The Tremendous Turmoil of Indigo

Chapter 6

"What are you doing here?" Hazel's words rushed out of her mouth as quickly as she hustled over to them in the vibrant pink pumps.

Indigo gestured to the colorfully illustrated paintings hung on massive white walls of The Meraki Gallery, "We came to support you. I know it's your first time featuring this brand of artwork." She brushed her eyes across the canvases and perplexity clouded her features. "These aren't abstract."

"I lied." Hazel bluntly put it with a subtle shrug. "Abstract isn't your thing nor anyone else with the last name Clark. Too artsy."

Tate and Indigo shared a look then he asked, "Why?"

"Because..." Hazel started, then glanced over her shoulder at the gallery she founded two years ago. It didn't always have a crowd of elegantly dressed people fluttering around and chatting enthusiastically about the magnificent work adorning the walls. But tonight it was and that was because of one person. "Um...the artist is um....Felix Wang."

Indigo took a step back and Tate let out a heavy breath, "I had to." Hazel continued. "His artwork generates enough capital and prestige to...you're a business woman you understand."

Indigo nodded. She understood that keeping a business afloat was an arduous task riddled with copious hours worked that didn't reap monetary gain and thankless duties that many didn't know about, like being a window cleaner and a paper pusher. You had to wear all the hats from receptionist to accountant.

"It's not eight yet," Tate said reading his watch. "We can still go to the candle-making class."

Indigo shook her head, eyeing the fading sun behind them. "By the time we get on forty-five, it'll be nine." She shrugged. "We're already here. We're adults. We can coexist in the same space. There's no animosity between us. We all agreed to the terms of the adoption."

"We did." Tate echoed. "If you want to stay then we'll stay. If that's fine with you." He shifted his sight to Hazel.

"Be my guest." Hazel gestured to the space behind her.

Tate took Indigo's hand and led them away from the doorway to a sparsely occupied area. The hum of conversations surrounded them as instrumental R&B lightly played. Indigo's eyes were on the canvas but her mind was time-traveling.

Adoption was something they entertained when she had a miscarriage after they tried getting pregnant for a year. But not too seriously. Not until Abigail Sequin asked her to be her child's guardian being that she didn't have family. A foster kid that aged out of the system, Indigo took her under her wings and gave her, her first job. A job she worked until she graduated from community college. Studying to be a respiratory therapist, she knew childbirth was life-threatening. Indigo never thought the worst would happen but it was and she fulfilled her promise. Unbeknownst to Indigo when the judge approved the adoption, she was pregnant.

"The Errors of Youth by Felix Wang. The only son of second-generation Korean-American parents hails Hawaii but calls California home," Tate read from the tri-fold pamphlet he swiped from a table.

Indigo clung to his arm tighter trying to steal some of his warmth, now regretting handing her coat over to the coat check-girl. "He went to UCLA then dropped out after two years to travel North America..." She gazed at the painting of a black-haired boy with tan skin playing a string instrument while he sat on the back porch of a ranch house. "...With just a backpack and his father's station wagon, which he also slept in."

"Where is..." Tate flipped over the pamphlet quickly reading over the twelve font words. "I don't see that."

She held up her phone, "Google."