The Proverbial Mr. Universe

by Maria La Serra

  Once she got to Milan, things got better … actually great. She was finally living her dream, and the experience alone was priceless. After her apartment was sold, Paul and Peter managed to place the rest of her belongings in her parents’ basement. She came back to Montreal for a couple of days for the signing of the sale, which was the last time she saw or heard from Dario. After her father’s sixty-sixth birthday party, things went downhill for Dario. It was finally revealed that he was doing illegal things through her father’s company, so he was immediately canned. Once her father officially retired, Paul was made chairman of the board. And now baby Christina was almost a year, and with his wife, Elise, Paul’s life was finally falling into place.

  The charges against her father were dropped. The media’s coverage of her father’s case ceased to exist, but James Montiano’s condition just worsened with time. According to her mom, these days he liked to sit in front of the TV and not interact much with anyone around him. It had been hard for her mother to watch him transform, and a big part of Olivia felt sorry for leaving.

  One of the very last things her father told her before going was, “It seems I’ve made the wrong choice for the right reasons, you understand? If only I had open my eyes, I would have known what Dario was really like. I would have never allowed him to hurt you.”

  “I know, Daddy. It’s not your fault. How could you have known? I kept it from you because I didn’t want to disappoint you. I wanted you to be proud of me.” Olivia’s eyes teared up.

  “You could never disappoint me. I just want to see you happy.” He smiled, his eyes glazed. “There is nothing in the world that I love more than you. I am so proud of you.” He removed his glasses to wipe his eyes. “My darling, what am I going to do without you?”

  She’d wondered the same thing.

  Peter was the one to pick her up at the airport, driving her to her parents’ home, where she received a warm welcome, feeling like a superstar. Being back home seemed so foreign to her.

  “What?” Olivia looked up at her sister Nina sitting in a chair beside her. Olivia had her legs pulled to her chest. They were under the gazebo in their parents’ backyard.

  “You look so grown up, your hair … your clothing … you seem like a different person,” Nina said as she ran her hand through Olivia new, much shorter hairstyle.

  “You like what I’m wearing? Wait until you see what I brought back for you.” She smiled

  Nina hugged her again. “I’m just so happy you’re finally home.”

  “You missed me that much, hey?”

  “You have no idea, little sis.”

  “How’s Mom doing?” Olivia gave her a sideways glance.

  “You know Mom. She’s built like a tank, but soon she’s going to need someone to help her with Dad.”

  Olivia knew her mother had refused the idea of sending their father off to a home.

  “Maybe I could help you find someone before I go back.”

  Nina nodded.

  “Hey … uh … I know you told me you didn’t want to talk about Nick, but since you’ve been gone he’s been coming around quite often.”

  Olivia shook her head, perplexed. “What for?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he missed you as much as we did.” Nina shrugged. “He’s been good with Dad, helping Mom out. We don’t mind having him around.”

  “Mommy?” Olivia’s nephew called out from the patio door.

  “Yes, Anthony, I’m coming.” Nina got up from her chair. “I just thought you should know.”

  “Mommy …”

  “Go, I’ll be in soon,” Olivia said, looking up at Nina, who was smiling like she was trying to hide something. Before Olivia could say anything, Nina had turned and walked across the grass, going inside the house. As Olivia leaned back further in her patio chair, her eyes settled on a red card sitting on the coffee table across from her with her name written on it.

  Olivia looked around, but she was alone in the yard. She glanced back at the address and realized why it was familiar. It was located in Griffin Town.

  Olivia stepped out of her father’s black Mercedes onto Notre Dame Street. She took a second glance at the address and realized it was close by. She tucked her black clutch under her arm and began to cross the street. She followed the addresses up until she finds it. It was an art gallery with a sign in red block letters: The Proverbial Mr. Universe Atelier.

  Olivia smiled. She knew where she was. This spot was the space where Nick once told her he would open his gallery one day.

  A crowd of people flowed in and out of the front entrance. Gray stone framed the entrance and big windows where tinted, not allowing her to see the inside.

  “Olivia?”

  “Jessica, what are you doing here?”

  “I was just leaving. I didn’t know you were going to be here.” Jessica turned back as though she was looking for someone.

  “To be honest, neither did I. What’s going on in there?”

  “It’s the gallery’s grand opening,” Jessica said, but before she could say anything more, a tall guy came right up behind her, wrapping his arm around Jessica’s waist.

  “Hey, I know you. Luke right?” Olivia smiled. “I didn’t know you two were together.”

  Jessica raised her left hand.

  “What? You’re engaged? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was going to surprise you tomorrow at lunch. We’re still on for tomorrow?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “You should go in. He’s waiting for you,” Luke said.

  “We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Jessica blew kisses at her as she and Luke walked down the street.

  The gallery was open-concept, modern with high ceiling’s that exposed the plumbing and heating system. She only took a few steps before being greeted by uniformed women holding a tray of champagne. Olivia took one and continued to scan the room. Though she felt she was being watched, there was no one she recognized. No one wearing red.

  She walked into the next room. The walls were white and filled with art, and sculpture stood in the center of the long room. As she got closer to the far back of the space, there it was. The canvas hanging on the wall. Of course it was familiar to her, it was her face. At the bottom of the plaque, written mavourneen was the title and artist: My Love by Nick Montgomery. It was the painting Nick started long ago that she never got to see finished.

  “So, what do you think? Any resemblance?” a familiar voice said.

  A tall man stepped right beside her. Her heart began to race faster. It seemed her heart had recognized him before her eyes did.

  A version of Nick Montgomery she had never seen before. His hair was much shorter, and he was clean shaven, smartly dressed in gray pants. He wore a matching vest and a white dress shirt underneath with the sleeves rolled up. Their eyes locked, and he smiled at her. It felt as if no time had passed.

  “I was hoping to see you,” he paused. “I’m glad you came,” he said with his hands in his pocket, as though he didn’t know what to do with them. It was funny to Olivia that so much time had passed, but things felt the same between them. His hands in his pocket and her hands on her clutch … they didn’t know what to do with themselves.

  “So this place is yours?”

  “Half mine. George is my business partner.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” she said. “Really happy for you that you are finally living your dream.”

  “And you look … wow …” He paused. “Beautiful.”

  “My hair is a lot shorter than you’re used to seeing,” she said, passing her hand through her hair.

  “I like it.”

  “You do?” He nodded his head in confirmation. “And look at you! You don’t look too shabby yourself.” She smiled.

  “You like the change?” He ran his hand down his vest.

  “I do, but to be honest with you, I kind of miss the old Nick,” she said as he placed his hand on his jaw. “Well, one word from you and he can come back, la
me shirt and all.” He gave her one of his goofy smiles that she had missed.

  Her eyes softened and she looked back at the painting, wondering if things could ever go back to the way they were.

  “I figured you would never shave.”

  He shrugged. “People change for the ones they love.”

  She didn’t know what that meant. Did he have a new girlfriend? He was willing to change his appearance for someone else, but not for her? Now, she thought she was going to be sick.

  “Where’s Dan and Amanda? Are they here?” Olivia’s eyes looked around.

  “No, they’re on their honeymoon,” he said.

  “Right, they got married last weekend. Did they receive my gift?”

  “Yes, they wanted me to thank you.” He looked at her, and she shyly looked away.

  “I’m sorry I missed it. I got the invitation, but I—”

  “Olivia, you don’t need to explain.”

  She nodded.

  “Guess what!”

  “What?”

  “I’m trying to work on my relationship with my dad.”

  Olivia’s eyes snapped up. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, well, at the wedding we started talking. In a couple of weeks, I’m supposed to fly to Calgary and stay with him and his family.”

  “That’s great, Nick. I’m happy things are finally coming together,”

  “You think they are?”

  “Of course.” She smiled. “You’re painting again. You have this place and now you’re talking to your dad …”

  “I promised myself that the next time I saw you I wouldn’t let it show how much I missed you, but now that you’re here, that’s all I want to tell you.”

  Olivia saw a shadow cross his face, like he was hoping she might have felt the same way, and she did.

  “You know what I miss the most about you?” He looked around the room before his eyes met hers again.

  “What’s that? My smart mouth?” Olivia smiled.

  He laughed. “Yeah that too, but no … it’s your brilliant eyes, the way they can find mine in a crowded room. How they can make me feel like I am the most important person in it,” he explained as her smiled faded. She never thought it would still be difficult to be around him.

  “Want to get out of here?” he whispered.

  “Shouldn’t you stay? I mean …” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

  “Yes, I should…” his eyes scanned the crowd “…but that’s what partners are for.”

  Nick took the champagne glass out of her hand and placed it on the table behind him, picking up his suit jacket from the chair beside it. Olivia didn’t flinch when his hand slid into hers—a perfect fit. It was natural, like it had always been between them.

  Nick had been waiting for this very moment when he saw her again, a moment he was sure he would never get. When she first walked in his gallery, it was as though his eyes were starving. He wanted to take in every inch of her. She wore a knee-length black dress, her hair straight down to her chin and much lighter then he remembered it to be. A year apart might have changed her, but she was still his Olivia.

  He had taken her up on the roof of the gallery, and there they were under a clear night sky. A gentle summer breeze lightly danced on Nick’s freshly shaven face. He couldn’t remember the last time his face was bare. They stood side by side, neither of them wanting to break the silence, neither of them knowing what to say next. He gazed up at the sky and felt some premonition, like something extraordinary was about to happen.

  “Look at the stars.” Olivia wrapped her arms around herself.

  Nick thought she might be cold, so he brought his suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders. Her eyes focused on the red pocket square. She brightly beamed up at him.

  “It’s finally nice to meet you, Mr. Universe. I was secretly hoping it was you.”

  His smile widened.

  “But there something I need to know. Why would you go through the trouble?” she asked.

  “I guess it was a way to reach out to you. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it other than doing something nice for someone else.”

  She smiled and bobbed her head in disbelief. “How did you manage to pull it off?”

  “Ah … well, I had a little help from everyone.”

  “Was my sister in on it? Jessica?”

  Nick nodded, sliding his hands into his front pocket.

  “I can’t believe they kept it from me.”

  Nick gave her a sideways smile. “I guess they liked me better than you.”

  “Okay, I guess my next question is why Mr. Universe?” She brushed the strands of her hair away from her face, the moon’s glow softly highlighting her features.

  “Well, I suppose I got the idea from you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. I guess I wanted you to believe in something.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Long ago, before we knew each other, you walked in the café looking so sad. I didn’t understand what was going on in your life at that point, but I felt you were in some trouble. I kind of overheard your friend say to you that it was the universe sending you a message. You responded that you didn’t believe the universe could provide you with any guidance in life.”

  “I said that?” She smiled. “Okay, so why didn’t you admit it was you when I suspected it was?”

  He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “If I told you it was me, it might not have meant the same to you. Being anonymous gave me the freedom to continue writing these notes, especially after I had a better insight of your life?”

  “I guess.”

  “So. Monti, the question is, do you still think the universe can’t provide you with any guidance in life?”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “Hmmm … alright, I admit our lives kept crossing under the strangest circumstances. I don’t know if that makes me believe in the universe or some fate, but I must divulge I believe in something.” She paused. “Whatever it is that brought you into my life, I’m grateful for it. You made me realize I have been ignoring myself, trying to please everyone, when in the end I was the one who was suffering the most. You’re the only one that accepted me for who I am. You took the time to figure me out, even before I ever did. Now I get it. I get what you’d been trying to do all along. With all those handwritten notes, you were attempting to help me figure myself out. You opened my eyes, and I never thanked you for it.”

  “You did it all on your own, Monti. I was just there to shake you up a little.” He smiled. “But you know I didn’t get the short end of the stick. You brought so much to my life as well.”

  “I didn’t bring anything into your life, Montgomery.” The serious expression on her face made him think she wasn’t kidding.

  Nick frowned. “What? You have done more for me than I can ever imagine. You inspired me like no one else had. Do you know how much I adore you, how special you are to me? You filled me with peace and reassurance. Most important, you loved me.” He paused. “Do you know the moment I knew I loved you? It was the first time you looked at me. I showed you my deepest secrets and instead of walking away, you clung to me like a last breath. I had never imagined a person like that could ever exist for me.”

  Olivia’s eyes became glossy, and she looked away.

  He knew a year ago he had made the painful decision to let her go. And he tried to be strong, but now having her so close, everything came rushing back again. All the feelings, all that love and emotion had caught up with him at the moment. He made himself believe that living with her ghost would be enough for him, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

  “Why is this so hard?” She looked down at her hands.

  “I know what you mean.” Nick let out a frustrated sigh.

  “I hope you’ve been seeing other people. I know it sounds strange coming from me, but I do care about you, and I do worry about you, Nick. I want you to be happy,” she said as he pushed off the wall and slowly paced
around.

  “Well, since you’ve been gone, I have been keeping myself busy with my art and then this place. There wasn’t any time for anything or anyone else. Don’t think I have forgotten what you mean to me, Olivia.” He faced her with his hands in his pockets.

  “So there hasn’t been anyone else?” she asked in a small voice.

  “How could there be?”

  She turned back to look at the view of the city before them. He knew she was trying to avoid his eyes.

  “Do you know why I chose to be alone? It’s quite simple. You see, I’ve come to realize that there are some people you love for a moment and the ones you love for a lifetime. And, Olivia Montiano, you are a love of a lifetime. If I can’t have you in my life, then I don’t want to be with anyone else. You’ve occupied my mind, and you’re still in my heart, Olivia. It doesn’t leave room for anyone else.”

  Her mouth hung open slightly. “I don’t see where we can go from here? So much has changed, and we can’t live in the past, Montgomery.” By the tone of her voice, it was evident he upset her.

  “Your right, but I got nothing else but the past. It’s the last place where we seem to exist,” he said

  She shook her head and started walking away from him.

  “It feels impossible to let you go. I know I should, but I can’t.”

  “That’s not fair, Montgomery. All this time, it’s been hard enough to get through without you, and now you’re not being reasonable. What I think you’re asking of me … it’s best we both forget, especially when I recall you were the one to push me away.” She paused.

  “I didn’t push you away. I wanted you to spread your wings and fly. I told you once that if I followed that thread it would always lead me back to you … Well, it works both ways.”