Dreams Of Fame
1.5 - A Painter and an Author
Months passed, and Zoe became more and more settled into her new life in Willow Creek. She regularly had over her neighbors, Liberty, Summer, and Travis, and the four were becoming rather good friends. Giovanna had also proven to be a real asset to Zoe, as she had pages and pages of stories about Giovanna's life that she just knew she could transform into a work of fiction like nothing she'd ever written before once she sat down to do so.
One evening, Zoe met Giovanna for a game of chess at the Magnolia Blossom park.
“So, let me get this straight. Whenever you actually had to make money, you did it as a painter?” Zoe asked, moved a chess piece across the chess board.
Giovanna nodded. “Sacks and sacks of coins! Me and my husband liked to throw some into fountains after.”
“Sackfuls of coins… Okay…” Zoe muttered, taking a mental wrote to type that into her tablet the next time she had the chance. It was yet another one of Giovanna's weird details that didn't make a whole lot of sense to her. The only explanation had to be that most of her stories were total fabrications.
Giovanna put down her chess piece and looked at Zoe. “You don’t believe me.”
Zoe shrugged apologetically. “No offense Giovanna, but I don’t think people typically buy paintings with coins.”
"Maybe not, but..."
"But what?"
Giovanna stood up, and gestured for Zoe to follow her. Zoe pushed back her chair and stood up, then followed Giovanna as she led Zoe over to the bathrooms where the two had first met. She headed around back, where Giovanna reached into a bush to produce a bag that was absolutely overflowing with an assortment of coins and cash.
Zoe’s mouth dropped open. “You had all of that, and didn’t buy a house, nice clothes, anything?”
“It’s more exciting to live on the run with your husband,” Giovanna said simply.
Zoe shook her head in disbelief.
Giovanna smiled casually.
"You know what, Giovanna? We're taking some of this and using it to give you a makeover. Sound fun?"
Giovanna nodded slowly.
Zoe grabbed the bag of money, and after trying her best to close the zipper, she gestured for Giovanna to follow her. From there, they headed back to Zoe's place.
Once there, Zoe dug into her closest and pulled out some clothes for Giovanna to put on. Giovanna took them, and dutifully headed off to the bathroom.
While Giovanna was in the bathroom, trying on her clothes, Zoe moved some stuff around in her kitchen cabinets so she could hide the bag of money. Hopefully, Giovanna would forget about it when she left.
As Zoe placed the last few pots and pans in front of the bag, Giovanna exited the bathroom, Zoe quickly slammed the cabinet door shut and whirled around to smile at Giovanna.
She clapped enthusiastically. “You look amazing Giovanna! You should totally pursue a modeling career.”
“Is everything you own purple?” Giovanna asked.
“Yeah. It's kind of my thing,” Zoe said nonchalantly.
Zoe and Giovanna sat down across from each other at Zoe’s dining room table.
Zoe's mind raced as she tried to come up with something to say to distract Giovanna from the fact that she actually hadn't spent any money on her makeover and from the fact that her bag of money had vanished from sight.
“You know? The next step of your makeover is totally going to be a new hairstyle,” Zoe said quickly. "It's going to totally transform your whole look."
"You really think so?"
Zoe nodded, then rapidly moved onto a new topic. “Anyway, I’ve gotta come clean. Ever since I first met you, I’ve really wanted to hear and write about and hopefully one day publish your stories because it is so clear that you’ve had a ridiculously exciting life.”
Giovanna gave Zoe a questioning look. “All I’ve ever done is travel with my husband.”
“You’ve traveled all over! San Myshuno, Del Sol Valley, Forgotten Hollow, Windenburg, didn’t you say you explored the temples of Selvadorada once? These are stories that could make big bucks, Giovanna, you’ve got to understand that!"
Giovanna thought for a moment, then nodded. “You write, I’ll paint. A painter and a writer.”
Zoe grinned. “Illustrated books, huh? You know, I think that might just be it! These books, Giovanna, they're going to sell like wildfire. I can feel it.”
There came a sudden knock on the door, interrupting the conversation.
“That better not be Summer,” Zoe groaned. “I'm so sick of hearing about the latest cute stupid thing Travis did from her.”
Zoe got up anyway, and walked over to the door. Giovanna walked behind her, eager to see who it was. When they opened the door, they were met with a stranger.
“Hey, I’m Jo. Jo Kauffman. I just moved in across the street and thought I’d come and introduce myself,” the stranger said.
Zoe smiled to herself as Giovanna cheerfully shook Jo's hand. This was just the kind of distraction she needed.
“Are you two…?” Jo inquired, rousing Zoe from her thoughts.
Zoe laughed. “Not in a thousand years. She's way too old for me. I'm Zoe by the way, and that's Giovanna.”
Jo nodded politely.
Zoe closed the front door, shutting Giovanna inside, then peered across the street. “Across the street... so, that house there?”
Jo looked rather taken aback by Zoe's treatment of Giovanna, but she chose not to say anything about it. “Uh, yes, that is my house... It's rather charming! Just one floor, one bedroom, one bathroom, and a combination kitchen and living room... just the sort of quaint living I needed.”
“You needed? For what reason?.”
"Oh, no need to get into that, Zoe. The solo life is what I need now, and this charming little cul-de-sac is just the perfect place to live it out. Delving into my past is only going to bring up old pain."
Zoe nodded. It was clear that she wasn't getting any stories out of Jo.
“Anyway!" Jo said cheerfully. "It was great to meet you, and uh, Giovanna, Zoe. I'm looking forward to becoming neighbors with you."