?"
for a moment.
"The is
painting simply a
She remained silent
by the young boy while they were both
study of the young girl
students and so deeply
in love. Perhaps for that reason the
warmth and teeling. You yourself once
picture has a certain
remarked about this."
toward the picture on the
Yes, I did," I said, looking again
the woman in the shop. Suddenly,
wall and then back again at
that I had never noticed
then, there occurred to me something
before. For the first time, I saw a resemblance between the girl
I looked again from
ssin the picture and the woman in the shop.
one to the other. "You'll excuse me," I said, "but are you, by any
in the picture? It seems to me that I see a
chance, the girl
definite resemblance there."
"Yes," she said, smiling. "I am the girl. And I see that you
have followed my story very well."
"But I still don't understand one or two things," I said.
"The ending is very simple. A few weeks after the young
woman left New York, the young man, by onemeansor another,
learned the real truth about her condition. Immediately, he
himself then left New York and followed her to Taos. Being a
person of very strong character, he insisted on marrying her-
and did so."
"But what about the young girl's health?" I asked. "Or rather
your health? The doctors had said that you had only a short
time to live."
"My husband refused to believe in the decision of the
doctors. He said that our love was too
strong to permit any su
difficulties. For several years, it is true, I was in
very poor healtn,
and we remained in the Southwest. But
my husband's tal
never weakened, and
faith, as you know, can often w
miracles. Later, we opened this gallery and we both began
painting again. Things were not always easy for us, but we ve
really been happy these past twenty years."
 31

Comprehension

couple get married in New York? Why

1. Did the young
not?
2. How did her sickness affect
her? S
3. What did the specialists tell
her?
4. What were her thoughts about
the situation of her
lover?
5. What did she tell him in her
letter?
describe the painting?
6. How did the w o m a n in the shop
the woman in the
7. What did the narrator notice about
shop? left New
8. What happened right after the young
woman

York?
the opinion of the
9. What did her husband think of
doctors?
in her fight to get well?
10. What helped the young woman

Conversation and Vocabulary

A. Conversation

southwestern part of the United

States like?
1. What is the
states in the Southwest?
What are the n a m e s of the
What would you like to paint?
2. Do you enjoy painting?
when you look at a painting?
3. What do you admire
think of the woman's decision to leave
4. What do you
him about her sickness?
her fiancé instead of telling
not?
5. Do you believe in miracles? Why/Why

B. Vocabulary
Nouns
affection disease obligation
blood fainting portrait
faith resemblance
character
composition miracles situation
condition narratoor specialists
cure