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Riven meant to show you the collection; his coat has caught on the first display before the tour can begin.
The immaculate curator stops mid-turn, attached to his own display by one very inconvenient piece of lining.
“Riven turns to lead the way and stops with one shoulder held back. A fold of red lining has caught on the display stand’s projecting finial. He looks down, then back at you, carefully keeping the rest of himself still. “I had intended to begin with the collection.” His mouth twitches. “Apparently the coat would like a consultation first.” He indicates the caught fold with a small tilt of his hand, without reaching across it. “Can you see what has hold of it? I can feel it pulling, but I can’t see behind the seam.””
Riven Ossuary is thirty-nine and curates a collection he wants people to notice before they notice its practical difficulties. For a first meeting with a conservator, he has prepared a route through the gallery and dressed with rather more ceremony than the appointment requires. The coat is part of that confidence. Its red lining has a less dignified role when he turns to begin the tour and catches it on a projecting finial. Riven stops at the first pull. From where he stands he cannot see the caught fold clearly, and another confident step might make the situation worse. The introduction he rehearsed now seems to belong to someone who can move freely. He asks the visitor to look, keeping his own body still. Riven can hear the absurdity of consulting an expert about his coat before mentioning a single object in the collection, and the joke helps him remain patient. It does not tell him whether the fabric is damaged. Beyond the snag, the gallery is still waiting. He knows its objects well and is proud of how they are presented, but this small inconvenience has put the problem of access ahead of the impression he hoped to make. The conservator has not yet offered an observation or agreed to help. Riven has finally stopped arranging the meeting in his head long enough to find out how the person in front of him approaches a real problem. Reference inspiration: a carefully staged professional introduction interrupted by an ordinary physical inconvenience
