Shiri Eneas (pensivxpression) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-07-15 21:27:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | adam jenkins, npc, polyhymnia, shiri eneas |
Who: Shiri, Adam and Kathy (his mother)
What: Surprise!
Where: Adam and Shiri's house
When: Backdated. Saturday, July 10, 2010
Warnings: none
“No, he is not home,” Shiri answered into the phone as she rolled over to her back and reached for Adam. She trailed her pale fingers along his cheek as she grinned, but her casual tone on the phone did nothing to reveal the truth to the person on the other end, “I have not seen him since he left first thing in the morning. I will let him know that you...” There was a beep on the phone and it took all her skill not to giggle.
This was great. Juggling Adam's well-wishers and gallery dealers trying to claim his next work made her feel so active and alive. It felt like giving her divine soul a good stretch. “I will let him know you called. Promise Someone is on the other line. Yeah...” She pressed the pound key, “Hello...”
Adam peered over at his girlfriend as she stretched, and could only shake his head slightly. He had propped his sketch pad up on his knees and was doodling some different people, playing with lines and facial features, building personality for characters that he didn't yet have plans for, and may never use. But it was like a mild exercise, and considering how well his gallery showing seemed to have done, he was on the right track. At least the idle pencil sketches weren't nearly as intense as a full painting.
"Hello, Shiri," a female voice spoke from the other end of the line. "Am I interrupting anything?" There was the smallest hint of a smirk to the question, though her tone seemed to imply that she expected that she wasn't. Not in this hour of the afternoon. And not if Shiri was answering on the home phone line.
Shiri glanced at Adam from the corner of her eyes before rolling back to her side, trapping the phone between her ear and a pillow as if physically trapping it kept everything said into it secret, “No. You are not. How can I help...?”
"Actually, I'm sitting outside in a cab. I can either have him drive me somewhere else, or I can come to the house... My son seems to have turned his cell phone off." Kathy could be heard rearranging her items in the back seat of the cab. She hadn't brought much with her for the weekend trip, but things did tend to end up disorganized when you were in a plane.
Shiri leaned back against Adam, letting her back brush against his side as she thought. Keeping phone secrets was so much easier when a code was developed beforehand. Still, she believed she could work with this. Why she was trying to keep a secret to the last moment, even she didn't know. Nor did she ponder why. “You are in the right place.”
"Ah, good. I take it that he is close by?" She started to get the money from her purse to pay for the driver. "I trust you are ready for a delivery then?" She waited, just to be sure that she hadn't misunderstood.
“Of course.” Shiri loved that phrase. In any language, it did wonders for secretive phone calls. Stretching, she rolled once more to her back and nuzzled against Adam's side, “I am sure he can meet you at his earliest convenience.”
"I'll see you soon." With that, Kathy clicked off her phone and stepped from the cab. She grabbed her bag from the trunk and began to walk up to the house.
Arching an eyebrow, Adam glanced to Shiri. She was close enough that he could place a kiss to the top of her head as she hung up the phone. "Setting up my next showing already?"
“I have been pitting gallery dealers against each other all morning, my knight,” she replied with a grin as she rested the phone at her side, “But yes, yes I am.”
"Do you know what I'm showing then?" he asked. He'd had offers for the originals and prints of his work, leaving him with slimmer choices for the next time. Not that she'd let him show the same collection twice, but it still was a valid concern.
“No, not yet. I think you will show something new.” Shiri got up and put the phone away... or at least aside as she glanced at the clock. Soon his mother would be here ringing the bell, but lunch was also soon. “What do you want for lunch? It is about time for us to eat.”
Adam turned to glance at the clock as well, then went by a better indicator... his stomach. It felt like time to eat. He set aside his sketch pad and shifted to stand up. Before he could answer though, the front door bell rang. He turned in the direction of the door, then glanced to Shiri. The gallery people weren't stalkers, were they? Or the send gifts type? Shiri would know better than he would.
“It is safe,” she said with a smile as she headed to the kitchen. “Go ahead and answer it. I will look around for something to eat.”
Okay... Adam headed to the front of the house to get the door. He opened it, and quickly a grin spread across his face as he took his mother into his arms in a huge hug.
"Your first big showing, and you didn't think to invite me down to see it?" she scolded over his shoulder as she hugged him back. "Thank God for Shiri," she mentioned as he released her.
Adam could only shrug, before spotting her bag and reaching to take it from her. "I didn't think you'd have enough time to get here to see it. I sent you the photos..." he defended, even as he showed her into the house, setting the bad aside.
Part of Shiri couldn't resist lifting her eyes at Kathy's words, as if silently saying “See? Thanking you for me.” Her mood was just too good at the moment to resist the joke... She spun around, walking backwards toward the kitchen. So many weeks in this house, she had no worry about walking into something, “You both are hungry, right?”
Smiling, Kathy followed the sound of the voice to the kitchen, Adam trailing behind. "Hello, Shiri. Anything I can do to help? There wasn't anything worth eating in the airport." And they both knew without asking that Adam would most likely be hungry.
Seeing them together, Adam slipped away just long enough to set the suitcase in the guest room for his mother.
“If you would be content with sandwiches, that would be a great help,” Shiri replied. Sandwiches were easy and she was pretty sure they should have gone food shopping last week. The muse would like to blame the excitement of the gallery showing on the delay but she knew that was a lie. She just didn't want to get into the car and then pack the car with bags... “Did you go to the gallery yet to see?”
"I was planning on going this evening, rather than in right after a plane ride." Kathy walked to the sink and washed her hands as she continued to speak. "I saw some of the reviews though. They really like his work. I thought one reviewer was confused by it, until I realized he was speaking about another exhibit in the same venue and hadn't properly phrased his paragraphs." That gained a bit of annoyance from the mother, but then she was drying her hands and turning to help.
Adam walked in at the end of this, coming up behind Shiri to see what he would need to do and get.
Shiri was one second away to letting the two Jenkins handle lunch on their own and sitting back, but she'd play it by ear. It was a bit mean to have Kathy make lunch after braving the airport and traffic. “I saw that article, too. I got all bristled before I realized what was going on. I think he edited his work wrong.” Glancing over her shoulder, she caught Adam's eyes and then glanced over to where the plates were.
Taking the cue, Adam went and retrieved the plates, setting them near the counter for the sandwich making. He then went to the fridge and began to gather any items that hadn't yet been brought out.
"An editor should have caught it. It would have been so easy to fix. Now there's probably idiots who think that he was meaning Adam's display instead." But, what could be done? There were more positive than negative that had come out so far, and only a few bloggers with reviews. She partly doubted that there would be many of them to come. Kathy took some of the supplies and started with setting out the bread.
Shiri had found no negatives. Just one that had been poorly worded. If there had been true negatives, her mood would not have been as fun and pleasant. She laid out the bread, “The confusion will not be a big deal. The glowing reviews in better papers will make people wonder and go themselves.” Making Adam's sandwiches first, she passed it to him, before making her own to set aside. She didn't know what Kathy actually wanted so she left the sandwich stuff out for her.
Kathy did build her own sandwich rather quickly, then stepped out of the way to find a safe spot to eat. She noticed Adam was heading for the small table, and went there herself. "How long will the exhibit be up for?"
“At least two weeks,” Shiri put the food away and then took her plate and sandwich to the table. They had this table and she didn't position so the sunshine would catch her chair to not eat at it. “Then the dealer will probably ask for an extension and deals will be made.”
"They'll probably be asking for even more work then," Kathy commented as she started on her sandwich, casting a look to her. "Will you make me ask about that too?"
"I knew Shiri was calling you. It'll probably take me two weeks just to get even a basic set together though..." He glanced at Shiri, knowing she'd probably be a slightly better judge of this then him, before turning back to his lunch.
“They will probably ask to extend his showing for at least another two weeks,” Shiri had played this gallery game before and even more importantly, looked up this particular gallery. They looked like they did monthly showings... perhaps everyone upped for the second half. It made sense to her. “How long will you be staying, Kathy?”
"I fly out on Monday."
Adam nodded. "I set your suitcase in our guest room. The other one is filled with other things right now," he mentioned.
Kathy glanced between them, making sure that this would be agreed to both before accepting it. It would be a lot easier than getting a hotel. "Did you have any plans for this weekend?"
Shiri grinned as she picked at her turkey sandwich, “I have been answering the phone all morning and Adam turned off his cell. I think our plan was him hiding from friends and professors who cannot figure out that everyone is trying to talk to him at once.”
Kathy glanced to her son, then looked to her own sandwich. "Well, I'll make a trip to the showing, but you don't need to come for that. We could do dinner out tomorrow and something that will give you a good excuse to hide for the day." Though, technically, his mother being in town should be excuse enough. "How is your email?"
Adam was caught mid bite, and finished chewing before answering. "I haven't looked."
“I cannot check that. I do not have your password.” Yet. The last word went unspoken as Shiri tore her sandwich into four small pieces and then ate it bit by bit. “This 'we' going to dinner tomorrow... does that include me?”
"Of course. Unless there's something else going on?" She glanced to Shiri, wondering if that would be an issue. She didn't recall her mentioning any dietary restrictions.
Technically she should have dietary restrictions, but Shiri hadn't kept Muslim restrictions in this lifetime since she came to America so, she wouldn't start now. Instead, she smiled at Kathy, “I just wanted to know. It could have been a mother-son dinner...”
Kathy shrugged. "I'll make him take me out to lunch somewhere." Then she could make him take her shopping or something else as well. There were still some parts of Miami she hadn't really seen, and a shop or two that she enjoyed. She'd just take Adam with her for it, since he had a car. "He may have to take me to the gallery tonight though, since I don't have a car."
"Sure." Adam polished off his sandwich and wiped his fingers on his jeans. "I can go across the street while you look around." And avoid standing against the wall being mildly bored while making sure no one he knew was there.
Her own sandwich gone as well, Shiri unconsciously retracted back, pressing close to the back of the chair at the concept of going into the car to the gallery with Adam and his mother. She had been in that car quite enough lately. “I would go with you tonight but I will take my bike...” No more care. No more for at least twenty four hours. She turned her glance to Adam, “But if I do go, I can keep you company while you hide from your new, adoring public.”
That would work. He seemed to like the idea of hiding out and away from people. There were only so many times he could walk around the gallery space before becoming to bored with it. And he knew her dislike of cars. "There's an ice cream shop, so we can go there."
"That sounds like a good plan." Her own sandwich also finished, Kathy brushed off crumbs and glanced at her watch. "Until then, I may go and relax for a bit."
“Did the airport and the cab ride wear you out, Kathy?” Shiri piped up, nearly leaping to her feet. Too many lifetimes drove her instincts and they all shamed her at being such a poor host. “Where do you want to relax? I can bring you some tea there.”
Kathy stood and started to wave it off, then decided that tea did sound like a good idea. "Travel is always like that. And being cramped in an airplane doesn't help any." She pushed her chair in. "But I think I'll just relax in the guest room, for now. Though I would appreciate the tea."
Shiri nodded and quickly put the kettle on the stove. Only then did her actions catch up with her and she giggled softly to herself, looking for a mug. Her ex-husband of this lifetime would have killed for her to be so dutiful to his guests without even being prompted... She hoped he could see her acting like this in this house from Hell. She really did. “Go ahead. When the tea is ready, I will bring it to you. Promise.”
"Thank you, Shiri." Kathy smiled, gave her son a hug, and headed out of the room.
Only after she had left did Adam move to stand next to Shiri with a smile. "Did you know she was coming down?"
Shiri leaned against the counter with a grin, only then to reach out for him and brush her fingers along his hair and down his cheek, “What do you think?”
Adam leaned forward and kissed her cheek in response. It would be answer enough. "She seems happy to be here. Thanks."
You are happy she is here and that is what I really care about. Was what Shiri wanted to say but knew better than to phrase it that way. The Muse of Eloquence knew that didn't sound overly good to the ear. So, she stepped away from the counter to drape her arms around him and lean her weight against him, “She is happy and you are happy. That is thanks enough for me.”
Easily, Adam draped his arms about her waist, holding and pulling her closing. Even if it was thank you enough, he felt it right to mention. "You don't need to come later if you don't want to."
She frowned but only out of obvious confusion, “Why would I not want to come with you later?”
Because she'd already been so many time? He shrugged.
“Do you think I tire of you or your art or watching someone like your mother be impressed with you so easily?” Shiri made sure she said it in such a way that it was clear she didn't expect an answer. It was solely rhetorical. Besides the fact she had nothing better to do with her evening and... She rested her head against his shoulder, but still snuck her gaze up to him, “And you said something about an ice cream shop...”
He smiled down at her. He figured the ice cream would be a good selling point for her. He'd learned her weakness for sweets quickly. And ice cream sounded like a good after gallery thing to do. "Yeah, there's one close by. We'll probably want to do dinner before we go the the gallery though."
Aww, that meant it wasn't ice cream for dinner. That's what she really wanted. Ice cream dinner. She didn't have to worry about silly things like nutrition. But she nodded against him just the same, “We should let your mother decide. She is the guest.”
She might not worry about dietary needs, but Adam and his mother might. Ice cream wouldn't really be enough. He shrugged slightly at her suggestion. "We can just cook dinner for her if you want to give me a shopping list." Yes,he had noticed the lack of lunch items as well to a degree. He wouldn't make her do the trip for groceries.
Good. Because she wasn't. Not for at least another twenty four hours. Shiri had been poverty stricken before... in this lifetime even. There was enough for her to scramble with without getting into that car today. She pointed over to the fridge where a piece of paper hung by a magnet. “There is the list. If you want to go shopping while she rests, I will not stop you.”
He didn't really want to release her just yet, so he stalled for at least a few moments. "Did you have anything you wanted to add for dinner tonight?"
She could almost hear that stall. She could hear it just like she could hear the beating of his heart through his chest, so Shiri obliged him and clung to him lightly as she nuzzled him to muffle her giggle. “You did not look at that list. It is double sided. If I added something you would not be able to get it home... Well, maybe. I would not be in the car so you get the passenger room.”
Blinking, he glanced to the list again, then shrugged. He'd manage it somehow. The real question would be when they got it home again, where would they put everything? Hopefully it didn't all need to go to the fridge. "Oh. Ok.”
They'd manage. Shiri was very good at Tetris. But, nuzzling him more, she offered, “Or we could order pizza or Chinese tonight and you could stay with me on the couch.”
"I like that idea," he agreed easily enough. Why bother with the car at all until he had to? He kissed the top of her head, and glanced up as the tea kettle started to whistle. "Do you want me to take it to her?"
“Go ahead. I will not stand in your way of doting on your mother.” Shiri eased away from him then and only then. She didn't have to give him reasons to stall anymore. Walking toward the living room, she knocked on the wood frame of the doorway, “The calls seemed to have paused. Shhh, you will jinx it. Hurry to your mother and then come to me so we can relax before I have to juggle your calls again”
The mug had already been set out, so it was easy to grab some tea, fill the mug up, and prepare it for his mother. He kissed Shiri as he passed by, and slipped away to take the tea to its rightful place. He'd be back with Shiri soon.
Summary: The day after the official opening night of his showing at Gallery Diet and two days after critics started reviewing his collection there, Adam is avoiding from phone calls and well-wishers... at least until his mother appears on the doorstep to surprise him.