Since Kevin and Corinne never get much attention in my fic "The Laws of Attraction," I took this opportunity to kind of establish how they met.
You don't have to have read read "Laws" to read this, but you may appreciate the story more.
It's short, but I think it's decent.
Work of Art
Kevin Jonas sighed unhappily before walking into the art gallery. Under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have entered what was sure to be a disaster for him. He wasn’t an expert in art at all. He was a pediatrician and would be more than happy to hang up drawings and colored pictures given to him by his patients. In fact, his refrigerator was covered with them already, and he’d just gotten his license and apartment less than a month ago.
He wouldn’t have even thought about purchasing some “art” for his apartment if his younger brother Joseph hadn’t insisted he needed more culture in his life. Though he probably meant it as a joke, Kevin took it seriously and vowed to go to the next gallery he saw to purchase a piece for his new living room.
The art gallery he’d chosen was a block and a half away from his apartment. As he stepped into it, he was comforted by the fact that it smelled nice and didn’t seem like a place where a stuffy old lady with an accent would beat him over the head for looking. As a matter of fact, the only person in the gallery was a woman around his age. He didn’t have to be an expert of art to know she was beautiful. She was wearing jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt and she seemed at peace dusting off the occasional statue or artwork that needed to be cleaned. She didn’t seem to notice him, but he gravitated toward her.
“Hi,” he finally said.
She looked at him then, brown eyes meeting his hazel ones and smiled. She had the nicest smile he’d ever seen. It was genuine and welcoming. He found himself inexplicably wanting to get closer and closer to her.
“Hi!” She replied, sticking her hand out for him to shake. “I’m Corinne, owner of this gallery. How can I help you?”
Her warmth and exuberant personality was a nice change from what he was expecting when he first entered the place. Who would have thought that a person such as Corinne would own an art gallery? She seemed as if she’d be more at place at a coffee shop than a gallery.
“Actually, you can probably help me quite a bit,” he said, snapping out of his thoughts. “I know nothing about art, so maybe you could help me choose something for my apartment?”
Her smile grew wider at the prospect of helping him choose a piece of art, and she agreed. “I’ll help, but art is something personal. If you connect to a piece, you know instantly that’s the one you want. It could be a simple painting, or a complex sculpture. When you find that work of art that grabs you, you just know that it’s the one.”
Her words struck him not only as beautifully spoken, but they mirrored how he felt about the speaker herself. Not finding words, he simply nodded his head and followed her as she led him through the gallery.
“What’s that supposed to be?” He asked, pointing at what could only be described as a square sponge on top of a plastic bag. It was by far one of the oddest things he’d seen in the gallery.
Corinne laughed. “I don’t really know, but this artist is quite popular in a few circles. When I have one of his pieces, they sell quickly. Are you interested?”
“I think I’ll pass.” Kevin said, idly stroking his sideburns. They walked around the gallery a little bit longer, until Kevin had seen every piece offered.
“So did you find anything you liked?” Corinne asked as they walked to the front of the gallery.
“Just one thing.” He said, preparing himself for rejection. He was used to it, and though he would hate to hear it, he figured it would be coming.
“Really? What would that be?” She asked, interested in his choices of art.
“I think you’re one of the most beautiful works of art in here. Would you like to go out with me sometime?”
He grimaced, preparing himself for the no he was sure would be coming. So he wasn’t prepared when she readily agreed.
Kevin Jonas didn’t walk out with any new sculptures or paintings that day, but he did leave with the phone number of the woman who gave him a new appreciation of art.
--
Two months later, Corinne proved to be as amazing as Kevin thought her to be that day in her gallery. They’d seen each other almost every day and had been dating for a month and a half. He had never been more in love with anyone his entire life, and he was convinced he wanted her to be his wife.
He tried to think of a clever way to ask her to marry him. He tried to think of a funny way to ask her. But eventually he chose the one that meant the most to him: the honest way.
They were walking down a lonely street in town, strolling hand in hand and idly looking through store windows. Pulling her to the side suddenly, she looked at him confused before gasping. The look in his eyes portrayed complete and utter adoration and love. Though she’d caught glints of that look before, she’d never seen it so pronounced.
“Kevin?” she asked, but he placed a finger to his lips and shook his head.
“Corinne, in the short time I’ve known you, you’ve changed the way I see the world. I’ve never been happier, or more in love. I don’t want this to end. Marry me?”
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded her head vigorously. As he pulled her into a kiss, he was certain that had someone taken a picture of them at that specific moment, it would be a work of art; if only to him.
--
“What’s his name?” Ashley asked, eyes bright and happy for her new friend. She’d recently met Corinne and Kevin, and they hit it off wonderfully.
“Joshua Jacob.” Corinne said fondly, smiling down at her newborn son.
“He’s beautiful,” Ashley murmured, before the ladies were interrupted by Joe and Kevin.
“If he’s anything like his mother, of course he is.” Kevin agreed, kissing Corinne on the cheek before beaming at his son. The two new parents were glowing with happiness and Joe and Ashley could only smile at each other before leaving the two of them to bond with their new son.
“They’re going to be great parents.” Ashley said, her hand slipping into Joe’s.
Joe nodded and as they drove away, they passed Corinne’s gallery. “And to think it started because Kevin wanted a piece of art because I called him uncultured. He got more than he bargained for; he got the whole gallery. I don’t think he’ll complain though.”
And Ashley could only laugh in agreement.
