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When Shiri reached out to arrange for the dinner meeting with Lux that they had promised, they provide a time and a place: LaCroix, at the Rittenhouse hotel. They tell Lux to simply give their name to the hostess and tell them they're there to see Shiri, and they'll be taken to the table.
That's where Shiri is waiting when they arrive, seated at the chef's table in the kitchen, which has been set for two. The rest of the kitchen is bustling around nearby, with the table just off to the side. Shiri is sitting in their electric wheelchair, dressed in a sharply tailored jacket and flipping through their phone as they way for Lux's arrival.
Lux shows up on time, for once. They've taken the time to dress... well? If you consider eye-searing neon queer disaster to be dressing well. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0234/5963/products/IMG_3251.jpg?v=1563920045 But with a yellow shirt underneath, and no tie, because why white when you can just wear more color?
They follow the hostess to the table, giving Shiri a quick once over and managing to politely hide any reaction to the wheelchair. They don't have their usual vibrant bubbly energy about them today--more serious now, but they manage a polite smile. "Good evening."
Shiri looks up when Lux is brought in, because how can you not have your eyes drawn to that outfit. They pause for a moment, nothing moving but their eyes as they look Lux up and down, and then they let out a pleased little laugh and put their phone in their lap as their other hand reaches for their chair's controls. With the deftness of experience they back the chair away from the able and around it, where they offer a hand out. "You must be Lux," they say. "I'm glad you could make the time to meet with me."
(They do have Blush of Life active, which probably isn't hard to guess, but I figure I'll state it outright)
"That I am. Shiri? Is that what you prefer to be called?" Lux returns the handshake with a pleasant enough grip, their hands a little cold to the touch.
"Please," they confirm. They offer a light handshake, then gesture toward the seat across from where they'd been pulled up to the table. "Despite any impression this choice of venue might have given you, I'm not one to rely heavily on formality when it's not really necessary," they say as they direct their chair back to where they'd been before. "The dining experience here is just both wonderful and difficult to get reservations for," nearly impossible, really, "so I thought it might serve as a first step in apologizing for the unpleasant way our introduction was made."
Lux settles into the chair, legs folding. They don't have the most formal of postures, lounging back into the chair comfortably and casually as they look across at her--but not quite making eye contact. "Good. I'm not a fan of formality, myself." Their bright eyes--even in their mask--flit around at the restaurant. "Never been anywhere this fancy," they admit.
"It's ultimately all just other forms of artistry," Shiri answers with a nonchalance. "Isn't it? Don't stress yourself out over it. In a week the only thing anyone here will be likely to remember about our presence here tonight will be your suit." They smile as they offer the words, which come out sounding like a compliment.
The compliment works--boy do they have an ego. Their lip twitches upwards, focusing back on her. "Hm. Just how I like it." Their head tilts. "I think I remember seeing you at the protest, now that I think about it. You had a large... entourage."
"Oh, you did see me?" Shiri asks, not sounding like they were insulted by the idea they might not have been remembered, just like they hadn't made any assumptions about it. "That was mostly just my family. Found family, rather than the sort that comes from blood. I have strong opinions on the use of charitable funds to line private pockets, and some of my family and friends share the opinion enough to come support me."
Lux regards her a moment, then exhales a breath. "Found family is important. Good to know." They glance over the table and if there's a menu, pick it up to look over. "So. You're wanting a mural done?"
"It is. And since the optics of the police assaulting a well-off, feminine-presenting person in a wheelchair are incredibly bad, I like to show up to those kinds of things so that I can use some of my privilege to shield others." Shiri smiles when Lux glances around for a menu. "Oh, first things first, food. Do you have any dietary restrictions? They do a tasting menu here, but if you have particular needs I'm sure they'll be happy to make sure to meet them. They've never protested making sure my meals are kosher."
They snort softly in amusement and appreciation at the thought of her using her privilege/disability to help others. "That's useful, yeah. Oh, uh." Lux blinks, having no idea what all a tasting menu involves. "No allergies, no. Not a super picky eater, so whatever is fine."
Shiri nods, waves to get a server's attention, and then orders when he comes over. "Do you drink?" they ask Lux while they still have the staff's attention. "I like wine with my meal, and I'm happy to share the bottle, or you can order something else if you prefer."
"I'll take some wine, yeah." Lux smiles. "Happy to try whatever you suggest. Kind of flying blind here."
Shiri orders a bottle of wine, and once the server leaves they return their full attention to Lux. "Now that we've taken care of that, you're right, I do want to get a mural done. One of the walls in my gallery is a great surface for it, right in the lobby. I'd love to start using it as a way to showcase local artists who... fly under the radar of society's interest, a lot of the time."
Lux blinks when she mentions an art gallery. "Oh. Uh." They pause a moment. "Never had any of my artwork in a gallery before. Guess that could be cool, though."
Shiri smiles and says, "I think that's the case for most artists who do what you do. I'm also sensitive to the fact that this could look like me trying to profit off of the work of artists with less privilege than myself, though. I want to help people be aware of the talent that exists in the genre, but I don't really want to participate in the gentrification of it, either."
Their lips quirk. "Yeah. It's why I've never bothered trying to get into the gallery scene. All pomp and circumstance, and if you're not white and educated most of the time people turn their noses up at you. Too many bullshit rules. No offense. But it's just not why I'm in the game. Also most galleries don't want the sort of controversy my art often brings with it."
"That controversy is exactly why I want your art," Shiri answers with a laugh. "I don't take any offense, not to anything you just said. I'm not risk averse. I've heard of other cities having organizations for street artists, like a street art alliance, where they make arrangements for the legal use of spaces to do street art, but I haven't been able to find a good organization like that in Philly."
They pause for the arrival of the bottle of wine, and only once they've both had a glass poured and the server has left do they pick theirs up.
"A street art alliance would be pretty great for Philly," Lux replies thoughtfully, picking up the glass of wine to sip at.
Shiri sighs with faint resignation. "I suppose that means you don't know of anything nobody has bothered to tell me about," they say. "It's certainly not my place to try to start one, since I'm an outsider in that scene. If there were such an organization, I'd be interested in helping fund them by donating a percentage of the proceeds from my gallery for as long as I'm showcasing street artists. In addition to paying the artists for their work, of course."
"I know a fair amount of other street artists. But there's no organization to support or protect us, no." Lux takes a sip of wine, eyeing her for a moment. "How serious of an offer is that?"
"Entirely," Shiri answers, smiling when Lux seems to be picking up on what they're hinting. "I suspect that if I find an organization to work with and we manage to time things, and advertise things, in the right way, people will trip over themselves to get in a piece of what looks like my exclusivity, too."
They perk a brow, then snort softly. "Guess I can see that. Well... I'll look into things. See what I can put together, then get back to you. And... I suppose having a mural of mine might help with that. Let people know you're serious about the support."
"Exactly," Shiri says, pointing a finger at Lux. "Which brings me to talking about the space." They lean to one side to fish up a manila envelop that was sitting on the chair next to them, and take out a bunch of photographs and a diagram. It shows the entry to her gallery, where there's a large wall that extends up two stories, with a full view through a glass facade from the street. It's currently covered in a wide array of paintings and other art pieces. "This is the wall I'm looking to use for the murals."
Another gulp, then the glass is set aside so they can accept the photographs. They look through them slowly, one at a time, then lays them out on the table. "You wanting any particular... theme or anything, or are you letting me go wild?"
"I'm willing to go to bat for provactive," Shiri answers with a quiet laugh. "It's visible from the street, so I'd have to draw the line at anything pornographic, or overly violent. Political? Okay with me. I'd like to have a chance to talk to you about what you have in mind before it goes up, just in case. If it would get me in trouble with my community, or you with yours, for instance..."
Lux grimaces a little. "Eh. I'm not looking to start more shit in our communities. You don't have to worry about that. That works, though. I can get a pitch together for you, and some sketches. Can I keep these?"
"Of course, yes," Shiri answers, as the first batch of food arrives. It's tiny, fancy, and absolutely delicious. And since it's a tasting menu, more is soon to come.
"Thanks." Lux gathers the photographs to tuck back into the envelope when the food is brought out, resting it on their lap. Their brow lifts at the tiny food, but they seem eager to give things a try. They're usually a fast eater, but try to take the time not to just... swallow everything whole, and appreciate it instead. "How long have you had your gallery?"
That requires Shiri to pause and think, which they do while enjoying a bite of their food. They're probably going to regret it later, but at the moment they seem to be enjoying the food, anyway. "Almost six years," they answer after adding up the dates.
"Huh. I was thinking it'd be longer. Are you just a patron of the arts, or dabble yourself?"
The pause that brings is different. Hesitant. "I paint," they say a little evasively, like it's something they don't like talking about for some reason. "Do you do any art other than street art?"
Lux gives her a lingering curious look, but doesn't press. "I do some painting and drawing. But I find it less satisfying to paint on a canvas than I do on walls or sidewalks. I've experimented with music too, but that's more a hobby than passion."
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