Entangled Lives

Elana Monroe
April
New York, New York

"Supermodelllll!!" I yelled out the window as I honked the horn repeatedly.

"Lana, PLEASE!" Maya said as her and Lance walked to the car. Lance was laughing while Maya hid her face. "Don't you get tired of that?" She asked while climbing in.

"Nope. Hey Lance!" I said with a smile.

"Hey Ms.Monroe, how was Paris?"

"It was amazing. How was your spring break?"

"It was okay. I didn't do much." He said before closing Maya's door and leaning down to talk through the window.

"Mhmm. Well I hate to cut our convo short but Maya and I have to go handle some business."

"Oh of course. See you later Ms. Monroe, I'll call you later, Maya." Lance said and Maya cheesed at him making me roll my eyes playfully. Lance walked away from the car and I pulled off.

"What business we got to handle?" Maya asked.

"We're going to The Met." I looked at Maya and she smiled big.

"Finallyyyy. Something other than MoMA. No shade  to them though." I laughed softly and nodded my head. Maya has only ever been to MoMA since I worked there so I was excited to bring her along with me for the tour the Met. "Are you excited?"

"I am. I've been there before but not for a personal tour with the director, so I'm a little nervous as well."

"And you shouldn't be cause he was literally fangirling over you in Paris. You're the female Chris Brown just in the art world!!" I laughed and looked at Maya.

"Well when you put it like that then hell yea." Maya laughed and we continued to talk before pulling into the Met parking lot. "Alright, here goes nothing."

"Elana, Maya, welcome to the Met." Simon greeted us warmly. "It's an honor to have you both here. I've arranged for a private tour to showcase some of our most remarkable pieces that have yet to be showcased to the public and some of our newer pieces in the exhibit." I could feel the excitement building up as we began our tour. I had visited the Met numerous times, but this was different. This was a rare opportunity to delve into the depths of its collection that has yet to be showcased to the public. Plus, the director himself invited me.

As we walked through the vast halls, Simon shared the rich histories and stories behind each masterpiece. We started in the Egyptian Wing, where he explained the meticulous process of preserving an ancient artifact.

We then moved to the European Paintings section, where Simon highlighted the museum's latest acquisition, a stunning piece by Caravaggio. I couldn't help but admire the exquisite detail and the brilliance of the restoration work.

"I've read about this piece." I said. "The restoration work is extraordinary. It's like it never was damaged." I looked at Simon who was already looking at me with a smile and he nodded his head.

As the tour continued, Maya's curiosity was at an all time high as she asked questions about every art piece, which shocked me. Maya asks questions about what I do and she's been to the studio while I worked but this was different.

We explored the American Wing, the Asian Art galleries, and the Modern and Contemporary Art section, each room revealing more of the museum's vast collection. Our final stop was the conservation lab, a space rarely seen by the public. Simon guided us through the state-of-the-art facilities, where their conservators worked meticulously on preserving and restoring artwork.