Chapter 2
"I would love to see some your drawings sometimes," Dave requested. "If you don't want to show me that's fine too, but I thought since you sale them on your website that you wouldn't mind showing me what you drew. I plan on checking out the website to, first chance I get."
"I have no problem with that and yes, I do sell them," Livia said. "I had to make money someway in order to buy the motorhome and also, supplies once that was accomplished. I have to buy groceries, the occasional outfit, constant sketchbooks and pencils."
"I might even buy a few of your sketches, my way to help put money in your bank account, since I know that women have their pride about being self-sufficient," Dave said. "Besides, everyone likes to have their own money and even if your parents gave you an allowance when you're a kid it's usually not more than a few dollars. In your case, you didn't even have parents to give you that allowance, though I'm sure you got a least a little spending money from the government."
"It wasn't much, so you were right about that," Livia said. "No more than a few dollars really, which is why I had to find a way to earn my own money and not just after I hit 18, but sooner, as I had to have food and bus money if nothing else. It might be enough to take the bus somewhere for a movie or to buy a cheap meal, but it ran out quickly."
"The government's always been stingy and certain programs could use more funding then they get," Dave snorted. "On the other hand, there are thousands of orphans just in Canada alone that they have to support, so I suppose it's not so surprising that you didn't get much."
"In any case, that's why I started my own little online business," Livia said.
"I can take you back home after we finish dinner and we can meet tomorrow," Dave said.
"Sounds good," Livia agreed. "If I don't answer the door don't worry, it probably just means I've had a vision and am sitting somewhere drawing. If I don't contact you before you go to bed, then maybe you can worry. I go into a kind of fugue state. I am always vaguely aware of my surroundings in that state as I told you earlier."
"You might hear me knocking at the door or calling for you, but you can't answer, when you're in that state," Dave said well aware what fugue state was.
"I will be able to hear you, since my hearing works just fine even in that state, but there's no guarantees I'll answer your knock to tell you I'm okay, just having a vision. Fair warning," Livia said.
"Of course, I'll worry about you, but I won't interfere unless I don't hear from you for at least a couple of days running," Dave said. "If it's too late to call at least send me a text to let me know you're okay and if you can't get me when you do call, also send me a text."
The two talked about more normal things all through the rest of dinner getting to know each other better.
It was after 10 o'clock when Dave drove Livia back to the motorhome park so she could go to bed.
"Standing offer for you to use my guest room whenever you want to. Just let me know when you want to use the guestroom and I'll make sure there are clean sheets on the bed," Dave told her before he dropped her off at her motorhome.
"Thank you, I promise I'll think about it," Livia told Dave kissing his cheek before getting out of his car and unlocking her front door. She went inside.
Dave touched his cheek where Livia had kissed it smiling, then made sure that she was inside her home before he drove away happier than he had been in a very long time.
He knew his life had just changed completely, and he was very happy about that. He had finally met his mate something a seer, many centuries ago had predicted, and it had finally occurred. He couldn't be happier.
~~~Dave and Livia~~~
The next morning
Dave arrived to pick Livia up with a spring in his step, as arranged the other night, as they were intending to spend the day together.
Livia had a satchel slung cross body the strap over her right shoulder to where the bag was on her left side.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're not sitting somewhere in the middle of a vision," Dave said.
The relief in his voice was obvious to Livia. He might accept her ability to see the future, but that didn't preclude Dave from worrying about her.
"Not this time no, but that doesn't mean it won't happen multiple times throughout our lives," Livia said kissing Dave's cheek after she had gotten in to the passenger side. "This isn't a talent I can just turn off unfortunately. If I could do that, I would've done it years ago, even though it provided me with enough money to live. If I didn't have this ability, I could've got me a regular job, one that brought me in enough to live on and I also wouldn't have been labeled as damaged by the system."
"You're not the first person that's has made a similar wish," Dave told her smiling a little, even as he kissed her cheek this time.
"The ironic thing is I've never even met any of the people that show up in my vision not that I would want to, as the always seem to be facing some sort of danger. Still, the drawings sell really well and I usually sell within a few days, which is good for my bank account. I'll never be wealthy, but I certainly make enough to live on since my needs are simple. "
"You were a young entrepreneur and there's nothing wrong with this at all," Dave said. "You have a product that people just grabbed up what you were selling, because they are interested in fantasy images. A lot of people don't look at a price tag if they really like something. After all, no one will ever know that you got those images out of your brain from a vision not just your imagination."
"Something I figured out by the time I was 15 and I set up my website," Livia agreed smiling. "To be fair the house mother suggested it as a way to earn some spending money once she'd seen some of my drawings. Miss Maggie just happened a mention how popular fantasy images could be in right market. It took awhile for me to find someone that would help me set up that website, and do it for very little actual money. I did give them one of my drawings though, which he then sold for quite a bit of money or at least that's what I heard."
"So whoever you got to help you set up your website got the best end of the deal," Dave said.
"Yeah, I heard Victor got about 500 for it and really didn't take him very long at all to help me set up a website," Livia agreed. "He really earned his eventual paycheck, as it really didn't take him more than a couple of hours to set up a basic website. It's nothing fancy, but then, it doesn't need to be fancy to fulfill its purpose."
"That's really not so much if you can afford such things," Dave said. "Paintings after all can sale for thousands, even millions of dollars and drawings can be considered a type of art and good art sales for a very high price."
"Which is good for me," Livia said, even as she and Dave sat side-by-side in his very nice car. "I like having money I earned myself and wasn't just given to me. Since I have this talent and it seems to be something of an impulse that I draw whatever I'm seeing I might as well take advantage of that."
"Of course you like to earn your own cash, just like most people," Dave said. "Most people have to be truly desperate to accept what they see as charity. Still, I won't let you go without something you truly want. While I can appreciate you wanting to earn your own money, since you have a product you can sell that's fine, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to spoil you rotten. I can also help you invest your money, if you want."
"In what?" Livia asked curiously.
"Stocks, bonds, commodities. The stock market is always good," Dave said. "To invest what money you have will see that investment increase and within five years you will have tripled the money you invested, maybe even quadrupled and within 10 years you won't have to worry about money anymore. Within a year you'll have much more money to spend so you don't have to worry about ordinary expenses or unexpected ones."
"I'm really don't have that much in my bank account, as I usually spend it on things I need, a few thousand. My biggest expense was for the motorhome, as it was just sitting on this guy's grass, though he kept it in good condition and I'm grateful," Livia explained.
"So it'll take you a few years longer to have more then enough you'll never have to worry about it and I'll just spoil you rotten in the meantime and even afterwards. You are my mate nothing will give me greater pleasure then spoiling you whether or not you have money of your own so no protesting when I do," Dave warned Livia seriously. "Still, I will help you invest what money you do have until you have plenty. Some investments bring in quite a lot of money, while others bring in less, but you still make a healthy profit. Investing what money you have will also help you with those lean times you were telling me about where you're not getting any visions at all, so had to watch what you spent. Of course, now there will be no more lean times for you and I only wish we had met years ago, but since we didn't, there's no point of bringing it up. If only I had met you while you were still in foster care, I would've been happy to become a foster parent and take you in."
"If that happened, it would've looked wrong to other people if we had then gotten involved, so it's just as well it didn't happen that way," Livia said.
"Well, at least I would've become your friend, because you're right that if I had taken you in while you were still a kid, it would've seemed weird to others if we had been gotten involved in a relationship after you were of age," Dave admitted. "Still, I would've done my best too help you while you were still young and vulnerable. You would've known who I was, even back then, since you had been having visions about me ever since your powers started to develop so you wouldn't think I was some kind of predator who had something nefarious in mind."
"Well, that's didn't happen so there's no point of dwelling on it. I certainly hope you're prepared for me going into a vision whenever we're out together, as it can happen anytime," Livia said seeming to be contemplating Dave's words.
"Mates always support each other," Dave said simply. "If you go into a vision when we're out to dinner or some event then we'll have to make sure you always have your drawing supplies on you where you can just sit down and draw when we have privacy."
"I've never been to any fancy event," Livia said. "I've been on my own since I aged out of the foster care system and bought my motorhome, which took me over three years to save up for. Every few months I moved from place to place, though I did keep in contact with Alifair, so she knew I was okay and of course, we had lunch whenever I'm in town. I've never settled in one place ever since I came of age. I suppose I've just felt kind of rootless."
"I can't blame you really, as you didn't have the same experiences that most children get," Dave said. "You didn't grow up in a loving family and while the government made sure you were fed, clothed and had a roof over your head that's really about it. You were never adopted for instance."
"After I came close to being adopted a couple of times, but they fell through, I told the ones in charge that I wasn't interested in adoption," Livia said. "With the way I could go into a vision anytime, it was probably just as well. It's not like I could explain I was having a vision to a normal human, even if I had known that's what was happening at the time. That one time I told my foster mother about my visions, even if I thought they were delusions was enough to tell me that I should keep them to myself whenever possible."
"I am sorry you were never adopted Livia, I really am," Dave said wincing feeling genuine sympathetic
"It's okay, as by the time I was 16, I knew my destiny lay here in Montréal, as that's where images of you always were. While I've done some traveling I always returned here after a few months. I have never wanted to leave permanently and miss my chance in meeting you."
"But how did you know I live here in Montréal?" Dave asked curiously with no disbelief in his voice.
"Scenery mostly," Livia explained. "I recognised the buildings from my vision, even though I've never had a chance to visit. I recognize the Jacques Cartier Bridge for instance. That was in the background a lot of times when I had a vision of you. So you can see I knew we would encounter each other if only I stayed in the area and didn't go to another state entirely, at least not on a permanent basis."
"That makes sense as I go past that bridge practically every time I'm on that side of town. It is a something of a landmark," Dave said.
"Not an official one, but still, it is very well-known and visible enough that I knew I need to stay in this area. I'll show you the images I still have of you and that bridge once we get to your home," Livia said.
"I take it you sold a lot of them," Dave guessed, just from Livia's wording.
"They're some of my most popular images," Livia blushed, as she admitted that. "I always sell them at the highest possible price point because people snap them up and that's a thousand dollars per image. I can't really blame them actually, as you are very handsome and I know a lot of women go for your type of looks and are into art. I imagine they daydream about meeting you or at least someone like you if they're not married and maybe even if they are."
"I don't take offense, I'm actually really flattered," Dave said smiling in bemusement causing Livia to smile back tentatively with a tinge of embarrassment. "Daydreaming is a natural thing for anybody to do, so I imagine you're probably right about those women who bought my image daydreaming about meeting someone like me. After all, they don't really know that I'm real and not just out of your imagination. I'm glad that my images sold so well that they kept you eating and buying other necessary supplies until we could meet. I wish I had known about your website, as I would have bought quite a few of them I'm sure, as I collect a lot of art."
"But wouldn't you have been shocked to see your image in a drawing?" in Livia asked.
"At first," Dave admitted, "but it wouldn't have taken me long to connect the dots. You have to remember that I've been part of the supernatural community all my life. I would have known that the only way somebody could have gotten so many images of me is either by taking photos of me from a distance, then drew them into paper or they were seeing me in visions."
"That makes sense," Livia said. "Though why do you say they could only have gotten images of you from a distance?"
"If I had spotted them, I would have stopped them from taking a photo of me, especially if it was of me specifically and not just me as part of a group or a crowd," Dave explained. "I don't like having my photo taken, at least not without my permission. That permission is rarely forthcoming."
Livia contemplated that for a few minutes and finally just figured it was Dave's right not to have his picture taken unless he gave somebody permission. It wasn't all that strange really, as some people didn't like to have their photos taken for various reasons and it could simply be they were very shy or not very photogenic so didn't like having their photo taken. Dave must have his reasons for not wanting his photo taken, and he would tell her if he wanted her to know or she was nosy enough to ask.
"I'll show you my recent sketches," Livia offered finally. "It's why you had me bring my sketchbooks after all. I have a few older sketchbooks with images I've never sold, I just never threw them away."
"So why didn't you sell them? Are they bad?" Dave inquired.
"Not bad, they are just not sellable because they're mostly things I see while in the midst of a vision, like bits of scenery, but not enough of a picture to make it sellable. You'll see what I mean when you go through the drawings."
Dave actually had a pretty good idea what Livia meant, but he'd wait and see before saying anything else.
They arrived at Dave's home just then and Dave parked in the garage that had been built sometime after cars had been invented. The garage was a separate structure to the house that had been built before the cars had been even an idea much less reality.
Dave stopped the engine, then got out and hurried around to the other side so he could open Livia door like the gentleman he had been raised to be.
"This way my lady," Dave said bowing gallantly, as he gestured towards the front door of the garage that was still wide open. "Everything's been arranged."
Livia giggled causing Dave to smile at her and he then took her arm and escorted her inside his home.
~~~Dave and Livia~~~