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Katie

There was a big mural outside the Phoenix Effect coffeehouse that caught Xara's eye. If someone asked her, she'd say it was the colors, or the shapes, or the general energy of the piece, or the novelty of seeing public art that hadn't been immediately tagged (this was a very different world than L.A.).

But it wasn't any of that.

Xara understood it on a deep, inborn sort of level. The imagery, the references, the intent, she knew them. Knew these people.

She hated it.

None of that was on her face as she stood looking at the mural, though, looking calm and thoughtful as she sipped an iced latte, and waited.

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"In a way," Katie admitted. "I mean, the phoenix imagery was obvious with the coffee shop name? But it really resonated with me, and after I painted it, I realized that I had put in more references than I thought I had, to people I know." That was the safest, non-insane way of describing what had happened. "Like, for example," Katie's one non-weird example, "my favorite barista and friend Andy makes this certain latte art, so I built that art's motif into the phoenix feathers, in a certain place. But I also really wanted it to represent the possibility of change and growth and how starting over can be a blessing."

God, she was such a Jean.

"That's so sweet!" Xara said. "I'll have to get a latte from him." And see if he was worth paying attention to.

She paused in the art folder, then turned the phone toward Katie. The shot was some sketches clearly intended for a child—princesses, dragons and everything. Xara'd seen pics of a kid.

"This is the cutest! Do you have a child?"

Her heart was racing.

"You should, he's the best," Katie replied, then leaned forward and looked at her phone screen. And promptly grinned. "It looks like I have one, doesn't it? No, this is for a cool eight year old kid I know, her name is Scottie."

Seriously? "A girl named Scottie!" Xara mused, smiling. "I like it. Sounds like it has a story behind it."

"Probably! I haven't learned it yet, though. I babysit her all the time, her dad's name is Caleb. We're close. Anyway, Scottie has this wild imagination, which is why there are dinosaurs and warrior princesses all at once..."

Scott wasn't named Sam in this world, so this wasn't as need-to-know as it could have been. But still, couldn't be a coincidence, right? Xara took the phone back and flipped to another image before minimizing the window to check out the app situation. "Too bad dinosaurs don't exactly match my aesthetic. Maybe if I had a child."

"I'm not sure if this is anyone's aesthetic but Scottie's! Would you want kids?" What, it was a natural question!

"My late husband and I always planned on having one." She didn't look up, but let her expression go a little sad. But she was actually examining the queer dating apps with surprised glee. Scott must have loved finding out about that.

"I'm so sorry. That's awful." Katie felt a wave of compassion for Xara, who she still sort of felt weird about, but compassion was stronger than weirdness: she placed a gentle, sympathetic hand on her arm.

Xara navigated back to the images with a swipe of his thumb. "Thank you," she said softly, giving Katie a small smile. "Some things just aren't meant to be." Then she took a deep breath, making a show of composing herself. "Well! On that note, I think this one's closest to what I'm imagining for myself." She passed the phone back to Katie, the screen showing a more abstract design. "Something pretty and interesting, but not too distracting if it's in the background of a scene, you know?"

God, imagine losing your husband, the man you wanted to have children with. And having to be filmed all the time while you were going through it. Poor Xara. Katie nodded, though, just giving Xara her moment without being studied, and she took her phone back to stufy the image. "I can maybe come up with a few options? If you let me know about colors and the light in the room, all of that. See if we can come up with something you might like."

"I'm thinking lots of yellow and green." They'd been signature colors of hers before...well, before. "I'll have to get back to you about the lighting, though."

"That's a fun combination." Katie smiled, thoughtful. "Warm or cool tones?"

"I'm an autumn, so warm." It was important to consider such things.

"I like that." Katie grinned at her. "And I think it's the right choice to stimulate thought and creativity, too. I think this could be a really fun project."

"So do I." For different reasons, though. "Here, let me give you my contact info so you can send me your sketches and rates."

"Thank you! That would be so great." Did Katie really just... get a job? From a famous person? How wild and fun. She offered her phone back to Xara.

"This is my business contact info," Xara explained as she typed it in. "Someone will answer, but it might not be me every time. If I'm in a meeting or at an event or whatever, I pass it to an assistant. But I'll get back to you, don't worry." She'd be handling this matter personally.

"Thanks. I'm really excited to work on it. And thank you for wanting to support local artists. I think that's so cool of you." Katie smiled at her again.

Xara smiled brightly. "It's the least I can do to make up for everyone having to put up with us." People usually liked it when they were self-deprecating.

"It doesn't seem like putting up with you will be hard," Katie assured her.

"Well, I hope so." She handed back the phone. "I better run, but thank you so much for sharing your work and chatting. We'll be in touch."

Katie smiled again, and jumped to her feet, because that was polite. "Thank you for chatting to me! I'll contact you ASAP about measurements and light exposure." She offered Xara her hand to shake.

After a pause, Xara shook it. Touching Jean in a nonthreatening fashion was a new concept for her. "I think it's going to be fantastic."

"Thank you! You have a good night, okay?" Katie said in farewell, only a little thoughtful. She was mostly excited about the opportunity, and upcoming challenge, of the art.

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nola_maddie - 2019-06-06 04:28 (UTC) - Expand

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