The Benefactor
Who: Shoshannah and Madeline
When: Late morning/early afternoon
Where: Sea and Sky
Maddy returned from breakfast with Jason back to the gallery to resume cleaning up her things. She hadn’t seen her employer yet and wondered when she might see the woman. Maddy didn’t want to just leave a note saying that she could no longer work at the gallery -- not after everything Shoshannah had done for her. Sighing a little she set an empty box on her desk and putting her personal things in there: sketchbooks, some pencils and charcoal, and other little things that she’d collected over time.
Shoshannah’s morning had gone fairly well. She’d woken up, gotten dressed and eaten breakfast with Ferdinand in her lap before heading off to the gallery. She had a few artists interested in a showing and it was as good a day as any to get some work done on who might be the first of the bunch. As she came into the gallery, she lifted her voice to see if Maddy was there. “Hello? Anyone home?”
“Up here!” Maddy called back as she looked around for all her little figurines that she’d painted. Her mind raced a little as she thought again of what she’d tell Shoshannah. The truth, yes. Well, close enough to the truth to not seem odd.
She headed to the stairs and up them, stopping only once she was in the loft and noticed the box there on Madeline’s desk. “Spring cleaning?” She asked, giving her friend a smile as she came over to a set of chairs and sat down, leaning down to fix her shoe where it had been slipping.
“Um, no...” Maddy bit her lip as she gently put in a few figurines. “I... got a benefactor.”
Shannah looked up from her shoes, eyes wider than before. What? She had a benefactor? Almost immediately, Shannah was torn between feeling happy for Madeline and a more selfish, more present sadness. “A benefactor? Really? That’s...that’s incredible, Madeline. So...I assume that’s why you’re packing up your desk?”
The blonde nodded, grimacing slightly. “I’m sorry for the short notice, Shannah, I am I only just found out about this offer yesterday. And there was so much to do and I just didn’t have time...” she was babbling, a rarity for her, but she was doing it none the less.
Shoshannah had always thought Madeline was too talented to stay an assistant for long, but this was coming literally out of thin air and she had no idea how to react even if she knew in her heart she wanted to be happy for Madeline. So she kept nodding along with Madeline, actually quiet for the first time in a long while. "Well...I am happy for you. I'm just..excuse me if I'm shocked. I just..I'll miss you very much," She said instantly, finally deciding to just say what she felt.
Maddy was surprised by the admission. She knew that Shannah depended heavily on her but being missed very much was surprising. Composing herself she returned to look back at her box. “I’ll miss it here too,” she said honestly. “You’ve been so nice to me and have helped so much.” She gave the other woman a genuinely grateful smile. “I won’t forget it.”
Shoshannah stood up and headed up over to Madeline, instantly breaking the space between them and going in for a hug. "I'm so happy for you, Madeline, really I am..." She was, even if she didn't quite hear it in her voice just yet. Not like normal. "And you'll always have a space here, you know that, don't you? The door is always open. I hope that..I hope you'll come back and visit sometimes." She needed to stay professional and not get emotional about this but Shannah had never been very good at keeping the ties separate.
Maddy returned the hug, giving Shannah a tight squeeze, taking initiative there. “I do,” she assured her boss. “And I’ll do my best. I love it here and I’ll surely miss you as well.” It was easier for her to keep things professional but she knew that Shoshannah wasn’t like that. She was a giver, someone who opened her arms to everyone and it was nice.
The artists she had in mind for a showing would have to wait now. Shannah wouldn't be able to do this alone. "If only to visit, I'd love for you to come back sometimes." Sighing, Shannah pulled away from Madeline for a moment, slipped out of her shoes, and stepped around Madeline to the desk. "Now...let's get you packed and ready for your benefactor."
It was still niggling at her, still settling in her mind that Madeline wouldn't be there tomorrow or the next day or maybe not even later today. "...Can you tell me more about your new benefactor? I'd love to know more about whoever was taking you away from The Sea and Sky."
“He’s very private,” Maddy said, not missing a beat. “Wealthy. Wants me to do work for him.” She felt bad that she couldn’t say more, but the less Shannah knew, the better. She didn’t want to be looked for. Not when someone could get hurt.
“Very private and wealthy, check. Sounds like a benefactor if I’ve ever heard of one.” She smiled again at Maddy, reaching to put some of Madeline’s things in the box. “I’m sure he’ll be very pleased with your work. You’re the most talented artist I know, Madeline. I’m so happy for you. And if you ever wanted to still do another show here, under your pseudonym, you wouldn’t even have to ask. It’d be automatic.”
The offer touched her and Maddy gave Shoshannah a grateful smile. “You’ve been so good to me, Shannah. I appreciate everything. All the chances. I wouldn’t have gotten to this without you giving me a chance.”
Shoshannah stopped helping pack and gave a soft, sad smile to Madeline. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Madeline. I am lucky to have been given the chance you work with you. Your benefactor must see that, how could he not?" She smiled a little, reaching out to touch Madeline's arm gently before reaching for the telephone they had on Madeline's desk, since she did a fair amount of the calling. "At least let me send you off with a celebratory meal?"
Maddy wanted to say no, that really Shoshannah didn’t need to do such a kindness but she knew the woman would insist and that resistance was futile. “Alright. How can I say no?” she said with a chuckle.
“Good,” She said, deciding to order them a fantastic, fabulous meal that would serve as hopefully one last, happy memory from the Sea and Sky Gallery, a place that had benefited so much from Madeline’s help. It was all Shannah could wish for, that her friend left here happy and knowing she was always welcome.