“You look lovely as usual, Hex,” I said.
“I try.” He wagged his eyebrows at me. “But stop trying to get me off the point. Are you going up there or what?”
“No.”
“What do you mean no?” Elle opened her mouth in shock. “You’re not going to climb on one of them, Alvarez? Where’s the fun in that?”
“I’m having fun watching you swing.”
She pumped her legs back and forth, gaining a nice rhythm as her swing traveled through the air. “But this isn’t the main attraction. You need more than one person to see the real effects. Didn’t you read the title, ‘It Takes Two’?”
“It takes two for what?” I raised my eyebrows. “Hex, why don’t you get on one?”
“Nope. I’ve already climbed most of the installations with Elle. Why don’t you do this one? Elle has dragged me all over this level. At this rate, I won’t get to see any of the video on the next level before everyone comes in.” He pulled out his cell phone and checked it. “Hurry, Al. We don’t have all day.”
“I’m not getting up there,” I protested.
“Come on.” She gestured to the lowest swing further away from her. “If you’re afraid of heights then try that one.”
“I’m not afraid of heights.”
“Sure you aren’t.” She winked again.
“Show her you’re not afraid,” Hex egged me on. “Show her how brave we Castillo men can be.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Come on! Come on! Come on!” They both chanted. Their voices echoed in the tiny space.
It was in that moment that I realized both of them were drunk. What else could it be? Although the scent of alcohol didn’t radiate from them and they didn’t slur their words, I knew Hex only raised his voice when he was mad or drunk, and surely Elle’s typical art gallery behavior wasn’t screaming as loud as she could.
“Come on! Come on!” They continued to yell out encouragement. Their voices filled the space and probably caught the attention of the reception goers on the highest level. Elle’s fist punched the air. Hex clapped. I groaned and waved my hands to quiet them. The movement only motivated them to be louder.
“Okay. Okay.” I headed over to the low swing. “I’m getting on the damn swing, just lower your voices.”
“Go. Go. Go.” Elle lowered her voice and did a somewhat quiet clap.
“Are you both drunk?” I headed up the ladder and propped myself on a swing with no problem.
“Correction, dear brother.” Hex held one finger in the air. “We’re exquisitely tipsy. There’s a difference. Drunkenness is done at a shady bar in ugly clothing surrounded by the mundane while exquisite tipsiness is performed in an art setting among geniuses.”
“Thanks so much for the distinction.” I rolled my eyes.
“Alvarez, you have to swing.” She continued to pump her legs back and forth. The tuxedo material rippled along her body. Her long braid bounced in the air. The small breeze that she created from her swinging carried her perfume my way. “Come on. Swing with me, Alvarez.”
How could I not?
I didn’t understand what was supposed to happen from our swinging, but the need to make her happy bloomed in my chest and I couldn’t come up with a rational reason for why I had to please her. I pumped my legs with her rhythm until I traveled through the air just like her.
The lights in our area shut off. She giggled. I tensed and scanned the darkness. Music sounded, a soft piano melody with a little girl’s voice humming a haunting tune. Tiny lights materialized above us. They weren’t in the ceiling. They simply hovered over us, hanging from some unseen cord or wire. They glowed like stars and decorated Elle’s and my skin with tiny dots of light.
“Oh my God. Look. That’s us.” Still swinging, Elle pointed to the wall in front of us.
I directed my attention that way. “Oh. That is us.”
A small movie played on the wall’s surface. There must’ve been a projector somewhere behind us. Elle stood behind me, exploring my body with her gaze. I see I’m not the only one appreciating someone’s form. From my peripheral, I noticed Elle covering her mouth as she blushed. To not further embarrass her, I focused back on the film before us. At that moment in the little film, I helped Elle up on the ladder and blatantly checked out her rear. I coughed in my hand to give myself something else to do besides cringe in horror. The whole time that strange humming filled the air.
“This is possibly the most interesting movie I’ve ever seen.” Hex strolled to the center. His heels tapped on the floor.
On the wall, the rest of the earlier moments played out before us—Elle swinging, Hex entering, both of them pressuring me to jump on the swing, and then it clicked to darkness. The lights darkened. The humming vanished. The gallery’s regular lights turned on.