Post by Alanah O'Connell on Aug 3, 2019 0:59:07 GMT -5
“This is going to be awesome!” Alanah said excitedly, bouncing in her seat in the back of the Uber. “I can’t believe Mattie has her own gallery showing!”
“I’m just glad to be out of the house finally,” Jack said, earning a little poke in his side from Alanah.
The young couple were out on the town, making their way to an art gallery in Manhattan to support an artist friend of Alanah’s from university. It was also the first time they had left the house since coming back to New York from Phoenix, after the hospital visit following Riot two weeks ago.
Their Uber arrived at the gallery, and they stepped out onto the sidewalk to see a large gathering of people waiting to get inside. The couple walked up to the security guard and gave their names, and he waved them right inside. They had only taken a few steps in when a high-pitched squeal made both Alanah and Jack jump in surprise and simultaneously turn on their heels to see a young girl rushing towards them, a huge smile lighting up her face. Alanah smiled as well as the girl enveloped her in a hug, picking her up and swinging her around.
“You’re here! You made it!” the girl said, finally letting Alanah down to her feet, but keeping hold of her hands.
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!” Alanah beamed. Beside her, Jack cleared his throat subtly, and Alanah turned to him with an embarrassed giggle. “Sorry, love. This is Mattie Cormier. I met her when I took a drawing class at school.”
“And that must make you the infamous Jack Russow,” Mattie said, winking as she shook his hand. “Heard a lot about you, lover-boy.”
Jack’s cheeks immediately turned pink. “Uh…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “What - what kind of things have you heard, exactly?”
Mattie laughed loudly. “Don’t worry, nothing scandalous! My girl Lanah is far too shy to talk about that kind of stuff. Come on, let’s go have a drink,” Mattie said, pulling Alanah behind her as they wove through the crowd towards the bar in the middle of the gallery.
“Um, Jack and I are underage,” Alanah said.
But Mattie waved a dismissive hand as she grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed them to the couple. “Psht, so am I. Besides, no one checks ID at these things.”
Alanah and Jack looked at each other, before shrugging and accepting the glasses from her. “Here’s to you and your amazing artwork, Mattie. Congrats on your first of many gallery showings!” Alanah said, raising her glass with Jack following suit.
A light blush crept into Mattie’s cheeks as she clinked her glass with theirs. “Awww, you’re so sweet, Lanah.”
They all took a drink as Alanah and Jack took in the atmosphere of the gallery. “I couldn’t believe the name of this place until I saw it with my own two eyes,” Alanah said.
Mattie gave a roll of her dark eyes. “Ugh, tell me about it. ‘Cube Squared’? What a load of pretentious horse crap. I physically full-body cringed when I had to type that out in my message to you.”
“Oh thank God,” Jack blurted out. “I thought I was the only one that thought that.”
“Believe me, you aren’t,” Mattie replied, wrinkling her nose. “Then again, this is supposed to be one of the hottest new galleries on the scene, and they handpicked me to showcase here, so I better make some serious money from this to make up for the emotional trauma I’ve had to endure from these uppity snobs.”
They all gave a laugh. “I’m gonna go see how much of that fancy cheese I can fit in my mouth. You girls have fun,” Jack said, leaning down to kiss Alanah’s cheek as he disappeared into the crowd.
“Giiiiiiirl, you hit the jackpot with that boy!” Mattie exclaimed as they watched him walk away. “He’s a total looker, super sweet, funny, and completely smitten with you.”
Alanah blushed slightly, taking a sip from her glass. “How can you tell?”
“Because even with a face full of Gouda, he is giving you some serious heart eyes right now.”
Alanah glanced over her shoulder to see that, sure enough, Jack’s cheeks were bulging with cheese and he was openly staring at her with adoration. She smiled at him and gave a little wave, and he waved back, nearly choking on the cheese.
“I will eat one of my sculptures if by year’s end you don’t have a gigantic piece of bling on this hand,” Mattie said, holding up Alanah’s left hand. “I bet he probably wanted to ask you like two weeks after you two started dating.”
“We’ve only been together for seven months, Mattie!” Alanah exclaimed. “Besides, Jack is convinced that if he and I got engaged, Lachlan would have an aneurysm and Mal would probably try to kill him.”
Mattie waved a hand dismissively. “Please, it’s obvious that the two of you are meant to be. Your brothers are probably just freaking out that their little sister isn’t so little anymore. You know that Lach and Mal love you and they’d support you no matter what.”
“That’s what I keep trying to tell Jack, but he’s not convinced. Still, I don’t think that would stop him if he ever did decide to propose to me.”
“Which I’m telling you is going to happen this year. I would bet this entire gallery on it,” Mattie said with a sly wink. Alanah just rolled her eyes and laughed.
They chatted and drank a couple more glasses of champagne, before Mattie’s attention was drawn to the other side of the gallery.
“Hang on a second,” Mattie murmured. “Who is that guy over there?”
Alanah glanced over her shoulder to where Mattie was looking to see… ”Mack?” she said in shock.
Sure enough, on the other side of the room, Mack McKane was standing in front of one of the larger sculptures. Despite the fact that he was dressed in a very well-cut gray suit with a black dress shirt and tie, he still stood out among the rest of the crowd, most of who were giving him strange looks as they passed him. To his credit, he didn’t take any notice as he studied the sculpture in front of him, looking for all the world like he was completely engrossed with it.
“Wait, you know that guy?” Mattie asked.
“Yeah, that’s Mack McKane,” Alanah answered. “He’s a good friend of Jack and I’s. Not really someone I would have expected to see at an art gallery, though…”
“Oh, but I’m so glad he’s here,” Mattie said, a sly smirk creeping across her face. “He is living, breathing, walking art. Far more interesting than anyone else here. Uh, present company excluded, of course.”
Alanah’s eyes widened as she turned to stare at her friend. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s got this aura about him...something wild, dangerous. So many ideas…” she trailed off, handing her glass to Alanah and making a beeline for Mack. Alanah watched her go, slack-jawed, as Jack came back to her side.
“Where’d your friend run off to in a hurry?” he asked.
Alanah just pointed, too stunned to speak. Jack followed her finger and saw Mattie talking to Mack, and his jaw fell open as well.
“What in the absolute holy hell is Mack doing here?” he asked after a moment.
“Not a clue. But the moment Mattie laid eyes on him, she started spouting off about him being living art or some such thing,” Alanah said, snagging a glass of champagne from a passing tray and downing half of it in one gulp.
“Mack? Our Mack? The guy that sleeps in abandoned warehouses and talks to rats?” Jack said incredulously.
“Seems that way,” Alanah said, draining the rest of her drink as the two of them watched on.
Meanwhile, across the room…
Mattie had made her way through the crowds to the other side of the gallery, walking up and leaning against the sculpture. Mack looked up at her, slightly surprised. She gave him a dazzling smile.
“I call it ‘The Torment’,” she said, reaching up and brushing away an errant flake of dust. “The physical manifestation of the mind of a poor, overworked art student during finals week.”
Mack chuckled slightly. “Can’t say I know that feeling.”
“No, of course not. You’re not a man that needs higher education. You’ve got that street-smart look about you.” She pushed off of the sculpture and circled him slowly, inspecting him from top to bottom with a finger tapping her chin. “Not just street smart...no, something darker, more sinister. Am I close?”
“Um...I guess you could say that,” Mack said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, fidgeting with it nervously.
“Oh, that just completes the ensemble,” Mattie said, watching his hands intently before reaching out. “May I?”
Mack blinked a couple of times, before slowly handing over the knife. “Uh, sure, I guess.”
Mattie smiled at him, before performing a series of complex wrist movements and making the blade dance through the air. Mack watched her with a look of utter amazement as she snapped it closed and handed it back to him. “You keep it in good shape,” she said, winking at him. “Perfectly balanced.”
Mack took the knife back, slipping it back into his pocket. “Um...thanks?”
Mattie held out her hand. “Mattie Cormier. I’m a friend of your friends.”
Mack shook her hand tentatively. “Mack McKane.” He gave her a puzzled look. “Wait, friend of my friends?”
Mattie pointed over her shoulder to where Jack and Alanah were standing and staring at the two of them. When Mack locked eyes with them, they scurried away into the crowd.
“Ah, hell,” Mack said under his breath. “Ain’t gonna hear the end of this one.”
“I’m just glad to be out of the house finally,” Jack said, earning a little poke in his side from Alanah.
The young couple were out on the town, making their way to an art gallery in Manhattan to support an artist friend of Alanah’s from university. It was also the first time they had left the house since coming back to New York from Phoenix, after the hospital visit following Riot two weeks ago.
Their Uber arrived at the gallery, and they stepped out onto the sidewalk to see a large gathering of people waiting to get inside. The couple walked up to the security guard and gave their names, and he waved them right inside. They had only taken a few steps in when a high-pitched squeal made both Alanah and Jack jump in surprise and simultaneously turn on their heels to see a young girl rushing towards them, a huge smile lighting up her face. Alanah smiled as well as the girl enveloped her in a hug, picking her up and swinging her around.
“You’re here! You made it!” the girl said, finally letting Alanah down to her feet, but keeping hold of her hands.
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!” Alanah beamed. Beside her, Jack cleared his throat subtly, and Alanah turned to him with an embarrassed giggle. “Sorry, love. This is Mattie Cormier. I met her when I took a drawing class at school.”
“And that must make you the infamous Jack Russow,” Mattie said, winking as she shook his hand. “Heard a lot about you, lover-boy.”
Jack’s cheeks immediately turned pink. “Uh…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “What - what kind of things have you heard, exactly?”
Mattie laughed loudly. “Don’t worry, nothing scandalous! My girl Lanah is far too shy to talk about that kind of stuff. Come on, let’s go have a drink,” Mattie said, pulling Alanah behind her as they wove through the crowd towards the bar in the middle of the gallery.
“Um, Jack and I are underage,” Alanah said.
But Mattie waved a dismissive hand as she grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed them to the couple. “Psht, so am I. Besides, no one checks ID at these things.”
Alanah and Jack looked at each other, before shrugging and accepting the glasses from her. “Here’s to you and your amazing artwork, Mattie. Congrats on your first of many gallery showings!” Alanah said, raising her glass with Jack following suit.
A light blush crept into Mattie’s cheeks as she clinked her glass with theirs. “Awww, you’re so sweet, Lanah.”
They all took a drink as Alanah and Jack took in the atmosphere of the gallery. “I couldn’t believe the name of this place until I saw it with my own two eyes,” Alanah said.
Mattie gave a roll of her dark eyes. “Ugh, tell me about it. ‘Cube Squared’? What a load of pretentious horse crap. I physically full-body cringed when I had to type that out in my message to you.”
“Oh thank God,” Jack blurted out. “I thought I was the only one that thought that.”
“Believe me, you aren’t,” Mattie replied, wrinkling her nose. “Then again, this is supposed to be one of the hottest new galleries on the scene, and they handpicked me to showcase here, so I better make some serious money from this to make up for the emotional trauma I’ve had to endure from these uppity snobs.”
They all gave a laugh. “I’m gonna go see how much of that fancy cheese I can fit in my mouth. You girls have fun,” Jack said, leaning down to kiss Alanah’s cheek as he disappeared into the crowd.
“Giiiiiiirl, you hit the jackpot with that boy!” Mattie exclaimed as they watched him walk away. “He’s a total looker, super sweet, funny, and completely smitten with you.”
Alanah blushed slightly, taking a sip from her glass. “How can you tell?”
“Because even with a face full of Gouda, he is giving you some serious heart eyes right now.”
Alanah glanced over her shoulder to see that, sure enough, Jack’s cheeks were bulging with cheese and he was openly staring at her with adoration. She smiled at him and gave a little wave, and he waved back, nearly choking on the cheese.
“I will eat one of my sculptures if by year’s end you don’t have a gigantic piece of bling on this hand,” Mattie said, holding up Alanah’s left hand. “I bet he probably wanted to ask you like two weeks after you two started dating.”
“We’ve only been together for seven months, Mattie!” Alanah exclaimed. “Besides, Jack is convinced that if he and I got engaged, Lachlan would have an aneurysm and Mal would probably try to kill him.”
Mattie waved a hand dismissively. “Please, it’s obvious that the two of you are meant to be. Your brothers are probably just freaking out that their little sister isn’t so little anymore. You know that Lach and Mal love you and they’d support you no matter what.”
“That’s what I keep trying to tell Jack, but he’s not convinced. Still, I don’t think that would stop him if he ever did decide to propose to me.”
“Which I’m telling you is going to happen this year. I would bet this entire gallery on it,” Mattie said with a sly wink. Alanah just rolled her eyes and laughed.
They chatted and drank a couple more glasses of champagne, before Mattie’s attention was drawn to the other side of the gallery.
“Hang on a second,” Mattie murmured. “Who is that guy over there?”
Alanah glanced over her shoulder to where Mattie was looking to see… ”Mack?” she said in shock.
Sure enough, on the other side of the room, Mack McKane was standing in front of one of the larger sculptures. Despite the fact that he was dressed in a very well-cut gray suit with a black dress shirt and tie, he still stood out among the rest of the crowd, most of who were giving him strange looks as they passed him. To his credit, he didn’t take any notice as he studied the sculpture in front of him, looking for all the world like he was completely engrossed with it.
“Wait, you know that guy?” Mattie asked.
“Yeah, that’s Mack McKane,” Alanah answered. “He’s a good friend of Jack and I’s. Not really someone I would have expected to see at an art gallery, though…”
“Oh, but I’m so glad he’s here,” Mattie said, a sly smirk creeping across her face. “He is living, breathing, walking art. Far more interesting than anyone else here. Uh, present company excluded, of course.”
Alanah’s eyes widened as she turned to stare at her friend. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s got this aura about him...something wild, dangerous. So many ideas…” she trailed off, handing her glass to Alanah and making a beeline for Mack. Alanah watched her go, slack-jawed, as Jack came back to her side.
“Where’d your friend run off to in a hurry?” he asked.
Alanah just pointed, too stunned to speak. Jack followed her finger and saw Mattie talking to Mack, and his jaw fell open as well.
“What in the absolute holy hell is Mack doing here?” he asked after a moment.
“Not a clue. But the moment Mattie laid eyes on him, she started spouting off about him being living art or some such thing,” Alanah said, snagging a glass of champagne from a passing tray and downing half of it in one gulp.
“Mack? Our Mack? The guy that sleeps in abandoned warehouses and talks to rats?” Jack said incredulously.
“Seems that way,” Alanah said, draining the rest of her drink as the two of them watched on.
Meanwhile, across the room…
Mattie had made her way through the crowds to the other side of the gallery, walking up and leaning against the sculpture. Mack looked up at her, slightly surprised. She gave him a dazzling smile.
“I call it ‘The Torment’,” she said, reaching up and brushing away an errant flake of dust. “The physical manifestation of the mind of a poor, overworked art student during finals week.”
Mack chuckled slightly. “Can’t say I know that feeling.”
“No, of course not. You’re not a man that needs higher education. You’ve got that street-smart look about you.” She pushed off of the sculpture and circled him slowly, inspecting him from top to bottom with a finger tapping her chin. “Not just street smart...no, something darker, more sinister. Am I close?”
“Um...I guess you could say that,” Mack said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, fidgeting with it nervously.
“Oh, that just completes the ensemble,” Mattie said, watching his hands intently before reaching out. “May I?”
Mack blinked a couple of times, before slowly handing over the knife. “Uh, sure, I guess.”
Mattie smiled at him, before performing a series of complex wrist movements and making the blade dance through the air. Mack watched her with a look of utter amazement as she snapped it closed and handed it back to him. “You keep it in good shape,” she said, winking at him. “Perfectly balanced.”
Mack took the knife back, slipping it back into his pocket. “Um...thanks?”
Mattie held out her hand. “Mattie Cormier. I’m a friend of your friends.”
Mack shook her hand tentatively. “Mack McKane.” He gave her a puzzled look. “Wait, friend of my friends?”
Mattie pointed over her shoulder to where Jack and Alanah were standing and staring at the two of them. When Mack locked eyes with them, they scurried away into the crowd.
“Ah, hell,” Mack said under his breath. “Ain’t gonna hear the end of this one.”