“Wow! Amazing story.”
“It’s a true story. It’s the story of my life and it’s the first time I’ve told it to anyone.”
“And all these years?” Lily asks.
“All these years, what?”
“Didn’t you try to win her back?’
“No. I wasn’t good enough for her. She lives with Tomas from what I’ve heard. They have three children and still live together happily. I prefer to see her smiling in the arms of another man than unhappy in mine.”
“Oh, dad, you really loved her,” my adorable daughter says, who I had adopted when she was a year old in Rome. I adored her from the moment I saw her.
“Yes, I loved her and I still love her. My feelings for her can’t be erased so easily.”
“Still? After all these years?”
“I was 43 when I left Paris and now I’m 65. I saw her for the first time in Venice when I was nearly 30 years old and since then I think about her every day,” I say with a sad expression.
“So, you narrated your story from the past to the present until today,” my young daughter asks.
“Precisely, sweetheart. I first met Eve in Venice where she came to my house. Then she left with her aunt for Paris and after many years I accidently bumped into her in the street and I recognized her immediately. Her smile, her eyes, everything remained the same through time … when I saw her cross the road and I walked by her, I was stunned! She didn’t remember me of course,” I say with tears in my eyes.
“So, you first met in Venice and then after years you accidently saw her but she didn’t recognize you?”
“Yes! She didn’t remember me once in France, even though we had gone through incredible moments together. We were in love and happy but she didn’t remember me.”
“It’s too bad… I’m so sorry.”
“Indeed. Do you know how it feels when the person you adore and adores you doesn’t recognize you… it’s an awful feeling.”
“And the painting? The portrait? The man who brought it?” Lily questions.
“It might seem strange to you but Eve’s image was a figment of my imagination!”
“But dad, you said that you still have the painting down in the basement. So it exists!”
“Who said that it doesn’t exist?”
“So, how is it possible?”
“The painting exists and I have it because I painted it, sweetie,” I say, surprising her.
“How is it possible?” she asks herself.
“This particular painting didn’t come into my possession through a stranger but I painted every brushstroke…” I say, smiling.
“You painted Eve before you had even seen her?”
“Sort of… I began painting her, putting a piece of my soul in the portrait. I brought it to life and as soon as I laid eyes on her, I lost my mind due to the resemblance the painting and my beloved one had for each other.”
“And the stranger?”
“He was an invention of my own! I wanted an anchor. A psychological support to keep me alive. The painting I was given by the strange man portrayed a different image. A different face and in my melancholy I fabricated it in my mind. I gave life to a non-existent person.”
“That’s remarkable!”
“Not remarkable. That’s destiny…” I say, looking into her eyes.
“Dad, why didn’t you speak to her when you saw her in Paris? Why didn’t you try to make her remember you? You were together for a year and you acted like nothing had happened?”
“I didn’t want to press her. That’s why I broke up with her after all.”
“Right! You loved her and that’s why you broke up with her…”
“It’s crazy but it’s true. Besides, she didn’t remember me. Since she couldn’t remember our beautiful times together, there was no point for her to be with someone who was much older than her and who couldn’t give her children and happiness. So I decided that it would be better to see her happy with her own family, like she always wanted, than with me and unhappy.”
“Since then haven’t you been to Paris to look for her, to find her?”
“After twenty-two years?”
“Yes, why?”
“I would only cause problems, sweetheart.”
“What can I say dad. You must have had a hard time all these years.”
“It’d be better if you never experience it. It was awful and I had isolated myself. I couldn’t find comfort after our break up and I desperately wanted to love! To give as much kindness as I had inside me. I was filled with strong and pure love and only when I saw your eyes for the first time, I wept and decided to become your father.”
Lily comes close to me and gives me a tight hug.
“You are the best dad in the whole world,” she says, kissing me on the cheek.
“I don’t know if I am but I have tried a lot. You should know that you were very naughty when you were young.”
“Yes, I know,” she smiles.
“Go on then. Your mother is waiting for you outside. And let the story I told you stay between us, right?”
My twenty-year old daughter winks at me, gives me a wonderful smile and leaves the house and gives me one more kiss on the cheek.
She is going to go to her mother, Cecilia. I married this wonderful woman ten years ago in a civil ceremony. She is very pleasant and cheerful. I had told her that I had adopted a little girl and she accepted her with love. She already had two children from her previous marriage and didn’t mind.
We have been living in Venice for the last ten years very happy and devoted. I believe that we gave everything to Lily and I hope we have been good parents.
Unfortunately, Cecilia and I recently made a decision to separate. For two months now we’ve been living apart although we still have a great relationship. We see each other almost every day and talk like friends.
Every day that passed since I’d met my young Eve, I’ve been writing in a diary and I’ve been noting down all the carnivals in Venice.
Since I’ve returned to Venice from Paris, I haven’t gone to any of the carnivals. They remind me of the love of my life and it is too emotional.
As I am sitting in my rocking chair, I fall asleep with a huge smile painted on my face as I have brought back into my memory the story about Eve…
Another six months pass. One day I hear my daughter shouting to me:
“Father, get up!”
“What is it Lily?” I ask from my sofa.
“Get ready, today we are going outside.”
“Sweetheart, you know very well that I can’t go to the carnival. There are too many people, it’s chaotic…” I say, hesitating.
“That’s an excuse!” she says with humour.
“What are you saying?”
“It’s Eve, right?”
“Pardon?” I act like I don’t understand.
“It’s about Eve, I’m saying.”
“Yes, it’s about that as well.”
“Not as well! It’s only about that. Come on, today you’ll make an exception for your favourite daughter. Please.”
“No, way, honey. If you want to go for a walk somewhere quiet, but not at the square and at the carnival.”
“We’ll go somewhere quiet. We’ll eat at a nice restaurant in St. Marc’s Square.”
“St. Marc’s Square? Are you crazy? There will be thousands of visitors there and besides everything will remind me of Eve and I don’t know how I’m going to react.”
“Come on dad! Do it for me. It’s been so many years, forget about her. I know how you felt and what you went through all this time but it’s over now. Turn a page in your life,” Lily says.
“It’s hard…it’s something else as well…” I hint.
“There’s more?”
“Of course and it’s very serious.”
“What is it dad, you are scaring me!”
“What business does an old man like me have at the carnival?’’ I ask, raising my eyebrows
.
“You are joking, right dad? You don’t even look sixty. So, get ready. For me… for your favourite daughter…please…” she says, blinking her eyes charmingly.
“Please, Lily.”
“Perfect! Be ready at eight,” she says and springs up from the chair, walking fast towards the front door.
“What do you mean perfect? Did I say that I’ll come?” I ask.
“Yes, yes… you said it!”
“When did I say it and I can’t remember?”
“You said it.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“Yes…you should have in mind one thing. Whenever you say ‘please’ and then stop talking, you always do what I want in the end,” she whispers and she shuts the door smiling.
“Come here! Lily! No, I can’t come!” I shout but she has already left.
I put my book on the coffee table and begin laughing on my own at my daughter’s reaction. That youthful way of thinking always intrigued me…
‘Okay. I’ll go!’ I murmur.
I go up the stairs and take a quick shower. I wear my finest clothes, gather all the positive energy that I possess and wait for the time to pass until my daughter and Cecilia come to pick me up.
I manage to look in a good mood and I stop thinking about Eve. Today, I am going to dinner with my daughter at the carnival and we are going to have fun, without feeling blue and without thinking about incidents that would ruin the night.
Time: 7:40…Someone is knocking on the door hard and rapid. It isn’t difficult to tell who it is because only Lily knocks this way.
“Hello?”
“Come on, we are waiting for you,” Lily shouts.
“Hello you two,” I say, while opening the door.
“Well, father, you look smashing! Handsome!” she says and kisses me on the cheeks.
“Good evening Jacques,” Cecilia whispers.
“Good evening. As you see, my daughter convinced me to do something I hadn’t done for many years.”
“Yes. I heard.”
“Shall we go then?” Lily asks and we start walking to the restaurant she had suggested.
I walk behind them, manoeuvring my way through the crowd. I observe all the people in the carnival. All these happy and blissful faces and I can’t resist my thoughts in the end. Eve’s image keeps popping in my mind. I am certain that I’ll see her appear in front of me!
As we are reaching the restaurant we confront a crowd that is dancing in an intense rhythm. The square is not crossable.
“I told you, Lily. It’s too crowded,” I shout.
“You are whining all the time. Come on…” she says, giving me a mask.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t you know what that is? It’s a mask. Put it on and have fun,” she says, giving a mask to Cecilia, who wears it and begins dancing in a slow rhythm. I wear my mask and follow them.
“Don’t lose each other!” I shout, trying to catch up with them. “Lily! Lily?” I scream but they can’t hear me in this commotion and noise. I can hardly see them as they vanish in front of me. They continue to disappear into the distance.
At that moment, my favourite melody is playing on the loud speakers. The most beautiful tango! Hearing it, takes me back years …
Still wearing the mask on my face, my eyes land on a couple that are already dancing in the middle of the square. A beautiful image.
The boy misses his step a little. Apparently tango isn’t what he’s best at. Suddenly, the girl’s eyes land on me. She makes me feel very nervous. She approaches me quickly and anxiously. My palms are sweating. I swallow and take a hesitant step backwards.
“Do you dance?” she asks, giving me her hand.
“Of course,” I reply, touching her velvet hand.
We start dancing to the rhythm of that song. We are totally synchronized.
Through my mask I see the girl’s bright blue eyes and I am stunned!
She is also startled and we mix up the rhythm and our steps until gradually we come to a standstill.
I observe her eyes in detail. They are ready to pop through her tiny mask. Her hand is uncontrollably clutching mine, making me nervous. It is chaotic all around us. We remain still. Like statues! One opposite the other, in the centre of the square. I reach out my hand and pull her mask off. Slowly, slowly… her face is revealed…
“Eve…?” I whisper.
“I remember you,” she answers.
“Eve, is that you?”
“Yes, Jacques,” she says with her dazzling smile ready to burst into tears.
“After all these years. We meet again, here,” I say, feeling my heart pounding like a drum.
“Yes, Jacques. After all these years. I started to remember you, occasionally, for some time now. My memory, though, came back after many years but I didn’t know where to find you. Every day that passed, I was thinking of you,” she murmurs and she can’t believe that she has met me again.
“Eve… I still love you,” I whisper in her ear and I immediately feel a sting in my chest.
“Jacques! Jacques?” she shouts.
I feel dizzy! I am lying on the floor in the middle of the square and everything is blurry. I can’t see clearly! What’s happening to me?
“I love you too, Jacques!” she shouts but I can’t do anything. I can hear her, I want to hug her, to kiss her but I can’t. I can’t get up! The pain in my chest is immense and I remain lying on the cobbles.
“Dad!” Lily’s voice is heard.
Many voices and a lot of noise! Many people on top of me, staring at me and talking to me. I don’t understand what is going on! I can feel my daughter’s tears dripping on my cold face, unable to react. Am I paralyzed? This can’t be happening!
After a few seconds I began to realize that my time was up.
“I’m going to die,” I murmur.
‘I’m going to die, but I don’t care. I’m smiling and I’m very happy. Both of my angels, my daughter and Eve, are here with me and they truly love me.’
Slowly, slowly the voices and crying begin to fade and a faint white fog covers everything and total silence overcomes me.
‘My young rebel…’ I whisper. My last words…
Ι open my eyes in a cold hospital room.
“Dad are you alright?” Lily asks.
“Where is she?” I ask back.
“Who?”
“Eve. She was there. I saw her and she spoke to me!”
“Shhh… calm down dad. Everything is going to be okay,” she reassures me.
“Didn’t she want to come and see me?” I ask and I notice that my daughter is starting to shed tears. She is trying to hide it.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“Dad, there was no Eve! She never existed. You were shouting for her!”
“What? But I saw her. We danced together! We danced wonderfully!”
“She doesn’t exist, dad. Forget about her! She is a figment of your imagination!”
“What are you saying, sweetheart?”
“I told you. You created a painting that would make you feel alive again! You put a piece of yourself in that portrait and gave it your soul! You were very disappointed and decided to invent Eve to cure yourself psychologically as your psychiatrist advised you to do!”
“That’s not true! Eve exists! She exists and I know it!” I say and I stand up from the bed.
“Jacques, Lily is right,” Cecilia says, who is standing in the corner of the room.
“I am not crazy!”
“Father, sit down on your bed and calm down! We nearly lost you last night. You had a serious heart attack,” my daughter says, holding my hand.
“I don’t care about that, only about my little one…”
“Stop it! It was all a fantasy! That portrait was killing you, day by day! Can’t you understand that? You were seeing in it a face that you thought existed and you were living every day with the illusion that a young girl loved you; a young girl,
who was giving you a reason to keep on living,” Cecilia shouts.
I sit comfortably on the bed thinking and gazing at the sky outside the window. A tear rolls slowly down my aging face.
I am paranoid! If everything they say is true, I’m mad and I need a psychiatrist and immediate therapy…
Ten days later, we return to my house in Venice.
The doctors have given me something to keep my heart going that is supposed to help me. Nonsense!
“Dad, are you alright?” my daughter asks me.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m great.”
“Would you mind if I went out for a quick coffee with a friend, I’ll be back soon.”
“Mind? What are you talking about, sweetheart? Go on and have fun.”
“Thank you!”
“And by the way…”
“What is it?”
“Give my regards to your boyfriend,” I hint.
“My boyfriend?”
“Yes… your boyfriend.”
She closes the door and approaches me.
“How did you know? I mean about the boyfriend?”
“You can tell…”
“How?”
“From your eyes and from your mobile that’s on fire from all the messages you’ve been receiving,” I say.
“Oh, dad, you are amazing!” she says and gives me a kiss on the cheek and leaves the house.
I stand up from my armchair to stretch out and I go to brew a cup of tea to pull myself together.
The door knocks. The bell starts ringing persistently.
“Now, I’m coming. Wait a minute,” I shout and hurry to open the door.
“Good morning!” an unknown woman says.
“Good morning! How can I help you?”
“Are you Mr. Ioannou? Jacques Ioannou?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
“I’m glad. I don’t want to trouble you.”
“I don’t understand. What do you want?”
“I’m Elizabeth, Eve’s friend.”
“Whose friend?” I ask in distress!
“Eve’s!”
“Eve who?” I ask, keeping in mind that the young girl might be pulling my leg.
“The Eve you once knew. Who you lived with, here, together. In this house. That’s what she told me anyway,” she says with a smile.
Did I Seduce You Mr Jacques Page 19