Page 21 of Handle with Care
“Yes, it was kind of Dylan to show me,” Will says gamely.
“Oh, I’m so glad you had a chance to go see the collections for an introduction. Thank you, Dylan.” Lily’s pleased, despite our delay in getting back.
“And we’re sorry we’re late,” I add.
“I only arrived a moment ago. I haven’t been here for long.” Lily opens her laptop before she looks at us in turn. “I’m curious to hear about your first impressions so far in your work and the shape of the plan that you’ve made together.”
Will and I look at each other. I chew my lip. He looks a little daunted, if anything.
I decide to dive in since I was tasked with showing Will the curatorial ropes, after all. “We’ve reviewed the exhibition list that you’ve shown us and learned about the scope of the new exhibition. We went over the sections of the exhibition, the status of exhibits. And we decided to split the list of exhibits to gather the objects. Divide and conquer and all that.”
I don’t mention Will reading museum books for a day and a half, on a crash course in museum studies. Call it instinct, but it’s probably better for both of us if I don’t bring that up. Obviously, Lily knows he doesn’t have the museums background like I do, but who knows what she would think of me giving him actual textbooks to read on work time. Not that I asked him to do that, exactly.
Lily considers me, thoughtful. “Actually,” she muses, “I’d rather that you both worked together. Two brains together are better than one.”
Will opens his mouth, but he quickly snaps his jaw shut. I swear I hear his teeth click together. I purse my lips and rub my jaw. I don’t want to challenge Lily since she’s our supervisor, but I can’t imagine spending every day of the next five weeks in Will’s company either.
What a nightmare.
I meet his gaze, and it’s obvious he’s thinking the same thing too. He quickly looks away.
“Yes.” Lily nods decisively. “Work together. It’s best for problem-solving and also the museum’s safety policy about not working alone, especially off-site. Now, what else have you determined?” This time, she looks at Will.
Will looks down at his leather folio. His cheeks are flushed, which is probably due to the warming day on top of the already too-warm room. He opens it to the page he showed me yesterday of his carefully written lists. “We’ve started mapping out a strategy to gather the exhibits from across London, and thenoutside of London, by region and lender. We’ve also determined the status of each exhibit, such as noting which exhibits are currently available to be collected, while other exhibits need more groundwork to gather them.”
“Will’s idea.” I glance over at him. I don’t say this to distance myself from the plan, but more to give him credit, because, after all, it’s all his planning. I’m not that sort of instinctively organized.
For a moment, he looks flustered before he smooths himself over to neutral.
“Very good,” says Lily, pleased. “I can’t wait to hear more. I think, then, the next steps from here are to start collecting exhibits and spend some time each day also putting forward next steps in making arrangements to gather the rest of what we still need. Please send me a daily email with your progress. I’ll support you both, of course. If there are agreements still to finalize, let me know, and I’ll wrap those up. And I’ll give you the Curatorial credit card as well, for anything you need to purchase or expense. We also have a car service that you can use in London for pickups, if you like.”
“’Kay,” I acknowledge. Will nods.
“You’ll start tomorrow,” Lily instructs us. “After lunch, reach out to whomever is closest to start collecting exhibits. There’s no time to waste.”
“Of course.” Will nods.
“Absolutely,” I agree at the same time.
“I’m glad you’re working so well together.” Lily closes her laptop and rises. “Thanks for your work so far. I can’t wait to hear how everything progresses.”
And I catch Will’s eye then. There’s a strange look that crosses his face, something like trepidation or regret.
Chapter Eleven
The next day, a Friday morning, Will and I try to figure out our strategy to start collecting exhibits. It’s been half an hour of stop-and-start plans that one or the other of us vetoes like we’re enduring some kind of controversial vote.
Yesterday afternoon, we dutifully sent out emails and made phone calls as Lily directed us to do in our check-in meeting. We selected the closest venues with small exhibits that are ready for pickup. It’s only two stops today, a trial run for this working together thing that promises to be a disaster. It would be way easier if I went to get one item and he went to get the other, and we stayed out of each other’s orbit. But we’re going to try this Lily’s way and collect the items together as she asked.
Our destination: two fashion houses, within walking distance of one another. This should be a cinch.
We’re in the boardroom, standing in front of my laptop, both of us leaning in as I try to map a route. If I’m honest, I’m making a mess of it, even with Google’s help. Also, I’m self-conscious that with the heat already today, I’m sweating, and God I hope I put on enough deodorant this morning so Will doesn’t smell me and use that as fodder in our next quibble.
Will looks up at me from his study of my laptop’s screen, bemused. “Would you like my suggestion about the route?”
“I would not.” I give him a sidelong look, my lips twitching.
I’m rewarded with frown dimples, and I can’t suppress the smile that comes a moment later.
