Restoration [Shawn Mendes] AU

Chapter 30

Shawn shaved, showered and washed his hair when he got back from the bakery. He made some coffee and called to FaceTime with his mother as he plopped down on the couch, hoping she wasn't too busy at work to talk. He hadn't spoken to her much more than once a week since Christmas break and he missed her. She answered on the third ring, obviously happy to hear from her son.

"Hey babe! How are you?" she asked cheerfully.

"Fine, how are you and the rest of the family?" Shawn inquired.

"Everyone's great! Your sister is hardly ever home what with school, her friends, hockey practice and her games every week...her team is really doing well. And your father is busy as usual, the man really needs to have some down time once in awhile though," she answered. "How are your classes? Are you spending most all of your time in the studio?

"I'm spending a majority of my time in the studio, but I have to. Next year is my internship and my thesis and senior project for my BA, so it just comes with the territory. I did well on the collaboration from winter session, so I was happy about that. We worked hard to come up with really detailed plans and a building model, including interior and landscape designs. I went old school and built the model out of balsa wood, foam board and other materials, no 3-D printer, just the laser cutter. It was labor intensive, but I still enjoy doing that once in awhile, it's becoming a dying art because of the expense. No firms really build models for clients anymore, or they farm out the work to some other company that does nothing but make models."

"Well that's wonderful that you did so well honey! It was a collaboration?"

"Yeah, it was my building design, Michelle did the interior design and David Merrick was the landscape designer including hardscape inside and out. He even made a scaled model of this retro water feature for the lobby which is a 3-story atrium. I think our project was the best in the class and I'm not saying that just to brag. It was absolutely the best. Michelle's interior design took it to a whole other level. Her design was inspired by Bauhaus, everything she did was impeccable from finishes to accessories, her choices were perfect. If that building was ever constructed and she could implement her design for it in real life, it would be impressive."

Shawn smiled at the look his mother was giving him. "What's that look for?" he asked.

"Babe, your father told me about this girl you've been yearning for since you met her. Are you sure it's not just her you're impressed with, rather than the work she did on your collaboration?"

"Who says I can't be impressed with both? She's a phenomenal designer and I know you think I'm being biased, but she's really talented. We just have a lot in common, including how we view design and rehabbing old buildings instead of tearing them down. She's all about preservation and restoration of old structures and finding new ways to use them in modern society and she has a real appreciation for old-world craftsmanship. We just get each other when it comes to a lot of things including architecture and design. It's as simple as that," Shawn said.