#int. feyza ergin: 001

[acevedohadid]

"I feel you. I'm gonna draw you right now, shouldn't take me long. But if you want me to do color, you'll have to wait for a few days because I am so slow with coloring." Dario admitted, grabbing his pencil with his left hand and passing the page to begin tracing the first lines of his new sketch, barely looking at her as he did so. "Horse language? Because of sugar cubes? I missed a part of this conversation. Why did you think this?"

"Fair. No math. Got it. Actually, go ahead and draw me like this!" Feyza suggested, fingers brushing through her hair in a casual gesture. "For real though, photos always lack that special something, you feel me?" She shifted forward in her seat, eyes bright. "Those horses are totally rad! Back at my grandparents' farm in Turkey, I'd sneak them sugar cubes on the regular. Full disclosure - I totally thought I was speaking horse language." She snorted, and went back to those sunny childhood memories. 

[acevedohadid]

Rio laughed gently, furrowing his eyebrows together. "That kind of tickles. What does it mean if palm reading tickles?" he asked, genuinely asked. Rio then laughed as she mentioned being only an amateur and grabbed her hand to try to compare their wealth lines side by side. "What the fuck? I don't know how accurate this is, I'm not rich. Not by any means. If I win the lottery I would give it all away, honestly. I hate money."

“No way, that’s amazing,” Feyza said, genuinely awed. The palm reading suddenly felt silly compared to his talent. She traced a line on his hand, trying to appear knowledgeable. “Well, this line here... it shows you’re creative. And this one? It means you like to procrastinate.” She cracked a joke, hoping he’d see the humor. Despite feeling somewhat silly, she pushed on. “Honestly, I have no clue what I’m doing. I’m just an amateur but it looks like you might be coming into money. See this line here? That’s wealth, I know this one because I keep looking at mine, hoping it’ll change. Anyway, if you win the lottery don’t forget about Feyza Ergin from South Hills.”

[acevedohadid]

"Okay, new rule: no math while I'm trying to draw, please. Or ever." Rio teased her, although it wasn't even considered math to begin with. Dario hit it off with people very often, so he wasn't surprised to be so friendly with Feyza right away, but it was clear she got his sense of humor extremely well. "Okay. Cool, I'll draw you right now, actually. Do you have a photo you like? Or should I just draw you like this?" He gestured towards her. "I love horses. I thought I was going to grow up and be a horse trainer, but then I left the farm and never looked back. Do you like them?"

"Twenties is the thirties," she heard what she said, did a mental calculation and took it back. "Wait! Thirties is the new twenties!" she smiled at Rio. "Totally unfair to use Lucy Liu as an example. I saw her in Shazam and she's still giving us twenty-somethings a run for our money." She nodded, totally relating to the money problems he mentioned. She got so excited when he offered her the sketch. "Me, definitely me! I've never had anyone draw me before." She noticed his giggle and grinned. "That's even cooler. Bet they were less grumpy than the cows would've been at that hour." Talking about farm life reminded her of her own childhood visits to her grandparents' farm in Turkey. She missed it. As he worked on the fox, she couldn't help but be fascinated by his technique.

[acevedohadid]

"Is early thirties young these days? I know sometimes I go to a bar and I can hear younger people think I'm ancient." Rio retorted with a shake of his head. "I mean, have you seen Lucy Liu? She still looks like she did in Charlie's Angels, it's actually unfair." He nodded though at her next question, knowing she was definitely right. "I know and that's part of why I hate it. Because it's a problem created to fix a problem." Rio grinned back at her and gave the fox his last few touches. "What would you like a sketch of? Yourself? Your pet? A significant other?" He actually giggled at her next question. "No silly. My older brother did that. I was in charge of feeding the horses."

The sound of her laughter filled the air as she chuckled at his teasing remark about his age. “I didn’t want to assume. You looked young, but who’s to say I’m not actually 55 and just blessed with good genes?" she quipped, winking. His perspective on money was really interesting. Feyza never looked at it that way. “I know what you’re saying about money causing problems, but it’s also sorted out some of my own.” She thought about her tough college days, juggling multiple jobs to stay afloat. Money would have been a big help for her at that time. “It’s cool that you do so much for charity. Bet that feels amazing.” He totally surprised her by offering to pay with a sketch. “Are you kidding? That’d be amazing! I’d love a Rio original,” she smirked, feeling a bit star-struck. “That must’ve been quite an experience. Did you have to milk the cows before the roosters squawks?”

[acevedohadid]

"Young man? I feel like I look way older than you, young lady." Dario teased and then shrugged, not entirely sure of what his answer was. It probably came from living at the farm with his parents, how little they had, how happy everyone seemed to be until they began making so much money. "I think money is what causes most bad things in the world, so sure, I know I have to make it to survive on Earth, and I definitely make more than enough to survive." He admitted, smiling. "I give a lot of my art away to exhibitions and to be sold off for charity. But really I just do it for the art, I just like doing it, you know?" Dario looked down at his own sketch and smiled. "Thanks. Can I pay you for your palm reading with a sketch, by the way? And I have always made them. Grew up in a farm, we always had wood and I was always good with a knife. I recently started monetizing it."

Feyza laughed at his ticklish response. “That means you’re sensitive to spiritual energies,” she joked. “Language, young man... You’d give it all away? Cool,” she said. “I’d keep some for emergencies. But why do commissioned work if you hate money?” She found his views on wealth fascinating. “You gotta tell me more about why you hate money. I’m curious,” she asked, forgetting her initial nervousness. Glancing at his sketchbook, she added, “Your wolf looks amazing. How long have you been doing this? And how did you get into wooden figurines?”

[acevedohadid]

"I make wooden figurines for a living. I have to finish this sketch of a life-sized sculpture in the shape of a wolf for a client in town. But I promised I'd have the sketch ready tonight when we meet up to discuss details and I have, sadly, procrastinated too close to the sun." Rio explained with a roll of eyes at himself for being so careless. His life lacked a bit of structure, that was clear, but he made it work. He turned the sketchbook so she could see his drawing and looked back at her. "So, how does palm reading work? What are you seeing?"

Feyza was surprised by the guy's response. She hadn't thought it'd be a breeze. Feeling a mix of relief and jitters, she took his outstretched right hand. "Right hand works perfectly," she mumbled, her gaze flitting between his face and palm. She couldn't help noticing how focused he was on his sketchbook. Her curiosity got the better of her. "What are you drawing that's so important?" she asked. As she ran her finger over the lines on his palm, it hit her - she had zero clue what she was doing. Oh well, she'd just have to wing it.

[acevedohadid]

"Ooooh, palm reading? Count me so in!" Rio barely looked up from his sketchbook and continued to draw but, still, lift his right hand up to her, offering it. "Can you do it with my right hand? I need to finish this drawing before midnight tonight and it's taking forever." He finally looked up at the woman and offered her a wide smile.

CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: Tasty treats TIME: Thursday afternoon FOR: @acevedohadid

Feyza twirled a lock of her silky dark hair, she couldn't quite believe what she was about to do, but hey, desperate times called for desperate measures… With a quick pep talk to herself, she made her way over to the guy sitting by himself in the corner. "Excuse me," she blurted out, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. "I know this is completely odd, but would you mind terribly if I practiced my palm reading on you? I'm trying to test a theory!" She nibbled on her lower lip, suddenly aware of how bonkers she must sound. "I promise I'm not a complete nut. I’ll buy you coffee for your trouble."