Page 19 of Nobody's Girl

Now, as she concentrated on painting his beautiful eyes, she wondered if she would be able to keep that promise when she didn’t know his limits, or what it took to make him hurt. She knew she would never deliberately hurt him – why would she? She knew she loved him with all her heart – not that either of them had said the words yet and she was glad about it. It was too soon. When she said it, and when she heard it from him, she wanted, needed it to be true. Moreover, she trusted him never to abandon her, and she questioned why she was so sure, given her past. For now, they both appeared to be on the tightrope – and balancing.

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the woman enter the gallery and ask for her. Sofia started slightly when she heard the woman speak.

“That’s remarkable. Truly remarkable.”

Sofia turned to see Clemence Brochu smiling at her. The other woman, her blonde hair caught up in an elegant chignon, was wearing a gorgeous pink and lilac floral dress which skimmed her bump and fell to her mid-calf. She wore a small, exquisite lace wrap around her shoulders. Clemence stepped closer to inspect the painting. Sofia, covered in pencil dust and paint, her black hair shoved haphazardly into a bun, felt like a street urchin next to her. She felt vaguely exposed by Clemence seeing the portrait – both of them had loved Ivo.

Clemence nodded at the portrait. “You’ve captured Ivo perfectly.”

Sofia flushed a little. “Well, um…”

“It’s okay, dear, I know about the two of you.”

Sofia didn’t know what to say. Also, she found it strange Clemence would called her ‘dear’ – she couldn’t be more than a few years older than her. “How are you? How’s the baby? Ivo said it’s a girl?”

Clemence nodded, stroking the bump. It looked smaller today than when she had first seen it. “She’s good. Not long to go now.”

Sofia put her paintbrush down. “Look, Ms. Brochu, I don’t want to be awkward, but I wanted to say…if Ivo had wanted to come back to you, I would not have stood in his way. He and I…we did not start seeing each other – so to speak – until after he knew about the baby.”

Clemence chuckled. “I know that, Sofia. And please call me Clemence. I thought I’d better come introduce myself before the baby is born, so there aren’t any bad feelings. I know Ivo wants to be involved with the child and I don’t want it to affect our relationship.”

Sofia half-smiled. “It won’t. I’m excited for him.”

Clemence put a hand on her arm. “You’re sweet. Look, I’d like to be friends. Is that something you’d consider? At least try and get to know each other. I have a feeling you’ll be in Ivo’s life for a while yet.”

Sofia didn’t know how to take that, but decided to give the other woman the benefit of the doubt. “I’d like that.”

Clemence nodded. “Maybe we should keep it between us two for now, so Ivo doesn’t feel railroaded.”

Sofia hesitated but then shrugged. What could it hurt? She’d tell Ivo if she and Clemence became friends but if they found no common ground, it would probably be best if they kept their distance. “Sure. Look, I hate to cut and run but I have a deadline with this…”

“Sure, I just came to say hello. Maybe coffee later in the week?” She handed Sofia a card with her cell phone number and Sofia nodded.

“Sure, if I get done here.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Sofia watched Clemence walk out of the gallery with mixed feelings. She hated to keep anything from Ivo, but she could see Clemence’s point about being friends. They would be in each other’s lives and Sofia had had enough of bad relations between people for a lifetime.

She turned back to her work, and conjuring Ivo’s face, she worked on the expression in his eyes, stroking her paint gently onto the canvas. She would honor the love he had inside of him for everyone he knew, truly he was the best man she had ever met.

Ivo rubbed his hand over his eyes. The doctor watched him carefully. “It’s not a death sentence anymore, Ivo. Cancer is treatable, even curable. They’ve caught it in the very early stages.”

“I know. It’s just…it’s my Mom, you know? She doesn’t want anyone else to know about it, especially Dad.”

The doctor, Roger Loomis, an old friend of the Zacca’s, nodded, sipping his coffee. It had just been coincidence that he was in Paris for a conference, when Ivo called him to ask for his advice. “Ivo, Adria is one of the strongest people I know. If she can’t beat this, well…”

Ivo was grateful for Roger’s reassurance but could not get past the word ‘cancer.’

His mom had called him, and for a few moments hadn’t even mentioned it, asking after Sofia and the gallery, and Clemence. His parents were delighted at becoming grandparents, even in the bizarre circumstances surrounding it. It was only when Ivo invited her to the opening of the gallery that Adria spoke up.

“Actually, darling, I’ve got a spot of cancer which I’m being treated for at the moment. Nothing serious, just a shadow on my lung. Don’t tell your father. He has a new woman and I don’t want him ruining that just to come running back to me.”

Ivo had been too shocked to speak for a moment. “Mom…”

“Don’t worry, darling, it’ll be okay. They’re going to cut that figlio di puttana right out of me. There’s a surgeon in Paris who is the best in the world.”