2019-12-29 - Melted Ice Cream

Seems as if a class has just left the gallery area. There's some stray plates left around, likely because some of the students have brought their own food. As further proof that 'art wuz here' there's some canvases that are drying. It seems to be a lot of clean up after and the owner begins to get to work. First of all, she turns off the kiln for the pottery. Then she takes some mits to put the hot pieces up on a high shelf away from danger. However, the cat looks up at the top shelf. Ohhhhhhhhhhh that may be a good spot to jump to! Queso, the golden tabby, doesn't attempt it yet. Hans, the large 'guard dog' to the art gallery just watches, perhaps wondering if his furry companion is going to get into trouble again.

Hera doesn't watch her pets though she just goes back to work straightening things up. The previous students will likely be back for their trinkets and things so, seeing a canvas that 'may' be finished, she goes to put it in a safer area. However, no one else is here but her and the other two residents. All appears to be peaceful and cozy yet a little disorganized.

It is, of course, snowing outside.

While Hera is working on clearing up after the class, the door opens and Genevieve steps in, turning to glare at the weather outside as if it has personally wronged her. She shakes herself off a bit before she removes her jacket and fuzzy, knit cap, setting them aside as she takes a look around. She doesn't interrupt Hera as she clears things up and puts them where they need to be, she quietly looks around the gallery, hands folded in front of her.

She spots the dog and the cat and she pauses, is the dog going to be upset with her being in here? She shifts from one foot to the other, watching the animals until she realizes that she's a few steps in and hasn't been chased out. So she slowly turns in place again to gaze up at the paintings on the wall. When she hears some of the noise abate, she figures Hera might be close to done with her clearing up. "You've got beautiful works in here, Miss. This is a very lovely place."

One thing is for sure, the cat is not upset. The cat seems to be fixated onto jumping up and up and away onto a high shelf to potentially ruin a previous student’s work of art. There’s time when he feels a need to not just be curious, but to be mischievous. After all, who else is going to keep Hera on her toes in this little town? He pads his front feet against the floor, almost as if he’s getting ready to ‘make biscuits’ or ‘knead bread’ as cats do when they’re showing affection. However, for Queso, he’s showing more of a need to pounce.

Hera doesn’t notice it but Hans does, so Hans doesn’t look toward the woman who enters. Genevieve’s no threat right? Besides, people have been coming in and out of the gallery all the time since classes have started and they seem to be less of a threat than Queso is. He knows the cat is going to cause an issue but, all he does is watch. The poor dog can be vicious, but overall, he’s greatly underappreciated for all the hard work he does. Where else is Hera going to get a guard who watches over things 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

But the newcomer isn’t ignored. Hera does notice her and she stops what she is doing. At the compliment she blushes slightly and goes to greet her. “Why thank you Miss.” She says, her tone sounding quite pleasant, “Please, come in, make yourself at home. Can I get you some complimentary wine or coffee? I also have water.”

"Water would be lovely, I can't have wine or coffee at the moment." Genevieve pushes her fingers through her hair, sweeping the locks back behind her ears as she watches Queso prepare to leap. "I think your cat is about to claim that shelf as his own." She points to the shelf in question with the artwork on it. She walks further in, pausing occasionally to look at the art that is displayed. She's wearing a pair of black leggings with a loose, over sized mauve sweater that is more like a dress on her. She watches Hans as she makes her way further in, holding out a slender hand in greeting so the dog can get her scent.

"How long has this gallery been here? I'm a bit of a homebody, but I think I've become too much of one, when I miss something like this." She takes a seat on the couch, her legs crossing at the ankles, her hands settled on her lap. She eventually relaxes, leaning back and taking a deep breath. "Do you sell some of this artwork? I don't mean to be rude if you do not, but I don't want to not ask and lose an opportunity." She has a slight accent, almost like she wants to start speaking another language, but keeps herself from doing it around polite company.

Uh oh, someone is busted. Yeah, Hera notices that look and as soon and the smart lady points it out, she rushes over to kick in the fline's direction. Apparently he has done THIS stuff before so she knows what is going to happen next. "Queso shoo!" she yelps and the cat, because he IS the real boss of the place, hisses at her. He then scatters off, for now. There's no telling what he will be up to next.

"Thank you Miss." She then offers Hans a gesture and he goes over toward Genevieve. The alpha said she is ok so, she must be ok. Too bad the alpha didn't pick a better gallery cat.

She then goes to answer the woman's question, "Not, too terribly long and yes." she smiles at the thought, "I do sell art and feature the art of local artists. It's a haven for creative minds." Coming back with a bottle of water she offers it over, "Is there any particular type of art you enjoy?"

Genevieve watches the cat leave on the cat's terms, completely amused by the exchange. When Hans moves toward her, she holds out her hand again, and when he seems okay with it, lets her hand glide over his regal head, as she scratches gently behind his ears. "I am a fan of abstract arts, but I came in today to see if I could find something for my husband. I gave him the slip in Safeway." Literally. "I'm not sure what kind of art he enjoys, but he likes books, so I'll take a chance and say that he likes things that are more realistic than not." She blinks a few times and then makes a face, her eyes crossing briefly. She gets to her feet, holding out a hand toward Hera. "Genevieve Blake, it's a pleasure to meet you." She pronounces her name Gen-vie-ev, her accent making a real appearance there.

"You've got some very charming animals, I was going to go look at the shelter today for a kitty cat, something small and fluffy. I just got back from a trip, my parents cat had just had kittens, but obviously I could not bring them home with me." She pets Hans again, giving him attention as she speaks. She eases back down on the couch, sliding one foot in front of the other as she crosses her legs at the ankle again. "I see that you also do classes, how often do you have them? Do people bring their own supplies are are they offered with the course?"

Hans’ coat seems silky smooth, almost as if it’s silk. He might be overworked at times, but dogs often are and German Shepherd’s handle that idea well. Then, feeling more and more comfortable with the woman, he moves his nose in as if to ‘snuggle’ her hand a little. Hey, she pointed out that Queso was going to cause trouble again, Genevieve can’t be that bad!

“There are so many abstract art pieces that are so vivid and have so much life.” She can’t help but smile at that thought, “By being unclear, they are clear, and by using a myriad of colors, they represent something very easy to see. Though, I like it all.” If the woman’s hand is free from Hans’ attentions, she offers a warm handshake as well, “Hera, and owner and manager of this place, no matter what the cat says.” Fortunately he’s not around so he can’t hiss to ‘reclaim’ his place. “And, Hans is a sweetheart. Queso well, when I first saw him I fell in love with him, and, like a man” she jokes, “He’s been trouble since then.” Truth but, she tries to make light of it. “As far as the courses they take place every day beside Sunday and supplies are included.” She goes to get the a flyer and presents it, the smile still on her face.

Once the handshake is given, Genevieve gently pats Hans again, glancing down to grin at him for a moment before she puts her attention back on Hera. "My luck, Eli would love abstract too. He's pretty hard to pin down on most things. I think he just either likes the things that I give him, or pretends really well as not to hurt my feelings." She laughs at the mention of men being trouble, her eyes searching for the cat, but not finding him. "I might get a cuddly girl kitty, I'm not sure yet. I just want someone around the house with me."

She takes the flyer and reads, her blue eyes scanning the page slowly. "I think I might really be interested in this, and it would be a nice thing to do on a quiet evening. I may have to drag my husband in here with me. Get creative or something." She crisply folds the flyer in half, tucking it into her purse. "This place is beautiful, do you do anything else with the space besides display and hold classes? I could see having a girls night out here or something. Wine, paint, and gossip. When I lived in Georgia, we used to do that occasionally, go to these studios and paint the same thing together while we drank wine. My art never looked like the other girls, unfortunately. I'm not great with my hands in that regard."

Hera honestly seems to love the idea of having a girl’s night with nothing but painting and wine and good times! “I went to a party at a bar not too long ago, it was a ladies’ night themed thing and, while this isn’t a bar obviously oh wow,” Hera seems to go into ‘chat’ mode recounting the fun, “I had a really great time and I think I made new friends in the process. I might have been the oldest one there though. The next day.” She chuckles, “I was definitely hitting a bottle of Motrin. I would love to host something like that to be honest. That would be amazing.”

Though at the mention of being creative, her eyes almost glisten in wonder at the thought, “Creation, there’s few things better than that. It can truly help someone survive the darkest times and give someone inspiration to push on. You should come by and, just create. In fact.” She grins, “If you have time I can get you a canvas and a few paintbrushes right now. Just paint or draw what comes out!” At least until her husband figures out where she has wandered off to.

If she doesn’t want to paint though, Hans seems content with the attention. Finally though, Queso reappears, moving slowly, ever so slowly. A mad Hera might be a bad thing!

"I'm such a homebody. I don't get out a lot at all so I haven't had much of an opportunity to make many friends. It's been a good and a bad thing both, I spend a lot of time with my husband, and he hasn't driven me insane yet." Genevieve puts a slight strain on the word yet, smirking slightly. "It's been a while since I danced with abandon, though we seem to dance at home a lot more than I realized until I thought about it." She gets to her feet when she's offered a canvas, her blue eyes lighting up. "Oh can I?" She claps her hands, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I'd love to try something. We're renovating so we need things to hang on the walls, maybe I'll create a masterpiece." Or she'll make a mess.

"So tell me, Miss Hera, what is your favorite medium to work with?" Eve seems curious about that even as she's trying to pull the overly large sweater over her head. Underneath is just a plain black tank top, the same color as her leggings. "Pardon my sudden undressing, by the by. I just don't want to get paint on my favorite sweater."

Hera seems to be as delighted, if not more so, to offer the woman a place to paint and have some fun. “Yes!” she says, “We all have to start at some point and remember, it doesn’t really matter what you come up with, just let the creativity take wind of you oh, this is going to be so much fun!” After all, she doesn’t seem to be invading her place with sugary sweet snacks and things that she will have to clean up later, “Just, come on over and take a seat here.” She goes to get one of those ‘rolling’ chairs and puts it in front of an easel. Then she buzzes off to go get a blank canvas, “What are your favorite colors? That would be a good place to start.” It looks like she’s ready to rush off and go get them but she doesn’t ignore the questions, “Wear what you want, the pets don’t mind. But, as far as what I like pottery is probably my favorite medium, but let’s start you off with a canvas first!”

Genevieve walks over to where Hera has gestured, taking a seat in a rolling chair. The easel looks so professional, and she's got a starry eyed look on her face, she's going to get to paint. "Oh uhm.. blue, purple, bright red and pink." She beams up at Hera and claps her hands, smoothing them down her torso after a few beats. "Pottery sounds fun, but I've always had a yen to paint. I mean, when I first moved here earlier in the year, I had renovations done to the building I live in. I made them leave the painting for me, which is probably why I missed a lot of corners, and didn't get all of the trim. But I had fun painting what I did paint. I'm letting them paint it this time around." Her eyes follow Hera as she moves from here to there, watching the preparations with wide eyes. "Eli is going to smack me when he does find me."

Hera rushes on over with a variety of paint racks. One is full of shades of purple, all the way from the lighter colors to the darker. Another is blue and then a third is full of reds and pinks. "It sounds like you have a wonderful marriage." she grins, "You should take this as an opportunity to liven up things. I'm sure he will be very happy with what you do, I'm really sure of it." Hans pads over to watch. By now he's noted her scent and he starts to feel more and more comfortable with her. "So, these are the shades." She then looks at the woman eye to eye and asks, "Do you want to think about what you want to paint or, just get into it?" Visualization can be a powerful thing after all.

"He spoils me. I ran out on the grocery shopping and I bet he's just as cheerful as he usually is." For Eli. Genevieve gazes down at all of the colors, her teeth worrying the inside of her bottom lip. She takes a small brush and daubs it into the darkest purple. There is a moment of contemplation and then she reaches out, making a splotchy comma looking thing on the canvas. Whatever it is, whatever it looks like to her, it unlocks something and she daubs again, and starts to paint, lighter here, darker there, the brush strokes are erratic and quick, but the more she paints, the more it comes together. The flowers have dark purple petals, lighter inside the heart of the flowers. They're in a red vase with pink accents, and the whole thing is slightly abstract and messy. "Eli is actually very laid back, so he'll be very.. what is the word I'm looking for.." The brush pauses midair as she thinks. "..supportive. He'll be supportive. Yes."

Hera smiles at that thought and says, "Love, if it's real love, is a wonderful thing. I visited with my friends Jade and Thewlis last night. Now they have, real love, real and honest and sincere love. If you're lucky enough to have it, and you are, that's a true blessing." She then watches on and Genevive creates. "You're doing great, you really are. Try not to worry about something taking shape just yet. It will take shape and, if worse comes to worse, we can always scrap this canvas and get a new one where you can start from scratch again." Yes, she's trying to be supportive as well, though being an art teacher is really just having the ability to let students go and enjoy their work.

"I haven't met this Jade and Thewlis, but if they are happy and in love, then I am happy for them." Eve glances at Hera, a slight grin curling her lips before she turns back to the painting. She daubs more paint on it, the color blending in with the darker and lighter tones. "We just got married a few weeks ago, actually. We're still in the whole honeymoon phase." She wrinkles her nose and considers the pinks for a moment before she splashes some color near the base of the vase. She stares at it for a few heartbeats and nods. "Thank you. I'm just flinging color everywhere. I saw flowers in the vase across the way at the florist and they were pretty. Big bright flowers." She pauses, glancing at Hera. "I love flowers. I used to own a dispensary over on Elm street, but now that I'm married, I figured I'd find something respectable to do, or.. well.. it wasn't my passion really."

Hera takes in a deep breath through her nose at the idea of flowers. "As long as I can afford it." she says, "I will have fresh flowers delivered for this place. I do not have the ability to garden anything myself, and I don't have the skills to be a florist. It's not my calling but it's such a wonderful thing. I still need to watch my budget. Sometimes I can have them brought in, sometimes I can't. But." she continues to encourage the woman, "Whatever flowers you create with your brush, they will be eternal and live forever."

"I grow flowers over at my place, I have a greenhouse on the roof." Genevieve glances at Hera, taking a break with her brush strokes. "What kind of flower do you like the most?" She asks lightly, watching the woman for a moment before she goes back to what she's doing, the dark purple making a shadow at the bottom of the pot. "I planted iris in the hothouse so I could have a few in a vase during the winter. I feel bad, forcing them, but .. I really do enjoy the fragrance. Maybe one day I'll take up perfume making so I won't have to coax flowers in the cold months."

Hera shrugs and says, "Roses, red and pink ones actually. I guess I'm well, a bit of a romantic at heart but I don't really share that often. Still, there's so much hope and beauty in the roses themselves and the fragrant ones are the most lovely. I don't care for the yellows though, not in roses. It reminds me of Texas too much. This place is definitely much much better and perfume making. That sounds fun. Life is far too short not to go after what you want."

"If you want, I can try to get some roses together for you." Eve sets the brush into the water to let it soak, turning so that she's facing Hera. She managed to get a few specks of paint on her tank top, nothing that will ruin it, if anyone even notices. "I'm not going to have much to do for a few months, and growing things makes me pretty happy. We could make a deal of sorts. I help you with fragrant roses and arrangements, and you teach me more about art?" She looks hopeful, very hopeful, her hands clasped together, resting on her lap.

Hera looks very hopeful at this too and she becomes so hopeful that she almost bounces up in excitement. "Oh what a dream!" she exclaims and before the knows it, she redhead rushes off to return with a unique canvas. It's not framed, but it's of a wall made of bricks with two columns. Around the posts and near the ground are many vibrant colored flowers. "You, can have this." she says, "As a gift and a way to show my gratitude I would really really love that."

"Oh.." Genevieve takes the canvas, setting the bottom down on her thighs so she can look at it. "This is beautiful, I love flowers." She runs her fingertips gingerly over the front of the canvas, her eyes skimming over the details. "I'll hang this in the office upstairs, I think or the nursery. It's beautiful, thank you so much, Hera." She sets down the canvas and gets to her feet, impulsively hugging the woman. "Thank you. I'll find a way to get you some pretty flowers for your gallery. Grow them in the apartment if I have to, I have the room now."

Hera smiles and clearly, as long as it involves art and pretty things, it doesn't seem to take too much to make her happy. "You are welcome and." she grins, "Should I name you the florist to this place? Actually that is a need. This business is quite new so I really didn't have the time to decorate it with the right floral flare for the holidays. Spring is coming up, maybe you could help with that? To have a bit more of a floral theme at times would only add to the place. It couldn't be too much but, we could use some more flowers around here, don't you think?"

Where does one find a lost wife? Eli had carefully checked all the snack aisles at the grocery store and peeked into a couple other places that had delicious looking menus near the store. He hadn't found Eve, but he had managed to get himself a small container of freshly made Churros of which he was currently enjoying one of their number. He likely wouldn't have guessed to look in the gallery, but he'd likely sent a message to Eve to eventually slip into the room. He's dressed in a heavy coat and boots against the cold weather, a black toque pulled down over his ears. He looks pensive when he steps inside and looks around the space to find his missing person.

Oh! There she is. And someone else. It's likely hard to miss the man coming into the gallery, but he does his best not to interrupt whatever the pair are currently discussing. He has churros to keep him company. Are you allowed to eat in here? Better to ask forgiveness and all that.

"I think every place could use flowers. I can make wreaths, I use ribbon and .. well, I get really into it in the spring time." Genevieve looks about as excited as Hera is. "Near the end of winter I'm going to start quite a few different kinds of flowers in the hot house, get some pretty things growing. I can make you bouquets for vases, bring you by live plants that are very easy to take care of. You like roses, we can make roses happen easily." She is already bouncing on the balls of her feet. She's thinking ahead, clearly. "Oh, will you really let me do flower arrangements for you?" She knows Eli is there, but she's very studiously not looking in his direction yet. However, it's only a matter of time before she smells the churros, and then it will be like blood on the water. He'll have to share.

Hans, the German Shepherd, is near Eve, seems like he has gotten to know the new 'artist in the making' but when someone else comes in, he quickly looks over. It /is/ his job to look after the place after all. Heaven forbid the dog ignore his post. "Oh, I would love that." she says, "I actually didn't get a wreath, not at all for the holidays. I kinda regret that. However, I was making presents for new friends." Though she looks over at the gentleman an waves, "Hello Sir, welcome to Vivid Dreams. Can I get you something to drink?" This place isn't a bar so the options may be limited but, she does continue to be a good hostess.

Then there's Queso an sure enough, there's an easel with NO cat hair on it. He must go fix this now so yes he goes to rubbing against it. The easel is now his again.

More animals than most galleries he'd been in. Not that he'd been in a lot of galleries.

"Hi." Eli says, pushing a smile to his lips, though it looks a bit forced. He swings his eyes around the place again and brings them back to the pair of women. "Ah, no thank you. Appreciate it, though." He approaches closer to where the pair are talking and nibbles on the fried dough that's in his fingers. "I was actually hunting for Genevieve. I don't mean to steal her away, but the groceries are loaded up and while it's cold outside I don't know if all the ice cream that we bought will want to linger too long in the trunk."

He steps in beside his wife and gives a little nod toward Hera. "I'm Eli. Nice place. I'd offer to shake your hand, but mine is covered in cinnamon sugar." However did that happen? He glances toward Eve - "Did you want me to drive home and put things away and come back to pick you up? If you're still talking."

Eve clears her throat when Eli steps closer, moving to his slide to slide an arm around his waist. "Hera, this is Eli Blake, my husband." She spots the churros and makes a face, a 'those are mine now' face, but she doesn't make a grab for them yet. "Eli she gave me a painting, and I'm going to do bouquets and wreathes for her gallery!" She sounds excited, bouncing again on the balls of her feet. She remembers that there are groceries and she ducks her head, looking a little sheepish. "I better get home, help him unpack the groceries and get some things done, but Hera, it was lovely to meet you. You'll have to come over for dinner sometime soon, get to know us better." Yes, even the cinnamon sugar monster. She holds out the canvas with the pretty painting out for Eli to take, study, carry, and tries to ease the churros away from him.

Hera makes the connection rather quickly, and when he is formally introduced she goes over to greet him. "A pleasure to meet you Sir. I am so thrilled to have met your wife!" She sounds very sincere. Also, apparently Hans has made a bit of a friend this time too and he goes over to nudge Eve on her right shin. "Well, before you go I think you need to scratch someone behind his ears." See, she does speak dog, maybe?

That leaves the other canvas that Eve was working on. "Did you want to leave your work here? I can pack it up and put it away for when you come back. It's not a problem at all, especially since, well, ice cream is involved." Yup, gotta save the ice cream!

"Nice to meet you, Hera." Eli says, some of the tension easing out of him once the introductions are done with - and perhaps some of Eve's enthusiasm on top of that. He can't help but smile. "You've covered a lot of ground in a pretty short amount of time. All I managed to accomplish was buying a lot of snacks and cereal. Feel like I should be doing more with my evening."

He nods along with Eve's words. "And yes, we'd love to have you over sometime. I feel like I'm just slipping in and stealing Eve away, but would be nice to meet you properly."

"I'll pick it up later, Eli is right, we should get the groceries home." Eve has the grace to look piqued, knowing she all but abandoned her husband in the grocery store. She grins at Hera and raises her hand to wave. "Thanks for the painting, and for letting me paint. I'll be in touch, we should do dinner soon!" She is bemused as Eli starts to pull her toward the door, she did get the churros though, so that's something.