The shoots rarely took up more than a few hours, but October had numerous projects going on at once, including the Ribble cartoons, and the remainder of my time was spent helping her with whatever else she had coming up, plus more routine things like building and prepping canvases, mixing paint, running art-related errands, updating her website, sending out newsletters about upcoming exhibits and events to her mailing list, and researching other topics she wanted to explore in her work.

For the first time in a long time, I was doing something inspiring. But beyond completing my tasks to the best of my ability, I stayed out of October’s way and didn’t interact with her outside of work. I figured that was the way she wanted it. She was pretty reclusive. Not shy, per se. One-on-one in the studio, we talked often as we worked, and I found her to be open and warm. But out in the world she was easily overwhelmed. For example, we went to Hog Island to film a clip of her shucking oysters for a selfie she’d had all planned out, but it was absurdly crowded when we got there, filled with tourists, and she wouldn’t even get out of the car. She just turned around and drove us home.

Like Rae had explained to me early on, October needed a lot of space. Occasionally we would film a selfie and afterward she would shut herself in her little office for a while, or she’d wander off with Diego for a hike, and they’d be gone for hours. Sometimes she would show up in the morning, give me my tasks, and ask if we could work in silence. Then she’d put on some music, and we wouldn’t say another word to each other for the rest of the day.

None of that bothered me. The way I saw it, October put so much of herself into her work that she found it necessary to withdraw in order to come back recharged the next day. And being around more than a few people at a time made her uneasy. She had friends and associates who would stop at the house now and then, particularly Mr. P. and his husband, Thomas. They usually brought food and wine, or they would take October out for dinner. And she went to yoga class a few nights a week. But that was the extent of her social life that I could see, and Diego and Rae seemed to be her most trusted companions.

My first month at Casa Diez went by pretty routinely. I went to work and left work and minded my own business in the meantime. During my off hours I hiked and hung out at Equator Coffee, the little cafe in the town square.

That all changed one Friday morning when I showed up at the studio and noticed October seemed anxious. I assumed I’d done something to upset her, but before I could ask her what was up, she said, “I need to get out of here. I’ll see you Monday.”