Page 36 of Stoney Gazes for Helpful Gorgons

"To be fair, we were acting like it," she concedes, which is more than she did when I met her. "So are you confused about if it's more, or just wanting it to be?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I'm..."

"Confused." She nods in understanding. "I guess if you're good friends then talk to him about it."

"I will. I just need to find the right time, and I know that's definitely not when his focus is on his brother."

"No, probably not."

"Thanks, Sera."

"Any time. But I'm really sorry, I need to cut this short and go deal with some customers. You know your way around, right?" she checks.

I nod. "You know what I want to see."

She laughs and waves as she heads over to deal with her customers.

I take a deep breath and look around me. Jack and Eddy are long gone, so I guess that means I'm on my own for now. I head up into the museum and to the wing with the paintings.

For now, I ignore all of the other ones and make a beeline for the gorgon I know is hanging there.

She looks even more glorious in this version than the one in the bar. It's much bigger, almost lifesize, and I can see details that are lost in smaller versions. This wing of the museum is quieter than the others, probably because people are more interested in some of the other exhibits, but that suits me just fine.

Hiss and Rattle slide down onto my shoulders. I don't know why they've decided to make their way out of my bun right now, maybe they want to admire the painting as much as I do. Maybe they can just sense how I feel about it. I won't pretend to know the way of snakes.

"I thought you might be here," a familiar voice says.

I turn slightly and smile at Jack as he approaches.

"It's the big version of the painting your granny sent you," he says as he comes to stand next to me.

"Yes, though I think this is also a copy of the original." I look into the gorgon's eyes, reaching up to touch my glasses. How did she deal with a world that shunned her because she had the ability to destroy them?

"Do you think she was a real person?" Jack asks.

"I don't know. She doesn't have a name. Or at least, not one I've ever heard, and I've looked into just about everything I can about this painting. She's forever going to remain a mystery to me."

"Or you'll be the one to solve it. You'll be on all those shows on that channel for documentaries talking about how you discovered her name."

I laugh. "It's more likely that I'll discover she's just an interpretation of Medusa, or that she's actually a witch with some seaweed on her head and the artist added the snakes because they felt like it."

"Would that change how you feel about the painting?" he asks.

"No, I don't think so. Because what this painting, and what this painting is to me are two different things. I'm never going to stand in front of it and not think about Granny. She's always going to be with me when I see it, always telling me that I have the ability to be anything. Sometimes, I almost believe it." Which is why I'm going to treasure the smaller version she got me for the rest of my life.

"Only sometimes?"

I turn my head to look at him. "Other times, I just think about how much I have against me. Who would want to date someone who could turn them into stone by accident?"

"Someone made of stone, perhaps."

Is there a hint of hope in his voice? It's hard to tell.

"If they can get past that, then there's Hiss and Rattle." I gesture to the snakes sitting on my shoulders.

"What about them?"

"Well, if you were kissing me, wouldn't you be a little freaked out about the idea that a snake could slide over your hand?"