Stuck on You

by Patricia Mar

  “Daniel, go, your friends are calling you.”

  Yes, I’ll create an aura of mystery which makes me seem unattainable. I won’t tell him that I’m here for my Grandma’s birthday party!

  “Ok, sure. I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He sounded uncertain. He’d forget all about her once that conversation finished, quite obviously.

  “Great, it’s nice to speak to you,” she answered, perhaps a little too coolly.

  “Danieeeeeeeel!”

  That bloody voice!

  “Ok, see you soon.”

  “Yes, for the omelette.”

  “For the omelette, of course.”

  There was a short silence. “And have fun whatever it is you’re doing.”

  Was he intrigued? Surprised?

  “You too.”

  “Bye.”

  “See you soon.”

  Sara sat there for a few seconds staring at her phone and feeling light headed, then got up and opened the bathroom door, only to find herself in front of a giggling Virginia.

  “Have you been eavesdropping?” she asked, amazed at her sister’s audacity.

  “I knew you weren’t telling me it straight.” Virginia took Sara by the arm and walked her down the hall. “Now let’s try and work out how to sort out the mess in your head. We’ll take care of sorting out your life later.”

  *

  A faint drizzle fell on the glass of the veranda, accompanying the noisy thoughts which stirred deep within her. She had tried to hide them from others many times but suffered from them herself.

  Sara was curled up in a wicker chair with comfortable cushions, her knees pulled up to her chest. Why it was always so complicated?

  Only a few hours earlier she’d had another row with her mother. She was so sick of having to defend her own personality during all this constant bickering. She didn’t want to feel belittled, didn’t want to just sell herself off to the highest bidder. For Sara, feelings mattered. She was still young, what was the rush? There were plenty of young men who flirted with her and asked her out, but if they weren’t what Sara wanted, if they weren’t what she was looking for, she certainly didn’t intend to give in just because her mother kept telling her to enjoy life as though it was an erotic novel.

  Sure, having had a boyfriend whom she’d loved and who hadn’t thought twice about cheating on her hadn’t helped her to trust other men. There were little scars hidden somewhere inside her, but that wasn’t why she couldn’t accept the ‘sushi men’ – it was because she was searching for a meeting of minds, hearts, feelings and spirit. She was searching for love.

  “I can hear you thinking, you know.”

  Sara jumped.

  “Grandma, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I can be as stealthy as a cat when I want.”

  Glicine sat down in front of her.

  “Couldn’t you sleep?”

  “No, I was having a bit of a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon. That Picard is really dishy.”

  Despite everything, Sara smiled, happy to have the companionship of her grandmother. She at least had always understood her.

  “What’s the matter with you, my girl?” Glicine asked her, without beating about the bush. She looked tired but attentive.

  “Oh, I just wish Mum would stop treating me as though my way of seeing things is crazy. I wish she wasn’t always so laid back and was a bit more of a… well, a mother. It’s ridiculous, we’re like The Gilmore Girls. Only that’s a TV show, and this is real life – my life.”

  “Your mother’s always been a free spirit, and it wasn’t easy for me and your grandfather. Always chasing after her to stop her getting into trouble of one kind or another.”

  “She’s had two daughters but she still hasn’t worked out how to be a mother,” sighed Sara, bitterly.

  “Don’t let her upset you, I’ve always thought you were the more mature of the two of you. You love each other – you don’t necessarily have to get on.”

  Sara nodded.

  “Anyway, why don’t you tell me something about this young fellow that you like? I’ve heard rumours…”

  Sara felt she could be honest with her grandmother without hiding her real intentions the way she did with the others. “Oh, he’s self-confident, charming, humorous, a great conversationalist and he tickles my curiosity, which is rare among those I’ve met in recent years.”

  “Does he tickle anything else?”

  Sara laughed. “Don’t you go getting all modern on me, I couldn’t handle it!”

  “You like him a lot, eh?”

  “Yes. I know that I’d let myself go with him, but I just can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s a male model, Grandma – one of the highest paid ones in the world! One of those who advertises cars and perfumes and appears on talk shows. One of those who knows people, famous people like him…”

  “So what? What does it matter what job he does?”

  “It makes me uncomfortable, Grandma, I just don’t feel comfortable in that world, I’m not part of it.”

  “There are only two possibilities: either you’re a snob or you’re intimidated, and I don’t believe you are either. You’ve always been such a bright, confident girl. What’s different this time?”

  “What’s different is that I’m not at ease around him. Daniel’s nice, but I wouldn’t feel safe. I don’t know… He travels a lot, knows a lot of people… Women… beautiful, famous women. Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of,” she sighed uncertainly. Giving voice to her fears had been easy but it had been painful too, because it made them seem more real. “And we’ve only been out once. He phoned me today for the first time in a week. He’s in Bangkok for business, or pleasure. He’s not courting me, and he says he’s not just after a fling but he wants to get to know me.”

  “Well, that sounds like a good start, my girl.”

  “Yes, it does, I know. And maybe my ego was traumatized. But what does he want from me? Does he want to be my friend? Or something more? I like him, I want to see him again, really, but I just don’t see how it could work. We live in different worlds. He goes out with models and actresses, and when one disappears another takes her place. You know I’m a control freak. What could I control with someone like that?” She watched the drops of rain sliding down the window.

  “You have to learn to let yourself go, Sara. You can’t always control everything, you have to be willing to take a risk if you think it’s worth it. I haven’t heard you talk about a boy for a long time. These first dates you go on have become a constant in every conversation I have with your mother and I’m starting to worry too – not because you’re single, but because I don’t want you to close in on yourself, that’s not good for you. You have to learn to use your head less and put your heart into the game more.”

  Sara looked at her, surprised and perhaps even a bit shocked. “But Grandma, he might hurt me, he might make me suffer.”

  “But if you don’t take that chance, you’ll never know if this Daniel is right for you. Give him a chance, and give yourself one too. You’re a smart girl, and I’m sure that if something isn’t right, you’ll know how to handle it for the best. Don’t judge by appearances. Appearances can be deceptive.”

  That night, just before bedtime, Sara wrote a message and sent it to Daniel.

  I’m really curious to meet Spank and find out what a good little dog owner you are.

  That was all she wrote. She wanted to turn off her phone, but curiosity about whether he would answer kept her in a strange half-awake state until, in the dark room, the display lit up and a happy smile appeared on her face.

  Very soon, Sara… you’re not getting get rid of Spank and me that easily.

  Chapter 10

  Hello Spank!

  The sky was as blue and cloudless as a hot summer’s day, and tourists dressed in comfortable shoes with bulky cameras round their necks thronged the paths while bicycles darted in every direction and a procession
of people walking or jogging brought Villa Borghese Park to life. Laughing children chased one another, dog owners walked their pooches and lovers holding hands went in search of a bench or a tree under which to relax. A thousand kinds of humanity with their wishes, dreams and hopes, all in that precise place at that precise moment. There was something picturesque and charming about it, like a scene from a romantic comedy.

  Sara slipped on a pair of dark glasses to protect her from prying eyes. She loved walking among other people and observing them from delicious solitude, but that day she was there for a reason and her heart was pounding like the drums at a rock concert. Daniel would be arriving soon with Spank, just like in the final scene of You’ve Got Mail, her favourite movie, where Meg Ryan waits anxiously for Tom Hanks, who turns up with Brinkley and a bunch of flowers, the sun providing the backdrop to the epic moment where they embrace with a kiss that warms the viewer’s heart.

  She could already imagine Daniel arriving with Spank in tow, peering around in search of her – and when he saw her, she’d know for sure that she was even more attractive than Meg Ryan, and perhaps luckier too, as well as certain that she hadn’t made a huge mistake by encouraging that thing, whatever it was.

  The leaves moving in the gentle breeze created a reassuring background noise, and Sara walked slowly over to a bench, sat down and began tapping her foot to Time Is Running Out by Muse which was playing somewhere. Was it an omen?

  Suddenly everything became confused and blurry. The crowds of people parted like the waters of the Red Sea parting to let Moses through, and everything stopped except his confident stride. Sara lowered her glasses to watch him coming towards her in technicolour, enjoying every frame of the film. Daniel was looking down and speaking, a smile on his face – his lips were moving, but he was still too far away for any sound to reach her. He seemed to be saying to all and sundry ‘look at me, I’m irresistible – just watch how elegantly I stroll amongst you mere mortals.’ Yes, Sara was enchanted and not a single intelligent thought was capable of reaching her brain. For now, all she could do was study him in detail and imprint his divine image upon her retina. A hint of stubble framing a sharp chin, his hair slightly ruffled by the breeze, a black crew neck t-shirt with a white logo and a grey cotton cardigan which Sara found herself envying because it was embracing those taut muscles, those arms and that body. She no longer knew who she was, she was completely, totally lost.

  And then he lifted his gaze and looked her straight in the eyes, and that small smile became a generous grin, just for her. He looked happy to see her.

  She rose to meet him, and was about to say something incredibly witty to impress him when a low growl and the feeling of something pulling at her trousers stopped her. Her eyes widened, and the charm of the fairy tale scene shattered like a porcelain vase. Stinking rotten luck!

  “Spank, let go! Spank!” A mortified Daniel bent down and picked up the little dog, who continued to growl and bite at her trousers. After an initial moment of bewilderment, Sara drew back and looked at the result of the unexpected aggression, then shook her head in amazement – something like that could only happen to her. The adored Spank had chewed a hole in her favourite jeans. She grimaced and stared at the dog with a mixture of awe and dislike. Well, this first date was turning into what you might call a failure. It would never be love with Spank, just war.

  The dark eyes of the biscuit coloured dog seemed to look right through her. She guessed that Spank had marked out her territory and wasn’t planning on sharing Daniel with anyone. And could you blame her?

  From Daniel’s arms, Spank continued to stare at her with wary eyes and occasionally gave a small growl: you just try and stroke me, if you’ve got the nerve.

  “Sara, I am so sorry, I’ll get you a new pair.”

  “No, no…” she answered with a gesture which was intended to show how unimportant it was, even though she couldn’t now tell the hilarious joke that would have sent her entertainment value rocketing. Now she looked a mess and she knew that she was an object of hatred for Daniel’s great love.

  “I don’t understand it, Spank’s always so affectionate with everyone.”

  Sara ran a nervous hand through her hair, remembering only then that it was irremediably short, the long locks at the back having all been shorn now, and letting her hand fall sadly to her hip.

  “I don’t know what to tell you. I usually get along with dogs, but you can’t please everyone, I suppose.”

  Daniel fell silent and began walking around her thoughtfully. If Sara hadn’t been practically hysterical, that would definitely have done the trick.

  “What are you doing?”

  “… I like your hair! It makes you look…”

  “Like a fifteen year old, I know.”

  “No, you’re sexy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You look sexy, I love short hair. It makes it so much easier to do this.”

  And so saying he stretched out his hand and put it on the nape of Sara’s neck, where he left it for a few seconds.

  “Ah, sure,” she mumbled, as she groped for words. Breathing in some oxygen might not be a bad idea either. Once again, Spank ensured the spell was broken by starting to growl and making sure that Daniel lowered his hand from her neck, which suddenly became a terribly cold place.

  “I don’t think she likes me…”

  “I found her in the street about four years ago. She was about to get run over. She’s a mongrel – a cross with a spitz I think.” Daniel’s eyes lit up as he spoke about Spank. And Spank hated her. Great.

  “I take her with me whenever I can. I adore her – don’t I, princess?”

  Those words were the death knell of their relationship. Sara looked down and smiled at Spank: one last attempt to make friends. In return she got an unfriendly growl. A contrite expression came over her face. “I think she actually hates me.”

  “She’ll learn to love you.”

  Sara pushed up her sunglasses to get a look at him. “You are a mystery, Daniel Gant, you and your cryptic phrases.” Daniel laughed smugly. He was happy and it showed. He was sparkling like Edward Cullen in the sunshine in Twilight, but with more convincing special effects. Damn it, she just kept liking him more and more. This was a complicated situation. This was no ‘sushi man’, this was a ‘diamonds are forever’ man.

  “Do you fancy going for a walk, then?” asked Daniel. Spank began to trot ahead of them, taking an interest in the grass and the flower beds and everything that wasn’t Sara. She was safe, for the moment.

  “Anyway, tell me about your trip,” she said, as they walked.

  “It was nice. I managed to see some stuff, meet some people. And some of the locations for the photo shoot were in and around Bangkok. I’m pleased with how it went. Especially because the photographer was one of the best.”

  “And when will we get a chance to have a look at these amazing photos, then?”

  “I should think within a month, more or less. You’re curious, eh?” he said, looking at her mischievously.

  “Of course… Shouldn’t I be?”

  “And where have you been?” he asked, so quickly that she was caught unprepared. She had two alternatives: invent a holiday with friends and family, to justify her nephew’s surprise attack on her hair, or tell the absolute truth, losing even the last shred of mystery that she might possess for him. Lies have short legs… Aunty Nora’s voice echoed in her mind. And Aunty Nora was very wise.

  “I went to Gubbio for a few days to celebrate the eightieth birthday of my Grandma Glicine. A full on family reunion. But it was a good opportunity to spend some time with her and with my Aunty Nora. I really love the pair of them.”

  Daniel gave her a sweet look. “Family’s important. I go and see my mother whenever I can. She didn’t want to come and live in Rome – she says there’s no point, because my life’s so chaotic that I’d never be here and it wouldn’t be worth it. She’s totally right, too,” he added, with a melancholy s
mile.

  “Have you got other relatives?”

  “Yes, in Tuscany and England. London, to be precise.”

  “And do you have these family reunions too?”

  “Sometimes yes, especially at Christmas. But I never get scalped, though…” He bit his lip to hold back a laugh.

  “Just listen to him!”

  They were relaxed in each other’s company, like two friends talking about this and that. What had she been thinking about this man? Wanting to keep her distance from him just because he was famous would have been stupid – he was such nice, easy going company.

  Suddenly, a couple of young men approached them. They both looked to be under twenty and wore jeans and t-shirts with baggy hoodies. The one with curly hair and prominent teeth spoke first. “Sorry to disturb you, but… aren’t you that model, Daniel Gant?”

  The other boy – tall, blond and thin as a nail – stood watching. Daniel smiled. “What if I am?”

  “Daniel Gant… This can’t be happening! We can’t be that lucky can we, Samuele?”

  Still saying nothing, the blond boy nodded his head. He must be shy.

  “I’m Teo.” Conspiratorially, he took the model by the arm, and Sara watched the scene while Daniel made an amused face to her. “You’ll never believe it but today’s the birthday of a massive fan of yours. I can’t believe you’re here. You’ll be the best present she could possibly get!”

  Samuele swallowed hard. “Teo, leave him in peace.”

  “You fancy her, don’t you?” his friend shot back, and Samuele turned bright red. Teo turned back to Daniel. “Samuele’s massively in love with Debora – he’s her best friend and he’s organised a big surprise for her, right here. She’ll be here soon with some other kids from our class and… flash mob, yeah?”

  Daniel broke free from Teo’s grasp and walked over to Samuele. “You’re going to try and ask her out with a flash mob? Here in Villa Borghese?”

  “I knew it, it’s a stupid idea!”

  “No, no it isn’t! It’s really romantic. Isn’t it, Sara?” He looked over at her with an expression so tender that it made her head spin.