Were anyone interested, it could be predicted with scientific accuracy that she would not have any mail. She never got mail, addressed to her and sent to the Studio. Even the bills for utilities went to the Inn, back in the days before Ali, and to the shop downstairs now.

So the white envelop laying on the floor inside the door of the Studio (no doubt conveyed upstairs by the nigh-invisible Lorelei) was a matter of some amazement to her. She stared at it for a full three minutes before she picked it up and carried it across the cavernous studio space to her worktable.

The message it contained was no less miraculous. After the fourth reading, standing in a slice of prismed arc lighting, she tore a piece of paper out of a sketchbook, and wrote him out an immediate answer.

Dear Mr. Ergin,

I would be very pleased to show you my work in-stock, and my portfolio, and talk to you about your interests.

Several pieces, including one of my mosaics, did well at the last art auction. The catalog and auction records should still be available should you be interested in reviewing that.

Let's make an appointment to show you the pieces on display in my husband's shop, on the first floor of this building, as well as those currently stored in my studio space...

She concluded by suggesting a date and time, and signed it with a simple Fionna.

It went out via messenger that evening.

(( Many thanks to the player of Fio for this collaboration! ))

Ali's assistant, Lorelei, had buzzed him in when he'd reached the door; likely he hadn't even realized she'd done it. She was both efficient and subtle, and always seemed to know when a customer was coming a half second before they did. While he drank in the showroom displays, she called up on the comm to let Fio know the gentleman she'd said was coming had arrived for their appointment.

Alper, indeed, had not been aware of Lorelei buzzing him in, but he stopped abruptly. Pulling his hand away from the display, a guilty look of pleasure on his face as he remembered the cause of his visit. Looking around, he sought out the elevator, and made his way in that direction.

Among the goods on display were three of Fio's paintings that Ali had thought suited the tastes of some of his customers. He tended to rotate among a small pool of her stock. At this moment, three portraits were featured: commissions that the noblemen whose families were depicted who didn't pay for the paintings once done. One boasted a trio of cherubic children with apple cheeks and gold curls who also happened to be piano students of the artist. Another was a slender, elegant and somewhat cool-looking woman in formal court pose surrounded by ostentatious vases of flowers. The third was an old baron who died before the work was done, and whose estate balked at paying for the memorial.

The elevator chimed as he neared, the doors sliding open to produce Fio herself.

He paused again, his stride slowing as he passed paintings, gentle eyes roving along the paintings on his way. "Wow," he murmured, obviously impressed with the craftsmanship. "She definitely has a good eye." The chiming had his attention and he turned his head toward the elevator, stopping in his tracks as the doors opened, revealing Fio. "Fionna," Alper greeted, his lips parting into a warm smile. "It is nice to see you."

"It's wonderful to see you, Alper. Thank you for calling me." She was immaculate and elegant today in one of the few maternity outfits she'd bought (and not borrowed from her perpetually-pregnant friend Nissa) - an olive sweater and tweed skirt, strappy leather sandals that accentuated her height but still had enough of a presence to keep her steady, and enough gold bangles on both arms to do her Egyptian husband justice. Her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail and she'd made a nod at some lipstick. She'd dressed for the appointment. Although the stress associated with Ali's absence showed a little around her eyes, the woman is doing her best to be poised and professional for this.

Alper sighed, dressed in an off-white suit and black shirt for the day. "No, thank you, for the opportunity. I'm only sorry I did not call you sooner." He gestured behind him with a hand, looking slightly guilty again. "I was just looking at some of your work, among other things. This place is... Truly amazing." Folding his hands behind his back, he nodded at her. "Care to show me your other works of art? I am most intrigued to see more of you work."

"Oh, you saw the portraits." She had to smile. "Portrait commissions were my bread-and-butter when I first moved here." She invited him to join her in the elevator with a little curl of her wrist. "But sometimes, the client changes their mind. Not often!" A smile. When he was in, she pressed '2' and the doors slid closed. There is no elevator music, but the ride is a short one.

"I did," he agrees, grinning more to himself. "It was? I will have to keep that in mind; Anya will probably wish family portraits when the little one is born, if you still do them." With her beckoning, he stepped in the elevator after her, chuckling again. "People tend to be predictable."

"I'd be pleased to do the portrait - I had no idea you were expecting. Congratulations!"

The lift carried them smoothly and quickly to the next floor, the mellow chime ringing out again into an empty corridor as the doors slid open.

He blinked, not realizing he had spilled the beans. "Oh," and he partially flushed. "Thank you, I only just found out myself." He nods to Fionna in turn. "Congratulations to you both, as well." Alper offers a friendly smile, gesturing for her to exit first as the doors chime open. "After you."

"Thank you." Her smile faltered momentarily before she shored it up. "Ali is thrilled, of course. As am I." She led him into the hallway. On either side of the hall, several doors stood open. These rooms are finished with drywall and terrazzo, in colors reminiscent of the agate below. There is a conference room, with another of those screens on the wall and a big dark slab of a table surrounded by chairs. There is a room for records or planning, with a series of smaller tables and file cabinets and closets. And there are two offices.

"Mostly, lately, I do landscapes or found-item work. Mosaics, chimes... that sort of thing." She stopped at one of the conference room doors and pointed to a large mosaic-framed mirror on one wall. It is long and rectangular, and the tilework is a crazy-quilt of colors, oddities like coins and broken bits of pottery interspersed with the vitreous glass. It's a wilder cousin of a round white-and-green tiled piece he has at home. Their wedding present.

"As you both should be. Children are a wonderful thing." Following in her wake down the hallway, he allows his gaze to wander past the doorways, peeking inward in curiosity. "Hm," Alper sighs softly, looking back to Fio as she speaks. "Do you enjoy landscapes, then?" he asks, before following her point to the mirror. "Oh, that is stunning! Looks just as beautiful as the one we have at home, though I have to say the rectangular piece is just as pleasing to the eye. I could picture that hanging in the condo office."

"It's for sale." She grinned. "Anything hanging on the walls on this floor are mine, and are options. Ali likes the brighter colors and the more modern things here, in the offices."

"Is it?" he asks excitedly. "Oh, I definitely would like that rectangular one." Alper bobs his head up and down vigorously. Who knew he liked shopping for inanimate objects so much? "I know how he feels, but being in Rhy'Din the last two years had opened my eyes to appreciate louder and more antique oddities."

She just laughed. "I will assume that's a compliment." She had similar pieces in the other rooms, including a mosaic abstract portrait of a man with an angular nose and part of the lid of a teapot for a hat. Think Picasso in tile, with an ornate gilt frame.

Alper looked sheepish. "It is, I promise." Peeking into another office, he spots the mosaic abstract. "Ooh. Do you like Picasso?" he asks offhandedly, lingering a moment longer to study it. "Because this piece of work is amazing! I love it!" Strangely, it reminds him of his father, and he keeps the piece on the backburner.

The nice thing about the mosaics is that, whichever persona is driving, they all can collect the found pieces. Missie was particularly good at spotting the perfect flotsam, and Grace loved Picasso. She didn't say all of that, simply smiled and said, "He had wonderful energy."

"He did," Alper agrees, musing as they continue on. "What other things do you make out of mosaic?"

"Oh, just about anything with a good, solid surface is a candidate. I've done some birdbaths, a bench...things like that for our little patio at the apartment. I did a fountain once, in the family cemetery at Helston House. But you could do walkways, or even the sides of buildings, I suppose, with the proper supports in place."

She deliberately had left the door to the upstairs vault open, so that he could see it as they walked past on the way to the other elevator bank. Much like the showroom below, this room had shelves and plinths and a case, with certain additions: there is a walk-in reinforced steel vault at one end, and there are tables and comfortable chairs to sit at.

"For commissioned acquisitions and the really valuable pieces Ali stocks," offhandedly. "If you are ever interested, we'll set up a viewing for you."

He nods pensively at her list, considering her words. All were ideas he was rather partial to. "A fountain? Oh?" he asks, his interest piqued. "That would be very nice..." Looking in the doorway as she speaks, he nods. "I would like that very much; something tells me Ali carries very fascinating pieces."

"He does. We'll have a word with Lorelei later, if you like, and set a time when she can do that." Leading him down the little dogleg to the elevator and pressing '3'. "You're interested in a fountain?" There's a particular flare of interest there. "I'd been thinking about talking to the city about sponsoring an artist-in-residence piece. Something of that size, where people could watch it come together. I don't suppose you're serious?"

"I'd like that very much, thank you." Alper's chin dips in gratitude as he steps into the lift after her. "Yes, a fountain, I think it'd look great in the courtyard. Artist-in-residence piece?" he echoes, not sure what she meant at first, but then his interest flares, as well. "Oh, wow. That actually sounds like a great idea... I'm serious, are you?"

She hadn't expected this, and her heart gives a quick thud of excitement. "I'm very serious. A friend's been trying to persuade me to exhibit through a gallery, but I'd rather sell through the shop. I had been thinking about the fountain idea as a way of promoting my studio" and a civic piece meant steady income... "But it could do double-duty, promoting your condominiums as sponsor." Ideas are coming. "Do you have space for it?"

"I agree, galleries are tedious; and making a fountain? That will be an amazing way to garner attraction. There is a lot of room in the courtyard, and it?s very open. There is a lot of space between the condo's and the town hall. It should be a perfect area, as people filtering for the marketplace often make through that way," Alper explained, his own heart soaring at how that could attract buyers to the condos, too, perhaps. It would also make the area look even more welcoming.

He approached the nearest canvas, his eyebrows lifting in surprise as he looked at what could have been a photo of the market. "Wow, your detail is stunning, Fionna! This looks like I am sitting right there in the midst of a throng of people!" Obviously thrilled, he looked back to her. "Do you happen to have any of the skies? Like the stars at night, possibly?" Alper asks, already moving on to the next one featuring the docks.

"There are a couple of scenes at night. One of the three bridges across the river, and one of the docks. A little further down, I think."

"Oh, okay." He had already decided he was going to offer to purchase the market painting, and he moved further down to feast his eyes upon the three bridges one she was talking about. "Oh, wow. This is stunning, Fio! This is definitely a beauty." And add that to his list, too. She might begin to think he's a hoarder, at this rate. Then he looked at the next one, the docks one, and leaned forward to inspect it. "You capture the docks in such an enticing manner, and it looks like I'm there. Fascinating!" He liked art, if you couldn't tell. He was always the weird one in the family, for that.

She didn't mind! She'd sell them all to him, if he wanted the collection, and he was serious about investing; her prices were not inexpensive, but they were not the outrageous sums some in the city demanded - and got - either. She and Ali were still staggered over the prices her pieces got in that charity auction, but she couldn't bring herself to the point of vanity it would require for her to demand more.

"I'm really pleased you like them." She was, too. Her voice was saturated with it. Happiness and a little bit of abashedness.

Alper was willing to pay whatever she wanted, because he thought they deserved a good price. He came to her because of her talent, not because he wanted to get a cheap price out of her. At this rate, he'd buy the entire collection! He'd try to find places to put them if he ran out of places in the condos! Looking back to Fio as he moved down the line, he grinned goofily. "So tell me more about your ideas for the fountain. What would I need to prepare for you, aside from the space and funding?"

She gave it a little thought before answering. "We'd have to decide on the dimensions, and have it dug, the concrete poured and the plumbing framed in. That's the big prep, and you'd need to hire a contractor for that piece. It's heavy work..."

His head bobs in agreement. "Yes, big, but not terribly so... Do you happen to know of any good contractors around here? The one I hired for the building of the condos, sadly, passed away two months ago."

"We have some people putting in a garden on the roof here. I can ask them and see who they recommend. They may be able to do part of it. I can order the tiles from my suppliers. As for the rest, we'd have to sit down and work through the promotional end of it. Create a space where people could watch, do flyers - maybe an event to launch it... you could display the paintings in the condos and have an open house." Just a thought.

"Oh? That sounds pretty. Could you? I'd appreciate that." Looking up from a painting of the countryside, he grinned at Fionna. "I'd like to enlist Sivanna's help for the promotional part. She is very thorough and good with such things..." Alper tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"An open house? My, that's a terrific idea!" It was like a light bulb went off over his head. "That would work excellently for us both! If you don't mind, I'd like to buy this entire set; it's exactly what I'm looking for." Lopsided grin as he claps his hands together.

"I'd also like to order some of your mosaic mirrors, including the one I saw downstairs and the Picasso-like one." Gesturing to the corner she indicated earlier. "Could you show me more of your mosaic work, please?"

Flabbergasted. She blinked out a ten-count of surprise at him, before collecting herself. "All of them?"

"Yes, all of them." He repeats and nods his head resolutely. "It's actually not enough to decorate all of the rooms, but I think I'll focus on the second landing, anyway, with these and then see what else I can do with what."

The doors open onto the second-floor hallway, and she leads him out through the office space toward the other elevator bank. "So, if I can be nosy, when is Anya due?"

Follows her with a chipper gait. "The 5th of January, I think. We're all thrilled, though I think my father is the most thrilled of us all. He's been egging me about grandchildren for years." Alper chortles merrily at that, and then looks back down at Fio. "What about you? When's your little one due?"

"Early September, we think." His story about his family has her smiling wistfully. She presses 'Down" at the other elevator, and drinks in his absolute joy at the prospect of fatherhood. It made her happy for them.

"Ahh, just as the weather starts to cool down. Do you know if you're having a girl or a boy yet?"

"I have a feeling it's a boy, but we don't know for sure. We'll be ecstatic, either way, honestly. What about you?" The doors open to admit them into the side hall of the showroom.

Laughs. "I have a feeling it's a boy, but we don't know yet, either. Like you both, I'll just be ecstatic that it's healthy, either way. I want many children, so even though my father wants a boy to carry on the family name, I know that eventually we'll have that opportunity."

"We want as many children as we're able to, also. We'll see. If we only have one baby together, we'll count ourselves blessed. But we'd like more. And we have Lirssa, too."

Alper smiles warmly at Fio, happy for them. "It feels good to have family, hm? Is Lirssa one of your children?" he asks, not familiar with the name.

"She is. She was a street child here."

"Oh, that's wonderful that you have taken her in and claimed her as your own. Is she looking forward to the little one's arrival?"

She nodded, smiling warmly thinking about it. "She's got all sorts of plans already, and has been helping me put the nursery together upstairs. And she thinks she's my keeper, making sure I eat and rest. It's a little funny."

Laughs again, warmly this time. "That's incredibly darling; she'll be an excellent big sister." Looking down at Fio, he grins lopsidedly.

"That she will." Agreeing wholeheartedly.

Looking down the hall he tilts his head. "So what does Lorelei do around here?" he asks, curiously, considering he is about to meet her.

"Everything." Lorelei's birdlike chime of a voice broke in, as she came through from the floor-office to greet them. The diminutive blonde was smiling cheekily. "Whatever the Boss needs. I manage the shop, schedule his appointments, book travel. Sell stuff."

"She's a lifesaver." Fio adds.

Alper laughs, grinning for Lorelei as she emerges. "Sounds like a good one to keep around." Extending a hand toward Lorelei, he introduces himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lorelei, my name is Alper."

"Pleasure to meetcha." She chimes again, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

"Lorelei, Mr. Ergin is going to be purchasing a number of paintings and mosaics from the studio. I'll give you a list later; we'll need to invoice them. He also wants to set an appointment to take a tour of the shop, and to see some of the special items upstairs. Would you get whatever information you need from him and set that up, please?"

Alper shakes her hand twice before releasing it. "Likewise."

"Sure thing, Missus Boss." She said, releasing his hand and gesturing toward the main counter. "Right this way, Mr. Ergin."

"Thank you again, Fionna, it's been a pleasure." With one last grin for Fio, Alper stepped after Lorelei, grinning like a fool.