Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,27
because I want to get it. I want to understand. And I don't…" She trailed, again trying to find the right words.
"You don't what?" he asked.
The thread, after all that picking, finally came off her bag. "I don't want you to avoid me anymore. It bothers me."
"I thought my being around you bothered you," he said.
"It does," she said. "But not as much as you avoiding me."
He cocked his head to the side. "You're odd."
She shrugged. "I know."
He stared at her. Then, he smiled. "All right. I won't avoid you anymore."
Oddly enough, she felt like some kind of a weight or something had come off her shoulders. "Okay, then," she said. "Um, busy afternoon for you?"
He shook his head, which for the first time looked normal. "You?"
"Just going to see my grandmother. I'm taking her to an art show and then to dinner." She got an idea. "Hey, you wanna come with us?"
"Would that be all right?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to intrude."
"You won't be," she said. "An artist I know is going to be there. He gave me three tickets, but my mom's working tonight. You should come. It'll be fun."
Carter smiled. "Thank you for inviting me. I accept."
They boarded the bus for Agape. When they arrived, Ba was waiting in the lobby with one of the nurses.
"Hi Con. And hello, Carter," she said cheerfully.
"Chào Bà," he said.
"Hi Ba." Mary kissed her on the cheek. "Is it all right if Carter goes with us?"
Her grandmother's eyes lit up. "Oh yes. You're most welcome."
Mary took Ba's arm and said to the nurse, "Thank you for getting her ready."
"You're welcome, honey. And I can take your back packs to her room to keep there."
Mary removed her wallet and handed over her bag. Carter did the same.
"Remember, eight o'clock," the nurse said.
"We'll have her back in time," Mary promised.
Outside, it was sunny, so Ba put on her hat while Mary put on her sunglasses. Carter didn't seem to mind the light. He didn't even squint.
Since Mary didn't know exactly where the art show was, they took a cab and gave the driver the address. He wove in and out of the streets, squeezing some of the yellow lights and overall making Mary nervous. She hadn't taken driving lessons yet specifically because driving in the city scared the cheese out of her.
Finally, the cab dropped them off in front of the art gallery. Mary paid the driver, and they went inside and gave the host their tickets. It was like a party. There was a DJ playing music and a bar serving cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. People in fashionable clothes walked about with drink glasses in their hands, chatting as they admired the various art offerings.
"Mary!" Ben came to greet her and Ba, and Mary introduced Carter. "Pleased to meet you," he said as he extended his hand.
Carter looked at Ben's hand curiously.
There was an awkward moment of silence. Then Ba chuckled, "It's all right to shake his hand, Carter. Ben doesn't bite."
Carter and Ben laughed, and they shook hands.
"Wow, running pretty hot there," Ben said. "Do you have a fever? Are you feeling okay?"
"I don't think I have a fever," Carter said. "And I am well, thank you."
"Where is it?" Mary asked eagerly. "Where's your phoenix?"
"Right over here," Ben said as he led the way.
The show featured several art pieces that evening, but Ben's phoenix had the best display space possible. It was dead in the center of the gallery, surrounded by a small crowd taking pictures of it with their smartphones.
"That's amazing!" Ba gasped. "Oh Ben, you did such a marvelous work."
"Coming from you, that's a huge compliment, Mrs. Phan," Ben said. "Here, let me show you what it looks like when you walk around it."
As Ben showed Ba around, Mary noticed that Carter's eyes hardly blinked as he looked at the sculpture.
"What do you think?" Mary asked.
After a moment of silence, he said, "I…don't know."
"It's all right if it's not your thing," Mary said. "Art's really subjective."
Carter shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm trying to think of what to say. Ben made this with his hands."
"Well, and some power tools," Mary said.
"But this was just metal and glass once," he said. "Raw materials. No form. No purpose. But Ben saw something in his mind. And the chemicals in his brain arranged to tell his hands to craft these uninteresting materials. This is the result. We are looking at what he saw before he made the work.