He remembered back to a place his parents had taken him as a boy.
“Don’t forget how important art is to human kind,” his father had said as he led him up the step. “It can give your mind wings and inspire you to do anything you think of,”
The art history museum was close by and it was worth a shot. He had told her that’s where he would take her once they were in Mexico, after all. But when he parked the car and looked up at the building as it shone in the sun, he thought he was being ridiculous. She had mentioned she loved art, but what were the chances of her ending up here? She obviously hated him. He estimated it was astronomically small. She was probably halfway back to Chicago right now with his cash and his trusted backpack.
He felt like shouting the word “bitch” but couldn’t bring himself to think of her that way. She was just doing what anyone would have done in that situation. Anna was only trying to protect herself in the craziest of times. He probably would have done the same.
~
Anna walked into the building as soon as the doors opened and yawned. She hadn’t slept at all the night before and had spent the last few hours sitting in a park hiding from people. The man in the beige suit had eventually left her alone after she lied to him, saying she had a gun in her briefcase. She didn’t think he believed her but it looked as though she was more trouble than she was worth.
The museum was bright and airy and it was a pleasant contrast to the hot Mexican sun. Anna was still clad in her big parka coat. It was the closest thing she had to a friend right now and despite the growing temperature she kept it wrapped around her. She didn’t care how peculiar it looked.
Meandering her way through the museum she loved the healing quality that the building possessed and the way it calmed her nerves. She loved the big open walls that were only covered in the most beautiful images and she loved the sculptures. It was a place of pure creation, a place that showed the potential of what the human mind had to offer. Art to her represented a meditational state of the human psyche. She thought people were in their true state when they poured their thoughts and soul into making something unique.
After an hour she found that one painting attracted her attention more than any other. It was gloriously bright red, abstract and full of destruction. In a way it reminded her of herself. Sitting down on the bench across from it, she regarded the painting for a long time. The more she stared the more her eyes got lost in the shapes.
Then she felt a weight on the other end of the bench.
“She was just some random whore looking for business. I pushed her away you know,”
Anna felt goosebumps as she turned to look at Carl. After spending so long on the run with hardly any sleep or time to think, she felt like she was in a dream.
“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she turned to face Carl who looked as though he’d just been through a war.
She thought for a second she could see tears in his eyes but then he blinked and turned away.
“I didn’t think I’d be happy again until I could look at you,” he explained. “I can’t even believe this is real,”
“I made a mistake Carl,” she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his body as tight as she could. “But how did you know where to find me?”
“A lucky guess…. When I said I would take you here, I didn’t think it would be like this.”
They both smiled as they cosied into each other’s bodies. Then they kissed passionately.
“Please don’t ever leave me again,” he begged.
“I won’t, not ever,” and she clutched at the sides of his face and looked him in the eyes.
As they climbed in the car Anna was deeply confused.
“Where did this car come from?”
“Urgh… I’ll tell you sometime,” Carl couldn’t bring himself to tell her about Jorge and Jerry just yet.
“What did I tell you about mysterious secrets!” she was annoyed.
But Carl just rolled his eyes and drove away down the open main road.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Always! You don’t need to ask me that, you should just know,” she laughed playfully and leaned over to run her fingers through his hair.
Soon they were pulling into the drive of John Reiner’s holiday home. It looked just as Carl remembered. Modest, but bright and spacious, with a lovely front garden covered in an immaculate lawn. Giant trees were scattered all around.
“This is gorgeous!” Anna looked around as she jumped out the car. “Have you got keys?”
“No,” Carl frowned. “But I’m an expert remember?”