Excerpt: Refraction

He wasn't where he should have been, it didn't matter, time enough for that later.
The show was over, the gallery nearly empty, Artemis stood watching for longer than he meant to. The girl could have been any age, it was imposable to tell by looking at her. She cast her eyes to the work on the wall then to the plaque that hung beside it and back again, much in the same way those who observed it at the viewing had but her features held non of the same fained interest or approval.
This was a look of disappointment, of concern.
He moved to her side, aware of the footlights that cast his lengthened shadow on the the marble floor as he passed them. He looked at the painting again before making any observation of the girl, "What do you think of it?" he asked never moving his eyes from the work.
"I expected more" she answered frankly.
Somehow that was funny, this simple girl spoke as if her review held far more merit than the award mounted on the wall.
"The critics don't seem to agree."
"Look at it again."
He obliged, stepping closer to the painting as he spoke. "The brush work is masterful and the composition near perfect. I don't see what's wrong with it."
Her shoulders tensed "I didn't say it was poor, I just said I expected better, all it manages to express is sadness, and that's the easiest thing in the world to make a person feel. "
Suddenly he felt guilty.
"But discontentment is the time honored state of artist, it's because of that devotion,we're able to experience it."
"Why would people want to feel sad?"
He paused, thinking it over. "Maybe because that's kind of sadness that dissipates quickly. Maybe being able to summon and dismiss those feelings so quickly makes us feel we have more power to dismiss our own unpleasant emotions."
They were both silent for a moment.
He stole a sideways glance at her, "But you a have a very apt opinion, where do you study art?"
"My living room mostly."
"Oh, I'm sorry, just assumed...."
"That I was more qualified?"
He glanced downward "Well, if it's any constellation, I've seen men from backgrounds twice as qualified present points that make half as much sense".
"Who are you to question the qualifications of my living room?" she asked sternly, then laughed.
"Well I was just about to get to that." he extended a hand, "My name is Artemis."
She looked at him like she was trying to figure out if he was kidding.
Then determined that he wasn't. "That's a strange name."
"Trust me, it wasn't my idea, you know the custom is to tell me your own name before insulting mine."
She griped his hand, "I didn't mean it like that, I'm Angeline."
"And what is the painting you're working on?"
She looked like someone that just met a psychic and was totally unaware of their technique.
Those people annoyed him.