Tonight was a special night for Shannon—it was her first date with Oliver. She was nervous, which in Shannon comes across as defensive, and I had a difficult time convincing her not to cancel the whole thing. In the end, however, she was glad that she did not.
I think it is good that she is following something of a structure in her relationship with Oliver. She never once went out on a date with Thomas, and with Mark before that, everything was very casual. To have their intentions stated and out in the open is a comfort to her, and the more comfortable she feels, the better this will go.
Oliver was punctual, and when Shannon opened the door for him, she laughed to see that he had worn a tie, as she had suggested, and was carrying a bouquet of flowers.
“As instructed,” he said, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You look wonderful.”
She did indeed—she was wearing a slim red dress belted tight to her waist, as well as bright red shoes so high that she was in fact an inch or two taller than Oliver. This was a test, one which he passed, for it did not bother him in the least. Nor did it bother him to let Shannon take the lead—she had been the one to plan and arrange the date. It is a good thing he is fine with following, for if he is to have a future with Shannon, he should get used to the sensation.
“So where are we going?” Oliver asked her, giving her his arm as they left her building.
“Food first,” she said and hailed a taxi.
They had dinner at a tiny but quite lovely Italian restaurant not far from the museum where she works. The conversation over dinner was mostly about the exhibit—“Two weeks out,” as Oliver pointed out. Shannon is excited, anxious, and irritated by turns. She was torn on the museum’s decision not to advertise the exhibit until a week before its opening—on the one hand, she appreciated the nod to the temporary nature of the art form; on the other, she wants as many people to see it as possible.
“But they can’t stop me from talking about it, so I have been telling everyone I meet,” she said. “And you should be, too.”
“Oh, I already am,” Oliver replied. “I am very excited to be there.”
More and more pleased with him, Shannon even began to ask about Oliver and his work. They were still talking about some of his students when they left the restaurant. Shannon checked her watch and nodded. “Let’s run up to my office for a second,” she said, “I have something for you.”
Oliver also checked her watch. “After that, perhaps I could contribute something to the evening?”
“Ooh, did you plan something?”
“Perhaps,” he said, smiling. “You will just have to come with me and find out, will you not?”
“Well, maybe I will,” she said, “if I don’t have to walk too far. These shoes are killing me.”
In the elevator up to Shannon’s office, Oliver took off his own shoes and gave them to her. They were much too large, so both of them were laughing as she flip-flopped her way over to her desk.
“Oh, good, he left it for me,” Shannon said, snatching up a manila folder. She handed it to Oliver with a flourish. “Give that to Nate when you see him and tell him to call me if he’s interested.”
Surprised, Oliver opened the file and began to look through it. It did not take him long to understand what it was, and he looked up in astonishment. “An internship?”
“It took some doing, so I expect major groveling from our little vandal,” she said. “But Jace says he’d be happy to put a talented kid to work after school this fall. Which ought to look excellent on the college applications he’ll be filling out soon.”
Oliver laughed in wonder and took Shannon’s hand, pulling it against his chest. “If he does not grovel, be sure that I will,” he said. “Shannon, my surprising lovely girl, this may be the kindest thing you have ever done.”
I, too, was surprised and delighted by this act. It is true, she did it more for Oliver’s sake than the boy’s, in an attempt to impress him; but it is still something that will help Nate very much, and she thought of it with no prompting from Oliver or from me. I filled Shannon with a rush of approval, and she smiled in satisfaction, her cheeks only a little pink. “So,” she said, “these plans you have had better be as good as this.”
Oliver tucked the file under his arm and took her hand. “I think you will be pleased.”
He brought her to a quiet business street a few blocks away, the buildings on either side of the street smooth-faced stores and blank-faced offices. At the end of the street was an empty lot, however, and on the side of the last building was a face that was anything but smooth, quiet, or blank.
“Oh, my god,” Shannon gasped, covering her mouth. In the light of sunset, the mural was brilliant and wild, staring down at her with eyes composed of spinning flames and dancing stars, surrounded by hands reaching, figures spinning, rivers running, all smaller, vibrant images that came together to form a calmly smiling visage. Staring up at it, Shannon was carried back to the first moment that her heart opened, the first time she saw an image as lovely as this, before it was obliterated by clean white paint.
“It’s the same,” Shannon said shakily, gripping Oliver’s forearm. “The same artist. Oh, how did you find this?”
“I put Nate and his friends to work,” Oliver said, watching her face with a slight smile. “We still don’t know who it is for certain, though they have a few ideas. But it so happens that the owner of this building likes the mural, so he left it. It will stay, Shannon. For as long as this building stands, it will be here.”
Shannon blinked hard against tears, for a moment fighting against the emotion that raced through her. I urged her not to resist, and so she turned and threw herself into Oliver’s arms, kissing him once, twice, a dozen times. Then she stayed there in his arms, both of them staring at the work of art, not saying anything at all.