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Post by June Bankman on Mar 18, 2010 12:13:39 GMT -5
"I don't think I've seen any of your paintings," June mused. "You never drew in school, either. Still, I was always a little jealous of your talent." She gave a smile to show that she was teasing, at least a little, and shrugged. In a way, she was still kind of jealous. Virginia had her own gallery now, and did what she loved. And June... June was working a painfully predictably 9 to 5 in the Portkey Office. She would tell anyone who asked that she liked her job, but anyone who knew June knew that she didn't handle routine so well.
"Why don't we plan to go on Friday night? I imagine she'll be working Friday night, but I don't really know. If I was a bartender, I would want to work Friday nights."
As Virginia mentioned the girl from their school, June laughed. "Wow... I didn't even know she was in town. How is she doing?"
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Mar 22, 2010 15:58:12 GMT -5
“I actually have one of them hanging up in my room if you wanted to see it,” Virginia said. “It’s probably one of my best, but every time I look at it, I see something I wish I could change.”
That was the odd thing about sculpting. When working on a sculpture, Virginia would always hit that moment where she would know it was done and there wasn’t anything else she needed to do with it. Each piece felt complete, and she would never change a thing. But her paintings were less precise, more layered, and when she looked at them, she could only see the flaws. In actuality, her paintings were quite good, but she could never see that.
“Friday night sounds perfect,” she said. “I can’t wait. Although, I hope it won’t be too crowded.” She frowned over at her current work in progress for a moment, an idea coming to her. “Kiara… she seemed… lost. Like she wanted something, but she didn’t know what. But you remember how she is… even more prim and proper than I am.”
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Post by June Bankman on Apr 21, 2010 18:59:16 GMT -5
"I'd love to see it," June replied, running her hand through her hair as she sipped on the tea. The water was still steaming, so she was slow to drink it. But she was pretty sure that it was helping.
"I can't believe either you or Kiara ever put up with me in school. Merlin, I was never prim and proper. I don't think Kiara ever particularly warmed to me, actually." June shrugged, her mind still in a thousand places.
She glanced around the room, her eyes sweeping over the sculpture and everything else. She didn't know what else to say- talk about lost. She felt lost, like she was looking for something, but didn't know what.
"So, is she living here, now?"
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Apr 21, 2010 20:47:59 GMT -5
"I needed you in my life," Virginia said with a smile. "You kept me from hiding away in the library, and i don't think I ever would have had the courage to pursue my love of art if not for you. And we both always did like things neat..."
But she couldn't argue with the fact that Kiara had always seemed standoffish with June. In fact, she was generally standoffish with most people, and Virginia sometimes wondered what must have happened in the girl's life to make her so closed off from everyone else.
"I think Kiara's staying in town, but she didn't exactly say where." Abruptly, Virginia got to her feet, still holding her tea on her hands. "Come on, I'll show you the painting."
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Post by June Bankman on Apr 22, 2010 15:39:23 GMT -5
June gave a small bubble of laughter, and shook her head. "Yeah, well... I'm still not sure I was such a good influence. Merlin knows I had a horrible reputation at Beauxbatons. I didn't really care though... I've just always felt that you have one life, and it's short, and you need to live it how it will..." she trailed off, sighing before she finished with a softer, "make you happy." She was such a hypocrite.
"But if I had any part in getting you to start your art work, then I am really proud of that."
Virginia was on her feet, and June nodded, setting down her tea as she followed Virginia to see the painting.
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Aug 21, 2010 21:47:13 GMT -5
Virginia smiled lightly as she led June into her room, which was really not much more than a partition in the far corner of the loft. If someone had told her back when they were in school that she would be single and living in a loft apartment over her own art gallery, Virginia was quite sure she would have laughed at the suggestion. Although she had always loved art, Virginia never would have imagined pursuing it back in those days. But June had influenced her in some ways. She had taught her not to live fearfully, and that had inspired Virginia to follow her dreams. So, yes, June had been a good influence.
As she stepped behind the partition to where her "bedroom" was, Virginia pointed to the painting hanging above the bed. It was a landscape, as almost all of her paintings were. The scene was of her favorite bridge in Paris, with the River Seine flowing beneath, its surface glittering in the sun. A couple in a small canoe could be seen sailing by, and a few daffodils dotted the river's edge. Whenever Virginia looked at it, it reminded her of home.
"Well, there it is," she said needlessly.
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Post by June Bankman on Mar 23, 2011 1:48:26 GMT -5
June's breath almost caught when she saw the painting. It made her want to cry, in all honesty.
"I miss it," she whispered, her eyes sweeping over the painting and all of its details. Things were so much.... simpler and more romantic in France. "I miss the sunlight sometimes, you know?"
She smiled, a bittersweet smile, and turned her gaze back to Virginia. "It's beautiful. You really are quite talented." She reached over and hugged her tightly, just needing the contact.
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Apr 4, 2011 23:23:35 GMT -5
Things might have been simpler for June in Paris, but Virginia had been there too long. It had started to feel constricting, like she only ever saw the same things every day, and associated with the same pretentious people. She'd had to leave to find a different atmosphere. And maybe she should have gone to New York instead... but she liked it here.
She knew that there was something wrong with June, something that was troubling her that she wouldn't say. And she wanted to ask her friend about it, to promise to be there for her and help her through it. But something told her June wasn't ready to talk. If she wanted to talk, she would come out and say it... that had always been June's way. So she silently hugged her back, trying to let her know without words that she was ready to listen whenever June wanted to really talk.
"Maybe we're just not meant to stay in the same place for too long," Virginia replied sadly. "Paris... it started to wear on me. I painted this when I was still in love with Paris... You should see the sculpture I made just before I decided to leave Paris. You can tell how angry and frustrated I was."
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Post by June Bankman on Apr 17, 2011 22:07:05 GMT -5
June remained quiet for a moment, especially when she commented That the two of them weren't meant to stay anywhere for long. Maybe June had worn out her welcome in London... maybe it was time to leave.
"It's still beautiful. Sometimes I wish I could have a love affair with a man the way You do with cities. Talon would be my Paris."
She kept looking at the painting, feeling it deep in her heart. "You really do have talent, Gin."
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on May 18, 2011 22:23:38 GMT -5
Virginia's smile was sad. She understood completely what June meant when she said that Talon would be her Paris. it was the reason she was here, after all, wasn't it? She was having problems with Talon, but she still loved him deeply. Virginia understood, although she had never been in love with a man. But she had left a part of her heart in Paris; it would always be a part of her. But she needed to leave it, so she could love it from afar.
"You know what? I was thinking of taking a trip to Vienna in the summer. I went there a few years ago, and I totally fell in love with it. The work I did when I was there was some of the best I had done in years. What would you say about coming with me? Just for a couple of weeks?"
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Post by June Bankman on Sept 5, 2011 23:50:52 GMT -5
June's eyes remained on the painting for a while. She was never one of those art snobs who walked around and discussed art, or even claimed that it could change her life. It just didn't affect her the way it did people like Virginia.
But this painting moved her in a way she couldn't comprehend. Maybe it hit very close to home for her, the emotions of being in love with the city. The city that she now equated to her boyfriend. Staring at this painting, June almost wanted to cry because she felt like something precious was slipping out of her hands.
The brunnette took a deep breath when Virginia addressed her again, and tore her eyes away from the piece in front of them. "Vienna, hm?" It sounded like splendid, perfect idea. One that Talon would never agree too... but she had vacation time coming to her, and if he refused to marry her, he certainly couldn't control what she did, right? "I would love to, Gin. Even just for a few days. Maybe I could use a little inspiration, too, hm?"
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Sept 17, 2011 15:41:20 GMT -5
June might have envied Virginia, but for Virginia, it was the other way around. She fell in love with art, with cities, with the beauty that was all around her. Even London, for all its smog and clouds and rain, was beautiful to Virginia. It was real, it was visceral. She was touched by the gritty honesty of it all. But unlike June, she had never found another person who could touch her that deeply inside. While June was aching for the love that was slipping away from her, Virginia was aching over the love she'd never experienced. The saying was that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, and as cheesy as that sounded, it was true for Virginia.
"Sometimes all you need is a little change of scenery to open the world all over again," she said. "If I could, I would move around every few months, just to get a new perspective. But even a little trip can help."
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 14, 2011 0:12:16 GMT -5
June wasn't even sure that a new p[erspective for a couple of weeks or even days would make anything better, but what did she know? Who was she to say that it wouldn't?
"I'd move around once a year," she decided, thinking about June's words. "But not to see things differently... I'd want different people to see me differently. Just think, you could start a brand new life any time you wanted, once a year, maybe more often, until you found the one you liked best. You could be anyone."
It would be freedom. Guilt free, at that. She ached at the very idea.
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Nov 7, 2011 22:51:24 GMT -5
Virginia cast a sidelong glance over at June. She wondered if her friend realized just how unhappy she sounded. If she loved Talon as much as she claimed to, why would she want to just pick up and leave and move around like that? Virginia was not a psychologist, but even she could see that June's desire for a rootless existence, a constant fresh start, was a serious sign of dissatisfaction with her current situation. Was she feeling trapped? Tied down?
The trouble was, even though she saw this quite plainly, Virginia was far too polite to ask this of June. She already felt like she had pushed the line earlier and had been shut down. It was frustrating, because June had come to her for help... but wasn't letting her help.
"Then why don't you?" she asked gently. "What's holding you here, really?"
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Post by June Bankman on Nov 14, 2011 0:18:17 GMT -5
June opened her mouth to answer, but for a moment, no words came out.
What was holding her here? Talon? That seemed like the most logical answer. If she picked up and left, she knew without a doubt that he wouldn't come with her.
She turned and gave Virginia a smile. "I have to grow up at some point, Gin. I have a good job, a relationship... I'm old enough to have figured out that I can't keep chasing fantasies."
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Dec 6, 2011 0:20:18 GMT -5
"Sometimes the most grown-up thing you can do is walk away from something that isn't working and chase a fantasy instead," Virginia said cryptically. "It's why I came here, and left Paris. You know that Paris will always be in my blood... but it wasn't working anymore. So I came here. And if this doesn't work, I'll go somewhere else. You never want to reach the end of your life and wonder about what could have been."
Of course, Virginia didn't always take her own advice. She'd been too cautious in her personal life, too standoffish. While June plunged headlong into a relationship, Virginia had yet to take that plunge. She was beginning to think she never would, and that she'd be an old spinster with 20 cats and a pottery wheel.
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Post by June Bankman on Jan 14, 2012 2:59:39 GMT -5
June shook her head, but remained quiet. She chased fantasies. The problem was, once you caught one, you found out the hard way that it wasn't at all what you expected it to be.
"Talon was a fantasy, once. And I wonder sometimes... he's so convinced that I would cheat on him... would it really make a difference if one time I did?" That was a fantasy, even. "Again, I'm old enough and smart enough to know that that wouldn't end well... that the better thing to do is not go entertaining such childish ideas. Maybe it'd be better if I fell in love with places instead of people."
She turned away from the piece over Virginia's bed and glanced around the room. "What other pieces are you working on?"
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Jan 20, 2012 12:30:42 GMT -5
Virginia, on the other hand, wished she could fall in love with people the way she fell in love with cities. Oddly, that was part of why she had come to England. She didn't think she could love the place the way she had loved Paris, or Vienna, or any of the other places where had she had been and loved. Maybe if she wasn't so distracted by her location, she could focus on the people around her and let them become part of her identity, like Paris was and would always be.
"What's it like?" she asked, suddenly wistful. "Being in love, I mean. With another person. How do you give up all those reservations and uncertainties and let someone else into your heart? It's easy to love a city... it is what it is and you have to adapt to be part of it. And if you don't fit there, it's just as easy to leave. A city will never really love you back."
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Post by June Bankman on Jan 20, 2012 20:36:03 GMT -5
June, for a long moment, didn't have an answer to Virginias question. It dawned on her that she might have become so complacent that she forgot what being in love felt like. She smiled, thinking back to when she'd fallen for Talon.
"it's different for everyone, Gin. I don't really have any reservations to let go of. Falling in love is easy for me, I guess. And I kind of fall in love with every person I meet." she ran a hand through her hair and her smile softened. "It's amazing, Ginny. You feel like no matter what goes wrong, that everything will be okay because there's someone next to you through it. It's not perfect... But it's not lonely, either."
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Post by Virginia duMaurier on Jan 21, 2012 0:30:28 GMT -5
Maybe it was the life of an artist--it was solitary and isolated. All of her passions were poured into her art, and it left nothing left for her in her personal life. All she knew was that she had never met a person that made her feel the way her art did. When she was painting or sculpting, she was totally wrapped up in her work. It was just her and her art, and nothing else around her mattered. Was it wrong to want a person who would make her feel the same way? Or was she destined to be married to her art?
"It sounds amazing," she said softly. "I wonder if I'll ever find that kind of love."
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