Albert’s unicorns.
My knees wobbled, and Darion took my elbow to steady me. “What is it?” he asked.
“Albert made these…” I couldn’t go on. It was like a relic from some bygone era, a place where no one could ever go again.
Darion tugged the rest of the paper away. “It’s really beautiful.”
And it was. So powerful, almost alive with energy and purpose. Its eyes bored right into you, and staring into them was unsettling, as if you’d uncovered some mysterious power.
I couldn’t believe this work hadn’t helped his career. But it had to be the subject matter. The world wanted pain, not beauty, in art. Suffering. The human condition.
Seeing it made me despair all the more for the life Albert could have led. His daughter could be here instead of me. He could have had grandchildren, perhaps another talented hand among his descendants.
Just the thought of passing down your passion to children brought me full circle back to the pain of my loss.
“Do you want to look at the paintings?” he asked.
I nodded, unable to speak, afraid that if I started talking, I would not be able to stop. A breakdown seemed imminent. My face flushed hot, but my body felt cold. I was all chemicals, imbalanced, blasting through me, throwing me off. Despite knowing this, I couldn’t help it. Despair began to creep over me like night falling.
Keep it together, I told myself. Focus. I watched intently as Darion unwrapped a canvas.
Yes, another unicorn, this one just as mighty and strong as the sculpture.
Then another. But this one was different. On the unicorn’s back was a small girl. Her hair was riotous with curls, just like Albert’s, and light brown. She held on to the unicorn’s mane with one tightened fist. The other hand was upraised, a shout into the sky.
They rode through dark green woods, sunlight shafting in between the trees.
So this was her. His little girl.
Seeing her made me lose it all the more. I couldn’t look at it, look at anything. Darion reached for me, extended his hand.
I backed away. I felt sick, hot and cold and hot and cold. The weight of the engagement ring on my finger was suddenly too heavy to bear. The picnic basket. His concerned expression. His need.
He would want a family.
He would want more than I could give.
It was too much. Peanut. Albert’s daughter. Albert himself.
So much loss.
“Tina?” Darion asked. “Are you all right?”
I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t go with Darion. I was too lost. Too far gone. I should never have gotten in a relationship. I was supposed to stick to my one-and-done. One night. One time.
Not this.
This hope.
I couldn’t hold on to hope.
I had to let it go.
I had to go.
I snatched up my purse and keys and sprinted for the door.
Darion shouted my name, but I was well ahead. I dashed for my car and dove inside. Before he could get to me, I had the car in gear and jetted around the circle driveway.
I didn’t know where I was going.
But I couldn’t stay here.
Chapter 14: Jenny
The baby was sucking like a wee vacuum cleaner when I got the frantic text from Corabelle.
Tina has taken off.
I instinctively shifted Phoenix closer to my body, a flash of fear coursing through me. Tina had always been the one of us who acted the toughest but was the softest underneath.
It was super hard to type with the baby crushed against me, so I hit the call button instead.
“What do you mean?” I asked as soon as Corabelle answered.
Corabelle’s voice was frantic. “She and Darion were at Albert’s studio, and she just bolted. Drove off in her car.”
“When?”
“Yesterday. Darion thought she’d come back eventually, but now it’s been a whole night and she won’t answer calls or texts.”
“I got a chipper little text from her about six yesterday,” I said. “She left after that, I guess?”
“Yes, I got one too right then. Darion said he got there around seven.”
“What the hell happened?” I glanced down at Phoenix, wincing at the word hell. Forget Mama or Dada, her first four-letter word was probably going to be a lot more colorful.
“Darion said they found some old work of Albert’s, some unicorns, and she just freaked out and took off.”
“Damn.” I shot another doleful look at the baby. I couldn’t even think without cursing. “This is Tina through and through. Does he have any idea where she is?”
“None,” Corabelle said. “He sounds pretty panicked, but I can’t do anything to help. Gavin just went back for surgery.”
“That’s today?” Gavin had scheduled his vasectomy reversal shortly after they got the money. The docs said his best chance was to do it as soon as possible, while he was young. Not to wait until they wanted to get pregnant.