“ you were painting a house when you died? i thought you were creating your masterpiece or something that would have been more–grand. like the new mona lisa, ” the mistress teased with an amused scoff as she made vague gestures with her hands as to what she meant. though she could definitely see the irony in slipping in a sky blue paint. even if it sounded quite amusing now, she doesn’t think it did back then to him. at least, he was able to talk about it in such a lighthearted fashion now. the brunette couldn’t help but wonder if there would ever come a time wherein she would be able to do the same. perhaps, given a century later, she would just laugh at her own predicament as well. delilah listened to him thoughtfully as he talked about his love for painting, the way his lips tugged into a smile definitely shown that it was truly his passion. but if one looked closer, the would be able to see the sadness hidden behind that smile. and perhaps, it was brought about by her question if he missed it. “ i’m not that creative myself when it comes to that, but would you like to go painting tomorrow? you’d have a full 24-hr out of the cells if i’m not mistaken, so i can take you to get some materials and you can decorate a room in my house? or we can get you a canvas and an easel? ” she offered genuinely, hoping that it would at least alleviate his longing to paint even if it’s just for a day.
when he revealed his preference for both men and women, she couldn’t help but comment, “ not everyone was so accepting back in the days– ” if that’s what he meant. even now, they still face a lot of discrimination. however, she wished it was that easy for her to own up to whom she loves. not to say that those people had it easy, but at least, some people are more accepting now. but she didn’t really want to think about that, not when it was only bringing her spirits more down than they already are. with a lopsided grin playing on her lips, she feigned surprised when he said that he wasn’t fifty. “ you’re not fifty? i could swear you looked like you are just a few years shy away from my father’s age– ” the teasing was obvious in her tone, nodding her head when he said that he’s just forty. when he took a guess on her age, she raised a quizzical brow at him and shook her head. “ you’re not that good–who told you? ”
Ilan burst into a laugh at Delilah’s question and then shook his head. “No, I wasn’t painting a house, I was paiting with house paints. The piece itself was going to be this eight feet to six feet painting of a summery park. But well, it never got finished, or even close to being finished, so who knows what happened to it after I died.” It definitely hadn’t been funny to realise you had died because of your love for painting, but now that he had been thinking about it and talking about it aloud with Delilah there really was no other way than laugh at it. When she offered painting his eyes got wide, his mouth opened and closed few times before he managed to bring out any words. “I’d love that. And I’d be forever thankful to you for doing that for me.” Then a bright smile spread on his lips. “So if you are up to spending a day with me, or me just disappearing in my own little bubble as I paint, then I’m more than happy to agree to that suggestion.”
Ilan nodded few times at her words, not going back to the topic either because it seemed to be a touchy topic in some level. Luckily talking about his age did take the mood away from the sad one to a more happier one. Or funnier one, really. “Oh, no, don’t go to the dad-level”, he laughed and only laughed more when Delilah looked so surprised about his own guess. “No one told me. I’m just good at staring at people”, he joked with a grin, “I mean, you clearly are on your twenties, but you clearly aren’t twenty, but you can’t be too close to thirty either, so the steady middle is the twenty five. And according to your reaction I did hit it right.”
