Runaway Love

by Nicole W. Lee

  “Okay. Then - Buona notte, Genie.” He turned abruptly and strode to the kitchen.

  “Good night, Lorenzo.” She watched him disappear into the kitchen.

  “That's the problem, Dom” she said, the wetness in her eyes steadily increasing in volume. “There'll always be Anna.” She leaned down and cupped his jaw in her hand. “And you, Dom, of course. There'd always be you.”

  Domino grunted with pleasure.

  “We've come a long way Dom - you and your snuffles.” Her tears spilled over and dripped from her face. “But, now, my friend, I think it's time for me to leave.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Genie eased her Mercedes slowly through the narrow pass, her vision blurred by free-flowing tears. Shadows cast by the mid-morning sun appeared to be black holes, threatening to suck her in. The walls each side appeared to ebb and flow through her watered vision and they occasionally sprayed her car with light snow.

  She thought about stopping to let her vision clear. But she just as quickly vetoed that idea. If she did, she may never start again. She did have a passing wish to the universe, though. A sudden blizzard to block the pass would be nice. Then she'd have a legitimate reason to go back.

  She vetoed that too. “What's the point?” she said. “Going back wouldn't change anything. Anna was there - Saint Anna.”

  Anna had been in Lorenzo's goodbye pecks on both cheeks.

  Yet, it was sufficient to bring about a pause on the departure proceedings. For an age, neither of them spoke. They just gazed at each other saying everything they wanted to say with their eyes.

  Then, unable to bear it any longer, Genie threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Thank you,” she said.

  They remained entwined for an eternity. Her only sense was Lorenzo's nearness and Domino's body leaning against her leg.

  He was saying goodbye in his own way.

  Then, Lorenzo loosened his arms and brought his hands to her shoulders. Easing her away slightly, after a slight hesitation, he covered her mouth with his. He caressed her lips sensitively, sending the pit of her stomach into a wild swirl. She gave herself to his kiss, his hands, his body and, for a crazy moment, she abandoned the idea of leaving.

  Anna was not there this time.

  Not in that kiss.

  He broke away and reached out with one hand to gently brush her cheek. “You will come and see Domino and, perhaps, even me, one day,” he whispered.

  Genie nodded. Her vocal chords seized. All she could do was launch a sad smile, turn and slide into the driver's seat.

  As she drove away, she steeled herself for a glance in her rear-view mirror. She saw Domino running after the car. He skidded to a stop at the gate and let loose a series of his inimitable woofs.

  Lorenzo remained where she left him, immobile, watching.

  It was a scene that she knew her memory would never let go.

  However, all the way through the pass, Lorenzo's presence travelled with her. She almost felt his arms still embracing her, his body glued to hers, his cologne massaging her senses - it was all so real.

  It tore at her heart.

  After emerging from the pass, Genie maintained the same slow speed down towards San Rafaele. Her left foot felt as though it was locked in position. It would not press down on the accelerator beyond the position she had maintained since leaving the farm.

  She stopped at the outskirts of the town, taking in the buildings and the people. San Rafaelians and Tourists alike ambled or rushed towards objectives only they had in mind.

  Beyond the roofs, she could see the busy ski slopes. The warmer weather and melting snow had not put off the sports nuts. Lorenzo had said snow covered the slopes all year. “However, it's no good for skiing in summer,” he said.

  Now, however, on the cusp of spring, intrepid skiers rode up the chair lifts and slid their way down at speeds commensurate with their perceived skills. More than one cut their journey unexpectedly short, making a pancake landing in a flurry of snow, completing the remainder of the run on their backsides.

  Genie tutted. “Crazy.”

  The by-pass lay directly ahead of her. This was her planned route. It appeared empty and sterile. Not at all inviting.

  On the other hand, San Rafaele...

  “Come on, Hamilton. What reason is there for going through San Rafaele? The bypass is much easier.”

  She mentally tossed a coin.

  San Rafaele won.

  “One last look,” she said. “Won't do any harm. I'll go through it instead of around it. Same thing.”

  She allowed her Mercedes to roll down into the town.

  A new idea entertained her. “Why don't I just stop for a little while? I can say goodbye to a few friends. That'd be nice.”

  Federico and his garage was the closest. Genie didn't need to fully understand his mixed explosion of rapid Italian and fractured English. Somewhere in the middle of the flow, Genie understood that, calling to say goodbye had done Federico honour. Nevertheless, he was sad to see her leaving and insisted on checking over her car to make sure it was safe for her to drive.

  “You go and come back.” He held up one finger. “Un'ora.”

  “One hour,” Genie translated. “That's a shame. Now I can't go anywhere for at least one hour.”

  One hour.

  The unexpected - but legitimized - delay put a spring in her step. “Now. What shall I do with a whole hour?”

  She couldn't control the huge grin that insisted on taking charge of her face. It brought reciprocal smiles and greetings from everyone she encountered, several of whom were locals. They greeted her with “Buon Giorno Signorina Genie.

  Genie's responses in Italian became slicker with everyone she ran into. “I'm getting good at this,” she told herself.

  “You look very happy,” Fabiana greeted when Genie made her regular call. “Have you had some good news?” She flicked her eyebrows knowingly.

  “Yes,” Genie said, and quickly added, to cut short any misconceptions, “I have an entire hour.”

  The quizzical expression on Fabiana's face and the fact that it was repeated when she explained to Violetta, transformed Genie's grin to outright laughter. Although, they clearly didn't understand the reason, her two friends were infected by Genie's laughter and joined in.

  However, the laughter fizzled out when Genie told them she had called in to say goodbye. She would be leaving in an hour.

  Extricating herself from Fabiana's Salon after that piece of news was a challenge. The girls used every ploy to delay her departure and only released her when Genie promised to return to San Rafaele one day.

  Genie's promise was well-meant and the hope was there. But, she wondered if it would ever happen.

  “The boys in blue next, I think,” she said.

  At the Police Headquarters, Sergeant Antonelli leaned so far over the counter with his hand extended that Genie was sure he would topple over. She ran to the counter and grabbed his hand to save the good Sergeant's life. He rewarded her with a buzz on the back of her hand.

  However, the policeman's demeanour took a nose dive when he learned that Genie had come to wish him farewell.

  “But you come back, no? You go for vacation?”

  Genie shook her head. That knot in her throat began to recreate itself.

  “Signor Lorenzo,” Sergeant's eyes expanded to the size of saucers. “He will go with you?”

  Genie shook her head again.

  At that point, Genie got the distraction she desperately needed to quell the tear build-up. Commissario Bernardo Testa burst explosively on the scene.

  Sergeant Antonelli instantly brought his boss up to date on the Genie issue.

  Bernardo nodded sagely to indicate that he knew and caught Genie by the arm to escort her to safety. Outside, he dropped his hand from Genie's arm. “You are not in a hurry to leave us, I think,” he said, taking her a few paces away from the door and stopping.

  “My car,” Genie blustered. “Fed
erico is checking my car. Be safe. On the trip. He said an hour.”

  “Bene.” If he noticed her discomfort, he didn't show it. “Un'ora. Bene

  “Yes. Bene.” She smiled.

  “Signor Lorenzo is very sad, I think.” His expression matched the mood of his comment. “He did not come to be with you for this...ora?”

  “No.” Genie shook her head. “He didn't know...I didn't know. It was a last minute. You know Federico.” She emitted a short, forced laugh.

  “Si. Federico,” he said, nodding slowly. “And then...if it is very important for you to leave...”

  A fist grabbed Genie's stomach and squeezed. That 'if' was back again. “I would like...I must. My parents...”

  “Si, your parents. They must wonder.”

  “Yes,” Genie said. “They must wonder.” She wasn't quite sure about what Bernardo thought they wondered. Sleeping dogs, she thought. Let it go. Safer.

  “I'm off to get an espresso at the skating rink.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Enjoy the view for the...” She'd intended to say “...last time,” but her tongue refused to work its way around it. “Why don't you join me, Bernardo?”

  “Ah. Such an offer,” he said. “I must beg you to forgive me. I have much work.

  “Lots of criminals to catch, eh?”

  He laughed. “Tanti. So many.”

  She expressed her regrets and told him that she will call in again at the Questura on her way to collect her car. That pleased Bernardo. He encouraged her with a buzz on each cheek and backed away a few paces, nodded once, briskly, then spun on his heel and marched off.

  Genie turned to leave and, after a few paces, looked back to wave. But, he had his back to her and was talking urgently on his cell phone. She shrugged. “I'll see him later.”

  When she sat down at a table close to the rink, she allowed her memories of her skating dance with Lorenzo to take hold. And their embrace... It was a beautiful moment.

  Her sigh was grand enough to blow away the snow in and around the rink cafe.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Domino set up a pattern. He ambled to the door of the studio, sat down and whimpered. After a few minutes, he wandered back to the easel and lay down with a disgruntled snuffle. Then, at a time calculated by him, he lurched to his feet and repeated the cycle once more.

  At first, Lorenzo managed to ignore the restless Domino. Ordinarily, he could focus on his canvas to the exclusion of everything around him. Ordinarily Domino would let him.

  His canine friend's past routine in the studio had been to sit and watch Lorenzo for a while, then, when he got bored, he'd lie down and doze off. Of course, it had been a long time since they'd worked in the studio. Perhaps Domino had forgotten his usual habit. Or, more probably, wanted to get back to his more recent habit - following Genie everywhere.

  Only she wasn't here anymore for him to follow.

  Domino returned, flopped down, rested his chin on his forelegs and stared up at Lorenzo.

  “I miss her too, amico.”

  Lorenzo summed up this day as one of the most unsettling for as long as he could remember.

  At first, she had pleasantly surprised him by joining him in the kitchen soon after he got up. However, it wasn’t long before she took the pleasure out of the surprise.

  “I’m going to go back home today, Lorenzo,” she said with forced firmness.

  It was too sudden for him to grasp immediately.

  “I’m sorry, it’s so sudden,” she continued. “Better that way, don’t you think?”

  He nodded, already visualising her absence - no longer milking Gloria; no longer feeding the chickens; no longer sharing the preparation of their evening meal.

  “Better,” he said. “It is all right. You have no need to apologize.”

  While Genie prepared, he worked fast to complete his most pressing chores so he could give full attention to her departure. He fantasized several ideas for encouraging Genie to delay. The wildest idea, which raised a rare smile for that day, was to create an avalanche to block the pass.

  “She'd probably climb over it,” he said.

  After a while he gave up his fantasies. They too painful since they could not be realized.

  “Face facts,” he said. “You knew this moment would come. She is determined to leave. Has been from the beginning.”

  Nevertheless, the sense of loss due to her impending departure swelled within him so massively, it restricted his breathing. If only she could stay. The house, the farm - everywhere he went - was already feeling empty without her. He crossed his arms, gripped his shoulders and pressed his chin against his chest to try to protect himself again reality.

  He's been here before - after Anna. But this, somehow felt worse. With Anna, he could have done nothing to prevent the tragic outcome. With Genie...there were options. And he'd never explored any of them.

  In the studio, the last image he held of her driving away taunted him. It was her face he wanted to see, not her back. His desperation in that desire drove him back to the studio. Soon he would see her face on the canvas. This one would never leave. This one would always be near - with him.

  Like Anna’s.

  He studied the rough, but recognizable sketch on the canvas and felt a surge of excitement in his chest. Already, spending time with Genie in this way, gave him a kind of release - a connection.

  Painting again.

  Hurt, he realized, was the catalyst. That's what drove him to the canvas. First Anna - and now Genie.

  The brush he held in his hand felt like it had never been absent. It was as though the intervening two years had never been. The brush, the palette, the canvas - all as familiar as yesterday.

  His vow to never paint again had lost its power.

  The sketch of Genie the evening before - that's where his vow had begun to disintegrate. A wave of ice cold fear engulfed him. He wanted to hold onto his vow. It mustn't be undone like this. Vows are meant to be kept.

  But, his subsequent 'confession' to Genie about Anna and their life together had an even more disturbing outcome. Instead of the memory drawing him closer to Anna, it seemed to create a distance. It was almost as if she was telling him to let go. Was it Anna? Or was it wishful thinking?

  Now, whatever the reason, the final truth was, with Genie gone, all he had left were two ghosts. And, here he was, standing before a rough sketch of Genie on canvas, brush and palette in hand, aiming to paint some life into her ghost.

  He filled his brush with a chosen colour and, gently, at first, he began to fill in Genie's face with skin tone.

  “I should have told her how I felt about her...about you,” he said to the emerging likeness on the canvas. “Perhaps, if I'd told you, it would have made a difference.” He paused. “What if I'd asked you to stay?” He raised his eyebrows momentarily. “What would you have said?

  Domino ambled up close, sat down and leaned against Lorenzo's leg.

  “You're right amico mio,” he said, rubbing behind Domino's ear. “We both loved her. I should have asked her - at least.”

  He straightened up to examine the canvas. “With the pass clear, she had choice. I should have asked.”

  Slowly, he began to apply paint once more. Then, as the face began to come alive under his brush, he gathered momentum and worked with a sense of urgency.

  He wasn't aware of how much time had passed before his concentration was again destroyed by Domino. He trotted to the door, then back to Lorenzo, letting loose intermittent 'woofs'.

  “Quiet amico. I'm trying to work.” Lorenzo waved his paint-encrusted palette in the general direction of Domino. “Genie's not out there, amico. She's gone.”

  Domino nudged his leg, returned to the door and looked at Lorenzo.

  “All right, you nuisance,” Lorenzo told him. He strode across and opened the door. “Off you go. You won't find her out there. She's gone.”

  The faint ring of the telephone struggled out of his office and weaved uncertainly up
the stairs and into the studio.

  “So, that's what's bothering you,” Lorenzo said.

  Domino began to run down the stairs and when he discovered Lorenzo hadn't followed, he came back up and emitted a snuffly grunt.

  Lorenzo hesitated. In his past painting life, he had resisted all forms of interruptions. It destroyed his momentum; undermined his creativity.

  His first thought now was to let it ring.

  His second thought was more motivating. What if it's Genie?

  Not really expecting it to be her - but hoping - and, since Domino had already disturbed him, he decided to answer it.

  His shoulders slumped and his heart felt as though it had shrunk to half its normal size when he discovered the voice on the other end wasn't Genie's.

  “Buon Giorno, Lorenzo,” said Bernardo.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Genie settled back, warming her hands on her cappuccino cup and concentrated on soaking up the atmosphere. The air was so clear and fresh. She sucked it in to give her lungs a cleansing dose. Not that they'd breathed anything less clean for some time now in the rarefied atmosphere of Lorenzo's farm. They probably savoured it with gusto. They never breathed air this fresh in London.

  Just what had she been filtering through her lungs all her life?

  Now, she aimed to go back and punish her lungs some more.

  Back to London.

  She ran through the events that will almost certainly take place on her arrival. Her mother will crush her with one of her over-zealous hugs. Her father will welcome her with a gentle kiss on her forehead. When she tells them about Lorenzo and being snowed in, their expressions will be a wonder to see. Their minds will be brimming with questions they'll be too polite to ask.

  That's okay. Let them think the worst. Or would it be, the best? What does it matter? They'll never believe that she and Lorenzo had never taken advantage of the situation - well almost never.