Guarded Hearts and Broken Wings || S.R.

7- Spring Blossoms

Four weeks before

Saturday arrived again and Mel walked through the park with both incredible excitement and nerves. From a distance, she could see the back of the doctor's head with his back hunched over a book. Mel chewed the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath. You can back out if you change your mind. You got this.

Her pace slowed down as she approached the bench. She placed her forearms on the back of the bench and leaned over Spencer's shoulder. When he noticed her presence, he leaned to the side to get a better view of her.

"Hi," she said while biting the inside of her cheek. "You're early."

He looked relieved to see her. "I didn't want to accidentally miss you." He studied her nervous expression for a second then turned to his messenger bag. "I have something for you. Two things actually."

Mel's head tilted in curiosity and her shoulders squared. "Yeah?"

When Spencer turned around, he had two books in his hands. "These are what the employee suggested. I read them this morning, and they were quite good. This one—" He handed her the one with the most colorful cover "—is a collection of paintings by women through several eras. It has a little about the artists on each page. I think it is a great beginning tool to dig deeper into their lives and work. And this--" He handed her a second one. "--is a biography about Artemisia Gentileschi. According to the first book, she is known for her depth of colors and her striking use of light and shadow, which sounded to me like something you would be interested in. She had an incredibly interesting life as well. I won't spoil it for you though."

Mel still stood leaned over the bench, now with a book in either hand. Her eyes had started to water after he handed her the first one, but now with a book in either hand, she was frozen in shock. She had mentally prepared herself so strongly for utter rejection and humiliation that this kindness blindsided her. When had someone else shown such interest in her passions besides Marcie and her brother? Not only had he brought her a gift to apologize, but he had remembered her love for interesting lighting. The encouragement for her to continue pursuing her dreams as other women had in history was not lost on her either.

Spencer saw her tears and panicked. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I can take them back if you want. I just thought it would be a good way to apologize for last week."

As he reached out to take the books back, Mel clutched them to her chest. "No, Spencer, they're happy tears. I'm sorry I didn't mean to get so emotional." She wiped away the few tears that spilled out. "You read them first to make sure they were good books?"

"Well, of course, how would it look if I gifted you crummy books? That would be a poor apology." He scoffed at such a ridiculous notion, which made Mel laugh too. He adored her laugh. It brought him relief and never failed to bring beauty into a moment. Even the smallest one gripped her whole body in joyous delight.

They chatted for a moment about the books. Having gone to art school, Mel had of course heard of Gentileschi and seen her work, but she had yet to actually read her biography. She was incredibly excited to read it, and she continuously gushed her thanks. While they talked, Mel moved to the front of the bench and sat next to Spencer. Eventually, she worked up the courage to blurt out her news.

"Welp, I have some news," she started and Spencer raised an eyebrow to tell her to continue. "I got invited to a silent art auction in about a month. It is a little last minute because apparently some dude got kicked out of it last minute, so the rumors say. Either way though, I'm going and I am so excited." The squeal in her voice backed that excitement.

Spencer immediately lit up and the brightest smile beamed from his face. "Mel! That is amazing news! Congratulations!"

Mel blushed. "It's definitely not a big, fancy auction, but you've got to start somewhere. They're going to have a bit of a waltz too though because the owners of the mansion are big dancing fans as well as a light dinner. And, well, I-uh- have a plus one." She took a deep breath. "And-I-was-wondering-if-you-would-like-to-be-my-plus-one. You can say no of course."