At Liesl’s giggle he squeezed her hand. “Anyway, I remember laying in the hammock, hearing my dad teasing my sister and my mom singing while she was getting lunch together. The sky was blue with wispy little clouds and there was a field behind our campground which felt like it went on for miles but looking back it was probably only a hundred feet or so. There were hundreds of wildflowers in the field. The painting I have from you is a painting of field of gold and red flowers. Each time I look at the picture, I am catapulted back to being in a hammock at thirteen, with my family. Everyone was happy and relaxed, and it was a good day. Your painting, makes me feel good.”
She couldn’t look at him as a tear escaped the corner of her eye. She had always dreamed to hear a patron feel a personal connection to her art and having this man be so boldly expressive of his feelings felt incredible. She leaned her head to his bicep and pursed her lips as they entered another hall of paintings.
“You are very quiet,” he commented, stroking the top of her hand he held clasped absentmindedly. “Are you okay?”
“I want to say something but I’m afraid to ruin the moment.”
“Share your thoughts, Liesl.”
“It is every artist’s dream for their work to be appreciated and to have someone claim an emotional connection to it. When I was married to Merlin, I painted and he would tell me how beautiful it was or how much money it would probably make at a show but in eight years of being together, not once did he ever make any comment about my work making him feel a certain way. Eight years and never did my art evoke sentiment in him. When we first got married and bought the house, I would wait excitedly for him to come home so I could show him what I’d done. He never looked at a painting and described anything even remotely close to how you did just now. I know I shouldn’t compare you to one another but,” she wiped a tear off her cheek as she stopped to stare at a painting on the wall, “I can’t help it. I lost part of me when I realized the person, I cared for was never going to have an emotional response to my art and my work suffered for it. I started to spend more time restoring other people’s art than doing my own.” She met his gaze shyly and was grateful to see there was no anger or annoyance in his expression. “Hearing you tell me you look at the painting and it brings you to a happy memory is exhilarating and it makes me crave a brush and canvas.” She didn’t look away from him, despite the tears now flowing, “even if tomorrow you tell me this is over, I will never forget this,” she waved her hand around them and between them, “for as long as I live. Thank you, Isaias.”
“It is my absolute pleasure, Liesl.” He wiped a tear off her cheek. “You amaze me. The way you feel things so deeply blows my mind.” He pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead and then they continued walking pausing to examine painting after painting. “I never want you to hold back from me how you feel, even if it means you mention your ex. All of your feelings are important to me.”
“You are an incredible man. It blows my mind you’re single.”
“I’m not anymore,” he winked at her playfully. He motioned for her to walk, “you should keep going though or I’m likely to get us thrown out of here for public indecency. I want you again.”
She giggled and slugged his shoulder as they continued walking. It wasn’t long and she was mesmerized again by the artistry in the museum. She was talking his ear off, and she knew it, but he was patient with her.
“I think we’ve only been through a quarter of the galleries.” She said sadly when she caught him glancing at his wristwatch. “We need to get going though, don’t we?”
“We do.” He said with a quiet nod. “We won’t be making the walk, through Central Park but we can come back another time and stay longer.”
She smiled at his words. “I would like that. I hope you weren’t bored with me yakking at every turn.”
“Not even remotely.” He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
Her eyes caught his wristwatch, and she grabbed it. “It’s really four o’clock?”
He chuckled, “it is. I don’t mind. My only complaint is I’m starving. We ate pastries and coffee for breakfast hours ago. I need food. The jet is on standby to get us home and dinner will be served on the plane. Should we get going?”
“Yes.” She looked around the museum longingly. “I could spend a hundred years in here and never get tired. I’m feeling very inspired.”
He smiled, “come on then. Let’s get you out of here. You’ll be painting a storm up all week.”
She looked him over, “Actually, I kind of want to sculpt.”
“You sculpt?”
“Yes. I used to anyway. Not for several years but I used to do pretty well with it.”
“Can you show me?”
“My phone is still dead but next time we see each other, I’ll show you some photos of my old portfolio. My sculptures are in storage now.” She sighed, “I need to go through it all for when I move into my new place.”
“You bought a place?”
“No. Fred’s been great, but I know they enjoy being their own little family. I promised them I’d start looking this week for a place to move into. They told me there was no pressure but I’m going to rent for a while. I feel like I’m in a period of flux and after being settled down, tied down really, I’m not ready to commit to anything, not even a mortgage right now.”
He nodded at her words, “I get it. Well, if you need any help finding a space let me know. I happen to know a lot of local realtors and I don’t mind helping.”
“I appreciate the offer,” she climbed into the back of the car with him right behind her. “I’ll probably take you up on it.”
As their weekend away drew to a close, Liesl considered this was by far the most healing weekend she could have spent. Isaias was good for her soul. She was returning to Manchester with a renewed spirit and less bitter heart. She prayed this feeling never ended.
Liesl stared incredulously at her phone while her brother paced back and forth in the kitchen. Her sister-in-law was hugging a cup of tea as if it were hugging her back, but her eyes were on Liesl’s face.
When she’d walked through the door, Fred had immediately demanded to know why the hell she hadn’t answered any of his messages. She’d been confused until he shoved his phone in her face spouting nonsense about porn. She had plugged her own device in and the notifications for hundreds of messages had started to pour in.
“This isn’t happening.” She hit play again on the video which had gone viral overnight. Her and Isaias making out in the club in New York was splashed all over the internet.
“Who is this Craven person?” Meredith asked quietly. “She literally posted this video asking her followers to find out the name of the slut stealing her boyfriend.”
“She and Isaias had a one-night stand three years ago. She threatened me in the bathroom if I didn’t leave, she would ruin me,” she wiped an angry tear off her cheek. “This was right after he explained to me, she was nothing to him.” She looked up, “his phone was not dead. He had to have known this was posted.”
Fred leaned over her and pointed to where Isaias’ hand was on her thigh, “his hand is up your skirt. It looks like he’s fingering you, Liesl!” he almost yelled at her. “What the hell were you thinking doing this shit in public?”
“We weren’t in public. We were in a VIP room and the only people allowed in there were two servers, me, Isaias, Joaquim, and his harem,”
“His harem?” Fred gasped.
“It’s a joke! He has a bunch of girls who are always hanging around. They call themselves his harem. I don’t think he sleeps with all of them.” She wasn’t really certain though.
“Oh my god.” Fred walked away and began tapping his forehead off the refrigerator.
“Why are you so angry at me?”
“I’m not,” he turned to face her. “I’m angry at Isaias. Liesl, you’ve been through the wringer the last couple of months. I wanted you to have fun and forget the hell you’ve been through. Do you know what this is going to do? The pressure this is going to put on you. This takes your fun and throws it out the window. This woman is pretty much calling you a homewrecker.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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