The Inevitable

Who: Angelo and Shoshannah
When: Afternoon
Where: Angelo's apartment

Today was going to be a good day. It was beautiful outside, she'd just had lunch with Ian, she'd spent the last night with Elle in her very first sleep-over, and now she was on her way to see Angelo. She called beforehand to make sure he was there, like he'd asked her to, and once she had she grabbed her purse again and headed out to the streets.

It was a nice day and on a nice day, Shoshannah would usually have walked to Angelo's place, but a taxi would get her there quicker so she hailed one and smoothed out her white pencil skirt when she'd slipped inside the backseat. The black heels she wore matched the black, short-sleeved blouse she had on but as the taxi brought her closer and closer to Angelo, she wondered when she'd be able to buy something 'earth-toned' so he could see if it really did bring out her eyes like he thought it would. Not now, at least. She had a painting to pay for before she'd be buying any new clothing.

Once they were just outside of Angelo's apartment, Shoshannah paid and tipped the driver then wasted no time in hurrying down the stairs to his basement apartment. And as she knocked on the door, she hoped her excitement to see Angelo would dispel the condition she could feel looming in the back of her mind.

For his part, Angelo had been busy with a task he didn’t normally bother with: inventory. Too often, he just let the details of his life slip by as he chased a piece of music, an idea to paint, or a high. He’d let his paints run down and buy them as he needed, canvases stacked high with a certainty that they weren’t going anywhere. Really, the only diligence in his life most days was making sure his suit was ready before a night down at the Kitten Club. But today had been different, for sure. He’d stretched half a dozen fresh canvases onto frames, written up a list of paints he might need handy, and after that had been fretting over his wardrobe for a full hour now.

If the show that Mina had suggested didn’t come through, there’d be no harm in his scattershot collection of secondhand clothes. But if it did? He’d look ridiculous in either his suit or his own clothing. So Shannah’s call had come at a truly opportune time. He had money for once; a combination of his wages, Mina’s payment, and Elle’s from the start of the month was actually a tidy little sum for him. And even after allocating a bit for the next few months’ rent and his next resupply of opium, it hadn’t shrank all that much. He could go shopping, but he wouldn’tve had any idea of where to begin. Still, old advice from his mother echoed faintly as he opened the door for Shannah and grinned brightly at her. A man dresses himself how he thinks a woman would like, but a woman dresses a man the way she knows she’d like. “An’ here I was, thinkin’ my day couldn’t get no better,” he greeted.

Her smile grew wide when she saw Angelo, even if she did notice there was something distinctly different about him. She wasn't sure what it was, but that didn't matter. He looked happy and there was nothing that could make her happier than knowing Angelo had had a good day. She stood up on her tip-toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before sinking back down onto the heels of her shoes. "My day just got better too, but you should tell me about yours first." She was more than eager to know what good had happened to Angelo while she was away.

“Nothin’ too particular ‘bout today,” Angelo explained with a shrug, stepping back to let Shannah inside, “Sun’s out, though, I always ‘ppreciate that. Don’ take much more, most days, but...” He trailed off deliberately, moving back into the single-room common area that was both his living space and his sparse kitchen, stepping light around the fresh canvases where they laid or were propped against walls. Plucking up a mug from next to his sofa, Angelo sipped it without a care for the cold tea inside, losing to his smile as he looked to Shannah. “Think I got a show,” he said plainly, the zeal in his eyes decrying the simple statement.

She slipped inside, instantly stepping out of her heels and sitting her purse by them near the door. She had been making her way further into the apartment, surveying the obvious changes it had undergone, when Angelo's words registered and she stared at him. A show? What kind of show? She couldn't help but wonder if it was another performance gig, somewhere else for him to play, but judging by the changes in where his paintings were in the room, she was starting to think it was a different kind of show all together. There was a slow recognition in her, the spark in her eyes brightening, the smile on her lips widening, as she took steps towards Angelo. "An art show?" She asked, needing to make one hundred percent certain before she congratulated him.

“Thinkin’ so,” he confirmed with a slight nod, setting his mug aside quickly as the nervous energy welled up inside him just from saying it aloud. There was no beating the smile on his face as Angelo breathed deep, eyes fixed on Shannah and feet carrying him back towards her. “I was out a few days back, workin’ on a piece? An’ this lady comes by, says to me ‘That there is a fine painting, sir’, starts askin’ where I do shows?” he explained with a slowly building enthusiasm, “Turns out she’s none other than Ms. Mina Walker, of the Walkers, an’ it’d just be her honor to see about findin’ me a gallery...”

Recounting it now, the tale sounded even more impossible than when he’d lived it, but Angelo knew it hadn’t been a drug-fueled fantasy. It was real. He stepped right in close to Shoshannah, looping arms loosely around her waist and absolutely beaming down at her. “Bought herself the piece I’d been paintin’ right then an’ there f’more than I ever sold one. Can you believe it?” he asked incredulously, arms tightening as he pulled Shannah in and lifted her up off the ground, “I’m gon’ have a show!”

As Shoshannah listened to him, she was caught up in his tale. Finally, finally someone saw Angelo's work the way she did. Something worth showing off, something worth displaying, and in the best of ways. He was going to get his very own show? That knowledge coupled with the look of absolute happiness on Angelo's face..well, Shoshannah had never felt so happy. When he wrapped his arms around her, she drew her own up and around his neck, listening to him talk as if nothing else in the world matter. Because nothing did. Her eyes, bright and wide, leveled on his own, and she laughed when he picked her up, tightening her hold on him. "I knew you could do it! It's about time you had a show! I'm so proud of you, Angelo. This is fantastic! I'm so happy for you!"

He just had to give himself a few moments to bask in it again, this time with someone else who’d share the pure elation of it all. And who else would get it like her? Maybe his bandmates, maybe Elle, but Shoshannah was the one he wanted knowing about it first. And at first, he had no words. He just lowered her slightly, leaning in to kiss at her neck with a smile he hoped she could feel against her skin. “Still don’ feel real,” he murmured up towards her ear, “Like... like I’m dreamin’. But this makes it real.” He sighed softly, drinking in the smell of her hair and skin before he set Shannah down, expression still lit up. “Alls I need now’s to fill these canvases, think I’d look a fool if my show was only half a show,” he said playfully, “An’ one other thing, ‘cept I can’t do it on my own. Feel like helpin’ a man out?”

She could feel that glorious, knee-softening feeling she got around Angelo. The sort of butterflies-in-her-stomach sensation that she'd not felt in too long, even though it hadn't been that long since she'd last seen him. She basked in the moment too, staying as close to him as possible, just smiling. When she was down on the floor again, she still didn't let go of him. "Your show is your show no matter how many paintings are there, so you'll never have half a show," She started. When he asked for her help, she was quick to jump at the chance, nodded. "Of course! What can I do to help?" She had to secretly wonder if she could help him with his paintings too, but she'd leave that for later. She did like to sit and pose for Angelo, or just be around while he painted, and she missed getting to see the painter in him. And if she could help him by just handing him a brush, she'd gladly do it.

“F’starters? At least one a’these empty spots is gonna need a focus to fill it,” he prefaced with a sideways nod at the canvases around them, “But that’ll keep, you ain’t never gonna not inspire me. S’more important to... well...” Angelo laughed with a warm, embarassed feeling, shaking his head at himself. “You seen my closet, Sho? The way I dress, they’s gonna turn me away from my own show. But I got a lil’ bit of scratch saved up. Real problem’s that I don’ know how to dress m’self like I’m someone f’real. I start lookin’ at suits an’ ties an’ it’s like I can’t tell two colors apart, let alone styles... think I need an advisor.”

She could feel the blush on her cheeks, but was secretly very happy that she'd get to sit for Angelo again. But like he said, that could wait. She had no plans for the rest of the day that didn't include him so they had nothing but time. Her face changed a little, brightening up with a different kind of spark in it when he asked for her help to buy clothing. "You'd really like me to help? I've never bought men's clothing before..." But somehow, she felt that helping Angelo buy clothing for himself was going to be much, much easier than buying clothing for herself. She could already feel the excitement raising. "I'd love to go shopping with you, Angelo. Now? The shops will still be open for a while."

“Now,” he echoed easily, “‘Less you’d rather hang ‘round these parts. Which sounds appealin’? But I ain’t never found myself in this spot, you know? An’ I think if I ain’t got you with me, I’m gon’ come home with somethin’ jus’ plain silly.” And he was keeping it quiet, since he knew Shannah hated when he doubted himself, but Angelo also felt like if she wasn’t there? He’d get timid, end up suckered or ushered out of the shops based on how he looked walking in. “Shoot, I don’ even know where the nicer shops is, Sho, an’ I always thought I knew this whole city.”

Shoshannah didn't mind hanging around his apartment, but they did have the rest of the day for that in her mind, and only a few precious hours before the shops closed for the night. She let her hand drift down his arm to take his own and lace her fingers with his. Although she didn't like the idea that there was something Angelo didn't know about the town, because she did feel like he knew everything about this town, she was selfishly a little happy to be able to show him something that she knew. Because she knew where the 'nicer' shops were, or at least shops that would sell clothing akin to that of a gallery opening. She'd been to these shops sometimes with her father before, to help him decide upon what shirt with what tie, although that was when she was much younger and picked things based on the fact that she simply liked them, not whether they looked right together. Smiling up at Angelo, she gripped his hand a little tighter. "You'll know where they are after today? I know of a couple we can go to that are open right now." She was honored to be able to go with him, to share this moment of pure excitement with him, but found herself very anxious for when the art show was. "So we'll go whenever you're ready, ok? And that way we'll have lots of time to get the clothes before your show, which is..when, exactly? I need to make sure to take the day off work because I'm not missing this for the world."

Moving to the pegs fixed in the wall near the door, Angelo was quick to pluck a worn old corduroy coat free and slip it on with a smile. It was still nice today, but definitely cooler, and the lack of real meat on his frame left him in constant danger of catching a chill. “Can’t say I know the when of it,” he answered, shrugging unconcernedly. Mina had said she’d be in touch, and that was good enough for Angelo. “I figure anyone named Walker’s got more important things to see to, so whenever I find out? You’ll be first to hear ‘bout it,” Angelo promised, extending a hand to Sho and tugging the door open with the other, “Now c’mon Magellan... show me somethin’ I ain’t seen before.”

Shoshannah laughed, slipped her feet back into her shoes and her coat and purse back onto her person, and stepped outside his apartment. Her voice had a tone of seriousness in it when she spoke again. "Don't think that your art show isn't important. It is." When his hands were free, she took hold of one again and hurried up the stairs and back onto the sidewalk. She was much more content to walk now that Angelo was there with her, but she wondered if maybe he wanted to catch a cab. "We'll head back towards the Drake, there are a couple of really nice places there, but do you want to walk or should be find a cab?"

“I ain’t never lookin’ to skip the sights,” Angelo decided as they cleared the stairs, “Let’s stroll. I don’ never get to be someone’s envy.” And when she was here? Angelo felt like he was. At a glance, he felt like people knew her better. They didn’t judge Shannah based on her condition, just her radiant enthusiasm, and that was what mattered. Sometimes the details got in the way. “I know it’s important, I do,” he mused as they walked, “But s’like... to who? To me, yeah, an’ to you. Miss Mina, she seemed like she really felt it too, but whoever shows up? I jus’ wonder if they’s gonna actually care, or if they’ll only show cuz someone important said they should.” It was his anxiety, his doubt surfacing again. His work would’ve gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for Mina, because to everyone else in clothes far finer than he could afford? He was just another black man. To everyone except for Shannah, that is. He felt like her faith had gotten him here, like her believing when he didn’t might’ve been part of why he was out painting that day. Like... even if he didn’t have a show, he had an audience in her. And one painting he knew wouldn’t be for sale, no matter what.

Strolling with Angelo was always something she looked forward to, so she held his hand and matched his pace, delighting in the weather but moreso just that she was here with Angelo, celebrating something so important to him, with him. It was all that mattered. But then he started talking and the worry she could hear in his voice was unsettling to her. She didn't often hear it and it was definitely not her favorite of Angelo's words. "Angelo, I don't think they'd show just because someone else told them they need to. But even if that's the case, there's no way they can't leave appreciating your work. And it won't just be me, I'm sure once we tell Elle, she'll come. And I can ask Ian and Miss Amelia if they'd like to go. Ian wants to find a time to meet you anyway. I had lunch with him today and he said he'd like to find a time for all of us to finally meet." She hadn't intended to change the subject, but she also didn't want to forget to ask Angelo about meeting with Ian and on a day like today, celebrating could easily pull important questions from her mind.

The subject change was actually welcome, even if Angelo still felt the zeal for his impending show running strong inside. It was parallel to his anxiety, and the fear always had an easier time finding a voice than the confidence. “That sounds a treat, doll,” he agreed easily, basking in the weather as they cut through town towards the Drake, “I always figured I’d jus’ catch him at the hotel when I came to visit you, but that’s even better. We should all... do lunch or somethin’?” He laughed musically, shaking his head at himself there. That was what the more well-to-do crowd said, right? ‘Let’s do lunch’? “You say when, I’ll be there,” Angelo asserted, slipping his arm up snugly around Shannah’s shoulders and looking to where the Drake already loomed above surrounding buildings.

"He said to ask when is best for you," Shannah took the invitation and let herself get closer to Angelo, the bubbly sensation inside her ever present when she was this close to him. She smiled up at him. "So this time, you get to pick the time." She glanced back up to see where they were in relation to the Drake, but since they still had a bit of a way to go, she wasn't worried about them missing the store. "And then we'll pick the place together. Sound good?"

“Sounds fine like wine,” he agreed easily, leaning in to breathe the scent of her hair for a moment, “‘Cept now I gotta pay some actual attention to the time. Only way I ever look at a clock’s to see how long ‘fore I gotta go to work.” He preferred it that way too, it made time a fluid thing to Angelo, almost as if the cycle of day and night adjusted to him. With his submerged home and artist’s focus, he could lose heaps of time if he chose to. And he usually did. “So... what’re we thinkin’ here? A full suit? Nice shirt an’ tie? I got eighty-three bones to burn on whatever, but no clue on how to spend ‘em,” Angelo explained with a self-aware laugh. The closest tips he’d gotten had been from other guys at the Kitten, who assured him that he could get a fine suit indeed for that much money.

Shannah laughed. "Only this once," She promised. There was so much she liked about Angelo, but one of her favorite things was his languid nature. When she spent time around him, she found that she cared less about what time it was, that she was altogether more relaxed than she was when she wasn't around him. "Hmm...I'd say a full suit, but something that you can wear again if you want to. Something you like enough to want to wear again. A full suit would show everyone there that this is your show. Maybe we can find you a hat, too, if you want one? What color suit do you think you'd like?"

His eyes wandered as they walked, settling on the window of a shop as Angelo stopped and turned with Shannah to look at both of their reflections. He liked the way they looked together, of course, but at the same time he was trying to envision himself in a suit, and not the white one he wore for the Kitten Club. It had to be something sharp, he could see it with a fat collar and a matching hat, just as she’d suggested... “A darker tan, maybe?” Angelo mused, “Somethin’ earthy, y’know? Somethin’ that’d make a white shirt an’ good tie jus’ pop.”

She'd not been expecting the turn but she moved with him, slightly off balance but relying on Angelo to right her again. When she did, she felt a thrill of delight in her at the sight of their reflections together. She liked it, the way she fit just to Angelo's side, the way his arm draped across her, just the look of them together was nice. But the idea of Angelo's suit called her back and she took in his reflection more readily, a smile spreading on her lips. "I think that sounds great, Angelo. You'd look really nice in a color like that, something that fits you really well. It's something you could wear wherever. Were you thinking of a tie with a pattern or just a solid color?" She asked, wondering about the wonders Angelo could find in the pattern of a tie. She was also wondering how she was going to manage to look 'earthy' too, since he'd mentioned before she should find something earth-toned. That it would bring out her eyes..and what better place to do that than at Angelo's show?

Laughing softly as he shook his head, Angelo kept his eyes fixed on the reflection and leaned in to kiss the crook of Shannah’s jaw. He wanted to see the angles, the contours, the symmetry of limbs flowing despite the clash of skin tones. He wanted to be able to paint it later. “Couldn’ wear it whenever, Sho,” he murmured, “I’d feel like I was in disguise, puttin’ on airs, tryin’ to fool someone ‘cept no one’d buy it.” But he did want to own a suit, to have it when he needed it, like... if he ever had to meet her parents, say. “An’ I dunno?” Angelo confessed when she asked about the tie, “Only ever had to wear the one for the club, never even thought ‘bout what I’d pick f’myself if I got the choice.”

That warm, safe, happy feeling spread through her when he kissed her jaw, coupled with a feeling that sort of surprised her. It was such a specific place to kiss, an intimate place, and it made her feel exactly like she had the first time they'd been close to each other. When she was curled up with him on his couch and nothing else had mattered. It was a feeling she'd been getting a lot more around him and a feeling she wanted to savor. But his words had her worried. She turned a little, the reflection of her now mirroring her back as she looked up at Angelo seriously. She moved her hands, placing them gently on his cheeks and leveling her eyes with his. "Angelo, nothing you do is in a disguise. You wouldn't be trying to fool someone. It's you, no matter what you wear, and there'd be no buying or selling of it because there'd be nothing you were trying to sell. A suit doesn't change who you are. And you don't have to wear it all the time, but you might want to wait to decide on that until you actually have it." The playful nature was back in her again as she let her hands slide down his arm until she could link her own with his once more. "How about we go see a man about a suit now?"

Some day he was going to listen to her. Some day, he’d even manage to abandon his doubt and concern when Shannah wasn’t there. Today, at least, he could seize on her presence and let it bolster him. Shannah saw him, maybe he didn’t have that perspective on his own. If he didn’t? He needed it now more than ever, before he was afloat in a sea of strangers and trying to meet a standard that he couldn’t even comprehend. And he had it in this moment, caught in the warmth in Shannah’s eyes. “Let’s do that,” he murmured, hooking arms with Shannah, “An’ if I start that jawin’ again? You jus’ set me right, doll.” He wasn’t sure why, but so few people ever did actually contest what Angelo said, be it about himself or the city.

She smiled, nudging him gently with her arm. "You say what you want to say, but if you start thinking you can't pull of a suit or no one's going to show up at your event again, you should expect me to set you right." She turned the corner with him and finally found the shop she'd been looking for, tugging on his arm a little to get him towards the door. "Here it is. What do you think? Look all right to find a suit in?"

Looking over the shop, Angelo had to nod in agreement. It did look alright, it wasn’t a gilded wonder with fineries layered everywhere; just a well-kept tailor’s shop in a respectable part of town. The true excesses were probably another block or two up, situated to catch the eyes and wallets of every patron who walked out of the Drake. “Looks like as good a place as any to start,” he said, tugging open the door and holding it for Shoshannah, then following her in.

They weren’t exceedingly busy at this hour, just a pair of men inside dividing their focus between a newspaper and a suit hanging on a mannequin, so when the doorbell rang? Both looked up and over. The one with the paper, seated behind a register, smiled broadly at Shoshannah as she came in, tipping her a nod of greeting. “Can I help you, miss?” he asked, even as his partner looked beyond her, to Angelo. “Sorry, pal, we’re not hiring,” he said without waiting for a word out of Angelo, confirming the unspoken persecutions he lived with constantly.

Shoshannah had been smiling at the men, but her smile faded at their words. Was it not obvious she was with him? They walked in together, she'd only let go of his arm to go inside the store. She didn't like the way he'd spoken to Angelo. "...Well, yes, you could but you wouldn't be helping me. You'd be helping this man." She took a step closer to Angelo, slipping her arm through his and begging her condition to stay far, far away, especially right now. "We're here looking for a suit, but it seems that you may not have exactly what we're looking for." She could hear the passive-aggressive nature in her voice and although it wasn't something she was proud of, right now she was thankful she'd learned it from her mother all those years ago. These men had just insulted Angelo and she wasn't about to let them do it again. "So I suppose we'll be taking our business elsewhere..."

“S’okay, Sho,” Angelo was quick to assure her in a quiet voice, looking back to the man who’d addressed him, “Just a misunderstandin’, right?” He stared at the man intently for a long moment, not challenging him, but waiting to see what would be his next words, and eventually feeling disappointed again by them. “We... may be outside of your price range, miss,” the man said to Shannah, “Our suits start around forty dollars before any alterations, but we could suggest a more affordable shop in the city if you’d like?” But before she could have a chance to be riled by that low-key insinuation, Angelo shook his head at the man’s concerns. “Ain’t no worry, sir,” he said, “You jus’ head on in back, grab me ever’thing from coffee to beige so’s I can pick a color.”

Shannah was not happy with the situation. They were treating Angelo awfully and she wasn't going to stand there and let them do this. They had money, they were paying customers, and while part of her knew she'd bought things for her father here and they'd know her name simply because her mother loved to drop the Hagel name into any situation, she wasn't going to do that. It wasn't right and the fact of the matter was that they did have money. Turning to Angelo, she had a frown set on her lips and a crease in her brows. "Are you sure you don't want to go somewhere else? There are other shops, plenty of them around here, that would gladly help us without all this...I bet I could even call up Ian and ask him where he gets his suits if we need to."

“I’m sure,” Angelo said easily, nodding a bit as he settled a hand at Shannah’s arm. He gave her a hint of a smile before glancing away to the one clerk he’d spoken to, nodding again as if to tell the man to get moving. Once the clerk had stepped into the back and left them only with the counter attendant, Angelo’s smile grew a bit wider, and whole worlds more serene. “Always gotta famine before a feast, right? Storms ‘fore blue skies? An’ strife before celebration...” he explained in a low, velvety tone, “Wouldn’t feel right to this man here if anythin’ came easy, even buyin’ a suitcoat an’ hat.”

He didn't seem upset about the way the clerk had treated him but Shoshannah felt that she could be upset for the both of them. It was unacceptable and she just couldn't see why someone would treat anyone like they didn't deserve to be at this shop. And although Angelo's voice was soft and warm like she was used to, it still didn't appease her like normal. "I just don't understand why he'd be so rude to you. It's not right." Selfishly, she didn't want to aid the man that had treated Angelo in such a way. She wished there was another attendant on staff, someone that wouldn't be so rude. Someone that wasn't going to ruin the special day Angelo deserved to have. "But if you're ok buying a suit from here, then that's all that matters."

“Naw, naw it ain’t,” he protested gently, “This ain’t ‘bout me, Sho. I mean, it is kinda? The show an’ the suit an’ all that, but... s’bout you too, y’know?” Angelo sighed quietly, tsking under his breath as if something about the moment simply wouldn’t do, then took a slight step back towards the door with his hand trailing down Shoshannah’s arm. “It’s ‘bout you showin’ me things I never seen ‘round here, right? Helpin’ me feel like the fella I think you see? Believin’ in alla this?” he asked as he took another step, “So let’s go do that, yeah? An’ see how fast we can rabbit out that door ‘fore that fella comes out with two armfuls a’suits an’ no one to try ‘em on.”

Shoshannah listened, taking smalls steps after he did, and as he spoke a small grin spread on her face. All she wanted was to see Angelo treated well, to see him treated the way he should be treated, and for him to spend the money he earned from one of his paintings here? On this jerk of a salesman? It wouldn't do. She wrapped her fingers around his and nodded, casting a glance back to see if the clerk had returned yet and once she was sure he wasn't close, she darted out of the store with him, a mirthful laugh trailing along behind her. Once outside and safely away from the store she'd never go back into, Shoshannah turned her attention to Angelo again. "I know of another store, one better than that. The people have always been nice to me, they know my family and I've bought ties and shirts for my father there. It's only a block up." She gripped his hand a bit tighter, taking a moment to stop them so she could press a kiss to his cheek. "I just want you to spend your money someone that deserves it. Somewhere you'll be treated the way you should be."

Laughing at the faint “Hey!” from behind them as he ran, Angelo had to wonder if it was the desk jockey or his friend returning with the suits. Not that it mattered much once they were down the street, but not much did with Shannah in close like that. He wasn’t even paying mind to his expression as he grinned at her, canting his head to nearly catch her lips but letting them pass. “I think the only place I’d get treated like that’s ‘cross town, doll,” Angelo murmured, “But I jus’ might be wrong ‘bout this, ‘specially if I got an envoy with me.” Slipping an arm around her waist as they walked, Angelo made it about ten paces down the sidewalk before something she’d said actually managed to hit his brain, the paranoid side in particular. “They know your fam?” he echoed, “They, like, see ‘em often? Cuz I dunno how your folks might feel findin’ out ‘bout me from their tailor or somethin’.” Her dad was a doctor, right? And her mother a socialite, by the sound of it? Neither one seemed like they’d welcome a broke painter, regardless of his color, and certainly not one so much older than their daughter.

"I've been there a few times and my mother still goes in there, but I don't know how frequently." But he had a point. Did she want them to hear that she was with Angelo from someone at a store they saw her at, or did she want to tell them when she was ready? "If you want, we can go to a different store? There's another one close by, but I think these are the only three in the area. There's more but we might have to take a cab for those. The choice is yours, Angelo, but I'd like to tell my family about you myself. I don't want them to find out from a clerk or a tailor, that's not right. You deserve more than that." He deserved an introduction much better than that, even though she wasn't sure she was ready to go home just yet to tell her parents anything.

“We could stand here an’ jaw ‘bout what I deserve ‘til sunup tomorrow an’ not agree, Sho,” Angelo teased easily, “An’ I’d have me quite a time doin’ it too... don’ think there’s anyone I’d rather be disagreein’ with? But let’s try us that third option, yeah? Ain’t no one gonna treat me wrong there, hopefully, an’ ain’t no one gonna go whisperin’ ‘bout the scandal to your folks.” He didn’t want either, honestly. Angelo could deal with grief aimed at himself just fine, but not if it upset Shannah like it clearly had. And as for her parents? Nothing aside from his possibly impending show gave him as much anxiety as thinking of meeting them and drowning in their disapproval. “Maybe we oughta pretend, yeah? Like you’s my patron, lookin’ to clean me up ‘fore this show,” he mused with a toothy grin, “How’s your ‘high an’ mighty’ impression? Try lookin’ down your nose at me.”

"It's not a scandal..." She protested, looking at him seriously, even though she wasn't naive enough to think that her parents would like Angelo. He wasn't Jewish and he certainly didn't have the prospects they wanted for her in a man, but none of that mattered to her. Shoshannah tried to play along, but the idea of judging Angelo like the store clerk had, of looking at him 'down her nose' didn't leave her with a good feeling. "Are you sure you want to do that? I don't know if I can really look at you that way. I can try, though..." But even just offering to try made her feel uncomfortable. "If I have to look that way, I can just..channel my mother. She looks like that to everyone she meets."

Still walking with her, Angelo slid his arm across Shannah’s shoulders again as he sighed quietly. He’d known that some day they’d have to face this issue, even if neither of them wanted to. But if they didn’t? The influence of it from the rest of the city would come between them. “I don’ want you doin’ nothin’ you don’ wanna, Sho,” Angelo confessed gently as he walked, “Jus’... most folk in the city don’ see me like you do. They ain’t never gonna, either, an’ I accepted that a long time back. S’part of why you mean as much as you do t’me; you see me, not my color or my empty pockets. But bein’ with me? It is a scandal to all them people, prolly always gonna be one.”

His pace slowed a touch as Angelo leaned into her, burying his face in the side of Shoshannah’s head to breathe in them smell of her hair. “Ain’t gonna throw me off, though,” he murmured, “Hell, it makes me more on, cuz you’re proof, girl. Proof there’s exceptions, proof there’s miracles. So when it happens? Yeah, I’ll flinch, but I’ll also know I’m stronger’n that doubt an’ them whispers from them people.”

Shoshannah shook her head gently, just a little. "I don't want to see people treat you the way that man did. It's rude and uncalled for and just...indecent. There's no reason someone should be treated that way, anyone, by another person, but I really don't want to see it happen to you. And I don't think I can even pretend-look at you that way." She sighed, wrapping her arms around him even though they were on the street. "I'm not looking past anything, Angelo. I just see you and I don't think any of this is a scandal." She knew her parents would lose their heads over this, so maybe his hesitation made sense just a little, but whether or not they were accepted didn't matter. To her, he wasn't a different skin color or an empty pocket. He was Angelo and that was all that mattered. "You see me the way I am too.You can see past my condition to me. I think that's more of a marvel than me seeing you."

“An’ I think that there’s an argument that nobody’s gon’ win. We tried before, ‘member? Who’s luckier to find each other?” he recalled with a reassuring smile, “Truth told, Sho, I don’t wanna find out. I like feelin’ like I won somethin’, an’ knowin’ you feel that way too. So... tell you what.” Kissing her temple lightly, he disengaged enough to start a slow walk again before saying more. “I’ll stop worryin’ bout what everyone else might think of us? You keep givin’ folks hell when they cross a line. Anything past that, we won’t fret over ‘til it’s right in front of us,” Angelo suggested, “In fact, let’s keep today’s agenda simple. Get me lookin’ sharp, get some dinner, an’ get you posin’ for my paints, yeah?”

His plan sounded perfect, like always. It kept them happy and, to her, that was the most important part. So she nodded to him. "I like this plan." She reached for his hand to tangle her fingers with his once more, leading them in direction of the third and final shop. "I like this plan a lot."