Woman removes paint from a painting and discovers her husband’s 50-year-old secret
The painting hung in her living room for fifty years
Cindy Davis had never expected to be so surprised. Her husband had given her a painting in the 70’s that he made himself. But this turned out to not be just any old piece of art. When she found out the secret her husband had hidden in this painting, it went from surprise to surprise.
Cindy and Paul Davis met in high school. They were each other’s first loves and had never been in a relationship with anyone else. Because they met at a young age, they knew everything about each other. At least that’s what Cindy thought. It later turned out that Paul had kept a few private affairs from her. But it would be years before these secrets came to light…
Lunches
At the time, Paul had a job as a businessman and often ate out. All week long he would have lunch with business partners and clients. Cindy didn’t have an issue with this, she was used to it. What did upset her, was that Paul seemed to be going out to lunch with one person more and more frequently…
Her husband had been going out to lunch with a beautiful blonde woman for the past few weeks and hadn’t said anything to Cindy. How did she know? One of her best friends worked in Paul’s favorite restaurant. Nothing got past her…
She decided to confront him.
Confrontation
One day when Paul got home from work, Cindy was standing there waiting for him. She got straight to the point and demanded that he tell her about this mysterious blonde woman. Paul denies everything: he says the blonde woman is an important client at his company. The lunches? Purely business related, according to Paul that is.
Cindy’s friend also said that there was nothing romantic about the meals the two shared together. In any case, they had kept their hands off each other whenever she was around. All she could do was believe what her husband said. But something was still bugging Cindy…
Valentine’s Day
Shortly thereafter came Valentine’s Day. Neither Cindy nor Paul had ever showed much interest in the holiday. It was more important to them to be loving to each other every day, and not just once a year. Cindy had no idea that this Valentine’s Day would be different than the rest.
When Paul came home that day, Cindy was shocked. In his hands he had not one, not two, but five enormous balloons in the shape of a heart. He also had a huge bouquet of roses which he gave to his wife. Cindy didn’t know what to say. Why was he doing all this?
Explanation
“Sorry that I’ve been so busy lately, because of this I haven’t had enough time for you”, Paul explains. “I love you”. Things had been going really well at work for the past few months. This was a good thing, but it also led to lots of stress and fatigue. This meant Paul couldn’t be the partner he wanted to be.
Cindy gave her husband a firm hug and a loving kiss. She understood it completely. She loved being pampered by Paul. She wouldn’t mind him doing this a bit more often! She put the roses in a gorgeous glass vase on the dinner table.
But the bouquet and balloons weren’t the only surprise…
The gift
Paul asked Cindy to turn around while he went to get something out of the shed in the yard. He spent a lot of his free time in here. It was his domain, so Cindy hadn’t been out there in a very long time. She was more than curious to find out what surprise awaited her.
When she was finally allowed to turn around, Paul stood in the living room with a beautiful painting. It was self-painted masterpiece. On the canvas was a painted version of their most beautiful wedding photo. Cindy knew that Paul was a good painter, but the fact that he had done this painting by himself… He had clearly put lots of work and love into it.
Happy life
The years flew by. Paul and Cindy are incredibly happy in their marriage. Their two sons grew up, moved out, and started their own little families. Cindy is more than content with her life even though nothing that exciting ever happens. The painting Paul had made for her hung on the living room wall all these years.
For fifty years the painting hung in Paul and Cindy’s home. All these years Cindy had no idea that there was a secret hidden in the painting. But after all this time, the painting’s secret would be revealed. It would explain a lot.
Sick
Fate was not on their side. Paul becomes ill. Things go downhill quickly: before they know it, Paul can no longer get out of bed. The doctor pays them a visit and says that unfortunately there is nothing he can do for the now senior citizen Paul. He doesn’t have much time left. The doctor tells him to get to the hospital as quickly as possible so they can take care of him there.
Things don’t improve once they get to the hospital. After a few days Paul ends up in the ICU. While doctors do their best to get Paul feeling better, nothing works. Cindy’s husband has no more than a few days to live. Would the secret die with him?
Goodbyes
Cindy contacts both her sons and gives them the sad news. She suggests they both come to the hospital as quickly as possible to say goodbye to their beloved father. They promise to drop everything and be there soon.
It’s an emotional day. Cindy and her two sons love Paul with all their hearts. For years they were able to enjoy each other’s company, but this is now coming to an end. None of them know that Paul has been holding onto a secret all these years. Something to do with the painting that he gave to Cindy five decades earlier…
The end
Cindy holds her husband’s hand until the very end. She hates seeing the love of her life suffer so it was a relief for both of them when the suffering ended. But before this, Paul confesses that he has been holding onto a secret all these years.
Cindy is shocked, of course. After living with someone all this time and thinking you know them through and through to then find out that the person has been hiding something from you. She looks at her husband in shock. He tells her that she needs to take a good look at the painting.
Cindy doesn’t get any further explanation. Paul passes away and leaves Cindy alone in the hospital room.
The secret
Once she got home, with tears still in her eyes, Cindy takes the painting off the wall. She blows off the dust that has collected on top of the frame and turns the painting around a few times. She doesn’t see anything odd. But on his deathbed her husband had told her to take a good look at it.
She decides to call in the help of an art historian from the local museum. She tells the man her story who immediately came to pick up the painting for further research. From the goodness of his heart, the art historian decides to use his tricks of the trade on a painting done as a hobby instead of on truly historical artworks for once.
Waiting
The following weeks are extremely hard on Cindy. She’s mourning the loss of her husband and at the same time, is waiting on a call from the museum. To pass the time, she goes on lots of walks and visits her children frequently. She looks back melancholically on the beautiful marriage she had.
But still the secret of the painting stays on her mind. What could her husband have kept a secret from her all those years? And why didn’t he tell her when he was alive? What is something he was ashamed of?
Then the phone rings…
The museum
The historian has finally uncovered the painting’s secret. Cindy rushes to the car. Once she gets to the museum, her eyes go wide. The art historian walks her past the grandmasters, on their way to see her beloved Paul’s painting. What did he discover?
In a back room, the painting is already set up. All around it are numerous tools and products that are all new to Cindy. It’s clear that the historian has taken his work seriously. All that just because of her story!
Then the historian reveals the secret…
Hidden
The art historian takes Cindy over to the painting and clears his throat. Then he tells her that he found the secret. It was hidden under the layer of paint all this time. According to the expert, Paul hid something fifty years ago by painting over it.
He says there’s only one way to uncover the secret: taking the paint off. The expert reassures Cindy: he was able to discover where the secret is in the painting. She only has to scrape off one small corner. He gives her a paint spatula to scrape it off. Her honor.
Cindy scrapes off the paint and sees something unbelievable…
Code
Underneath the paint, on the canvas itself, is something written in her beloved one’s handwriting. But it’s not a love letter, no confession or other text… Numbers are scrabbled onto the canvas. Cindy looks at the art historian in surprise who is now also hunched over to see what is written there.
“Are those… coordinates?” the expert asks. Cindy takes another good look. Indeed, they look like coordinates! But why would her husband cover up coordinates underneath a painting? As far as she knows, he was never that interested in maps, navigation, or pathfinding…
Cindy takes the painting home and decides to inspect this mystery from top to bottom.