You Say It First
Page 21

He walked to the sink and washed up, then returned to Mathias and explained about the CA world.
“I didn’t have anything specific in mind,” he admitted. “The colors are purple, teal and black. I guess I was planning to do balloon-shaped orbs.” He grimaced. “Not exactly original.”
“What’s on the planet? Anything interesting? Two-headed frogs? Dragons?”
“No. It’s not a fantasy based game. There’s the usual stuff. Houses, roads, people. They’re fighting a war, so some weapons. I doubt the bride and groom want those at the wedding.”
Nick crossed to his drafting table. He had the east side of the huge studio—slightly less than a quarter of the space, but plenty for him. His brothers shared the rest of the open room. There was a large furnace used to generate the heat needed to melt glass. It was a big operation with two ovens, three workstations, shelves, raw material and a venting system that rivaled any at the Center for Disease Control. Ronan also had a studio up at his house but he generally came into town when he was working.
Both Ronan and Mathias exclusively used glass. Nick was the only outlier, switching to wood and now dabbling with papier-mâché.
“There is a flower,” he said more to himself than his brother. “It only blooms when the sun is out, which is a handful of hours a day. The leaves cure nearly any injury and the nectar is food.”
“Don’t you need a bee to make nectar into food? Isn’t that honey?”
Nick sat in front of his table and started sketching the flowers. “Your knowledge of botany is impressive, but I’m pretty sure you can eat nectar straight from the flower.” He drew the stem and added leaves. “Besides, it’s a game. It can be anything we want it to be.”
He stared at the drawing. “I swear I could carve forms faster than using a balloon. There’s a place in Mexico making animals out of papier-mâché. How do they do it?” He grabbed his laptop and booted it.
Ronan strolled over. “You forgot the orbs on the flowers.”
“Orbs?” Mathias asked with a wink. “Is this a female plant?”
Ronan ignore him. “The power orbs. They provide light.” He added a couple of circles at the base of the flower. “No way to show light with papier-mâché. You should use glass.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Nick muttered. He hadn’t worked with glass in years. Ronan was right about the orbs, though. They grew at the base of the plant. Still, if he could come up with a form...
He logged online and then searched YouTube videos until he found the one he wanted and began to watch. After he’d been through it several times, he figured out the molds he needed to make. He decided three different flowers could be grouped together in several ways. The trick was the mold. He could easily create a clay version of the flowers, if that could be the basis of the mold.
Fifteen minutes later he was on the phone with a guy in Sacramento. Yes, he could make a mold from a clay rendering. Yes, it could be done in a couple of days. He hung up as Atsuko walked into the studio.
She walked over to him. “You’re looking happy about something.”
“Molds for the alien wedding.”
She pressed her lips together. “Decorative molds?”
“So I can make papier-mâché flowers.”
“Why not use the molds to make plastic flowers? Or go to an arts-and-crafts store and buy silk flowers?”
He winced and pressed his hand to his chest. “You wound me. These are special alien flowers.”
“Of course they are.” She shook her head and murmured something about boys being boys. “Have you thought about working with metal?”
“Sheet metal?”
“Rods, sheet metal, whatever. It’s different than wood or glass, but you might like it. Someone I know is selling all his equipment. I’m going to buy it. You can play around and see if it suits.”
Metal. He’d never considered the medium. “I’m game for experimenting.”
“I thought you might be. You know how to weld?”
He started to point out that working with glass meant working with fire all the time, then reminded himself that welding was completely different. “I took a couple of classes in high school.”
“You might want to brush up on your skills.” She leaned against his drafting table. “When will you hear on the Dubai commission?”
“In a couple of months.” He glanced at the drawing of the flower and added a couple of orbs to the base. “I still don’t know if I want to take it or not.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Cart, meet horse.”
He grinned. “You think I might not get it? Seriously? I’m a Mitchell. Who could be better?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your ego.”
The sound of glass shattering interrupted them. They both turned to look at the hot glass on the concrete floor. Atsuko shook her head. “What was I thinking, inviting you three here? I could have nice, quiet painters. But no.”
“You love us,” Mathias called as she turned to leave. “We’re your favorites.”
She waved in his general direction, then left. Nick turned his attention back to the drawing. He sketched a second flower, then a third. He wasn’t worried about Atsuko actually being upset about the broken glass. She wasn’t the type—after all, she’d offered him access to a welding torch.
He stood. “Anyone know where I can get a lot of clay? I need to sculpt the flowers and get them to the mold guy.”
Mathias’s mouth twitched. “I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice man. Can he have a different name?”
“Check the supply room.” Ronan jerked his head in that direction. “I sometimes use clay to work out a piece. There’s about fifty pounds of it. Just tell Natalie to order more.”
Better and better, Nick thought as he headed for the storeroom. He would create the alien flowers in clay. While the mold was being made, he could figure out how he wanted to use the world’s colors. However he designed the color scheme, he would have to make sure it worked with Nova’s dress.
Funny how he’d expected his time in Happily Inc to be nothing more than ordinary while he waited to hear on his commission. From the first second Pallas had asked him to take off his shirt and fill in as a Roman soldier, it had been anything but.
* * *
PALLAS HAD NEVER attended a video game night, so wasn’t sure what to expect or even serve. She’d borrowed a couple of TVs from friends so three groups could play at a time, then had put out the word to all interested parties. The open invitation meant she had no idea how many people would be stopping by. Nick was coming, of course, along with Wynn and her son. A few of her friends from The Boardroom had said they would come over. Nick had warned her the party could last well into the night, so she had to be prepared to serve breakfast, as well.
She debated various foods, then decided anything offered would have to be easily picked up and eaten and not be sticky. She ordered mini wraps from the grocery store deli, along with caprese salad she could put in individual bowls. There were cookies, but she’d avoided chips. Too greasy for the controllers.
She was ready by five, with everyone due to arrive between five thirty and six. She put out bottles of water and cans of soda. There wouldn’t be a specialty sangria tonight—she needed everyone to be alert. Her plan was to observe, rather than play. She wanted to take notes on the various levels and look for ideas for the wedding.