"A banana has five sides"

☆

"This one?" Tamesh points to the small canvas of citrus fruits on the wall behind him. 

"Yes please." The lady replies, smiling with joy at the image of brightly coloured fruits. "It would look perfect in my kitchen." She adds. 

"Ah very good." Tamesh smiles as he places the painting on a ready rolled out sheet of brown paper, ready to wrap. 

The lady watches as he cuts the paper from the roll, wrapping the art up like a present before tying it up with some string. "Ok, so that's £60." He says as he taps out the price on the old fashioned cash register. 

The lady hands over the money, with Tamesh popping it in the drawer, before picking up the neatly wrapped parcel and handing it to her. She nods a thank you with a smile and heads out of the quaint art shop, making the old style bell tingle on the way out. 

Tamesh takes a deep sigh as he stares momentarily at the closed shop door, wondering when or if anyone else would show up today. 

Business had been particularly slow of late. Apart from a few valued customers with whom he'd won over with his style and would buy whatever he painted, no one really came in and if they did, it would only be to gaze upon the images of landscapes and still life, to just give Tamesh a warm smile before walking out of the door again. 

He moves from behind the counter and looks around at his work hanging on the walls and stacked in display boxes, deciding on what to replace his citrus still life with. He eventually decides on the seascape he painted on his trip to the coast last month, unhooking it from the wall and taking it to its new home behind the counter. 

As Tamesh adjusts the painting in its new space, he hears the bell tingle once again and looks over his shoulder, his heart fluttering a little, like it did every time someone came into his shop. His soul and his passion laid bare for comment and critique by whoever may enter.

It turns out to be his friend and fellow shop owner Alfie. He turns around to greet him. "Hey Alfie." 

"Hey Tam. Nice painting." Alfie says, pointing in appreciation at the freshly placed art on the wall. 

"Thanks. It seems whatever I put here will sell." He replies chuckling to himself, looking back at the image. He looks back at Alfie who was now resting his elbows on the counter, emitting a light sigh. "Business slow too?" 

"Mmhm." Alfie nods. "No one wants my candy today." He pouts. 

"They don't know what they're missing." Tamesh smiles. "Your cherry bombs are the best."

"Thanks." Alfie smiles. "Anyways, Dale's minding the shop for me, do you fancy grabbing some lunch?" 

Tamesh sucks in a breath in thought. "I dunno, I'll have to close up."

Alfie looks at Tamesh, then looks over his shoulders at the empty shop. 

"Ok ok I know I have no customers!" He says a little defensively. 

"Just half an hour." Alfie insists "I want to run something by you. I'll even treat you in your favourite ramen place."

Tamesh finally relents and nods. "Ok, I guess half an hour won't hurt." He goes to grab his jacket from out the back and pulls his keys from his trouser pocket, turning the sign to 'closed' on the shop door.

***

As soon as Tamesh walks through the door of 'Nam's noodles', the beautiful aromas hit his senses. He instantly follows the smell in, as if it were a magic potion guiding him to the source, which happened to be the long table, opposite the kitchen where the magic happened. 

"Hey Tam, hey Alfie!" Nam, the owner calls, waving merrily as he and Alfie approach. "Your little gallery not open today?" He questions as he refills the pot on the counter with fresh chopsticks. 

"Technically yes." Tamesh half smiles, pulling out a stool to sit on, with Alfie doing the same. 

"My bad Nam. I dragged him away.' Alfie says with a smile. "I need to ask him for a favour and I think it's best to fill him up with the best ramen in town before I ask." 

"Now I'm intrigued." Nam leans forward a little. 

"Not before I get my bowl of miso." Tamesh interjects.

"You hear that Jojo? One bowl of miso and..." Nam looks to Alfie for his order.

"Shoyu please." Alfie adds. 

"One bowl of shoyu ramen!"

"Eye eye captain!" Jojo, the aspiring part time actor and the best ramen maker in town, shouts back, getting to work with their orders, learning the ropes from his father, who had learnt from his father and so on.

It's not long before two hot bowls of freshly made ramen and two cups of water are placed before them. Tamesh takes out some chopsticks from the container on the long table, passing some over to Alfie. 

"I will enjoy this food.' They both utter in hungry anticipation before tucking in. For a moment, the only sounds to be heard are the appreciative slurps of eating, before Tamesh breaks the silence.

"So...this favour..." He begins.

"Ok..." Alfie starts, slurping up the hanging noodle from his mouth. "I wondered if you would paint a mural on my window, I need to get more people into my shop and I thought that if I have an eye popping image on display, then it would generate more customers." 

Tamesh is quiet for a moment thinking it over. "You said this would benefit me too. How?" 

"Well, what better exposure of your work than on display where everyone will see it. Even those people who may not think to look in your little gallery, they may just change their mind." 

"He has a point." Nam adds. "A bit of free advertising didn't hurt anyone." 

Tamesh nods in agreement, but then his shoulders seem to slump. "I might get a few more customers through the door, but it doesn't mean they'll buy anything." 

"But your paintings are beautiful." Alfie says, a little pained by how his friend doubted his own talent. 

"Not beautiful enough to buy." Tamesh pulls a sad grin over his face before filling it once again with ramen. 

"Maybe it's your subject matter." Nam suddenly says. 

"What's wrong with my subject matter?" Tamesh furrows his brow, talking with a mouthful. 

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Nam insists. "But have you thought about painting something different? I mean I love your paintings of the sea, but the sea only has so many moods. A banana is always yellow." 

"They're sometimes green or brown." 

"What?" Nam turns to look at Jojo, who was obviously listening in as he was cutting up spring onions. 

"Bananas. They're not just yellow, they're green, before they're ripe and brown when overripe! And if you boil them, they go purple." 

The three guys now all turn to look at Jojo without comment. Before turning back around and resuming their conversation. 

"So are you saying I need to try and paint something else?" Tamesh stops eating temporarily and puts down his chopsticks. 

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Alfie says, taking some of his drink. "How about animals?" 

Tamesh shakes his head. "Not a chance! They wouldn't keep still for a start and you know I hate working from images. I like the object or the moment to be right in front of me." Tamesh begins to get expressive with his hands. "It needs to at least stay reasonably still." 

"You could draw people?" Nam says, raising his eyebrows at what he thought was a good idea. 

"What, you mean like a caricaturist? That's a little tourist for me." 

Nam shakes his head. "No, I mean like a proper portrait artist. Study people. Look at how they act, their expressions...they have more sides than a banana."

"Five."

"What?" Again everyone turns to see Jojo, who is now making a fresh batch of noodles. 

"A banana has five sides." He says nonchalantly.

"What is it with you and bananas today?" Nam half laughs, shaking his head. Jojo just shrugs his shoulders. "You said it first."

***

Later on that day, after a very quiet afternoon, Tamesh thinks of the conversations he has had with Alfie and Nam. 

Painting portraits. 

It was something Tamesh usually liked to avoid. He liked to work alone, in the peace of his studio. Having to share that process with another, Tamesh wasn't sure if he wanted that, but he needed something. 

On impulse, he pulls a piece of paper from under the shop counter and grabs a marker from the pot of pens on the counter top and begins to write...

MODELS WANTED

WILL PAY 

PLEASE ASK INSIDE

He read the very brief sign before grabbing some tape and heading to the door to stick it on. 

"Let's see who will walk through the door."