‘Oh, I'll always be sending you something pet,’ Eileen went on. ‘You just keep on amazing me with your resilience and strength. Now dry your tears, and why don’t you open that box?’
Holly sniffled and pulled away, a smile on her face. ‘OK, fairy godmother.’ With nimble fingers she unwrapped the small box, and when she saw what was inside gave a watery grin. ‘Oh my, it’s so pretty,’ she whispered, lifting out the tiny silver dove.
‘It’s a symbol of hope, and I thought that today, of all days, you might need some. I bought it for the birth of the baby because, as a new mom - biological or not,’ she added with a smile, ‘it’s easy to feel like the world is swallowing you whole, that you don’t know how you will ever manage, and you very quickly realise what a big job you have in front of you. It’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed. But I know you, sweetheart, and I know that you probably feel that way today, when the world seems to be falling apart. But it’s not, and it never will, just so long as you have hope.’
58
Greg hustled across town on the bike, trying to make it through the heavy traffic that littered the Manhattan streets.
Doing his best to navigate the messy, slushy street without slipping and crashing off, he made it to the gallery about fifteen minutes later.
Only to realise that it was closed.
‘Damn,’ he spat, as he peered inside the gallery. It was dark, except for a small light coming from somewhere in the back.
Taking a chance, Greg got off the bike and knocked on the window, just in case Gennaro was inside.
Getting no response, he tried just a little bit harder and gave several more loud raps – still nothing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the numbers, finally coming to Gennaro’s. Pressing call, he waited to be connected.
Only to be sent directly to voicemail.
Now what? he wondered to himself.
Then, to his surprise, the front door of the gallery swung open and he felt himself jump. Turning to his left he expected to see his friend, but it wasn’t Gennaro. It was a slight woman with long black hair and almond-shaped eyes. She was dressed in black from head to toe. Gennaro’s assistant, Sofia. Greg recognised her immediately.
‘Can I help you?’ she asked with an impatient edge in her voice. ‘The gallery is closed.’
‘Sofia, isn’t it? Hi. I’m Greg Matthews. Gennaro has exhibited some of my work in the past and—’
‘Gennaro’s not here,’ she interjected quickly.
‘Right, I gather that, I just tried his number and—’
‘He flew to Barbados. On the twenty-fourth. With somewoman.’
Clearly, Sofia was not impressed with this getaway. Greg briefly wondered if Barbados had been promised to her, only for Gennaro to change his mind and bring someone else. His friend’s taste in women seemed to morph on a daily basis, and he wondered just how many different females he had in reserve at any given point in time.
‘I spoke with him the other day and he didn’t mention anything about that.’
Sofia snorted. ‘Out of the blue he tells me he needs me to take care of the place for a few days. So here I am, while he is on some beach with some bimbo.’
Greg wondered just how involved Gennaro had been with Sofia. Clearly, she was miffed about much more than having to work.
‘So,’ he continued gently, trying to change the subject, ‘I’m actually here because of something that Gennaro said the other day—’
Sofia cut him off quickly. ‘He hasn’t spoken to me about commissioning any new artwork, so I can’t help you until he gets back.’
‘Actually, it’s about something different.’ Greg went on to explain the situation he was in, and the comment that Gennaro had made about the woman coming to the gallery to identify the owner of a lost bracelet. ‘Did Gennaro happen to mention anything to you about it before he left? Anything about a bracelet?’
‘He didn’t say a word about any such thing. But apparently I am in the dark about a lot of matters these days, so no surprise there,’ she said, huffily crossing her arms across her chest.
Greg sighed, wondering if this was the end of the road for him. At least until Gennaro got back from his break, and he could talk to his friend directly.
Then he considered another angle. Maybe Gennaro hadn’t mentioned the bracelet, but maybe he had mentioned something else that could well be related. He’d got the impression that Gennaro had agreed to help the woman in some way and, knowing his friend, he was likely to have pawned off such a task.
‘Is there anything else?’ Sofia asked curtly, clearly anxious to go back inside and out of the cold.
‘Just one more thing. Maybe Gennaro didn’t mention the bracelet specifically. But would he have asked you to do anything out of the ordinary over the last few days?’ Sofia looked at him and her eyes narrowed. Greg quickly clarified his request. He was sure Gennaro had many unusual requests outside of work (and most likely inside the bedroom). ‘Anything that wasn’t business-as-usual? Like additional administration perhaps?’
