‘I’ve never seen anything quite so…’ I frowned, searching for the word.
‘Inspired?’ my partner suggested, brow furrowed in artistic concentration, analysing my every slight reaction to his piece.
‘No.’ I shook my head and laughed as he deflated slightly. ‘Not in a negative way,’ I said, soothing his ego back into shape. ‘Just… it defies explanation. Does it have a name?’
‘Not yet.’ He shook his head. ‘To be honest, it’s perplexing me a little bit too, and I sculpted the damn thing.’
I took another walk around the piece, a colourless behemoth of strong lines and vague gestures.
‘Materials?’ I asked.
‘Whatever I had lying around.’ He shrugged. ‘Wood, mostly. A few different screws and bolts, some wire. I think there’s some electrical tape in there somewhere too…’
‘You should name it after the local hardware store in Cheltenham,’ I giggled, and he tipped his head in appreciation of my joke.
‘I don’t want to deal with a trademark dispute this early in my career.’ He laughed. ‘But I like the idea. Very conceptual. I’ll shelve it for later when I’m a cultural icon with millions of dollars and can throw my weight around.’
‘Any day now.’ I nodded, crouching down to examine the table. ‘Is this part of the piece?’
‘The table? Yeah, I just threw it together so it didn’t have to sit on my floor anymore.’
‘What’s it made of?’ I asked, running a tentative finger across the top.
‘Uh…’ he frowned. ‘Wood, I guess? I found it in the same scrap pile that most of the piece came from.’
‘So it is a part of it,’ I nodded, breathless. ‘The same Genesis.’
‘Just decent, good quality Cheltenham timber,’ he said, eyebrow cocked. ‘You feeling alright?’
‘Just… inspired,’ I said quietly. ‘Truly, inspired.’
‘Right…’ he frowned again. ‘Do you… need a minute?’
I straightened up slowly, closing my eyes and breathing in deeply through my nose. I turned back to him with a smile.
‘Would you mind?’