Luca would like to think that as an artist, he could read a person's emotion just from their face. It made drawing easier when he understood his subject. As such, when Claire entered his premise that autumn afternoon, he immediately noticed the soft smile etched on her face.
It was not just the smile; there was a skip in her step and she was humming some weird tune while walking around in a brown off-shoulder cable-knitted dress. The loose dress had only covered a few inches of her upper thigh as Luca had requested she removed her leggings. The fiery emotion in her jade green eyes was amusing as she protested about her modesty. Until he reminded her that she needed to look at home for their second drawing. The hemline tugging had lessened over time and Luca decided it would not be wise to tell her he could see her white panties from where he was sitting.
"You look different today."
She hopped off the Juliet balcony she had been sitting on.
"Different? Like how?"
Leaning back on his chair, Luca stretched his arm and propped them behind his head while admiring her profile critically. They had not met since parting after the beach. Luca, too caught up with his lecturing position at the local university, was only reminded by their agreement when Rafael requested a formal meeting to discuss the progress of the project. After all, he needed to know his funds were being put to good use.
"Besides gaining some considerable weight, it looks like someone gave you LSD too."
Claire stopped pacing and turned to give him an unamused smile before making her way towards the coffee table, which was laid out with various drawing medium.
"Someone once told me, behind every smile, there is a story."
"That's an optimistic one."
"So, who's the lucky man?" He hazarded a guess. She looked up with an exasperated expression.
"Why is everyone asking me that lately? Can't I be happy without a reason?"
As if realising who she was talking to, Claire exhaled and fiddled with the jar of brushes. She took one brush after another and examined the engraved writing on them before placing them back into the jar. Luca kept his silence throughout the antic.
"It's nothing really."
She said after some time and looked up. Luca realised she was just reassuring him and nodded. Bending slightly, she started to peruse the crayons in their aluminium casings, turning them one after another.
After a while, she stopped and grabbed a particular stick. Bringing it closer, she examined the red crayon with torn band in the middle closely, "Hey, what's this shade of red?"
From afar, Luca easily recognised it as crimson red, but not before something else caught his attention.
"Don't move."
If she was puzzled by the request, she did not show it.
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A few weeks later, Rafael had visited on the agreed date and brought along a bottle of Pinot Noir to go with the ramen takeout from his favourite Chinese restaurant. Luca was not impressed with dinner but silently consumed the MSG laden broth.
"I'll need a report by the beginning of next week before I can approve the next set of instalments," Rafael said importantly and placed his chopsticks down before taking another sip of his glass of Pinot Noir. Luca nodded mutely and added a new entry to his calendar with a felt-tip pen. They both knew it was best to deal with the bureaucracy before the wine got to them.
"Right," Rafael clapped his thighs and loosened his tie before standing up, "Now, show me the paintings."
Luca wordlessly stood up and led him to the other end of the room where his day bed was. His wine glass still in one hand, he pulled off the white draping covering the two paintings with his free hand and dropped the thick fabric onto the floor. The blonde-haired man made appreciative comments for the beach portrait but when he reached the latest instalment, he was peering curiously at it.
"So, what is this one supposed to mean? Art and curiosity?"
The sudden return of her smile and innocent curiosity drew Luca to paint her in earthy brown tones to create an overall sepia effect. Using a blend of old memories to create new memories, he had explained to Claire that evening. She had looked at him quietly after that but soon nodded in what Luca had come to recognise as a polite gesture.
Rafael was now leaning dangerously close to examine her facial expression. Then as if he had confirmed something, he slid down to lean against the foot of the bed and gulped his wine down.
"Hey, she will be fine, right? After Chad, I… We've tried so hard. Kristine reckoned she would never get over that bastard."
Luca dropped to the floor next to him and swirled his wine glass.
"Her happiness is not you or Kristine's responsibility."
Rafael looked wrong-footed, "What do you mean?"
"She's trying her best. The two of you are just exerting pressure on something that she is working towards."
"If you're her friend," he stopped to finish his wine and set the empty glass beside him. Rafael's gaze was following his every move and Luca felt the weight in his next words under his blue eyes.
"Just be there for her when she needs you."
