Forging Splendor

by S R Nulton

  Not only did she seem to enjoy their shared activities, she’d even accepted that he’d made a sculpture of her. He still wasn’t quite sure why he had, but the image had stuck in his head and he couldn’t quite get it out. Even making a statue hadn’t made it better. He’d had to create a series. He never made series. He never sculpted people either. For some reason, though, he felt the need to show people who Aggy really was.

  He had been sitting there, wondering what to auction off when the idea came to him. So he started sculpting, bending the metal until it resembled a tropical flower. Not precisely, though. It was open to interpretation and viewed from a different angle it looked like a woman on a boat, but no one was going to be looking at it from above. No one but him, that is.

  He had another one finished and a third in the design stage. It was honestly the most excited he’d been about anything in a while.

  If only he could finish the commission he had on his desk. It was from one of his favorite clients, but right then he wanted to strangle the man. It was a specially crafted knife that looked like a hair clip and Ethan was having trouble figuring out what to do to make it look less obvious. It was supposed to be a hidden weapon, but it wasn’t pretty enough for the client’s wife. He wanted something ornate but practical and right then Ethan was having trouble marrying the two.

  He slammed his hand down and walked away. He would figure it out eventually, but right then, he needed a nap.

  It’s a good thing I have a couch in here, he thought as he settled down on the piece of furniture and closed his eyes.

  When he woke, Ethan decided to look the drawings over one more time and see what he could do. He’d give it one more shot before calling and asking for an extension. What he found on his table was not the sketch he’d created before resting, though.

  Someone had made a copy of his drawing and made modifications on the copy. Modifications that perfectly hid the release for the knife while adding elegant decorations to the hair ornament. There were even recommendations about the colors and gems he should use.

  And it was perfect. Completely suited to the client’s wife.

  Ethan was stunned. He ran over to his computer and looked at the security footage. He was a bit paranoid about security, mostly because he didn’t trust that his family wouldn’t try and kill him some day and make it look like an accident. And yes, he would be the first to admit that he had issues!

  There was also the fact that he had millions of dollars in gems spread out in his workroom and his insurance required extensive security measures, but really, that was secondary to the threat his family posed.

  There! He stopped the tape and stared in confusion. It was Aggy walking in just as he drifted off. Her expression was soft when she noticed him sleeping and she moved to put a paper down on his desk. She saw the drawing and frowned. Then she picked it up, made a copy and got to work.

  So, Ethan thought as he traced her features in the video, carefully watching as she examined the drawing and made her marks on it. There is more to you than just devotion to family and duty. The question is, what to do about it. He smiled as he contemplated what he’d just learned.

  It was time to fire up the forge and finish his commission. After that, he had an assistant to talk to.

  CHAPTER 7: SHARING IS CARING

  I WAS JUST settling in to start on the never-ending paperwork when Ethan walked in holding something.

  “What’s this?” he asked as he put a paper down in front of me.

  It was the copy I’d made of his newest commission.

  “Um, it is an idea for how to make the hair clip work?” I answered uncertainly. Some people got really touchy if you tried to help them, particularly artists. They had their vision and they didn’t want another person’s input on how it should look. “I’m sorry if you didn’t want me touching it. I just… I could see what you were trying to do and figured you may have needed a fresh set of eyes to help you reach your goal.”

  Which was true, to a point. That was the original reason I’d looked at his project. It wasn’t the only reason though.

  The reality was, I was so entranced by the design I couldn’t help but work on it. I’d come in the night before to find Ethan passed out on his couch and the unfinished design sitting on his desk. It was like he was almost there, but couldn’t quite find the elusive look he was searching for. It probably helped that I was a woman and knew what I was looking at. I highly doubted that he regularly dealt with hair accessories, or, at least, I’d never seen him wear them before.

  I watched his expression carefully, trying to figure out how much trouble I was in, but he displayed nothing on his face.

  “And why do you think you have the right?”

  I jerked back at the quiet question. “I don’t,” I responded with brows furrowed. “That’s why I made a copy. It was another option that you may not have thought of. I didn’t mess up your original or send it to the client, simply left it for you to look over and incorporate if you chose to. I just… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll make sure not to do it again.”

  He stared at me for a long moment before pulling something out of his pocket.

  It was the hair clip I’d helped him design!

  “Go ahead, try it. Your idea of hiding the blade release in the butterfly was ingenious. I kept banging my head against the wall trying to think about how to make it prettier and still functional and you did it in less than 15 minutes.”

  That made me blink and look up from the clip. “How do you know how long it took?”

  He smirked and leaned against the desk. “I have security cameras just about everywhere. When I woke up and saw the papers, I pulled up the tapes and watched you.”

  Nodding I went back to the piece he had created and marveled at the details. It was a stunning gold barrette; large enough to hide the knife inside but not so big that it would fall out of the woman’s hair. It had been carved with a gentle curve that turned slowly into a flower and a butterfly and it’s wings were decorated with fire opals, garnets and red agate. The release had been added between the bottom and middle sections of the butterfly’s body. The wings had a small ring installed underneath that a woman could fit her finger into, giving her a better grip. The wings themselves would come out with the knife and act like a guard, protecting her knuckles as she stabbed and slashed. They would also double as brass knuckles if necessary.

  “What made you think to use those colors?” Ethan asked when I’d finished putting the blade back in place.

  I shrugged. “You’re client was very insistent that it had to be beautiful and something his wife would wear. I actually was coming to ask you if you wanted the research I’d complied on her as well as to drop off a few invoices that needed signatures. Mrs. Cavanaugh always seems to wear red when she goes to a party. It shifts in shade depending on the season, but she is a bold woman who likes classic styles. Something that was a little subtle but still had pizazz would appeal to her more than some gem-encrusted monstrosity.

  “I mean, if you look at her wedding ring, you can see her taste in jewelry is fairly understated. She seems to prefer gold, as it looks fantastic with her skin tone, and the red gems would match most of her clothes.

  He nodded, then asked, “Why fire opals, jasper and garnets? Why not rubies?”

  “She never wears rubies. Or diamonds, for that matter. Avoids them like the plague, or that’s how it looks. I couldn’t find a single picture from the last three years where she wore either of those gems, despite the fact that her clothing, wealth, and the occasion called for them.”

  He grinned. “Good catch. Her first husband was abusive and would try to make up for it by showering her with diamonds and rubies. He loved the way she looked in them. Because of that, she can’t abide to wear them anymore. I know for a fact that she donated all but ten percent of them. Those were given to me to create some statues that were in turn auctioned off to support a domestic abuse hotline that saved her life.” />
  I frowned. “If you know her so well then why were you having such a hard time figuring this out?”

  He sighed. “She doesn’t see beauty the same way that most women do and it was hard to change the image in my head. She thinks if things are overly ornate then they lose their usefulness. On the other hand, if there is no ornamentation then it is pure utility and that won’t work for a hidden weapon.” Ethan settled himself into a chair on the other side of the desk and studied me closely once more. “Now, when were you going to tell me you were an artist?”

  “Um,” I started. “Someday? Maybe? I honestly don’t know. I never tried to hide it from you, but it wasn’t all that important.”

  He laughed. “Not important? You just saved my commission! How much more important does it need to be?”

  I shrugged. “I thought you knew. I told JJ about it right from the start and she regularly made fun of me for trying to make a career out of it. She claimed she would show you my work if I ever got good enough.”

  Ethan blinked. “You’re kidding. She did? Why? Wait, did you actually show her your art?” When I nodded, he let out a sigh. “That must be it. If you’re as good as I think, she probably decided that you didn’t deserve the talent. She likes to think of herself as someone who keeps egos in check and would regularly brag about ‘helping’ a talent understand their real purpose in life.”

  A snort slipped out as I shook my head. “What, to worship her existence?”

  “Basically.”

  “Well, in the spirit of honesty, I got my degree in Business, specializing in entrepreneurship and small business development and I minored in fine art. I figured I knew how to paint and draw but I didn’t know how to make money at it or manage that money well. It also gave me a way to earn rent while I worked on my career.”

  “Then you got assigned to JJ and all your plans were derailed. Figures. Well, how do you feel about working with me on problem commissions like this in the future? You have an eye for color and form. In fact, I think you have a particular knack for creating beauty that has purpose.”

  I smiled at his phrase. “Beauty with purpose. It sounds like a motto or mission statement.”

  Ethan’s eyes grew bright as he looked at me. Then he murmured, “It just might be.”

  ~

  Things were different after that. I mean, I still worked as an assistant, but I was more than that. I wasn’t sure what that more actually was, but I was happy to spend time figuring it out.

  Ethan came over to my little home more often so that he could look at the projects I was working on in my guest room. He was a fantastic support and would talk about more than just the form and colors I was using, but also about incorporating different materials and textures to help the audience understand the emotions behind it. He was never harsh in his critiques, only helpful. He said that I was good at showing the beauty in situations and objects that were normally overlooked, that I painted them in a way that made them look magnificent and forced him to view the world differently.

  It was a bit shocking that he could help me so much. I don’t think I’d ever seen him paint. He mostly stuck to sculpture and jewelry design. One day I got up the nerve to ask him how he knew so much about my medium and the answer surprised me.

  “I was a bit obsessed with Da Vinci when I was little. I loved the idea that he was an artist and an engineer and an inventor and so much more. I wanted to be a renaissance man when I grew up. Then I tried to learn how to paint and realized how awful I was at it. I just don’t do well with such a soft substance. It doesn’t suit me. So I tried sculpture instead and discovered my love of metal and stone.”

  I smiled. I could easily see him as a child getting angry at the paints when they didn’t stay where he put them and enjoying the freedom that harder substances gave him. “What about engineering and inventing?” I asked as I pulled out a fresh canvas for a project I wanted to start that night.

  He blinked, and turned to face me. “I thought you knew… I have degrees in material and electrical engineering and several patents on file for some of my inventions. Most of them were designed for making my sculpting easier, but I get royalties whenever people use them.”

  It was my turn to be shocked. “So, you actually succeeded? You managed to live your childhood dream? Holy crap!”

  We laughed about it, but I don’t think he realized just how amazing his achievement was. Few people actually manage to succeed in reaching their dreams.

  Besides talking about art, we found we had more in common, like our mutual obsession with music or our taste in food. It sounds a bit shallow, but they were still points of commonality and helped us relax around each other.

  Our occasional dinners had become a nightly routine and Ethan would regularly bring in drawings for me to take a look at. We would stay up late and go over the different designs he had put on the back burner, trying to spot the areas that could be improved. It made for some thought provoking discussions, even if nothing came of it.

  “But it won’t hold it’s shape if we do it that way,” he argued one night as we talked over the structure of another hidden knife, this time in a necklace. I was beginning to wonder about the women who sought out his inventing and jewelry design skills. They seemed to be a bloodthirsty lot. Not that I was one to throw stones considering I’d asked for my own knife barrette for my birthday. Still, it wasn’t something you often heard about wealthy people asking for.

  “It will if you make it out of metal.”

  “But then the sheath will be ridiculously heavy! It will pull at her neck and cause medical problems. She already has neck problems and requested that this be as light as possible.”

  I sighed, knowing he was right but not sure how to fix the problem.

  Unless… “Why can’t it be made out of leather?”

  He blinked. “Leather? Why leather?”

  “It is much lighter, will hold it’s shape with only minor reinforcement, and can be tooled with a decorative design as well as dyed just about any color we want.”

  Ethan hummed under his breath as he looked down at the drawing. The necklace was supposed to be a double strand with a knife hiding in a long curve of metal. The problem was that it was very close to her neck and the placement needed to be exact or she could injure herself when putting the blade back in. That meant the sheath needed to maintain it’s shape. A chain mail mesh wouldn’t work because it would collapse as soon as the knife was out but a solid gold sheath would be too heavy once the knife was in there. We didn’t want her getting a crick in her neck by the end of the night just because she was carrying hidden weaponry.

  “It will need to be reinforced along the seams and we can wrap it in a chain to add to the idea that it is a necklace. It will wear out sooner though.”

  I shrugged and leaned back in my chair. “So? They contact you and have you make a new sheath. Just design it so it can be changed out with minimal fuss.”

  “What about the gems. She is very fussy and will want bling.”

  I snickered at him using the word ‘bling’ but let it go. “Diamond chips in the metal seams and on the chain. Have a gem-encrusted version of the collar sheath on the bottom chain facing the opposite side. It will give a hint of symmetry without overwhelming. Or bedazzle the hilt. Either way will work.”

  “I like the idea of decorating the hilt.” He made a few more marks on the page and showed it to me before rolling it up. “That seems to be about it for my backlog.”

  “Nice!” I said with a grin.

  “And I have good news. Geo says my jewelry commissions have skyrocketed in the last month or so.”

  “Huh. That’s great, but I wonder what the difference was. The last art show, maybe? I mean, it wasn’t focused on your jewelry, but it might have reminded people about that aspect of your business.”

  Ethan shook his head. “No, it is these commissions I’ve been finishing. They were all given to me with no deadline in mind, but Geo says that the designs are exc
eeding expectations.”

  I blinked in shock. Then I thought it over and it made sense. Geo was the point man with all of these commissions, taking in the information and handing over the finished product. Personal defense items were always more effective when the rest of the world was in the dark about their purpose.

  “So,” Ethan continued, “it looks like your designs are a hit.”

  “Our designs. I didn’t do this on my own.”

  “Fine, our designs. Anyway, he wanted you to be there when he drops off this last commission, so next week you finally get to see his vineyard.”

  I grinned. “You mean the place that doubles as your own personal gallery? I can’t wait!”

  ~

  Geo picked me up early the following Thursday.

  “Hey girly. You up for some near family bonding?”

  I blinked but before I could ask anything, Ethan spoke.

  “Knock it off, Geo. She won’t get the joke. And Aggy? Don’t listen to a thing he tells you. The guy is really good at not lying.”

  Geo laughed and pulled away before Ethan could give anymore strange advice. I mean, if you were good at not lying, wouldn’t that mean you only told the truth? Or did you just avoid outright lying and let people deceive themselves?

  “So, Aggy, how are you liking the estate? Is Ethan talking to you at all or just being grumpy and temperamental?”

  “Um, he’s fine. We talk all the time, actually.”

  That seemed to throw him for a loop.

  “Talk? Like with words and conversation? And my brother?”

  I frowned. “Are you guys really related?” It was something that had bothered me for a while but I never knew how to bring it up.

  Geo smiled and held his hand out. “Nice to meet you! I’m Giles Orson Lowe, but everyone but my father calls me ‘Geo’. And yes, we are actually brothers. Well, half-brothers. You see, Neil is an all around horrible human being and seduced my mother. She didn’t know that he was married, or her boss for that matter. She found out around the end of her pregnancy, when Candace came to confront her husband’s latest lover. Mom got pissed and went to yell at Neil. Only she didn’t check both ways after chewing him out in front of a bunch of investors and she got hit by a car.