Page 29 of After the Red Carpet
“Yes, the arts can be quite an aphrodisiac,” Carmen said. “They can make the impossible seem possible. A gift and a curse. You two must relate. After all, you met on an exotic film location. I’m sure that makes it easy to get swept up in the romance of it all.”
“I’ve spent my life on movie sets but never felt a glimmer of the jolt I got when I met Ella. I think when you meet the one, it’s inexplicable. You just know it. Then it’s up to you to lean in.”
“I think so too,” Ella said, gazing at him.
Carmen watched them and smiled softly. “Yes, perhaps.”
“AH, HAVE YOU FINISHED THE TOURof the house?” Finn asked as Carmen wandered into the living room.
She nodded. “They’re still in Ella’s office. Alejandro is like a kid in a candy store flipping through the first-edition poetry books you bought her. Truthfully, I snuck away because I was hoping to speak with you alone.”
He handed her a glass of port and said, “Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you,” she replied as they sat on the couch.
“Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass to hers.
They each took a sip, and Carmen set her glass on the coffee table. “Finn, I feel I owe you an apology. I was a little hard on you.”
“Not at all. You’re just looking out for your daughter. I realize it will take some time for us to get to know each other. I’m hoping that life is long and I’ll have the chance to prove myself and the depth of my devotion.”
She smiled. “Did Ella tell you she came to see me shortly after you two split up?”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you what I said?”
He shook his head. “Only that you were a bit skeptical that it would work out.”
“Ella was an absolute wreck. She couldn’t stop crying, days on end. I’ve never seen her like that before. She said she was madly in love with you. I told her that passionate love affairs may not be meant to last and she would need to come to peace with it as a cherished memory. She said she wasn’t sure if she could do that.” Carmen stopped, shook her head, and continued, “I told her that you’re a movie star, that you probably fall in and out of love at every location, and it was all too good to be true. You hadn’t called her since leaving Sweden, so I tried to convince her that you had moved on.”
“There wasn’t a moment that passed that I wasn’t thinking of Ella. I didn’t reach out because I knew it had to come from her. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I knew we belonged together, that what we share is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. She needed the time and space to figure that out for herself.”
She smiled. “I know. I also know that the reason she left you in the first place has as much to do with me as anything else.”
Finn looked at her quizzically.
“My lifestyle wasn’t easy on her, always moving around.”
“Perhaps, but she also said that you made each new place feel like home. ‘Oodles of joy’ were her words. You also taught her to have an adventurous spirit, which is something I adore about her.”
“You’re kind to say that,” Carmen said. “I did my best, given who I am. When Ella showed me the mural you had painted for her and the twinkly lights on her balcony, it was clear to me how she remembered her childhood, the good and the bad. It was also clear how deeply you love her.”
“I do. I love her with all my heart. I always will.”
“Ella had a hard time allowing herself to fall in love because of my relationship with her father, the other men who came and went, my lifestyle before Alejandro. I’m sorry for my role in what you both went through and for not making the road back to each other easier.”
“Please, Carmen, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. You raised the love of my life. Ella is the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever known. There’s nothing I would change about her. It’s clear she takes after you in many ways.”
Carmen smiled. “I see how much you and Ella love each other, and I’m truly happy for you both. Perhaps for some, fairy tales do come true and passionate love can last a lifetime. That’s my wish for the two of you.”
Finn smiled, and Ella and Alejandro ambled into the room.
“Ella and I got swept up reading poetry. It’s easy to get lost in the beauty of the Romantics and their hopefulness,” Alejandro said.
“So, what have we missed?” Ella asked.
“I guess your groom and I were having our own chat about the beauty of hopefulness. Let’s just say, he’s made me a believer,” Carmen said, winking at Finn.
