Looking around excitedly for what we needed to start, I realized this was a whole new process for me all over again. I usually just painted or created an effect on the pieces, so I didn’t need to really sketch intricate details unless something was explicitly asked for.
Basically, I didn’t have a freaking clue where to start or what he needed.
“Uh,” I mumbled, shoving my hand in my hair, and remembering that I needed to tie it out of the way still. “What do we need to get started?”
“I can freehand the sketch onto it to fit the shape and flow of the ceramic. It’ll make the 3D effect of the flowers stand out more than if I just drew them on straight without taking into account the shape of it.”
I could see what he meant, so I nodded and reached for the box that held all of my drawing stuff in it. I kept the workshop meticulously tidy because it was a pain in the ass having to go hunting for things when I was in the middle of a job.
“I’ve got pencils, pens, and Sharpies in there. Does that help?”
“Do you have an eraser and a pencil sharpener, too?” When I nodded and pulled them out, he crossed over to where the two chairs with wheels on them were. “Then let’s get cracking.”
Two days later…
“You know,” Maddie mused as she circled the vase. “Most couples go out on dates together. They take in a movie, have a bite to eat, maybe go for a drive or a picnic.”
“Your point?” I asked her over my shoulder as I worked on a newly commissioned piece.
“It says something about a couple when they spend all of their free time together but do it coloring in a vase the size of your best friend.”
Digging into the clay with my thumbs, I experienced the heady feeling when it started to rise on the sides and the center began to hollow out. Few people would ever be able to understand it, only the ones who made things like this, but even after all of these years, I still got a rush when I saw what looked like an elephant poop of clay morph into something like a bowl.
“We’re not a couple, and we also spend time with Bash and Mento.”
“Speaking of which, where are my nephews today. I still need to thank you guys for making me an instant auntie overnight.” When I didn’t answer, she started laughing. “Let me guess, Daddy took them to work with him today.”
And that’s why I hadn’t answered. She was getting way too much enjoyment out of what was going on between us and reading way too much into it at the same time.
Rolling the spare chair over beside me, she flopped down into it and sat with her face in her hands, elbows braced on her knees, just staring at me as I continued to work.
After it’d gone on for a while, I cracked. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“You’re pretty,” she sighed happily, not taking her eyes off me.
Taking my foot off the pedal that made the wheel rotate, I lifted my hands in the air as I straightened up and glared at her. “Remember when you wanted to try Mr. Simmons’ pot brownies in tenth grade.”
Frowning, she thought about it for a moment and then grinned. “Oh, yeah. It was Halloween and he didn’t have any candy. Hey, that marijuana was for medicinal purposes for the old man. He was in pain and couldn’t even straighten up.”
“I know,” I drawled. “But it still didn’t make eating his Devil’s lettuce brownies a good idea, did it?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You wouldn’t even let me take a bite of one. Where are you going with this?”
Dunking my hands in the bucket of water beside me, I put my foot back on the pedal and focused on shaping the clay a bit more. “A lot of years have passed since then, and I know how many boxes of brownie mix you throw in the shopping cart every time we go to the store. Have you been hitting the whacky tobacky brownies, Madison?”
“As if,” she snorted.
“Then explain your behavior.”
“Can’t I be happy for you,” she wailed. “Just let me rejoice in the fact that my best friend and sister has found herself a great guy who worships the ground she walks on. Not only that,” she said loudly, getting up and pacing. “He has the same tastes in recreational activities as you, organized his friends to come over and then helped them build a big ass fence around your property—”
“Which has ruined the aesthetic effect of the field in my photos, by the way.”
“—got you two puppies who love you to pieces to make sure you’re safe and sleep peacefully at night, checks your security more thoroughly and regularly than you do, and who looks out for the aforementioned best friend, too.”