Until we meet again...

Chapter 11

“Oh, I see…” And before he completed his sentence, she added, “I had to struggle in my life, in order to show people what I am capable of. I grew up in a very methodical family. My dad was a control freak, he always used to measure everything. He had drawn for us a path to follow that he saw perfect. He wanted me to study law. He always used to tell us what to do rather than what we wanted to do. I can say it was the fatherly thing to do; every father wants to see his children succeed. But maybe he didn't take in consideration what we wanted, what we loved, our passions, our ambitions, and our expectations in life. So, he made me choose between the life he’s prepared for me where I can have all his help and support, and the life I’ve chosen for myself far from what he wanted. And I chose mine, so I left to reach my own goals and to make my dreams come true.”

“Ah, do you have any siblings?” He asked.

“Yes, I have one sister. She’s two years older than me. She’s perfect, I mean she’s the model of a perfect daughter. Unlike me, she accepted my dad’s concept of life. She followed the way he had put her on. And now, she’s a successful architect. As he always wanted her to be” She answered.

“Well, I think you have reached your goals, haven’t you? I mean you father should’ve seen you today. Everybody liked your work, I’m sure he would have been proud of you.” He said, as they were still walking.

“Yeah, I wish he lived to see…” She released a heavy sigh, then added, “He passed away two years ago because of cancer…I wasn’t there when he died. My mother said that the last thing he said before he took his final breath was my name.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He said, as he put his hand on her arm.

“It’s okay, we can’t run away from our memories. You know, sometimes I wonder if I should regret the time I spent away from him. Maybe, if I didn’t leave, if I was there for him, things would’ve been different. But what’s the use now, he has gone, and there is nothing that could change this fact.” She smiled, trying to hold her tears.

“Yeah, sometimes, life drives us in ways we don’t know where they lead. It makes us choose, and for some reason, we have to be responsible for our choices, and we should never regret. Because regret will always prevent us from living the moment, and enjoying it.” He said back.

“You’re right. You’re totally right.” She gazed at him, giving him an I-will-be-strong kind of smile, then said, “Okay, now let’s go back to our game. I guess it’s my turn, right?” He smiled without saying a word, then she added, “Yeah, well, I want you to tell me, honestly, what was the first impression you had on me.”

“Ah, well, to be honest, I thought you were crazy…In a good way.” He said, as he narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, really! I know, actually I like to be crazy, it’s fun… I thought you were going to say something worse.” She replied, always smiling.

“Worse? Like what?”

“Like a total freak, a complete idiot…things like that.” She answered immediately.

“Oh, no. Actually, I thought you are a spontaneous person, who isn’t afraid to be herself. She likes to enjoy life as it comes, and on her own terms, and she is strong enough to handle it herself. But as I see, she also needs to raise her self-esteem.” He put on a witty smile.

“Oh, really, thank you then.” She was blushing.

“No need to thank me.” He said back.

“And here we are. Thanks for walking me by. It was really nice talking to you.” She said, as they arrived to the place where she was staying.

“The pleasure was all mine.” He smiled, looking at her eyes, before he added, “So, I guess I’ll see you soon?”

“I would love to.” She couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Tomorrow maybe? I’m sure there’re a lot of things left to do in this city.” He said.

“Tomorrow then.” She said back, gazing at him.

He was standing so close to her, she thought he was going to kiss her. Actually, a kiss would’ve been the best thing to end that beautiful evening, but it looked like he was taking it slow. And he kissed her knuckles instead, in the most gentlemanly way.

“Good night, Miss Clark.” He said, gallantly.

“Good night.” She replied, then walked in as he went on his way.

And like that, I think it was time to say that their story had started. And what could be a better place than Venice to start a love story!