Against Reason (IN EDITING)

Chapter Twelve - First Days Suck

"Yeah?" I reply, stopping at a red light.

"Who am I gonna play with?" She pouts, her eyes full of worry and sadness.

I sigh sadly. "Me, we can do all sorts of activities together while daddy and Hallie are busy," I smile and she gets a shine of hope in her eyes.

"Like what?"

"Mm, how about today we go to an art gallery. You liked when we went to see mine, didn't you?" I say and she nods enthusiastically.

I laugh lightly to myself, before clicking the indicator on to head back the other way to a nearby art gallery. 

I love how much Bridie loves art like I do, she reminds me of me when I was her age. So energetic and curious, I mean not near as much dramatic like her - thats her thing - but I was a very happy go lucky child, when I could find her. 

My mum said to me that my happiness and optimism was one of the main things that got her through that difficult time when she was a single mother, and raising us in a poor neighbourhood. 

I guess it's one of the reasons why i'm still like that, wanting to make sure I continue to spread that happiness to others that may need some sunshine in their lives.

Parking in the gallery parking lot, I unbuckle Bridie from her car seat and she holds my hand as we walk towards the glass double door entrance. 

Walking through we're welcomed by a massive metal sculpture that feeds through to the second floor of the art gallery. I stare at the metal sculpture that appears to be a tower of bits and bobs, metal objects and wires, all formed into a woman running. 

"Woah," Bridie awes.

I smile. "Cool, right?" I say and she nods, gazing at the massive sculpture. "Come on, lets keep going," I say.

Further into the quiet art gallery, we walk past various other sculptures made out of different materials from paint buckets to golf clubs and scraps of string. 

"Look at that one!" Bridie exclaims, pointing at another sculpture. This one is a hanging table hung upside down, with food, cutlery, plates and stuff hanging upside down from the table top to make it seem as though the table is stuck in the middle of falling down.

"Woah," I say and the two of us continue walking, making our way up the grand staircase and to the second floor which is mainly filled with collages, paintings and canvas art. 

"Lolli," Bridie pouts and I look down, smiling as she makes grabby hands up at me. I sigh, but lift her up, placing her on my hip as we enter the second floor. 

The first piece of art we come across is a small oil painting of a little girl, and it was painted in 1905, by a french painter who remains anonymous. 

The painting is filled with warm colours as the little girl i'd say around Hallie's age sits under a yellow and orange leafed autumn tree. Her fire red hair flows through the air as a huge fairytale book sits in in her lap and her eyes are hyper focused on the book in front of her. 

It's a beautiful piece of art, and captures the innocence of girlhood. The way sitting under a tree may be such a simple thing in general, but the wind flowing through her hair, the hyper-fixation on the fairytale in front of her as the world around her passes by. 

"Anti- ti-, Lolli I can't say the name," Bridie pouts, huffing in frustration. I look down at the description, the title reading reading 'Anticipation of the Forthcoming'.

"It reads 'Anticipation of the Forthcoming," I tell her and she frowns. "It means when you're excited for the future, so the meaning behind it is the little girl in the painting is excited for the next page in her book," I explain to Bridie and she nods, gazing at the oil painting in pure interest.