******
"Do you enjoy being an architect, Clay?" Mattie's dad sipped his wine, and crossed his legs as he sat on the plump leather couch, eyeing him thoughtfully. "It's very important to feel satisfaction in what you do for a living."
"Well, sir, I'd wanted to be an architect since I was in junior high school and had to build a model of the Eiffel Tower for a class project," Clay rubbed his bearded jaw and smiled at her father, as he relaxed across from him on the matching leather chair in the wood-paneled den. "I've never regretted the decision." He sipped his wine. "It gives me the opportunity to be creative, but within the rigid confines of practicality and material constraints."
Mattie and her mother sat at the kitchen table sorting the photos from their trip.
"Mom, these photos of you and dad make me want to go back to Europe so badly." Mattie groaned, and then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she turned to eye the two men through the doorway. "It looks like Clay and dad are getting along really well."
"They are, aren't they?" her mother eyed her seriously. "I like him a lot, Mattie. He's a gentleman like your dad. And he's intelligent, and handsome as well." They smiled at each other and sipped their wine.
"Lizzie, Mattie...come and join us." Mattie heard her dad call in to them.
"All right, Carson," her mother called back. She smoothed her wayward hair, piled up loosely into a topknot. "Do you two want coffee with Mattie's apple pie?"
"Yes, love, that sounds wonderful," her dad called back. "Do you need our help?"
"No, we've got it under control." Elizabeth shook her head at her daughter and laughed, and they got up from the table and prepared a tray.
Mattie set the tray on the coffee table, and everyone reached for their own plates and cups of coffee, and Elizabeth sat next to her husband on the sofa. Mattie took a seat in the other leather chair, next to Clay's, tucking her leg under her as she took a bite of pie.
"Clay, I understand that you ride." Elizabeth sipped her coffee. "I'm happy to hear that you share one of Mattie's favorite pastimes."
"Yes, we've only ridden once together, but we enjoyed it very much, didn't we, Mattie?" Clay turned for a second and winked at her as she nodded and smiled softly, remembering more of their first kiss than of the actual horseback riding, and she found herself fascinated with the interraction between her parents and Clay. "I've ridden mostly while I was in Nova Scotia, not as often in New York."
"I've always wanted to visit Nova Scotia," Elizabeth sighed dreamily. "It seems like such a beautiful place. I wonder how house prices run there?" She turned to her husband who chuckled at her question.
"We're retired from the real estate business, Lizzie, thank God."
"Well, you never know, Carson. We might want to buy a vacation home, perhaps, at some point."
As her husband shook his head at her and ate a bite of apple pie, Clay looked around at the paintings that hung in every available space in the room.
"You've painted some very impressive pieces, Elizabeth."
"Thank you, Clay. That's very sweet," her mother smiled at him. "If you'd like a small one to hang in your camper, you're welcome to take one that appeals to you."
"That's nice of you, mom." Mattie sipped her coffee. She had a couple of her mother's paintings hanging in the apartment, and knew how attached her mother was to her work.
"Well, I have so many and I don't really need to sell them." Elizabeth sipped her coffee. "It's purely for enjoyment on my part, you know. I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind one less painting on the walls."
"I love your paintings, Lizzie," her dad looked at her mother seriously.
"I'd like the one next to the shelves, then." Clay pointed to a small painting of cirrus clouds over rolling hills, painted in an abstract style similar to that of Georgia O'Keeffe. Elizabeth promptly got up and took down the painting, and set it beside his chair. "Thank you, Elizabeth. That's very generous."
"You're welcome, Clay." Elizabeth returned to the sofa, and picked up her coffee cup, smiling over at her daughter.