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Aurelio Menegi: Murano Studios was a decent-sized workspace tucked into a row of brick buildings that fit in well with the stout-but-sturdy architecture of the neighborhood, a proper nod to its focus on the industrial side of the city. The main part of the studio was the workshop space, as one would expect, with a number of stations equipped with the furnaces, worktables and the like needed to heat, shape and construct the glass into the desired designs. A gallery and showroom was off to one side, closed to the public due to the lateness of the hour, while offices and a break room could be found farther back.
On this particular afternoon Aurelio was tidying up his station after finishing the day's project, the piece tucked away in the annealing oven to finish off the process. He was dressed casually as was his wont, the all-black ensemble not a deterrent for the Torrent even with the heat that washed over the workspace.
Fofo: The front door to the workspace opens and Joseph comes inside, talking into his phone. Sounds like it might be a work call--he has on his Customer Service voice and is notably distracted.
Alessa follows him inside, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She's wearing jean overalls, a pink tank top underneath.
Joseph starts towards the office, but Alessa reaches out to grab his sleeve. "Dad, can I work on my project?" she asks hopefully.
He looks back at her and smiles. "Sure, sweetie. Just don't make too much of a mess, okay?" He glances towards Aurelio--noticing him working and offers a polite smile before continuing to the girl, "And don't bother Aurelio too much."
"I won't," she replies, far too innocently.
Aurelio Menegi: Aurelio looked towards the door as it opened, perking up a touch as he saw who it was. He gave Joseph a nod, not wanting to distract him from the call more than he needed to, smirking quietly at the girl's reply to her father. Once Joseph had moved on towards the office he looked to Alessa with a smile. "Needing a hand?"
Fofo: Joseph does indeed slip back into the office to continue the call.
Alessa has grown up in this workshop--she knows not to get too close to the ovens and forges, so at this age it's not terribly uncommon for her father to trust her enough to leave her in the workshop, letting her draw or paint on one of the worktables.
She moves over to a shelf, reaching up on her toes to pull down a box with things that jangle and clink inside. She pauses when Aurelio speaks, then turns to head over to his station. "Sure! I'm making a present for my mom," she replies, smiling proudly. "It's her birthday next week."
Aurelio Menegi: "Is it...good to know." He nodded with a smile, clearing off a space on the worktable for her to put the box down on. "What are you making?"
Fofo: She opens the box and carefully pulls out a wooden picture frame that has been painted all different colors--clearly by her own hand. It has a sheet of clear glass inside it, which has various tiny items glued to the glass' surface. Pieces of colored glass, stones, bits of paper, cut up photographs--and random other tiny trinkets. It's part stained glass window, part collage.
She holds it up to him for him to see, beaming proudly. "It's to show her all the things I love about her."
Aurelio Menegi: The smile warmed as he looked over the piece, the love put into it clear. "She will like it, I'm sure. Is very beautiful."
Fofo: "Thank you." She nods, every bit confident in her own abilities. She carefully sets the frame down, then tips the box to look into it, pulling out glue and a few other items she's planning on gluing to the glass. She lays the items out in a neat row, then digs into her pockets and pulls out a tarnished penny to carefully set down at the end of the row. She looks them over thoughtfully, like picking out the right item to put in the right place is of utmost importance. She ends up picking up a broken plastic butterfly clip to glue onto the glass. "What are you working on?" She asks, looking up once it's glued in place.
Aurelio Menegi: Important work indeed, and Aurelio watched with interest as Alessa went over the items to decide what to put where. "Vases for a wedding gift from the mother of the groom to the bride. Is in the oven now, but can show you a picture if you like."
Fofo: She bobs her head quickly, leaning forward expectantly for him to pull out his phone.
Aurelio Menegi: He smiled at the exuberance, pulling out his phone and poking at the screen a bit until the photo came up. The glass was mostly a cloudy white, with swirls of gold and blue peeking out here and there. "Not too bad, no?" (https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2006/NYR/2006_NYR_01679_0004_000().jpg?w=500)
Fofo: Her eyes go wide at the picture. "Oooh... That's pretty. I like the gold." She rocks on her heels a bit, peering back up at him. "I think you're better than Dad. But don't tell him I said that." She turns back to her own project, picking up the tarnished penny to glue onto the glass next. "This is a lucky penny," she confides to him softly.
Aurelio Menegi: "There are some things he's better at than me, and there's always something new to learn from everyone you meet." He smirked, looking over the penny curiously at those whispered words. "What makes it lucky?"
Fofo: She gives Aurelio a 'You don't know?' sort of look. "If you find a penny that is heads up, it's lucky. If it's tails, it's bad luck. You never pick up a bad luck penny." She looks back to her work. "But this one is good. I hope it brings Mom some good luck..." She frowns suddenly.
Aurelio Menegi: "Ah...I see. I will remember that." He nodded firmly, pausing at the frown that followed. "Oh? Something wrong?"
Fofo: Alessa is quiet a moment as she focuses on the project, glueing another little trinket to the glass. But something is clearly on the young girl's mind. "Mom's not... been feeling well," she finally says, with a slightly nervous tone, like she's afraid she might get in trouble.
Aurelio Menegi: A little pang of concern zipped across the Torrent's expression, giving Alessa a small nod after a moment. "If I can help, let me know. Even if it's just to talk if you're worried. Alright?"
Fofo: The comforting, concerned tone of an adult seems to soothe her a bit. She fidgets with the bottle of glue for a moment. "I don't think you can. She said there's nothing I can do to help either. She says sometimes people are just... sad, and can't be anything but sad. But she's been sad a lot... Dad says that she'll be okay, but I dunno..." She looks at the collage window. "Hopefully this will make her feel better."
Aurelio Menegi: He nodded , the gears turning quietly in the back of his mind. "I imagine it will, with all the care you put into it."
Fofo: She nods, smiling hopefully before looking back up at him. "How do you cheer people up?"
Aurelio Menegi: "Be there for them, in whatever way that may be. Help with something if they need it, listen if they need to talk about things to help relax...even just be there for them to lean on."
Fofo: The young girl considers this advice quietly for a moment, then nods. "Okay. I can do that." She smiles wider, picking up a small colorful rock to offer over to him. "You can pick where this goes, if you wanna."
Aurelio Menegi: "Good." He nodded with a smile, looking surprised when she offered him the rock to add to the piece. "Thank you. Let's see..."
He took a long moment looking over the collection of trinkets already in place, trying to find a good spot for it that would flow well with the rest of the composition - once an artist always an artist, after all. "Let's say here." He eventually replied, setting it lightly on the glass for a proper preview. "Look good to you?"
Fofo: Alessa watches him with a very critical eye. Even at such a young age, she's a critic.
After a moment of considering his placement, she bobs her head. "Yeah. That's good." She picks it up again long enough to slather glue down, then places it back with a smile.
Joseph returns from the office, no longer talking into his phone. He blinks in surprise to fine her with Aurelio, then offers him an apologetic but grateful smile. "Sorry if she's bothering you." He steps over, looking down at the window while squeezing the girl's shoulder. "Wow, great progress! You're doing such a good job."
"I know," she replies with cheerful smugness.
Aurelio Menegi: Aurelio looked up towards Joseph, shaking his head with a smile. "Not a bother at all. She has a good eye."
Fofo: "Runs in the family," Joseph replies, clearly oblivious to the extra implications. He just appears proud of his daughter. He looks back down at her. "We should get home to make dinner. You ready to go?"
She gives reluctant look to the unfinished project, but then nods, starting to carefully pack everything back into the box to put away.
Aurelio Menegi: "So it seems." Oh, if only he knew how far back it truly ran...
He offered a hand with getting things packed up if Alessa needed it, giving the pair a nod once it was done. "It was good talking with you, Alessa. Let me know what she thinks of it, hmm?"
Fofo: "I will." Alessa smiles brightly at him, then reaches to take her father's hand. "See you!"
"Have a good night," Joseph adds with a nod, then leads the girl out.
Aurelio is left feeling centered and grounded as they leave, like a great weight has been lifted off of his mind.
Aurelio Menegi: "You as well." He watched as the pair headed off, letting out a quiet breath as the disjointed parts of his mind settled back into place. He smiled softly before getting up from his seat, pocketing his phone and going back to tidying up his station to head home himself for the day.
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