Chasing Clouds

by Annabelle Knight

  The auction came to a close just thirty minutes later with absolutely every single piece being sold. The auctioneer brought the hammer down on the last item and thanked them all for attending. Elodie nudged Carla and gestured towards the painting behind the curtain; no one had made any mention of it at all.

  “Maybe it’s already been sold?” Carla murmured.

  Elodie shook her head: if it had already been sold, then why was it still behind its curtain? Why had no one mentioned it and why didn’t it have a tell- tale red dot next to it?

  “That concludes this evening’s proceedings,” the auctioneer said, “but before I let you all leave, may I welcome Mr Alex Walker to the stage, without whom none of this would be possible?”

  Elodie, who had already begun for the door, stopped in her tracks, unaware but pleasantly surprised to find Mr Walker on stage with a smile on his face and a little note card in his hands. He cleared his throat twice and waited for the applause to die down.

  “Well, this evening has been one of the best so far and I’d like to thank each and every one of you for turning up. Without your support, none of this would be possible, and so many good causes would go without.” He paused briefly to glance at the card. “Now, this is a first for the annual gala, but I felt it only right to honour some lesser- known, but equally talented, artists. Success is a funny thing: we chase it for so long and when it arrives it’s never what we thought. Attainment isn’t absolute; neither is failure. They are not at polar ends of the scale, but merely a sidestep from one another with nothing but courage, conviction and confidence connecting them. The winner of the first- ever ‘New Talent’ award has all three in spades. I’ve known him for years, but we’d never truly met until an envelope was left for me, containing a single image and a note, which I will read an excerpt from now.

  “‘I hope you can feel my passion and dedication through the picture I enclose. It cost me a lot and is what I consider to be the greatest example of who I am as an artist and what I have to offer.’

  “Now it just so happens that I could feel his passion and dedication. Not only that but I could see his talent and after spending just one evening with this person I knew, almost at once, that he was passionate and committed to his craft, and to making a success of himself. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Mr Bernard Nash, Alpha Whiskey’s first winner of the New Talent Award with his debut piece, ‘Hidden Delights’.”

  The group burst into tumultuous applause as the heavy- looking ropes were pulled and the red velvet drapes were opened. Elodie was struck dumb: the photograph displayed was indeed beautiful, but it was not that which occupied her thoughts. It was the man stepping up, the man shaking hands with Mr Walker, the man accepting the ornately carved award, the man she knew to be Aaron.

  The next few minutes passed in an instant, she felt Carla’s hand clasp around her arm and she allowed herself to be pulled away, but not before stealing one last look at Aaron. He was surrounded by society’s finest, all of them clad in expensive clothes and huge smiles. She wondered exactly how many of them would have given him the time of day a few weeks ago, when overalls and a greying cap had replaced his smart tuxedo and instead of an award he held a mop and bucket. Elodie could not make out for the life of her how this had come to be. The sights and sounds of the gala melted into one and seemed to move past her like ribbons of colour all tangling together. They emerged into the main hall, the commotion of the auction behind them. Elodie felt herself breathe for the first time since Aaron’s, no Bernard’s, name had been called.

  “What the hell…?” Carla started but trailed off when she saw Elodie’s face.

  “I’m so confused. His name’s Aaron, he’s a cleaner, for Christ’s sake,” Elodie said, snatching up a glass of Champagne and downing half the contents in one go.

  “He’s also a photographer,” Carla surmised.

  “Yeh and a bloody good one, too. Did you see the picture?” Elodie asked. Carla nodded her reply.

  “You should go and talk to him,” Carla said. “Go and clear the air, congratulate him or something.”

  Elodie stood there and stared into the contents of her glass, as if the answer was somehow swirling about in there. Slowly, and with a dogged look of determination, she nodded.

  “Take this,” she said, handing Carla the glass. “I’m going to go and talk to him.”

  Carla gave her a little squeeze and wished her luck. Elodie retraced her steps back into the auction room and made her way towards the back where she knew Aaron would be, still surrounded by his new friends

  Chapter 20

  Aaron was deep in conversation with a petite, elfin woman when Elodie spotted him. Her auburn hair had been twisted into an elegant chignon, which had been accessorised with crystals that glinted handsomely in the warmly- lit room. Aaron’s gaze was not fixed on his companion; instead, his eyes seemed to wander from one side of the room to the other, as though he were watching a very slow pendulum. Elodie thought that maybe he was taking in the beauty of the artwork but knew deep down that those nomadic eyes meant only one thing: he was bored.

  “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I have a word?” Elodie managed, her voice quivering slightly as the petite woman cast her a scowl.

  “Actually, we were just in the middle of something,” the minute woman began but trailed off when she saw Aaron’s expression change.

  “Elodie,” Aaron managed. Elodie noticed with a small wave of delight that he didn’t recoil in horror at the sight of her. “I wondered if we’d bump into one another.”

  “You knew I was here?” Elodie asked dumbly.

  Aaron nodded and produced his phone. After a couple of seconds, he held it out and on the screen for all to see was the photo Carla had taken of them earlier, shared on her social media.

  “She followed me a few months ago, I followed back because she’s a model and, you know, always helps to know people in the business. I don’t go on very often but this evening I did and there you were. I almost thought about not coming, about skipping the whole thing. I’ve been so nervous for days now and this seemed like some kind of sign, but I had to come. For my career and the future. I’ve already spoken to people I had never even dreamt of meeting, I’ve even been given a commission…” he trailed off, blushing slightly.

  “I don’t get it, though. How did Mr Walker know? Was there a competition or something?”

  “That day you caught me going through that envelope addressed to him. It wasn’t a letter, it was a print of that.” He nodded towards the image of ‘Hidden Delights’. “I was actually having second thoughts. I’d sneaked back on to recover it, give it up as a bad job and just stick to what I’m good at, but then you appeared.”

  “God, I took it and handed it in to be delivered. I’m sorry, I thought one of the passengers left it…”

  Aaron waved her apology away.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. If you hadn’t been so pig- headed, so utterly infuriating, all this would have never happened.”

  “So, he saw the picture and then what?” Elodie asked.

  “He wanted to help; he really is a good guy, you know.”

  Elodie nodded; she did know. After all, without his generosity she wouldn’t be there, Carla wouldn’t be there and probably, maybe more importantly, Gareth wouldn’t be there either.

  “He wanted to create an opportunity where I could build myself up and he’d had an idea about some sort of award a while ago, so it was perfect really. Next year it’ll be a competition where young photographers can submit their work. One piece will be chosen and put to auction, and the person behind it gets to network at the event and keeps fifty per cent of the sale value,” Aaron explained.

  Elodie couldn’t help but feel a connection to Aaron; his passion was really attractive and it didn’t hurt that in his tuxedo he looked every inch the A- liste
r. Elodie realised that she hadn’t spoken for several moments and instead had been staring at Aaron, lost in her own thoughts.

  “So you’re here with Chase?” Aaron asked, his voice steady despite the look of disdain on his face,

  “No, absolutely not.” Elodie shook her head violently. “I’m here with my friend. There were meant to be three of us but I ended up giving a ticket to Gareth. He’s always wanted to go and…”

  “That was really kind of you,” Aaron interrupted, smiling at her.

  Elodie had neither the heart nor the inclination to correct him. For some reason she wanted Aaron to see her in the best light possible. The two of them chatted somewhat awkwardly for a few moments. Elodie glanced around and saw that Carla was animatedly talking to an extremely tall, extremely broad man. He was a good foot and a half taller than her and was practically bending double, presumably to hear her over all clamour of the guests, who as the evening wore on were leaving their airs and graces behind and embracing an entirely more raucous approach to proceedings.

  “So Bernard Nash, eh? I thought you were Aaron Bernard?” Elodie asked, twisting a loose strand of hair around her fingertips.

  “Bernard’s my middle name. Nash is my surname,” he answered, somewhat bewildered. “How did you know that?”

  Elodie could only respond by blushing: she knew that because she had, once upon a time, done a little bit of digging. What was it Carla had said, ‘social stalking’ or something? Well, whatever it was, she had done it, and now she had been caught out.

  “Just, when we first, you know, met….”

  “It’s fine, relax. Everyone does it. You really think I didn’t look you up?”

  Elodie breathed a sigh of relief, and found herself wondering just what it was that Aaron had seen of her.

  “Look, Aaron, there’s something I need to say. I, well I wanted to apologise. For how I acted, for the things I said; well, for being me, really. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe that’s just it, I wasn’t thinking at all. I got caught up in everything, Chase made me think that you were something you’re not and I believed him. I’m sorry for that, and for generally being a complete bitch to you. You were nothing but nice to me and I just let myself get carried away,” Elodie said, staring at the floor; she couldn’t bring herself to look Aaron in the eye. Apologising wasn’t something she was used to: Elodie’s policy in life had always been to try not to do anything that you’d later need to apologise for and up until recently she’d been pretty good at it. “If we could just go back to being friends I’d really like that.”

  Elodie held her breath. She felt the air stagnate in her chest but held it there anyway, as if somehow Aaron’s words would be less damaging this way.

  “Elodie, I’m sorry, that’s just not going to work for me.”

  Aaron shook his head. Elodie looked up and saw that he had fixed her with a look that she couldn’t quite place. She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and smoothed down the front of her dress.

  “Oh OK, I just thought…”

  “That’s not going to work for me because, honestly, I want more than that, a lot more than that. I think I’m ready for you, for us. I’m not one for denying myself, especially when it feels so right. I know it was a rocky start and I know that you were hurting from your ex. I don’t blame you for any of it. I don’t entirely understand it, but I don’t need to. The short amount of time I spent with you was enough for me to know that I really like you. You’re sweet and charming and your laugh makes me laugh.” He paused and took a step closer to her. Elodie’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had been expecting but this certainly wasn’t it.

  “Aaron, what are you saying?” she asked, her voice small.

  “Let’s try again, start afresh, however you want to put it. Look, this might be a crazy idea, but you’ve always wanted to travel, right?” Elodie nodded. “And let’s face it, your job’s great but it’s not the freedom you wanted, is it?” Elodie nodded, again without any idea where he was going with this. “Well, with the award comes a bit of money, to start me off. I’m going to Australia next week and,” he paused and swallowed audibly, “I think you should come with me. We don’t have to label this and you can do what you want but think about it. You and me, a million miles away, with so much to explore.”

  Elodie stared at him, wondering if she had heard him right. She must have misunderstood; there was no way on earth that he’d just proposed their second date as a trip halfway around the world.

  “Come again?” she said, cocking her head to one side and fixing Aaron with the kind of look usually reserved for a particularly hard Maths equation.

  “I,” Aaron said, pointing at himself, “want you,” he pointed at Elodie, “to fly,” he outstretched his arms, “to Australia with me.” He pointed back to himself. “So what do you say?”

  Elodie blinked twice in quick succession, unable to process this information with the necessary speed that the situation required.

  “But,” she began, hoping that something sensible would come from her mouth, “I… I mean, Aaron, that’s crazy… totally nuts. I can’t just drop everything and jump on a plane with you. We hardly know each other.”

  “I know enough, and sure you can. Take a sabbatical or jump ship, I dunno, but what I do know is that life’s too short, I’ve been wasting my days cleaning up other people’s mess instead of chasing my dream. It was you, your story of jacking it all in and going after something you really wanted that got me thinking. Without you I’d still be there, unhappy and unfulfilled.” He looked at Elodie and in his eyes she saw desperation and a pleading look that married hope and desire. “Look, the way I see it is that in the grand scheme of things our life is just one day. We’re all born with the sunrise and we die with the sunset and every second is precious, each and every one of them. Each minute and hour between is ours for the taking, ours to make memories, to love, to live and to be happy. I feel taken over by you, Elodie. The more I see you, even just brief glimpses of you have invaded me. The fleeting moments we share aren’t enough; I want you to be happy and I think I can make that happen.”

  There was a moment between them, where time ceased to move forward, where it seemed as though all sound had quieted and, as it had been in that hidden park the night they had kissed, there was only the two of them. Elodie looked at Aaron and saw something deeper there than she’d ever seen before; his blue eyes bore into her and she found herself unable to tear herself away from his gaze. Aaron took a step closer to Elodie; there was nothing between them now. His body pressed against hers and she felt his hands tentatively snake around her lower back, he pulled her into him and she found herself completely willing to be led. Her heartbeat quickened and she was sure that Aaron would be able to feel the thud in her chest beating against his.

  “Aaron, I don’t know what to say…” Elodie managed in a whisper.

  “Say yes,” Aaron said as he leant in closer still. Elodie closed her eyes and in that instant felt an alignment. Things seemed to be in place now, as though she had known the answer all along, she just hadn’t understood the question. Aaron’s lips softly brushed hers and although it was the faintest touch it provoked the strongest of reactions. Elodie felt as though she were spiralling towards utter bliss. Her lips parted as he pressed against hers, more firmly this time and their breath became one. His mouth was so warm and his lips so soft that Elodie felt sure she could sleep on them. She felt his hand trail up her back and as his fingertips grazed her bare skin Elodie sensed that this could be the start of something wonderful.

  “So what do you say?” Aaron said as they broke apart. He smiled wanly, clearly hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

  “I don’t know,” she said truthfully. Elodie’s head was spinning. This was the type of offer that happened in the movies that Carla loved, the type of offer that followed a torri
d love affair embarked upon by two Hollywood A- listers. Not something that happened after one date, a couple of arguments and a whole host of ill- feeling. But had it been ill- feeling? Elodie thought. Perhaps not; maybe all of her anger and frustration hadn’t been because of Aaron. She thought that maybe she had misdirected her annoyance. Suddenly images of both Tom and Chase entered her mind and an uneasy feeling began to settle over her. Maybe all of it had been a sort of rebound; maybe she hadn’t given herself time to heal and as a result had totally lost it at the very hint of things going wrong; after all, it had taken one stupid picture, one word from Chase and one knee- jerk reaction to ruin things between her and Aaron.

  ‘How could I have been so foolish?’ Elodie thought to herself, realising that a lot of heartache could have been avoided if she’d only given herself some time. She looked at Aaron and despite her desire to say yes found herself incapable of doing so.

  “OK, well I want you to come with me. You want to see the world and I want to capture it: what could be more perfect than that?” Aaron said, simultaneously touching her shoulder and breaking her reverie.

  “I don’t know what to say…” Elodie began.

  “Okay, don’t say anything,” Aaron said, cutting across her. He reached into his breast pocket and retrieved a slim envelope. “Here’s your ticket, take it. I’m flying out in a few days but I thought that might be too soon for you, your flight leaves a couple of days later. I’ll be on the other side waiting, or not… Whatever you decide.”

  He leaned towards her once more and, bending down, gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. They broke apart and Elodie felt an overwhelming urge to kiss him again, she could sense their meeting drawing to a close and now wanted more than anything to prolong it for as long as possible. She opened her mouth to say something, anything that might make him stay just a little bit longer, but felt she was at a loss for words.

  Aaron gave her wrist a gentle squeeze and looked at her. “I really hope you come,” he said before calling over a nearby waiter. “I think a top- up for the lady might be in order,” he said.