by Alex Riley
He was nodding at her approvingly, comparing the new Great to the old Emily he met with that night and liking what he saw. She decided to test the waters.
“I didn’t wait too long for it either; I made my first bold step the next morning when I discovered you were gone.” She said slowly, trying to gauge his reaction to her words. She wanted to believe that he had thought of her at least a little just like she had thought of him, unable to forget him or how he made her feel in the years that followed.
His gaze turned to look into her eyes and her breath hitched at his eyes. Would she ever be used to his eyes staring right into hers? She wondered.
“I had to leave. I didn’t want you to hate me.” He said so quietly that she almost did not catch his words.
What was he saying? How could she hate him? He had given her the best night of her life! She was about to tell him exactly what was on her mind when the door opened and Michelle, one of the models walked in. She stopped short when she noticed the male company and smiled in pleasure. Emily could recognize the look that came over the girl’s face and she sighed in irritation.
Ryan Jones was a handsome man and it looked like he was getting his first female admirer at the Show. It also looked like their conversation had come to an end as Michelle walked up to him and introduced herself.
Emily shook her head to clear it. This wasn’t a dream, she told herself, she had indeed just seen Ryan after four long years.
*********
“I am telling you Emily, you are meant to be together. You are soul mates.” Shannon told Emily over the phone.
Emily rolled her eyes at her friend’s superstitious belief. She had called to update her about the day’s happening after the second session was over. Everyone had departed and she was waiting for Ryan in her prep room to bring the photos so they could submit them to her producer, before they retired for the evening in preparation for the next day. After telling Shannon of her journey to their old location as students, she had as nonchalantly as she could, dropped Ryan’s name and explained meeting him in her prep room.
Shannon had instantly latched onto the gist and started calling them all sort of names of which soulmates was most prominent. She could remember Romeo and Juliet too but she astutely ignored that one; she didn’t want Ryan to die for her.
“We only just met again, Shannon.” She reminded her friend.
Shannon snorted over the phone. She didn’t want to hear anything else apart from romance, weddings and love when it came to her best friend and now that the mysterious one-night stand that got her friend out of her shell was back, she knew her friend would soon have her own happily ever after.
“And I can bet my unborn baby that your heart raced four miles a minute when you saw him.” She said knowingly.
Her friend knew her too much. She and Greg were finally starting a family and Shannon could not string three sentences together without mentioning her unborn baby.
“Well, yes.” Emily allowed.
“Then, that’s it. If you are this hooked on him after four years, he surely is on you too.” She proclaimed.
That was the problem. Though he still remembered her and the conversation they had four years ago, Emily was unsure of what was going on in Ryan’s mind. She didn’t know how he felt towards her. She didn’t know if he had thought about her at all in the past four years.
“We don’t know that,” she said softly into the phone.
“You might not but I do.” Shannon declared. “If a guy comments on the changes in you minutes only into reuniting with you after four years, it only means one thing. He hasn’t been able to forget about you. I bet you noticed the changes in him right off too.” She maintained.
That much was true, Emily thought, she had looked him from head to toe looking for changes and delighting in seeing him once more.
“Well, we shall soon see if your predictions are right,” she told her friend.
“You will see that I am right. Hurry up both of you, will you? I will make you my baby’s godparents if you get married in time before her birth.” Shannon told her, a smile in her voice.
Emily could imagine that she was rubbing her round belly as she spoke. Though the expectant mother refused to go for a scan to determine her baby’s sex despite her husband’s pleas, she would tell anyone who was willing to listen that she would be giving birth to a baby girl.
“I would be honored to be her god aunt regardless.” She said into the phone, ignoring the rest of what her friend said.
“Just keep it calm, G and set the charms out on him. If he didn’t fall for you the first time, he will now.” Shannon said on a more serious note.
“Thanks, hon.” She replied, loving her friend for her thoughtfulness, goodwill and encouragement. “Take care of yourself and kiss Greg for me, will you?” she said.
When she hung up, she thought about what Shannon had said.
Married.
The words hung heavy in the air of her hotel room. She always knew that she would love to get married someday but truthfully, she never quite gave it a serious thought. For a moment, she allowed herself be carried away with her thoughts. It seemed that was what she was doing most these days; thinking. She imagined being married to Ryan. What would it be like? She asked herself.
She had no idea.
It was strange that she could be in love with a man without knowing anything about him except the way he made her feel. She didn’t even know what course he studied in the college before graduating. As well, he appeared to have changed since she saw him. She had changed too but in the direction that he was able to convince her was best for her. The reverse seemed to be the case for him if the lines in the corners of his eye were any indication. Throughout the photoshoot that followed their conversation, his eyes had been sad as if he had suffered a recent and very painful loss. She was reminded of how she had lived after her parent’s death.
She made up her mind to find out what ailed him. Just like he helped her, she would help him too. If that was the only thing she could achieve from their unprecedented reunion, she would gladly take it and soar with it.
six
Ryan was still finding it hard to believe that he had just met found Emily Wilson after all this time. He had initially chickened out at the last minute and missed his scheduled flight for the previous day. However, Nina had not let him have a moment rest all through the night and he had taken the next available flight today which made him miss the first shoot. He had more than made up for it with the second shoot and everyone was pleased with the results. However, he was still amazed that he was working with Emily, of all designers there were in the world.
“And she had changed so much too, damn it.” He muttered to himself.
She had been a beauty in her black shiny dress the night he saw her but now, she was simply gorgeous. He wondered when she cut her long blonde hair and began to wear the short, spikes he saw on her head this afternoon. It made her look chic, fashionable and savvy. She was now a career lady too as he could see by the professional way she handled her models. And her outfits; those were simply amazing. They were indeed the head turners that she labelled her brand. Even the models found it hard to shed the clothes after the shoot, seeing how well the cloth made them look on camera.
Emily Wilson had taken the leap and was obviously enjoying her new found self. He was happy for her, there was no sense living in the past.
Like you are doing right now? A tiny voice taunted him in his head.
He refused to acknowledge the voice as another pain stabbed his heart like it did when he remembered Claire. He was here because she would wanted him to be and to his greatest surprise; he had met Emily here again. Perhaps, Claire was watching over him from heaven like she said she would. He smiled at the thought of his Claire as an angel in heaven, asking God to watch over her da and bring him a woman to marry so she would have siblings. She would make the cutest angel, his Claire.
As he made his way back into the prep room he vacated a
while ago, he wondered if she was married now or was in a serious relationship. He supposed he would find out over the course of the Show. In the meantime, he would just busy himself with work and trying to draw breath each day. With time perhaps, he would learn to stop thinking of going home to Claire, hearing her sweet baby voice and checking on her to see if she was alright when he was away. He knew he was in for the most difficult task of his life but he had made a promise. He wouldn’t disrepect Claire’s memory by not being true to his words, he promised himself.
He entered the prep room and saw Emily sitting by one of the table mirrors in the room. She was wearing a sleeveless frilly laced magenta blouse over a pair of yellow pants. On anyone else, the combination of colors might have looked odd, but not on her; it fitted her perfectly, showing off her trim curves and slender stature. She carried herself well in it too as she went round, fitting her models and encouraging them to work with her. Her blue eyes were gentle and compassionate and he had felt them on him as he worked; just like they were fastened on him right now.
All thoughts flew from his head as he walked into the room, holding her gaze. It was like no time had passed at all as he reached her. He was momentarily thrown back in time to four years ago in her apartment when he entered and she had kissed him on the mouth. His heart had done a little jiggle as an electric current ran through it. He hadn’t known what hit him, he was entirely lost to her in that instant. He looked down at her now and knew that his feelings for her were still as strong as it was that first night.
“Was that even possible? It had been four years”, he said to himself. He knew what he was feeling and they were as real as the stunning lady sitting in front of him.
“Erm,” he cleared his throat, “I have the photos.” He said lamely.
She shook her head as if to clear it and looked at his hands.
“Yes, I can see that you do.” She said with a small smile.
He dropped the envelope in his hands on the dresser in front of her and dragged a nearby chair to sit beside her. Her gaze continued to rest on him for a while and he stared at her with a confused smile.
He didn’t understand the look she gave him. If he were to hazard a guess, he would say she was trying to figure him out. However, the look was gone as she took the envelope and began to remove the photographs within. She looked pretty impressed with each picture she was seeing and a broad smile came over her face.
“I think I was given the best photographer at the Show,” she murmured, still looking at the pictures.
He did not reply but took the opportunity to study her as she was studying the pictures from various angles. She looked more serene, confident and in charge than when he left her in her bed four years ago. He was not surprised, creating such delightful outfits as she does must have really earned her the trust and confidence of her clients that would have boosted her own confidence in return.
“What do you think? I can’t seem to decide whether I should use Nora or Michelle’s picture as the background for my banner tomorrow,” she said suddenly.
As her own unique way of expressing her brand, she had thought of making a large printout of her favorite model and using it as a background to her collections during the Show. When she told him during the shoot, he had praised her idea effusively, saying it was going to wow the judges, he had meant every word of it. It was a smart idea and he admired her cleverness.
He leaned over to view both pictures that she held in each hand. He looked at each critically for some seconds before speaking. He knew that this Show was important to her and she wanted everything to go perfectly.
“I think you should use Michelle’s,” he decided. “The little frock looks fabulous on her, making her look totally innocent but the smoky look in her eyes tells another story entirely. Your audience and the judges will be thrilled,” He explained.
Instead of agreeing with him like he expected, Emily was staring at him suspiciously. He raised his eyebrows at her in silent inquisition.
“It seems you are tripping for my favorite model already. It seems she likes you too judging from the way she was all over you when she came in from break.” She said teasingly.
Who? He almost asked. If there was anyone he was tripping for, she was sitting right here, next to him but he didn’t need to let her know that. Not yet anyway.
“She’s way too young for me.” He told her.
She smiled as if pleased with him for his response.
“What is your definition of ‘too young’?” she asked him, her index and middle fingers coming up in a gesture of quotes at the last words. “She is eighteen and you are?” she came up short.
“Twenty-eight,” he supplied, “too old for her.” he emphasized with a shudder.
She threw back her head and burst out in a loud throaty laugh that filled his senses deliciously at the sound. He watched her throat as she laughed and felt like setting his lips on it to feel the vibration of her laughter. She caught him smiling and staring at her.
“You are not so old yourself. I know lovers and couples with a bigger age gap so you needn’t look so put off at the idea.” She said turning back to the pictures.
After a moment, her head snapped up as if she just remembered something.
“I never asked if you ever got married,” she said.
He shook his head no. “You?” he asked.
“No,” she said, giving him another brilliant smile that made him feel good on the inside.
She went back to the pictures again and he continued to watch her as she set aside Michelle’s picture to be used as the background she wanted. He had printed two of each picture; one of each would be submitted to the organizing body and she would keep each other one in a catalog. If there were to be request for more of the pictures say by a sponsor or potential client, they would have to be paid for. She neatly separated the pictures, putting them off into separate envelopes.
Claire would have loved her, he thought sadly.
At that moment, she looked up at him about to say something. He quickly tried to smile but the words she was about to utter died on her lips on whatever she saw in his eyes because she only stared into his eyes for some seconds before talking to him.
“What happened to you, Ryan? How have you been since all these years?” she said softly.
He was amazed at her power of perception. The only other people who could see him just by looking into his eyes, were Claire and Nina. The thought of his daughter sent him into a fresh wave of pain and he closed his eyes. He felt Emily’s hands on his’ and he opened his eyes.
“Ttalk to me, please.” She pleaded with him.
She was staring up at him softly and the look was almost his undoing. However, he did not want to spoil her first day in the Show with his tale of woes.
“It’s nothing that a good night rest won’t fix.” He said evasively and standing up. He felt a loss so intense when her warm hands slid out of his.
She gave a disappointed sigh but smiled up at him. “I will still be willing to listen any time you wish to talk.” She told him quietly.
He nodded and made to leave.
“I will have the banner ready first thing tomorrow morning,” he said.
She nodded and watched him go. With each step he took, he felt like running back to her but he told himself to walk on. He did not stop until he reached the room he had been shown to earlier in the day. He fell on the bed in exhaustion, promptly falling asleep. He slept all through the evening and into the night. He didn’t remember that he had had nothing to eat all day.
*********
The next day, Emily was too busy to think of anything else but the Show. At first, because she was an unknown name in the industry, her stand was empty but the giant banner behind her stand finally did the trick when one distinguished looking lady noticed and came over.
“I love what she is wearing,” she said, pointing at Michelle’s picture with her sunshades. She was Antonia West, a popular novelist. Emily had eve
n read one of her thriller series and was just thrilled by her visit to her stand.
From there, it was smooth sailing for ‘Head Turners.” Several people came over to check her outfits and she became busy attending to them. She barely had time to stop for a quick bite when it was time for lunch.
By evening, she was almost falling on her feet but her success had given her an adrenalin rush. She didn’t see Ryan all through the day.
The next day was another photo shoot so she met him at her door bright and early when she stepped out of her room. They stood still, staring at each other for long seconds.
“Good morning,” he greeted.
“You staying on my floor?” she asked at the same time.
He smiled and nodded in response. She murmured her good morning, smiling sheepishly.
“I didn’t see you all day yesterday,” she accused him.
“I was in my room most of the time since my attention was not needed, I only came out for dinner and you were gone by then,” he said as way of explanation.
It was her turn to nod. They walked together to the prep room and she filled him in on her success the previous day.
“I am really happy for you, Emily. You have made a great head start,” he said genuinely.
Throughout the day, they worked side by side. Incidentally or not, Emily wasn’t sure which but it seemed that their hands were always touching as he set one model in the perfect position and she adjusted the model’s outfit. Their eyes frequently met and even Marianne commented about it during break.
“Our photographer is obviously as into you as you are into him.” The girl said to her over a carton of juice and hot dogs.
Emily almost spit out her hot dog. It was that obvious?
“Yeah, it’s very obvious that you have or used to have a thing going.” Marianne replied as if she had asked the question out loud. “Why do you think Michelle laid off? It was because she saw the sizzling attraction between you two and didn’t want to get burnt by intruding,” she said with a dazzling smile and a wink.
