Closed Not Too Late?

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine hated her boss, she had asked weeks in advance to be able to leave early that day. She had somewhere to be, but he hadn't let her. She had been stuck at work. Martine had wanted to get changed, to make herself look pretty for the crowd of fancy people that would be there, she wanted to not smell of cleaning products. But none of that was the case. She'd managed to wear something that wasn't her work clothes, but her hair felt all over the place, and she felt like she was one conversation away from tears, but she was there. She was late. Martine rushed into her son's art gallery and noticed not too many people were left. She turned down the drink offered and instead looked at the pieces in front of her, the ones left. She had been looking forward to this for a long while, so proud of him and his art. Martine couldn't spot Casper, and she hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed with her being so late. They were beautiful, the artwork so stunning, she felt in awe of each piece that was there. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper had been having a hectic but good night. He'd made a friend, sold several painting for much more than he'd expected, and he'd managed to steal plenty of time with Linden to keep his nerves calm. The only thing he would change was that he'd been waiting for his mother to arrive- he'd been searching for her most of the night. He'd almost given up hope, disappointed to think she hadn't come- when he spotted her at last, looking over one of his pieces. He absolutely lit up, jogging over to stand behind her. "Mom," He greeted happily, wrapping his arms around her and laying his head against her shoulder. "You made it," He breathed a sigh of relief.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine felt tears well in her eyes as he greeted her, giving her a hug and speaking so happily. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. ”I'm so sorry I'm late baby,” she muttered softly, letting equally out a sigh of relief that almost caught in her throat as she felt ready to cry. ”I had planned to be here earlier, but my boss wouldn't let me leave,” she knew these apologies weren't necessary or worth it, but she felt she had to. She pulled out of the hug and held his face in her hands. ”These works are beautiful, show me them all,” she asked. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas held his mom close, though he released her as she pulled back. He smiled softly at her, but hesitated as she spoke. "Of course I will," He promised her gently, reaching up himself to brush her hair back. "Mom, are you alright?" He asked softly. He could tell she just looked stressed out. "It's okay, mom, come here," He tried to draw her close again and back into his arms, wanting to comfort her.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine smiled softly and fondly at her son. She let herself be drawn back into a hug, enjoying the feeling of him in her arms. ”I'm sorry sweetie, I just really didn't want to miss this, and I wanted to be presentable…and not smelling like my job,” she told him. ”I want to be here for all your successes, not late. You have an art gallery, I'm so proud of you,” Of course Martine just had some stress in her about being a present parent now. She knew that his foster parents had never turned up and wanted to be a good parent to him. She wanted to be there when she hadn't before. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled warmly and just shook his head, stroking her hair. "Mom," He murmured, before pressing a kiss to her temple. "It doesn't matter to me what you're wearing, or how you appear." He drew back just enough to try and take her hands in his. "It just means everything to me that you're here. You could be here an hour before it opens or an hour after it closes, you're here." He hesitated, suddenly looking shy, and reached a hand back to rub the back of his neck. "Just you being here, it... I... it's something I've always dreamt of, always wanted," he admitted gently. He looked up at her bashfully. "I... I love you, mom." He told her, knowing that saying he loved her for the first time in such a public setting might not be the best idea.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine allowed herself to just lean into his soft touch, to allow the physical affection that he gave her, knowing how important it was to do so whenever she got it from him. She wanted to press that she should've been there more, should've done more to fit in, she knew what a massive deal an art gallery was. She had always dreamt of it for herself, but was more than glad that her son could achieve it. Martine held his gaze and smiled, feeling fresh tears in her eyes as he said he loved her. It felt like a piece of her heart was mended by the words. Not further broken, but mended. ”I love you so much,” she returned, speaking with a fondness not wanting to overshadow his admission with any further words, just wanting to hold him nice and close. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled, drawing his mother back in and holding her against his chest. He cuddled her a bit, rubbing her back and just enjoying the warmth and closeness. Eventually, he pulled back a bit, giving her a gentle smile. He reached to tuck her hair behind her ear, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers. "Would you like to show you around? Things have died down a bit, and I've sold most of the paintings, but I have a few left over," He admitted almost shyly.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine glanced about the room, she was late so of course it was quieter. But she nodded. "I would love that," she said, she had wanted to maybe get one. But if most were sold she didn't think she'd be able to and not to mention she wanted to pay the right price, though she couldn't really afford it. She just wanted to marvel at his work and sing all of his praises.

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled warmly, offering his mom out for his mother before starting to lead her slowly around the gallery. "How was work today?" He asked conversationally, moving slowly through the landscapes. There was one in particular he wanted to show her, but he was saving that for later. Most of his paintings had sold, but Casper had really thrown himself into this gallery. There was a section about his life that he hadn't offered up for sale, instead just having it as more of a display of who he was. He swallowed nervously, hoping his mother liked his work. Her approval meant everything to him.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine didn't want to talk about her work when she was in the gallery. Her twenty-year-old self would jealous of all he had achieved. Given that this was what she had once wanted, but her now self, could only beam with pride, giving little noises of awe at each of the paintings, lingering on each one as long as he would let her. She was tearing up at his talent, at the emotions she could read in his work. "Your work is beautiful, Casper," she said softly, pride in her voice. "Your landscapes are a wonderful tapestry of the world, a delicate brush upon the canvas. Your dad would've been so proud too," she knew that her husband would've loved these too. He had been a big fan of art.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled, slowly pulling his mom around to each painting. He could tell she wanted to linger, but there was one in particular he wanted her to see. "I like the fantasy landscapes." He told her softly. "Especially the blue and purple pallets." He offered, lacing his arm over her shoulders. "You know... my agent is already talking about booking another gallery sometime in the coming year..." He bit his lip, taking a slow breath. "Do you think maybe... you'd be willing to work on some paintings with me?" He asked her, almost shyly. "

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine nodded, "You use them beautifully," she told him and was honest about it. Though everything about this was perfect. Everything she could ever hope for when thinking about the talent of her son. Though really had the art been stick figures then she'd have equally loved it. "That's so exciting sweetie," she glad he was having such success and already trying to see what she could organise so that time she wouldn't be late. But the question caught her off guard. She would love to paint with him, work on paintings with him but she didn't want to take away from his work or ruin it. "Oh, baby, I don't know," she took a little breath and then nodded. "I'd love to work on some with you," she paused for a moment, "But only if you're sure," she didn't want to call herself terrible or that she'd ruin his good work. Now wasn't the time for that. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper blushed as she complimented him, letting out a shy laugh. He rubbed his thumb gently over her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Mom," He started carefully, shifting more towards her and trying to catch her eye. "What I want, more than anything... I want to build these memories with you." He told her gently. "I wish we'd been together before... that you were the one that taught me how to paint, cooed over all my doodles and paintings and put them up on the fridge, that we'd spent whole weekends working on projects together, getting covered in paint and that you would scrub the paint off my face with a wet rag."

Cas took a deep breath, shifting to try and catch her hands in his. "I don't care how the paintings turn out, mom, it's not about that, it- I want to share this with you. Please?" He pleaded gently, giving her his biggest eyes. "Could I come over the next time you're off? You can teach me how to make your favorite dinners and we can cuddle and watch movies?" He asked, knowing he sounded like a silly little kid, but he couldn't help it. He'd never had a good parental figure in his adoptive parents, and he'd hidden from Abner as much as he could get away with, not wanting to impose.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine never wanted to push him, never wanted to force him to accept her too quickly to have to do things with her that he didn't want to do. For her, him deciding the pace they were to go at fitted the best. Martine just felt too, that he was too kind to her, too quickly able to forgive her when she hadn't yet. But She agreed simply that she wished that she had been there with him as he had learned. ”I would've loved to be there too,” she agreed, they wouldn't get those memories now, that time was gone, but they had the opportunity to create new ones, she just had to agree.

”Of course sweetie,” she agreed, and she knew it was the right thing to do. ”You're welcome any time, I'll let you know when I'm next free,” she told him with an eagerness that was trying to hold back because being able to paint with him, to make dinners with him. all of that was going to be amazing. Stuff she'd never thought possible. ”We can make a whole day of it,' she agreed. ”The first of many,”​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled brightly, elated as she agreed. He dragged her in for a hug, holding her tightly. "I really missed you, mom," He whispered, snuggling in a bit before pulling back. "Mom? Can I show you something?" He asked, before leading her gently over to a painting. It was a very emotional piece, of a broken angel lost among the stars, with a small shadow asleep and cold, almost hidden on the moon. The angel was beautiful, celestial, dripping in color and looking almost trapped within the inky blackness.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine let him drag her into a hug. She wasn't sure he had any real memories to miss her with but she didn't mind, he was a kind and caring boy she wouldn't turn that down. The woman nodded. "Of course baby," she replied with a smile, and was led to a painting, she could tell it was an emotional piece and could see all the work and pain which had gone into it. "Goodness, Casper, this is beautiful," Martine muttered, "Just...I love it," she wanted to buy it, but had to assume that it was bought, it was such a stunning piece. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled softly. "Well, you know, this piece hasn't sold yet," He reassured her. Having a feeling she'd want to buy something, he'd locked this one down. He'd made it just for her, after all, and he wanted her to have it. He'd put a fake bid on it, thinking she wouldn't want to just accept a free painting. It was a lowball offer, one he'd checked with Basil to make sure she could beat. "With the gallery almost over, I bet if you bid on it you'd win," He offered with a shy smile.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine gave a little gasp of surprise, having imagined that such a painting would've been bought already. She had been looking to get one. She broke off from Casper to approach the side where there was one bid on the item and she smiled, she knew she could beat that. Martine told him how much she bid on it, with an excited tone. She knew exactly where it would go in her house and knew that she would never take it down. "Thank you, I didn't think I'd having time to buy a piece and I wanted to so badly." she wanted to support him in every way that she could. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, mom, honestly," He let out a soft breath, knowing then that he couldn't ever lie to his mother. "I made this piece for you." He admitted, staring at his shoes. "I was sure you would want to buy something... so I closed the bidding, the other bid was mine. I talked to Basil, he told me what you could afford. We... I thought that... it would be better if I let you buy it on your own, instead of just giving it to you." He peeked up at her, biting his lip.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine knew that it would be all soon that her sons would start conspiring behind her back but she loved it. She loved that they could get along, that they were speaking to each other. She hadn't completely damaged their ability to have relationships with one another. "Casper..you shouldn't have, you and Basil shouldn't have, you could've made way more money with this," she replied but she had taken his hand and squeezed, "But I am glad you did. It beautiful and I would've been really disappointed to miss out," she was honest with him about it, knowing that she should be. ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Mom," He smiled, tucking her hair back. "I don't care about money. I've sold a lot of paintings tonight. I don't need to sell another one for a lot of money." He reassured her, snuggling into her hair. "Are you working tomorrow?" He asked her, shutting his eyes.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martin kissed his head lightly, "I know," he told him. She would've still wanted to be able to pay the actual price for it, but was content that he didn't really want her to. She shook her head. "I'm not, not working again for a few days," The woman had wanted to be able to spend as much as possible without worrying about working again too soon after. "You want to come home and I can make you dinner?" ​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas smiled warmly. "Mm... that sounds lovely, honestly, but I already have plans with Linden tonight. But I can come over tomorrow?" He asked, giving her his best pout. "Please?" He leaned his head on her shoulder, slipping his hand down and lacing it through hers.

 

[Martine Kinnek]

Martine nodded, she would've liked to spend the time with him, but absolutely wouldn't stand in the way of Casper and his boyfriend. "Give Linden my love," she said to him softly and then nodded. "Tomorrow sounds good," she leaned into him. She was so proud of him and so glad to be able to part of his life. "I love you so much sweetheart,"