I looked down. “We’re actually not together anymore.”
“Because of me and your mother?”
I shrugged. “It never would have worked anyway. He lives in Scotland. And family is more important. I need to take care of you.”
He squeezed my hand, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “As much as I like to think the reason for your depression these past few weeks is all due to almost losing your father, I know it has mostly to do with this man. Life is short, my dove. So very short. And if William really is the right man, then your mother and I will accept it.”
My eyes started to water. “Really?”
“Your mother might need a little more convincing. She’s been your matchmaker, but I promise to try, and so will she.”
I leaped into his arms and hugged him tight. The weight on my shoulders had lifted, and it felt like I could finally breathe. We spent the rest of the day looking at more of each other’s illustrations, and even Mom joined in to give her critiques. It had been so long since it felt like we were a family and not just going through the motions.It healed some part inside me, and I went to Aunt Lilit’s with a renewed sense of hope.
We ate dinner on the patio and shared a bottle of wine, rehashing the day’s events.
“I can’t believe you were able to convince Baba about William.”
Lilit waved her hand. “Your Baba needs a kick in the ass now and then. It’s my job as his big sister. Sometimes he forgets that. Now tell me, how are you going to get your man back?”
“I don’t know. I thought about Face Timing him tonight.”
Lilit rolled her eyes. “How romantic.”
I wanted to text William immediately, but I still felt shitty about the way I handled our breakup, and I wanted to apologize properly. It was hard conveying the depth of regret and begging for your boyfriend to take you back over the phone.
Lilit left the table to grab another bottle of wine when my cell pinged. It was an email from a Limitless Co. address.
Dear Nairie,
I’m Tanya Teramoto, the social media manager for Limitless Co. It’s my pleasure to congratulate you on winning the illustration contest for our mural in Venice Beach! The next few weeks are probably going to be really busy for you. You’ll meet with our creative team to talk about logistics for getting the mural up, do some interviews for our social channels, and of course, we’ll discuss your reward money. Let’s schedule some time to chat.
I was speechless. I double-checked to make sure the message came from a legitimate email, and everything seemed right. I actually won! My art was going to be displayed for thousands of people. I was going to get some cash and do another commission for their next store.
Once I calmed myself, I emailed back and luckily got an immediate response.
Nairie: Wow, thank you for picking me! I’m so excited for this opportunity. I’m available any time really. I’m fully dedicated to working with you guys.
Tanya: Fabulous. I’ll get something scheduled on the calendar soon. Did you have an idea of where you wanted to go for your free trip? It’ll be easier to get that out of the way now before we dive into everything else. It has to be in one of the cities listed on the submission page.
I pulled up the page and started looking through the list.
Queenstown, New Zealand
Santiago, Chile
New York City, New York
Maui, Hawaii
Cape Town, South Africa
London, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
I caught my breath and stared at the last one.
Aunt Lilit was puttering around inside as she called out to me, “Nairie, come help an old woman get ready for her booty call.”
