Bill and Denae (pronounced di nay) both attended Mount William college in western North Carolina. They first met early in the Fall Semester of their senior year when they were both taking Art Appreciation, but they did not initially meet in the classroom. The class was held in a large auditorium because there were nearly 120 students enrolled. Most, like Bill and Denae, were in the class because they assumed it would be an easy A while satisfying an elective requirement.
Early in the course, the professor assigned a short paper in which each student was to critique a particular work of art on display at the campus art gallery. The subject piece, Quiet Interlude, was by a local artist, Archibald Rogers. Rogers had been a sitting judge for many years, but gave up the bench for the easel and brush and found surprising success.
Bill was not serious about the course or the assignment, but found a few minutes to drag himself by the gallery. He had to wander through three of the gallery's rooms before finding the painting in a round room, which was relatively small. It was hanging opposite the doorway in which he stopped. There was a marble bench with no back in the middle of the room and on that bench sat a girl observing the painting, her back to him. She was wearing a pale yellow t-shirt with sleeves that extended just beyond her shoulders. When she became aware of his presence, she turned around and glanced at him. Now that he could see her face, he was stunned. She did not appear to be wearing much make-up yet was breathtakingly beautiful, with the palest blue eyes he had ever seen. She had smooth, olive drab skin and dark shoulder-length hair.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you.", he said in an attempt to act dignified though he was struck by her looks.
She smiled and simultaneously chuckled slightly. He supposed she was used to guys fawning over her.
"No problem. I'm here to fulfill a class requirement.", she replied.
"Dr. Burrellson's? Art 110?", Bill asked in a tone both surprised and hopeful.
"Yes.", she said. "You too? What period?"
"3rd - 10:10 a.m."
"Same as me.", she said. Sliding over to one side of the bench, she added, "Here. Wanna sit while you look?"
He thanked her and sat down next to her on the bench. From his new vantage point, he noticed that not only was she really attractive, she had a fairly athletic looking body, lean and toned; perhaps she was a dancer or gymnast.
They both sat, looking at the painting, not talking other than to exchange an occasional comment about the artist's use of color or how he used the space and other terms they had both heard the professor use in class. Bill used the silences to think of some comment he could make in order to have an excuse to glance at her from time-to-time.
They were there observing the painting for quite a few minutes. The comments between them came more frequently and more easily. As they studied the painting, an older, gray haired gentleman quietly slipped into the room behind them. After a couple of minutes, they both turned to see who it was that had joined them.
"Sir, would you care to sit here?", Bill asked as he stood up to offer his seat. He did this to be polite and respectful of someone who was clearly his elder, but it also gave him a chance to turn so he could have a more straight forward view of the girl on the bench.
The gentleman held his hand up and waved off Bill's gesture. "No, thank you, son. You two please carry on with what you were doing. I was just wandering around the gallery and wondered which piece was in here." After a pause, he added, "I would be interested to know what a couple of young people think of this picture."
