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 Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:11 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:42 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2023 2:14 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2023 2:44 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 1:26 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:05 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 2:53 pm
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 Vane finished giving encouraging words to his client as they ended their session at the gym. He didn't fully know why but he turned away from the client to look towards the entrance as if a siren was calling him silently from there. His breath stuttered as he saw the woman standing there looking at him; she was still as stunning as he remembered but the eyes that normally sparkled with excitement and mischief was now dark and haunted. Her usual attire of bold colors was now dominated with dark tones.
"Mary Anne," he breathed out as soon as he walked over to her.
"I..." started Mary Anne, before she stopped and looked down at her hands that were playing with the end of her scarf that had escaped from underneath her coat. "I didn't know where else to go."
He should have known she would eventually seek him out after he received word that his former mentor Edward Drummond had passed away. Although Mary Anne and him were only married for a few weeks, he knew the feelings had been strong.
"Wait a moment here while I go get cleaned up and then we'll go out for some coffee," said Vane.
Mary Anne simply nodded in response before settling down onto one of the benches near the entrance.
---
Mary Anne stared down into her steaming cup of tea, the bubbles swirling around from when she bobbed the teabag up and down to release more of the flavor into the water. She didn't really know why she felt compelled to track down Vane after all this time. Sure, Vane was a dear friend of her late husband's and a close work friend of her childhood friend Anne, but they had never gotten very close themselves. And yet here she was - sitting across from the man.
"He was a great man. One of the greatest," said Vane. She didn't even have to say a word why she was there and he had already guessed; she figured his thoughts had followed the same path as hers.
"I don't know why it's hitting me so hard," said Mary Anne, finally looking at him. "We hardly knew each other. A quick dating period and then married for just as long."
"You always had a heart of gold, Mary Anne," reasoned Vane. "It's one of my favorite things about you."
Mary Anne's lip curved up slightly as the compliment before falling again.
"What are you going to do now?"
She shrugged. "Probably go visit with friends in England. A change of scenery might do me some good."
"You think that wise?" asked Vane.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow quizzically.
"Leaving one Edward behind and go to the other," said Vane. "The other Edward who left you too."
"We separated mutually, Charles," replied Mary Anne, a weak hint of warning in her voice.
"So did Drummond and you," said Vane. "I remember you coming to me after being exasperated by your cousins harassing him after your separation."
Mary Anne sighed and looked out the window. Vane's eyes narrowed in concern. This was definitely a different version of her from what he was familiar with. The Mary Anne he knew would have continued to playfully argue with him about the matter. He admitted he liked the occasions where it led to them having brief intimate moments of sharing kisses and close embraces. She never took it further than that and he was respectful enough to never pressure her beyond what she was comfortable with - something she had thanked him for every so often.
"Aside from your friends, why England?"
"A painting has come into my possession," whispered Mary Anne.
"A painting?" asked Vane, straightening.
Although Mary Anne primarily worked in the literary field, Vane knew Mary Anne had dabbled in the artistic world. It was the curious ways of how Mary Anne found her way into the worlds of her British Ed's life and eventually into Vane's own group of friends through the artist Flint.
"Flint and Silver came across it during one of their outings at an art gallery," said Mary Anne. "They instantly snatched it up upon discovering it."
"All for a painting?"
"It's a painting of a woman who looks like me, Charles," said Mary Anne, looking up at Vane. "Not just a vague resemblance. Like as if I had been the very subject the painting had been done of."
Vane leaned back in his chair staring at her.
"Just like those series of paintings your Ed and his boys came across," said Vane, remembering when she had mentioned the latest developments in her ex's art career at a club they had crossed paths at.
"Exactly," confirmed Mary Anne. "None of the art restorers here want to put much time and effort to verify the time period it was painted to see if it's from the same time as those other paintings."
"So, you're going to your boy to have him do it."
Mary Anne only shrugged before sipping her tea. He ran a hand through his long hair.
"Well, I can't fault you for that," said Vane. "Sometimes you got to go to the best to have something done right. Even if there is history."
She lowered her cup to look at Vane, as if observing to see if Vane was saying something else than what he vocalized. Vane leaned forward and placed a hand on hers, giving a light comforting squeeze.
"If this is what you need, then do what you got to do," said Vane. "I'll be here for you if you need me, if it doesn't work out the way you expected."
"Thank you, Charles." |
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