Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“And
now you’re a big-shot scientist with several degrees!” she grinned. “I
guess you’re right,” she smiled. “I’m not trying to get famous or
anything, though. Not even trying to sell anything. Just kinda…” She
shrugged, looking for the words. “Trying to have fun and keep myself
busy, I suppose. I have a lot of downtime at home by myself.”“And that’s perfectly fine too,” Carlos said with a smile. “Have
you ever watched Bob Ross, by the way?”She smiled and shook her head. “Hm-mm. I have heard of him, though, and from what I’ve seen, he seemed to be a very kind and gentle man. His show just wasn’t ever anything I’ve really felt entirely interested in. You know?”
“Really?” Carlos asked. “That’s surprising. But each to
their own, I guess. I don’t know much about painting and art, but watching him
make something and with the tone of voice he uses… sometimes when I have a bad
day, it’s just nice to spend twenty minutes to watch, you know?”“Yeah, I can understand that,” she smiled. “I think for me, it was always just the type of art that set me off of it,” she said, her tone nearly questioning. “What he made was impressive and beautiful, yes, but it wasn’t anything I, myself, would ever want to make, so it just never piqued my interest, and I never watched it,” she explained.
“Ah,” Carlos said with a nod. “I see. I guess his work just
strokes my stimming centers, you know? The, uh… it literally means ‘stimulate’,
and it’s… well, relaxing. For me – not for everyone, it seems.” He smiled at
her kindly before taking a sip of his coffee.
The Perfect Scientist 