Lemon Drops & Candy Shops

23 | almond and fig

23. ALMOND AND FIG

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[hana | liam]

[The scene continues in the west end of town where the boardwalk by Witschire's is lit up with souvenir stands and small shops advertising vintage t-shirts and assorted knick-knacks. The dimly lit art gallery wedged between Dave's Diner and Cherry On Top Shoppe, however, captures the blonde girl's curiosity and the brown-haired boy soon finds himself being dragged in that very direction. The Fig Tree, as the faded vinyl lettering on the window glass reads, is deserted at the late hour but retains an inviting atmosphere with low-hanging lights casting a warm glow on the exposed brick walls and dark hardwood floors.]

❝It's lovely in here. I can't believe I've never been before.❞

[She moves around the space slowly, studying the fixtures on the wall with a furrowed brow and unspoken appreciation.]

❝Me neither. If I'm going to be honest, I never even knew Hart's Bay had an art gallery.❞

[He moves along side her but finds himself in awe, more so, at the expression of enchantment and wonderment painting her face as she stops in front of an acrylic hillside.]

❝This one looks a little like the landscape we saw on our hike.❞

❝They definitely got all of the trees down; that's a lot of green.❞

❝You have to use your imagination a little to see the outlines of other things.❞

[She says this in a matter-of-fact voice, so he decides to step back and angle himself a little differently. Much to his surprise, he finds a few new things jump out at him from the picture.]

❝I think I see a deer in there.❞

❝See, it's a little like an I Spy game. I see a cat.❞

❝Really, where?❞

[He squints at the canvas for a few moments before she pipes up with a laugh.]

❝In the sky.❞

[She points at a cloud with two pointy tufts billowing out of the sides.]

❝I don't think that counts.❞

❝Cloud animals always count. Oh, look at these.❞

[She pauses at a series of canvases lining a narrow hallway, each one depicting a different view of the bay from the boardwalk. The little brass sign to the side of the display reads 1959 - 1981.]

❝So all of these were done by the same artist but over several years.❞

❝But you could never tell from looking at it. The styles are so different— look at the detail in this first one. And then this last one is abstract. ❞

❝The view probably changed too. Different angles, different times of day, different waves.❞

❝Pretty darn cool, huh. That the artist tried out all these styles and went in so many different directions with the same subject.❞

 [It was then that it hit him. A startling realization that while he wasn't quite sure which direction he was going in, he wanted it to be with the blonde girl by his side. How, he wondered as he studied her dimpled cheeks and glimmering blue eyes under a new light, had he never noticed? That she was a work of art — a masterpiece of muted marigolds and sunshine shades and honey hues. Sure, with him in the picture, it would be a work in progress, but the key to getting ahead is getting started.

And so, with three wondrous words and an embrace that rivalled Cot's Le Printemps, the two were united as a duo on a warm summer night for the books.]

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*References to The Bell Jar (novel by Sylvia Plath) and Le Printemps (painting by Pierre-Auguste Cot).

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a/n: BASICALLY THEY'RE FINALLY A COUPLE! Also admittedly, I came up with the name of this chapter first and had no idea where it was going until a Sylvia Plath quote popped into mind (see below) and I realized it was very relevant to the plot! I've also been struggling a bit myself, to be honest, about which direction I'd like to take my writing this year.

This chapter's a little shorter than most but I think I said everything that was necessary so it'll likely stay like this! I'd love to hear your thoughts (about the events of the chapter, art, life) in the comments and be sure to leave a vote if you enjoyed!

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