Page 46 of One Year Ago in Spain
Claire shuddered. She didn’t want to think about that.
For now, she just had to be with him as much as possible, to keep his soul connected to her, his anchor. Their past interactions had seemed to help with the version of Matías in the hospital, and she hoped that his vital signs were perking up again tonight.
“You have two whole weeks before your flight. That’s so much time,” she said, although she was trying to convince herself, too.
“Well, you have to remember that I’m moving out of the country for two years,” Matías said. “It is not as simple as takinga business trip or short vacation. There are many things I must take care of.”
“Yes, but—”
“Claire.” A touch of annoyance tinged his voice. “Maybe we can see each other once I am in New York?”
“I don’t want to wait,” Claire said.
Ugh.She sounded pathetic. Desperate. But too much was at stake to care about that.
“I really must go now,” Matías said. “I have your number. I will look you up when I get to the United States.”
But Claire had heard “I’ll call you” or “We’ll go out soon” from other men too many times in the past. They never asked for another date. It was the way they ghosted her, which was sadly ironic here.
It’s possible Matíasdidmean to reach out to her when he got to New York. But it was just as possible that Claire had pushed too hard, and now he was retreating.
He waved and crossed the street. A bus drove by, briefly blocking Claire’s view.
And when the bus passed, Matías was gone.
Matías
Seven Months Ago
Four months intotheir relationship and on their sixth visit to the Met—New York’s most famous museum—Claire confessed.
“Before I met you, I’d never actually come here before.”
“What?” Matías said so loudly that it echoed through the gallery. A few patrons glared at him, and he raised his hands in apology.
He lowered his voice and shook his head at Claire, amused. “How long have you lived in New York?”
“I just…wasn’t really into art before I met you.”
“But you’re friends with Yolanda and Jason.”
“Yes, but that’s because I like them as people, not because I was particularly into what Jason did for a living. I mean, he’s married to Yolanda, but I think the only time she talks to him about work is when he asks her to help him fall asleep by telling him the latest developments in employment law.”
Matías laughed. “Okay, that’s fair. But have you been pretending about art around me? Please tell me I haven’t been subjecting you to suffering for the last four months.”
Claire got up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “No, art is so much more interesting with you. You explain each artist and painting like a story, rather than just a dry recitation of history. I like hearing about what was going on in the painter’s life whenshe was working on a piece, like that she chose to use lemon ochre instead of Italian yellow earth because her husband had gotten in an argument with the owner of the paint company that made the Italian yellow. Or like how that one guy was deathly afraid of water, so he made his entire career about painting boats and the sea to confront his fear. And the way you talk about the paintings themselves—you bring art to life, and that makes me love it.”
Matías’s entire body warmed at the thought of introducing her to so much joy.
“So what should we see next?” she asked. “What about sculpture? We’ve never been to that exhibit.”
Matías stiffened.
Claire’s brows knit together. “You don’t like sculpture?”
“I do…”
“But you’re afraid you don’t know enough on the subject and you’ll be mortified when I find out?” she said, teasing.
