Here's part six. Thanks to all of you who gave feedback last time. And thanks to rkn for betaing again.
A Box of Swiss Chocolates
A few days later, it was time for Kiley’s opening at the art gallery. Her parents, her siblings, and her grandparents had all come to show their support. Many prominent business people and other professionals also came, hoping to acquire a painting by Metropolis’s most well-known artist. And of course, many of her colleagues in art also attended. It was a beautiful Wednesday night at the end of June. Everyone was in a good mood.
Kiley was dressed in one of her best dresses for the occasion. It was a full-length dress in a deep purple. She had her hair all done in a French twist, and had put her makeup on as well.
The mayor marched up to Kiley with an aura of purpose. Kiley shuttered for a second. She knew her parents believed the mayor and the city council were corrupt. In fact, they had just gained more evidence today to support their theory, although they still had a long way to go. Still, right now the mayor was one of her patrons, and she owed him her kindness.
“Miss Kent!” The mayor exclaimed. “I was just looking at this piece, here.” He pointed to an abstract piece which consisted of yellows, pinks, and greens in soft strokes and swirls. “Can you explain it to me?”
“Yes. I painted that a few months ago. The idea was that those are spring colors, and I was trying to paint my feelings about the coming of spring. I see spring as a gentle season, so that’s shown with the gentle strokes of the paint.”
“I see,” the mayor replied, obviously trying to appear more enthusiastic than he felt. Kiley knew many people had a hard time understanding abstract art. Still, she also knew it was important to the mayor to appear interested in her work. She sighed. She wished she knew if her parents were right about him. She usually trusted her parents. But she had a suspicion that they would have a different opinion about Larry then she was beginning to have. She put that issue out of her mind.
Grandma Kent examined another painting. This one was of a family, very similar to hers, sitting at a table enjoying dinner. You could see the love for each other that Kiley had put into it. “I’ve got one like this at home somewhere,” she commented. “I did it when Clark was about ten years old.” She smiled, remembering her son at that age. “If I can find it, I’ll have to show it to you when you come by.”
Grandma Kent had been an artist for as long as Kiley could remember. Although she dabbled in many fields, from sculpting, to welding, to jewelry-making, Kiley and Grandma had shared a bond ever since Kiley had started painting. They often painted together when she visited, and Grandma enjoyed showing Kiley all her paintings, both old and new.
Mr. Grant came up to her from behind. “Miss Kent! Wonderful turnout, as always! Your paintings are going incredibly well.” He offered her a glass of champagne. “Cocktail?”
Kiley froze for a second. She knew Mr. Grant was only trying to be kind, and she needed to be polite to him; it was his gallery that sponsored her openings, after all. But she couldn’t afford to drink alcohol. She didn’t know her limits, having never tried the stuff. And testing them could have disastrous consequences for her. And although avoiding it all together was probably unnecessary, it made her very nervous. “Thank you Mr. Grant,” she replied politely. “I appreciate your support. But I think I’d like some ginger ale instead.” She carefully walked off and picked up a glass of ginger ale. Hopefully he wasn’t offended.
Next to the drinks, there were also several other refreshments, including cheese and crackers, fruit, and brownies. She picked up a few pieces of fruit and one of the brownies. As she was doing so, she nearly bumped into her mother, who was also trying to pick up a brownie.
“I’m sorry so sorry, Kiley.” Mom exclaimed. “I didn’t see you. I guess my mind was on other things.” She looked in the direction of the tray of brownies.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. My mind was on other things as well.” Kiley also looked at the tray of brownies. They both looked at each other and laughed. Kiley may not have as much of her mother’s personality, but her fondness for chocolate definitely came from Lois Lane.
Mom picked up one of the brownies as Kiley bit into hers. “So, your opening seems to be going well,” Mom commented as they walked away from the refreshment table.
“I know Mom,” Kiley replied. “A lot of people are interested in them.” Kiley sighed inwardly. The brownie she was eating was good, but nothing compared to Larry’s chocolate.
“I hope you know I’m proud of you,” Mom continued, smiling.
Kiley’s mind snapped back to the present. Her mother was saying something. “Thanks, Mom,” she replied. It was nice to have her parents’ support.
Another patron walked up to her. The Metropolis District Attorney, John Carver. “Hello, Miss Kent,” he said cheerfully. “This is an interesting piece,” he said, pointing to one of her paintings. It was a scene of the skyline of Metropolis. Only instead of painting the skyscrapers their normal silver-grey color, Kiley had painted them bright yellow, green, pink, and orange.
“Oh, yes!” Kiley agreed. That’s my ‘Rainbow Metropolis’ painting.
Mr. Carver nodded. “Your stuff is always so bright and cheerful. Maybe I’ll get this one.”
“Thank you, Mr. Carver. I’m glad you like it.”
Speaking of ‘bright and cheerful’, she wondered what people thought of her “War’s Honor and Grief.’ She hoped it wasn’t too depressing for them.
Kiley walked over to the area where she knew it would be sitting as she finished her brownie. She seriously had to eat some of her Swiss chocolate when she got home. This wasn’t bad, but it was a poor substitute when she had Larry’s chocolate.
Her father was standing in front of the painting, examining it intently. He looked up when he saw her coming. “Hello Kiley. This is a wonderful piece of all the different aspects of war,” he said carefully.
“Thanks Dad. I was little afraid to put it in the show. You know most people who come to my openings are expecting to see paintings that are a little more…uplifting.”
“It’s still good, Kiley, even if it isn’t as bright and cheerful as your others,” Dad reassured her. “Only, I wonder if I was right to subject you to that,” he added softly. In fact, Kiley needed her super-hearing to understand him.
“Dad, may I remind you that I chose to go to South America? And even though it was one of the hardest things I’ve done, I don’t regret it. I did help some people.”
“I know, Kiley, I know.” Dad sighed. “But still…” his voice trailed off.
Kiley glanced around quickly, to make sure know one was watching. Then she leaned over and hugged her father. It would look unprofessional for her patrons, especially the more fancy ones, to see her in her father’s arms.
Stepping away from the hug, Kiley walked away, smiling. It was nice that she had a close relationship with her father. She could see Dad walking towards her mother. They had such a close relationship, as well. Briefly, she wondered if she and Larry would ever be that close. Then she mentally shook her head. It was too soon for her to be thinking like that.
She could see Arnold Framer coming toward her. Of course. Arnold Framer was the Arts Editor for the Daily Planet. Every time she had an opening, he interviewed her. Naturally, her openings were big events in Metropolis. Obviously, The Planet wanted to have it covered. And she was happy to help the newspaper that her parents and Uncle Jim worked at. But she didn’t like him.
“Hello, Miss Kent,” Arnold said politely. Or at least, he tried to make it sound polite. Kiley could hear the underlying sneer behind it.
“Hello, Mr. Framer,” Kiley replied, trying her best to be polite to him as well.
“So,” he continued, taking out his notebook. “I see you’ve had another successful opening at the Metropolis Art Gallery. What do you have to say for yourself?” Arnold made that last comment sound a little condescending. This was why she didn’t like him. Arnold never said anything negative directly to her face. But he made little jibes with his voice. Like that last one. He made it sound like she had given bribes to the gallery and to most of the people here in order to have the opening, or something.
“Well, I think this opening has been successful, Mr. Framer,” Kiley commented as carefully as she could. Even though she didn’t like him or his attitude, she didn’t want to stoop to his level. “Mr. Grant told me as much. And I’ve been asked by several people to explain my pieces. Some have offered to buy them.”
“Of course they have,” Arnold agreed. “You’ve done so well as an artist.” There it was again. He made that last word sound almost as it were beneath him or something. Did he think just because he wrote for a living he was better than her? For a moment, she was back in school, listening to her teachers tell her that she needed to be a writer, just like her parents. Then she snapped back to the present. She loved painting and was doing extremely well with it.
“Yes, I have,” she agreed firmly. She couldn’t let him get to her! “In fact this is my tenth opening since I graduated from college. My paintings always sell well. I’m very pleased.”
“Of course,” Arnold replied sighing when he realized he had nothing left to say. “I think this will be enough for the interview, Miss. Kent. I’ve already seen the guest list, so I’m all set with that. And I’ve seen enough of your paintings to describe them as well. I guess I just need to talk to Mr. Grant.” He had returned back to his ‘business’ voice.
As he walked away, Kiley grumbled inwardly. At least she was through with that man until her next opening. She knew, even though he played into her insecurities about being artist, he was ultimately jealous of her accomplishments. From what she understood, he had tried to sell some paintings of his own and had not been successful.
Still, she really didn’t like listening to his veiled comments. She knew if she really wanted to get him off her back, she could tell Uncle Jimmy. He would never let one of his employees treat her like that. Not to mention the fact that she was pretty sure his behavior was unprofessional for a journalist during an interview. But she was determined to fight her own battles with Arnold.
Thomas came up to her from behind. “Hey, Sis! Great turnout.”
“Thanks,” she replied softly. She wasn’t quite as confident after going through another interview with Arnold, even though she new it was ridiculous to let him get to her.
“Your paintings are selling just as well as they ever did. I’m proud of you, you know.”
Kiley’s heart warmed and her confidence was restored. Support from her family always did that for her. Thomas was a great brother! And she knew he was right. She put Arnold out of her mind.
“And I’m proud of you, too. I hear the crops are doing great in Kansas. It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing, helping Grandpa stay where he wants to be, you know.”
Thomas shrugged. “I know, but it’s where I want to be too. Ever since I was five, I loved that farm. I loved the way Grandpa talked when he was planting the crops and doing the harvest. It’s the best place for both of us, sis. Just like this,” he gestured at all of her paintings, “is best for you.”
Kiley smiled.
Within another half hour of greeting more patrons and explaining her paintings, her opening was over. Mr. Grant told her the gallery would buy the remainder of the paintings that had not sold to private owners. Including in the gallery’s collection, as she had suspected, was “War’s Honor and Grief.” She reminded herself, that sale or no sale, it had been good for her to paint that. Besides, just because the gallery was buying it instead of a private owner, didn’t mean it wasn’t a sale. But the gallery didn’t pay as much for her paintings as the independent buyers did.
Kiley arrived home and decided to relax with one of her favorite books. Her openings were important, and she was glad when they were successful, but they were mentally exhausting. So she picked up her copy of classic fairytales. But before she started reading, she picked up her box of Swiss chocolate. She needed real chocolate. Then she started reading.
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The next day, as Kiley was finishing her painting of the Swiss Alps, she remembered Larry had offered to see her artwork sometime. When this one was finished, she should show it to him, she decided. It was, after all, inspired by his homeland. And Kiley needed to know that he would really support her artwork. Like her parents did, as well as Thomas and Alice. That meeting with Arnold last night showed her how much their support meant to her. She needed that from Larry as well.
They had a date in another two days. She’d show it to him then. It was amazing how far they’d come in the past weeks. They’d gone from trying to run into each other while she was buying chocolate, to doubts that he was honest because he was a Luthor, to getting to know each other as they scheduled prearranged dates.
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When Kiley finished her painting on Thursday evening, she was very excited. She thought the painting, which she was going call ‘Swiss Alps Mystic’, was one of her best yet. She hoped Larry would like it as well. In fact, maybe she’d come by early to show it to him.
Then she looked at the clock in her living room. It was 8:00 PM here. That meant it would be about 2:00AM in the Zurich area. She sighed and sagged her shoulders in disappointment. She would have to wait until tomorrow after all.
Two hours later, she looked at the clock again. It was still too early in Larry’s time. What ever happened to her patience, anyway? She was supposed to be very patient, just like Dad. Everyone told her she had to be patient in order to paint the details in her artwork. So how come she was acting almost more impatient than Mom, here? She needed to go to bed.
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The next day, Kiley woke to news of a major fire in Washington D.C. It was close to the Capital building, and officials were afraid it was going to spread. She flew off to help. Dad wasn’t here with her, so he was probably busy with another emergency. She helped the D. C. firefighters find survivors, using her X-ray vision this time, she kept the flames from spreading to the Capital or any other buildings, and she assisted in taking out the fire. Fortunately, there were no casualties or wounded.
By the time she flew back home, it was time to get ready for her date. She put on a plain green shirt and black pants. She didn’t feel the need to impress Larry so much anymore. Not that she was going to show up for a date her painting clothes or anything but…
Now, if she was going to bring ‘Swiss Alps Mystic’ with her, which she was, she needed to be careful. She couldn’t fly too fast, or her painting would vaporize. But if she flew slowly, she needed to make sure no one noticed Superwoman carrying a large oil-based painting! It would raise too many questions. Maybe if she stayed above the clouds, she would be okay. As long as she didn’t run into any airplanes, that is. She spun into Superwoman, grabbed her painting, took a deep breath, and took off.
Fortunately, when she got to Switzerland, it looked as if no one had noticed her, after all. They had decided to meet at Larry’s house tonight. So she carefully picked an alley nearby, and spun back in to her regular clothes. Within minutes, Larry came strolling toward her. “Hello, Kiley. How are you doing tonight?” he asked her. Because they were in private, he spoke to her in English. “Hey, what’s that package you’ve got there?” He asked her, noticing her painting. She had wrapped it up in brown packaging, kind of like a big paper bag. It protected it from the elements.
“Oh, this is my painting that I just finished of the Alps. You said you had wanted to see my artwork once so…,” her voice trailed off, slightly uncertain. Was she being too presumptuous?
“That’s right.” Larry agreed, nodding his head. “Let’s go inside and you can show it to me.”
They both walked into to Larry’s living room. She set the painting on his couch so they could both have a good look at it. Then she carefully unwrapped her canvas. “I’m calling it ‘Swiss Alps Mystic,’” she explained as she finished.
Larry gasped as he saw her painting in full view for the first time. It took him a few minutes to recover his speech. “Kiley, this is amazing!” he exclaimed in awe. “You know, I grew up around the Alps. I can see them from a distance everyday. And sometimes on my day off I go to the park. But I’ve never seen them the way you’ve captured them here.” He pointed to the painting, brushing the canvas in wonder. “You’ve captured the beauty, the mystery, the wonder of the Alps. And you’ve included animals as part of that wonder.” He gestured to her portrayal of the golden eagle. “There’s so much detail in this. So much emotion, too. You can see how much you enjoyed looking at them.”
“Thanks, Larry.” Kiley replied. She was surprised at how much his support meant to her. She was used to getting praise for her artwork, with a few notable exceptions. So why did Larry’s praise make her feel like she was flying to the moon?
“Seriously, Kiley,” Larry continued. “I’ve never seen a painting like this in my life.”
She smiled at him. Then she made a decision. “You know what? It’s your homeland that inspired this. You can have it. This is my gift to you.”
Larry looked completely shocked. “Are you sure, Kiley?” he asked sounding unable to believe it.
“Yes, Larry.”
“I’ll put it right over my couch,” he said grinning from ear to ear. And every time I see it, I’ll think of you.”
They both smiled at each other very tenderly. Without thinking, Kiley and Larry leaned in and kissed.
