Page 8 of Unyielding
The rest of my day had been a blur of pacing around my studio, filled with so much energy that there was no way I could pick up my brush again. Not being able to control myself or quiet my nerves, I found myself in front of the art supply shop, smoking a cigarette one hour early. I watched the pedestrians filter by as I continued smoking through every cigarette in my pack, the nerves building. One man curiously circled the block three times, trying to get his steps in while wearing head to toe athletic gear that didn’t quite fit in with his casual stroll. By the time I noticed my girl—yes, mine—closing up the shop, I was standing nextto a pile of cigarette butts. Pushing off the wall, I met her as she turned to scan the street for me.
‘What do you prefer to be called?’ I asked, catching her by surprise. She hesitated, looking down at her name tag, biting the inside of her cheek, before casting me that brilliant smile that warmed me to my bones.
‘Namazzi… but you, I like the way you call me Sunshine.’ She blushed.
‘My little ray of Sunshine it is.’ Her blush deepened, and it made me want to bite her bottom lip until it matched the shade of red on her cheeks.
‘I still don’t know yours.’
‘You can call me V; all my friends do.’ Not wanting to share my actual name in case it triggered her to make the connection between me and her boss. Though Xav and I looked like siblings, Z took mostly after our father in terms of sheer size.
She tested the taste of my name on her tongue. ‘V, I like that.’
My core clenched as she bit down on that bottom lip again. Surely, this would be the thing that drove me to insanity.
I hadn’t quite planned what we were going to do; I had just wanted to see her. Instead, we found ourselves ambling through the streets in silence while she stole glances at me until her stomach audibly rumbled.
‘Hungry, Sunshine?’
She nodded, but her nerves got the best of her, preventing her from speaking. I placed a comforting hand in hers, and the feel of her shocked flinch, followed by the gentle squeeze as she settled into the comfort, had my heart singing.
I could have taken her anywhere; our family hadnumerous restaurants. Instead, I took her to a hole in the wall that my brothers and I frequented while growing up. It was in a rougher part of town, so I pulled her to my side as my hand slid around her waist. She melted into me but didn’t seem to mind the neighbourhood.
Guido’s was an old Italian-style restaurant, complete with worn out vinyl flooring and fluorescent lights that had me squinting my eyes, but it was my safe space for much of my childhood. Guido came barrelling out of the kitchen the moment he saw me.
‘My beautiful Val, what are you doing here darling? You should have told me you were coming. How are the boys? Are they coming?’ he asked, squeezing me in a warm embrace, almost lifting me from the floor. He was an older, large man with a potbelly and greying hair, but he was strong. He had left a similar life to the one my family found ourselves in to open this restaurant. We had tried to set him up with a new restaurant or expand to new locations, but this was his little slice of humble heaven, and he enjoyed it here.
‘They’re good, Papa G. I didn’t know I was coming either; my friend here was hungry, and without thinking, I walked home.’ I smiled.
Ushering us to a table by the window, he sat us down and loaded it with bread. Still water for myself and sparkling for Sunshine. I had always hated the bitter taste of it.
‘Is that your father?’ Sunshine asked.
‘In every way that matters. My older brothers and I grew up without any family in a group home not far from here. We would sneak off to Guido’s and he would feed us; he gave us our first jobs and sometimes let us sleep upstairs when things got… rough.’
‘Oh, I had no idea, I’m sorry,’ she said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her top.
‘Hey now, there’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s life; it just was, and it just is. It’s not painful; it never was. I was surrounded by love thanks to Papa G and my brothers,’ I said, grasping her hand over the table.
‘Now tell me about you,’ I probed. Her eyes doubled in size with a flash of panic before she settled it and flashed her signature smile; but for the first time, I saw a small part of it falter behind some pain.
‘Not much to say. Ran away at sixteen. Found myself couch surfing for a while, then I was sleeping on the streets. Once I was eighteen, I found that dancing was one of the few professions that didn’t care if you completed high school or had a permanent address. Slowly, I worked, found a place to stay, and then, after a while, I found myself at the Velvet Room.’
‘Why’d you run?’ I asked.
‘You know how it is; Mum got a new boyfriend and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. She blamed me, of course. Said I seduced him. Joke's on me because look at what I’m doing for a living now.’ She laughed bitterly.
Her hand was soft in mine as I squeezed it in comfort.
‘There is nothing wrong with what you’re doing. It’s not the only thing you’re doing, though, is it? Why the art supply store? You must make enough at my— the Velvet Room.’
Rolling her shoulders back and levelling me with a stare that challenged me to I don’t know what, she said, ‘I want to be a gallery director. I never thought I could be one… not until I started working for Zane De Luca.’ She whispered my brother’s name. ‘I know you’ve probably heard the rumours, and as terrifying as he is, he’s so supportive of us. He’s paying for me to take a course at the local art college and got me the job at the art supply store. He said it was a great way to meet local artists and network.’ Looking me up and down she finished, ‘He was right.’
‘If I can be an artist, you can be a gallery director.’ Then her smile became wholly genuine, and it took the air right out of my lungs.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about everything and anything but not once did I let go of her hand as we ate. I wanted to know every little thing about her, and with every bit of information I learned, I fell slightly deeper into the hold she already had over me. Eventually, she began to yawn, and I knew I needed to get her home.
Outside the restaurant, my car was parked. As I fished out a set of keys and unlocked it, I opened the door for her, but she stared at me in confusion.
