Mirage Beyond Flames (Coriola) (12 page)

“Look what you’ve done,”
she scolded him without actually minding one bit. “Here, wipe your face. I have to start all over again,” she said, giving him a tissue.

When she finished doing her makeup, she urged him to tell her
about how his day had been.

“Fine, I only stopped by the clinic to get the file
I wanna give to Jean and visit my little patients. One of them is feeling great. He had an incipient skin cancer but after I injected locally the serum I told you about, in a few sessions looks like all the cancerous cells were destroyed. True, the healthy ones had the same fate in that area. It’s possible he’ll have a scar all his life, but…”

“But he’ll have a life!” she exclaimed thrilled, eyes shining with tears. “Do you
realize, my love? You saved a life. You are my hero!” she told him, hugging him tightly.

“Yeah, looks
that way. Let’s hope Jean’s cure will do wonders.”

The opening night went far better than they both had expected. At the end of the evening, Linda couldn’t feel her right hand from so much handshaking. Her face seemed frozen in a painful permanent smile. In spite of all that, it had been a pleasant experience.

The most admiring remarks she’
d received had come from her lover, who had remained extremely impressed by her talent. Looking at all the statues created by the fragile hands and extraordinary imagination of the woman he loved, Gerard seemed to have had a revelation regarding her true identity.

When his gaze fell upon the statue
of Apollo, an arrogant grin imprinted on his handsome face. He winked at her, reminding her of a joke known only by them.

Francesco had overwhelmed her
with artistic compliments. The guests hadn’t stopped a moment from showering her with laudatory remarks, browsing around the works on display, carrying glasses of fine champagne. The catering staff moved continuously through the crowd, carrying trays of appetizers and crystal champagne glasses.

Annarita introduced the other two artists whose works were al
so on display. One of them - a blond bohemian-looking young man, dressed in multi-colored clothes - kissed both her cheeks enthusiastically. He repeatedly assured her it was an honor to be in the same room with her.

The other one - a pale over-weight woman
dressed in black clothes that were not at all befitting - treated her with distant respect. When she’d moved away, Gerard whispered:

“Envy.
Both professional and personal. She knows she’ll never reach your level, that’s why she’s acting like an icy bitch.”

Linda laughed softly, taking his arm.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’m used to this kind of reaction. Nobody’s perfect, but I’ve always looked straight ahead, without taking much notice of the people around me. In fact, it’s more because I’m too distracted, not from arrogance or anything like that.”

“What do you think, sh
all we sneak out?” he asked, his voice full of hope. “If one more person whispers something about your
tonight’s escort,
I’m gonna throw this champagne in his or her face.”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry.
I hope you didn’t feel offended. Curiosity and gossip are a pain in the ass. Just because I ignore them, I didn’t realize they could bother you.”

He smiled.

“Get real! You know me, I’m not bothered by many things in this world. I have a much too healthy ego to be disturbed ‘cause some strangers consider me your new male accessory.”

She laughed behind the crystal glass.

“Oh, yes, honey. Don’t tell me about the size and shape of your… ego. I know it too well!”

“Then let’s go.
We can talk more about this topic at home,” he whispered huskily in an insinuating tone.

They sneaked through the guests like two teenagers, trying to make themselves invisible.

However, at the gallery’s exit, Linda froze, staring at the tall dark-haired man who was just coming in. His beautiful olive skin was unshaven, his shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, and the black suit was slightly wrinkled.

“
Che piacere vederti, amore mio, sono venuto apposta per te!
” he exclaimed stretching his arms toward her, but stopped short when he saw Gerard coming behind her and putting his hand on her waist.

“Tony, what are you doing here?”
she asked the man in English when she recovered her voice.

The two men studied
each other from head to toe, a hostile tension making its presence felt between them. Gerard must have also detected the trace of alcohol smell coming from the intruder. His hand tightened on her waist. Tony noticed the gesture and his face twisted in a scornful expression. He said:

“Ah, I s
ee you have already replaced me. Didn’t take you long, did it? All men are after you like after a bitch in heat. It’s a shame she’s not to great and… experienced in bed,
amico
,” he addressed Gerard displaying a derisive smirk.

In a fraction of a second, Gerard
’s fist connected with Tony’s nose. The devastating impact and sound of the blow provoked Linda a sickening sensation. Tony crashed to the ground holding his face in both hands, while through his fingers trickled drops of blood. He cursed them both in his native language, his voice distorted by pain. She didn’t think it was prudent to translate for Gerard the invectives Tony was throwing at them.

When the injured man tried to get up, Gerard held him to the ground by placing
a foot on his chest. Then, directing his index threateningly toward him, said with deceiving calmness:

“Stay there. If you get up before we leave, I’m gonna break your neck
, not just your fucking nose. If you get close to Linda one more time in your miserable life, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

Linda felt the truth from that threat up to her bone marrow and a chill ran through her whole body. She knew her ex-husband felt it
too, because he stayed down, while his clothes were slowly soaking in his own blood.

On the way home none of them spoke a single word. Linda was only grateful because nobody had assisted to the scene from the gallery’s entrance. It was late and dark, so Tony hadn’t managed to ruin her evening in front of the guests. But the words he’d said in front of Gerard burned her soul. Shame and insecurity had erased all her newly-found self-confidence.

Once they reached the gates, he climbed out and manually introduced the alarm code. The gates opened, then automatically closed behind the car. He parked in front of the house
. After a few moments, he turned to her, while she sat with her head bent, nervously twisting the ring on her finger.

“That asshole was your ex, right?”

She nodded, without looking at him.

“And you really believed what the son of a bitch said? Or do you imagine I believed a single word of it?”

She wet her lips and took a deep breath.

“The fact that all men follow me like…
Like he said, it’s not true. I’ve never even looked at another man while I was married to him. I’ve never sought nor wanted anyone’s attention. In spite of that, he always had crisis of jealousy from imaginary causes, he made me all kinds of reproaches, among them being… What he said about my… my performances in bed,” she finished, fighting hard with humiliation tears, her heart was pierced by an unbearable pain.

Gerard gazed at her
for a long while in silence, in a strange way she couldn’t interpret. She’d found out just later he was simply marveling by her sweet naiveté which, in a strange way only men can experience, made him feel proud. He gently took her chin between his fingers and turned her head toward him, his eyes holding hers.

“Linda, I’m far from perfect.
Before I met you I’ve had many women - all kinds, from innocents to those far more versed than me. But none of them was capable of making me love her. None of them was like you, so beautiful, so sweet, so attractive, so sensual… None of them managed to satisfy me in bed or outside of it the way you do.”

She looked away.

“You don’t have to try to restore my ego. Please, just drop it.”

“I’m not trying to do that,” he interrupted.
“I’m only trying to make you see the truth. Leaving me aside, if that imbecile was unhappy with you, do you think he would’ve still came after you? Do you think he would’ve been jealous, or cared if you attract other men’s attention or not? He took advantage of your innocence to shatter your self-confidence so you’d stay with him. So you’d think you’re worth less, that he was doing you a favor by being beside you. This is the tactic used by these caricatures of so-called men,” he went on disgusted and the fury threatening to be unleashed radiated from his entire being. “I should have killed that fucking worm!”

She saw
his fists and teeth clenched hard, as though he was trying to hang on to rational control, not to give in to the instinct of crushing something just for a moment of release and satisfaction.

Linda massaged her forehead, wher
e a wave of pain was circling. Why, oh why did this shadow of her past reappear, to fall over their newly-discovered happiness and affect not only her, but also the man she loved? With a deep sigh, she opened the car door, saying:

“Let’s get a drink, please. D
on’t say any more irrational things.”

“I’ve never talked
more serious in my life, Linda. I would give anything to kill that bastard with my own hands!”

“And after that what?” she shouted, exasperated. “Rot in prison for a man who’s not worth it? Men don’t think
, not even as much as that cat of mine!” she went on furiously heading to the house. “Are women the only beings in the world who have brains and reason? I can’t believe how…”

T
hanks to the very high heels and the ink darkness, she stumbled, a sharp pain in her right ankle causing her to scream.

When he reached her, his ears were assaulted by the most inven
tive recital of cuss words he’d ever heard. She could bet that not even in the slimiest alleys from ill-famed neighborhoods had he heard words like those now coming from her mouth. She didn’t even try to stop it. Using frustration and pain as a pretext, she continued swearing, mixing English with Italian and possibly other languages as well.

“Are you alright, baby? Are you hurt, did you break anything?”

So saying, he carefully palpated both her ankles, making sure everything was intact.

“Wow… We
have such an expansive vocabulary,” he said laughing, seeming extremely entertained. “You should give me lessons. Just a scratched knee, my love.”

As he gave her the verdict,
he lifted her in his arms.

He comfortably installed her on the living room sofa, cleaned her scratch with antiseptic and applied a band-aid on top. Then he kissed her knee, continuing to trace kisses on her tanned thighs, revealed by the up-lifted dress. His hot breath on her skin was doing wonders to calm her. When she felt his shoulders shaking with a soft laugh, she asked puzzled:

“What happened?”

“Nothing unusual,” he replied, then looked at her sheepishly. “If I tell you, will you blush?”

“Depends…”

“I was just thinking I’m not a teenager anymore, Linda. In fact, I’m far away from those days. However, I only need to look at you, to have you close, and my body reacts like a teenager’s,” he said, then grinned when he saw the two pink spots spreading over her heated cheeks. “I see you know what I mean.”

He bent to kiss her, but no
t having enough maneuvering space on the narrow sofa, he let himself slide to the floor. He lowered her on top of him, careful at her injured knee. He kissed and embraced her frantically, emanating desire and love, showing her through their bodies’ language how deep and intense his feelings were.

“I love you. I want you so much!”
he whispered roughly. “You make me the happiest man on Earth.”

Because she felt the same and
because, in a certain degree of intimacy, bodies can’t lie, Linda believed him. This wonderful revelation seemed to give her wings.

“I love you too, Gerard,
” she whispered back, meaning it with all her heart.

Part T
wo – Pocket World

Chapter Fourteen

Monday started with the screeching shrill of the alarm clock, whose sound was scraping Gerard’s eardrums. He stretched out a hand, turning off the alarm before Linda could throw the clock to the floor, turning it into dozens of small pieces.

Sin
ce their plane departed at ten a.m., they’d stayed at her house - luggage and all - planning to take a cab to the airport.

After grabbing
a quick shower, they had some breakfast, then dressed casually for the journey, in jeans, T-shirts and sneakers. Each had a single handbag as a luggage, containing some clothes and a few other essentials.