"Arthur, you're here early too."
As he was drinking what Starbucks sold as coffee, a voice interrupted his thoughts. He smiled and turned around.
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She was breathtaking. She wore a light blue dress that reached her knees, her blond hair falling down her back in waves, making her eyes stand out. He could see that she had applied light makeup around her eyes.
'She is beautiful.'
She coughed, interrupting his admiration of her. His eyes snapped up to meet hers, shining mischievously at him. He blushed before scratching his neck and greeting her back.
"Hi Gwen, you look radiant. Excited to see the Met, I suppose."
She was still smiling at him. She hummed before responding,
"Yes, it's been such a long time since I came here."
"Me too, the last time I was still a child."
They continued talking as they walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Along with the Louvre in Paris, France, and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, they were the three biggest museums in the world.
For New Yorkers, you pay what you wish for the ticket, so Gwen and Arthur entered the museum after paying 10 dollars each.
They took only one map, both deciding to stay together during their visit, and started debating which wing to start from.
Arthur wanted to go see the Greek and Roman art, the Arms and Armor and the Robert Lehman Wing.
Gwen wanted to go see the Egyptian art, the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing and the Modern and Contemporary Art.
Arthur ultimately agreed to come back later by himself to see the Arms and Armor. Together, they decided to take their time and see the Greek and Roman art, the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, the Modern and Contemporary Art and the Robert Lehman Wing to end their visit.
During their tour, they narrated what they knew of their chosen wing to the other, of course without cheating by reading the pamphlet. They would never do such a thing.
"Welcome to the Lamont Wing, in which is the Greek and Roman art. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The department also exhibits the pre-Greek art of Greece and the pre-Roman art of Italy, notably that of the Etruscans."
Keeping his voice excited was not difficult for Arthur. When seeing some objects that were 4,000 years old, he might not know much about art, but he absolutely loved history, and being face to face with proof of the ingenuity and know-how of such an ancient civilization was humbling.
In the next wing, Gwen narrated,
"The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing offers a collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America. It comprises more than 11,000 works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present. Highlights include decorative and ceremonial objects from the Court of Benin in Nigeria; sculpture from West and Central Africa; images of gods, ancestors, and spirits from New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Island Southeast Asia; and objects of gold, ceramic, and stone from the Precolumbian cultures of Mexico and Central and South America."
Arthur leaned slightly toward her before murmuring in her ear,
"They totally stole that."
She giggled before leaning in and responding in the same way,
"Obviously, but don't say it too loud. They are rather proud of their theft, even if they will deny it."
The next wing was also one of Gwen's choices, so she kept the narrating tone,
"Lila Acheson Wallace Wing houses the Modern and Contemporary Art department and is devoted to the study, collection and exhibition of art from 1890 to the present. An era marked by seismic cultural, social and political shifts across the globe, artistic responses to these changes have shaped multiple modernities and diverse contemporary practices. The department seeks to research and present the interconnected and richly variegated narratives and experiences that inform the art of this period from around the world. Historically focused on the art of Western Europe and North America, since 2012, the department has greatly expanded and diversified its collection of modern and contemporary art, especially through works by women and artists of color, with particular emphasis on acquisitions from Latin America, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Today, its collections span a range of media, including paintings, sculpture, works on paper, design, decorative arts, and time-based media."
They both looked awed by some works, and not impressed by others. Modern art is quite an acquired taste, but some of these works were simply impressive.
Three hours had already gone by while they were visiting and talking. They were going to the Lehman Collection, one of Arthur's choices to visit, and so he started narrating.
"The Robert Lehman Collection is one of the most distinguished privately assembled art collections in the United States. Robert Lehman's bequest to The Met, a collection of extraordinary quality and breadth acquired over the course of 60 years, is a remarkable example of 20th-century American collecting. Spanning 700 years of Western European art, from the 14th to the 20th centuries, the 2,600 works include paintings, drawings, manuscript illumination, sculpture, glass, textiles, antique frames, maiolica, enamels, and precious jeweled objects."
She caught him reading the guide book but didn't say anything. She just leaned into him to say,
"They also totally stole that."
To which he responded,
"I know, I envy them."
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They came out of the museum some five hours after going in, both smiling and chatting about art and their favorite works that they had seen, when they were interrupted by a growling sound.
It came from Gwen's stomach. She immediately blushed and looked away from him. He smiled in response and asked,
"Are you hungry, Gwen?"
She kicked him in the shin in response.
"Of course I am hungry, it's 3 in the afternoon and we didn't eat."
"Well, let's rectify that and eat then."
He held out his hand to her, smiling.
She looked at him for a second and smiled as well before taking his hand and guiding him towards something.
"Come, I know a great place. They make the best sandwiches in New York."
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