“Come on, it’s over here,” he says.
“What is?”
We walk around the outline of the court to a paint chipped wall. He throws our backpacks to the side, as we stand there, staring up at it.
“That. That is your canvas.”
“What?” I don’t understand what he means.
“Well, you said you wanted to create something beautiful. With colors. Well, you’ve got everything you need. You’re literally holding the colors in your hand. And that is your canvas.”
I stare up at the colossus of the blank wall in front of me. It seems like an impossible task. I look down at the giant stack of paint swatches clutched tight in my two fists.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soft.
“I… I don’t know what to do,” my voice trembles as I reply. I hold my two hands out in surrender. To him. To the task.
He comes up behind me, covering my eyes with his hand again. I shiver at the feel of his hand brushing against my skin, even though the sun is beating down against the side of my face.
“Stop thinking. I can already tell, that’s your downfall. Just close your eyes. Remember… remember all those colors you pulled from the wall of paint swatches?”
I don’t know how to say that I remember each and every one without sounding like a freak. So I just nod.
“Is there one that stands out to you?”
As soon as he says it, it flashes in my mind. And he knows.
He pulls his hand away.
“Start with that one.”
He pulls a paper bag out of his back pocket and hands it to me. It’s a pair of scissors and a glue gun. He must’ve gotten them when he ran back inside the store.
“You’ve got everything you need. Go. Create.”
He steps away and I panic, asking, “Wait, are you leaving?”
He chuckles, “No, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be right over there.” He points to a spot in the shade on the far side of the wall.
I nod, comforted and then stare down at the colors in my hand. This is crazy. I started this morning, thinking I’d be handing in an assignment and eating orange jello in the cafeteria and now I’m here with… wait.
“Hey,” I call out to him.
He lifts his head from the notebook and, pen in his hand, shielding his eyes as he looks up at me, asks “Yeah?”
“I just realized; I don’t know your name.”
He grins before answering, “I’m Xavier.”
“Nice to meet you, Xavier. My name is Malynda.”
Her
Present Day
“‘Xavier? I’d like you to meet Isabella.” Jade turns to me and gestures to the man in front of me, who is so handsome, I turn giddy from breathlessness. But it’s not his angled jaw that has me dizzy. It’s his eyes. Those shocking green eyes. Eyes I haven’t seen in twelve years.
He reaches his hand out to me, his face unreadable.
“‘Isabella,’ was it? I’m Xavier. Nice to meet you.”
“Ahem, yes. Y-you, too.” I manage to get out, taking his hand. I’m not sure what I expect when our fingers touch, but it’s just like any other handshake, and I wonder how that can be.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’m actually really glad Xavier won the auction. He really could use help with the barren space he calls his apartment.” With that, Jade rushes off before I can beg her to stay.
I’m not sure how long we stand there gaping at each other. Ten seconds, ten years. Time whizzes by, backward or forward, I can’t tell.
“Is it really you?” he finally says, his hand still grasping my hand, and his eyes searching for something in mine. Those emerald eyes. How could I have forgotten those eyes?
“W-what do you mean?” I say, the lightness of my own voice surprising me.
“Malynda…” He says, and it’s like I haven’t spent the last twelve years trying to forget the name. Something in the way it pricks at my brain makes me remember who I am today.
“No. I’m not Malynda. Anymore.”
“You are. Your name is Malynda!” he says, a little more forcefully, his forehead furrowing, deep, intense frustration plastering all over his face. I pull my hand out of his, taking a step back.
“My name is Isabella,” I say as firmly as I can.
“Not to me, it isn’t!” There’s a huskiness in his voice that wasn’t there twelve years ago. And it’s only one of the many changes in him that I’m forcing myself to ignore. He leans in, his lips inches from my ear and I can smell the Scotch on his breath, the cinnamon in his aftershave. “My god, where have you been?”
I can feel my head shake left to right. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was never supposed to happen. “I can’t do this, Xavier.” I take another step back but he just follows.
“You can’t do this? What about… hey, don’t walk away from me. Don’t you dare.”
I can’t stand the confusion filling up his eyes and I turn to run. “Xavier, please. I can’t…”
“Isabella!” The sound of a man’s voice cuts through the tension sphere enveloping us and we spring apart, as if shot through a time portal. “There you are, darling. I was looking all over for you. Jade pointed me over here.”
“Oh, wonderful.” I can barely speak. I take the glass he hands me and take a sip, hoping he will think the flush on my cheeks is because of the champagne.
“Hello, I’m Cameron,” my partner says to Xavier, offering his hand.
“I’m… um… I’m…” Xavier sounds just as flustered as I do. I can’t blame him.
“Oh, yes, you’re the guy who bid on Isabella’s services here. Thanks for doing that by the way, created some buzz. That won’t hurt our budding business, will it?” Cameron winks at me.
I just nod, recovering my breath.
“Well, um, I heard she’s the best,” Xavier says.
“That she is. She’s made our place pretty much the envy of everyone.”
I feel Xavier’s eyes still on me, and I can’t focus on anything else.