The Past Recedes

Chapter 16

"I love art, it's my favorite class at school. I'm going to be an artist or a photographer when I grow up", said Clara as they waited to get in the car.

"Me too, but i can't draw or paint. I do like looking at art, Pepere has a lot of books on Medieval art plus Byzantine art because he's a professor of Byzantine Studies", said Nika.

"I think I've heard of it, it was Greek? Our social studies book had a paragraph on it", said Clara.

Nika normally would have thought the red-haired girl was stupid, but she was nice so she said nothing. "Sort of, it was the Eastern Roman Empire, the Empire split in half in 395 AD. The Byzantine Empire fell in 1453 after it was attacked by the Ottoman Turks", she explained.

"Oh, I didn't know that", said Clara in awe.

"Wow, me neither. Then again, I just graduated high school", laughed Flea.

"Same here", agreed John Sr.

"We'll meet you at the Getty, you go and pick up Josh said", said Flea as her, John Sr. Nika, and John got in the rental car.

"Yeah, since his house is more our of the way", said John.

"I hope Josh isn't tired from his date", laughed John as they got in the SUV.

"Nah, he's not that type. But he's a lot shier around girls than any of us. But it's good he went on a date, he's so shy", said John.

"Why would he be tired after going on a date?", asked Nika.

The men blushed. "Uh, maybe they were out all night having fun", said John.

"What kind of fun? There's nothing interesting after the news at 11", said Nika.

"Maybe they went to an all-night show, or out dancing", said Gail as she nodded in understanding.

Josh was waiting outside his parents' house, a grin seemingly stuck to his face like a Joker mask. Like always, he wore baggy black sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt with a beanie over his floppy brown hair, his t-shirt depicting the cover of Rubber Soul by the Beatles. "My Grandmere likes the Beatles", said Nika.

"Awesome, tell your grandma she has awesome taste. My parents love the Beatles, I like them too", said Josh as he got in the backseat with Nika.

"My great aunts Olivia and Tessa think rock music is noisy, they love jazz. Olivia likes West Coast jazz and Tessa loves Coltrane and Ornette Coleman", said Nika.

"Wow, she's got awesome taste. I love Coltrane but Coleman is better, Flea turned me on to them", said Josh enthusiastically.

"And you listen to that as much as Radiohead, it must drive your parents nuts", laughed John as they all chuckled.

"It's a matter of taste, jazz isn't very popular with many people. But when you get older, you'll like it", said Josh.

The group drove towards the Getty Museum. "I think you would like the Getty Villa, it has a lot of Greek and Roman art", said John.

Nika's eyes went wide as saucers and a grin formed on her lips. "Ohh!", she squealed.

"I know, I thought you would like it", laughed John.

The group arrived at the Getty Villa museum where Flea and Clara waited. Nika was impatient as they waited in line to buy tickets, seeing the museum in front of her which resembled a Roman villa. John and Flea bought the tickets as Nika opened up the museum map. "This is the way to the Greek section", she declared.

The grownups looked on with bemusement as she led them straight to the Greek section. Her eyes were wide in delight and had turned an intense purple with delight when she saw the art on display, nearly dizzy with awe. "Calm down, Nika", said John kindly.

"Wow, this is an actual Minoan fresco from Knossos, it might be palace of Minos. That's bull-leaping, it might have been part of a religious ritual", she said.

The adults were silent in awe as Nika pointed out the different types of art and explained what they were and what they represented. She was in her element as she as they stopped in front of the statues and told them what particular god or goddess it was, or the mythological scenes on the black and orange vases. Other people stopped and starred as they listened to the little girl who seemed to know more about Greek art than a college professor.

"And this is Achilles dragging Hector behind his chariot, it was revenge of Hector slaying Patrocles. Patrocles was Achilles' boyfriend", she explained about a black vase with orange figures.

"Ah, wow. I knew that Achilles fought in the Trojan war, but I didn't know he had a boyfriend", said John.

"The ancient Greeks were tolerant of homosexuality", she explained.

Her grandparents exchanged a look. "Uh, that's not appropriate for kids", said Gail.

"But it's the truth, the ancient Greeks were tolerant of homosexuality. In fact, Alexander the Great was closer to his boyfriend Hephaestion than to his three wives. Anyways, this is a kouros, a male statue from the Archaic period", she said, gesturing towards a weirdly-modernistic statue of a nude boy.

John was speechless as he led her talk. While he knew she was smart, this was far above what he thought was appropriate for a girl her age. He glanced over and saw that his parents and Flea were just as astonished. Only Josh seemed tranquil, his brown eyes thoughtful. "I was the same way your age, Nika. Except my thing was music and reciting baseball statistics. Mom and Dad loved to hear me play and show off to my relatives", he said.

"Cool, Mom liked to do that too, she had me go on TV at the Palm Springs TV station and answer questions, but the host was creepy", said Nika.

John felt an odd sinking sensation in his stomach, followed by a sudden burst of anger. The idea of his daughter performing on a TV show like a trained seal made him physically ill, especially if the host was a creepy old man. "Nika, you are not performing on TV again, you're a kid", he growled.

"Mom said I had to, she wanted people to see how smart I am. I didn't like it either", said Nika with a shrug.

"Ugh, that sounds like low-rent Star Search", said Josh in distaste.

"Oh dear, that won't happen again", said Gail as John Sr. nodded in agreement.

John was still troubled as Nika led him towards more exhibits of Greek art. The initial euphoria of seeing his daughter's intelligence gave way to a feeling o f dread and unease as she gave a detailed run-down of the statues and vases. Her earnest tone reminded him a museum tour guide or a PBS broadcaster, so striking in an otherwise healthy little girl. The idea of Nika seeing a therapist and going to a private school sounded more urgent. While he had little experience with children, he did know that a young girl shouldn't be so eager to show off or have such knowledge, that no child should have such an extensive knowledge of ancient Greece. He knew he had to ask her grandparents about how Zoe had raised her and about that TV show as he followed her to the next room.