Chapter 10 #3
As if he couldn’t hear her, he yanked the door open and hurried in. All of the kids turned to look at him as he raced into the building, Maya in his arms. The Honeysett kids were standing around Misty, who had a couple of paintbrushes that she was using to beat a few empty barrels.
Misty beamed, “Look, Daddy! I’m a drummer!”
Apollo finally relaxed. Putting Maya down, he smiled. “I can see that, honey. But you really need to ask Miss Strife before you go using her stuff.”
“I’m sorry,” her smile faded.
Maya shook her head. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have been so slow, but I wasn’t used to the way my legs felt after riding a dragon.”
Soon, she was directing the Honeysetts on how to blow glass, using the incredibly powerful flames they were able to create.
Their ability to control how much heat they could generate was impressive, especially given their ages.
When they all had assigned tasks, she headed over to Apollo and Misty.
She had a bit of time before the Honeysetts would be ready for her, giving her time to get Misty ready to paint.
“What would you like to paint, Misty? Because I have some stencils and a couple of statues for you to have some fun.”
“Can I paint the floor?”
“Honey,” Apollo said.
Maya put a hand on his shoulder. “Absolutely. I have a few animal stencils if you would like to make a small zoo mural.”
“What’s a manural?”
Maya felt the smile stretching across her face as she crouched down. “A mural,” she enunciated to help reinforce the word, “is a scene that you create. Kind of like a picture, but you make all of it.”
Misty’s gray eyes had small flashes of yellow as she got excited. “I want to make an aminal murial.”
Chuckling, Maya headed over to her paint and stencils.
Then she grabbed some tape. She stuck one end of the tape on the floor, then ran it for about five feet.
Repeating that three more times, she created a blue square on the floor.
“Okay, Misty. You can make whatever you want in this box. And here are all the tools you need.” She held up a stencil of a dog.
“This is a stencil. You put it down like this,” she placed it so that it was near the edge of the tape inside the box.
“Then you paint inside the shape. You can get paint on the stencil too, because it isn’t part of the picture. ”
Misty had come over and was watching Maya’s quick demonstration. When Maya looked at her, she told the little girl, “And you need a smock.”
“What’s a smog?”
“A smock is something you wear so your clothes don’t get dirty. What’s your favorite color?”
“Yellow!” The little girl threw her hands up in the air. “Like Daddy!”
Maya glanced over at Apollo, who was watching them talk.
When he smiled at her, his eyes wrinkled at the sides, and Maya felt that strange sensation again.
Rubbing her stomach, she looked back at the child.
“I probably should have guessed that. Here you go.” She reached out and created a bright yellow smock that covered the little girl.
Misty’s mouth dropped open and her eyes lit up. “That’s magic!”
Maya nodded, then put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. It’s a secret. Okay?”
Misty vigorously nodded, “I am good at keeping secrets.”
Without thinking, Maya reached out and patted her on the head. “You are a really good kid, Misty. Now, let’s get the paint and brushes ready, and you can paint whatever you like.”
It didn’t take long before the little girl was set, and she got right to work.
Maya watched her for a few seconds, enjoying the enthusiasm the child showed as she set to work.
When it was clear that Misty was lost in her painting, Maya turned to Apollo.
“I’m going to get to work with the Honeysetts. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Maya. And feel free to ask if you need help with anything.”
Rubbing her stomach, Maya smiled a little and looked down. “I will. Thank you, Apollo.”
Feeling a bit shy, Maya hurried over to the Honeysetts to get to work.
To her surprise, they were far more capable and focused than she would have expected.
As a result, the sculpture and glass components were finished far quicker than she’d anticipated.
Part of it was probably because of how adept they were at controlling their fire—their ability to intensify or reduce the heat was absolutely unexpected and intriguing to Maya.
They did have to engage Apollo a couple of times to handle some heavy machinery to create some much more intricate parts than Maya had originally planned.
Watching him work while knowing that his hand was damaged was far more impressive, and Maya realized how much work he must have done to be able to hide it.
I really couldn't have been more wrong about him. If I were a better person, if I treated Naomi better, he wouldn't have been so critical of me. He was standing up for her. Without expecting anything for himself, apparently. Maya shook her head as she added expressions to the dragons’ faces, her mind wondering how she had ever thought that Apollo was interested in Noami beyond helping her. I guess I’ll have to tell Cosmo that he was right about Apollo.
That made Maya smile as she added the finishing touches. With only a few other tasks left, a couple of the Honeysetts had gone to join Misty. Maya noticed how good they were with their young cousin, and just how patient they were, even when she seemed to fire off question after question.
She had passed over her part to Cullen and was just watching the two groups of kids when Apollo came over to her. She mused, “It must be a family trait.”
“What is?”
“Patience and a willingness to help others.” She nodded toward the three kids who were painting a much more elaborate mural than she had thought possible.
Apollo followed her gaze, and he crossed his arms over his chest, but his face was one of amusement as he said, “You would know about patience. I can’t believe you let her draw on your floor.”
“Had I known just how skilled she is, I would have given her a much bigger square. Your daughter is incredibly gifted as an artist. It will be an absolute honor to have some of her early works in my shop. Someday, it will make this place very valuable.”
Apollo laughed. “There you go. Always thinking about the long term.”
Maya looked over at him. Before she could stop herself, she quickly moved, giving him a peck on the cheek.
Apollo placed his hand on his cheek and turned to look at her.
She gave him a sheepish grin. “Thank you, Apollo. I haven’t felt so comfortable and happy in a very, very long time.
” There was more she wanted to say, but one of the kids called out to her, drawing her attention back to the task at hand.
Feeling self-conscious and too afraid to see his reaction, Maya hurried over to help complete the work.
Once everything was done, Maya looked around at the happy family, who were chatting and joking.
It had been a very long time since she had felt like a part of something like that.
They were just as eager to get Apollo’s attention and approval, pointing out where they had contributed to the finished product.
He looked over at her several times, his smile infectious each time.
“Miss Lady.” A tiny hand touched hers, and Maya looked down at Misty. “Do you want to look at my murial?”
Wrapping her hand around Misty’s, Maya said, “I would love to, Misty. Is there a story behind it?”
The child pulled her over toward the picture, the question inspiring a flood of ideas about her creation. Maya crouched down, allowing the child to get paint all over her dress as the girl excitedly pointed out different aspects of her drawing, an impromptu story growing with the excitement.