Lemuria: The City of Mysts

Chapter 18: The Artist

“Because that person is dead”, he snapped.

“I’m sorry.”

They ate in silence until Cheska checked her timepiece.

“Is something wrong?” Fred asked. He had been searching for a way to salvage the situation when he heard her swear.

Cheska’s faced turned scarlet. She hadn’t meant for him to hear.

“I’m sorry. I have to leave. It was nice meeting you, doctor”, she rushed. Already, she had her bag slung on one shoulder and ready to go. “This is really embarrassing, but could you just send me the bill so I can pay you back?”

“For lunch?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have to. This one’s on me.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Cheska was too relieved to insist on paying for lunch. She had been taken aback when she saw the prices on the menu earlier.

“If you could wait for a few more minutes, we could drive you back to the city.” Fred waved to the waiter.

“That would be great”, she said and added, “if it wouldn’t inconvenience you.”

“Not at all.”

After Fred spoke with the waiter, he rose and moved to her side.

“I’m going down to the city, so you might as well join me in the car”, he said. Fred didn’t mention that he had decided to leave the hotel just then.

“Oh, alright. I accept”, Cheska said brightly at him.

Unknowingly, her smile affected Fred. It was the same smile she had greeted him with earlier and in the chapel, but in close proximity... It felt familiar and somewhat endearing. At that moment, he had thought it was because of her beauty. Even without seeing her face completely, Cheska was undoubtedly pretty. If only he could see her eyes...

Tony was happy to see the two people enter the car. The meeting had gone well as he had hoped. He had warned Cheska about the doctor’s mood swings. Tony also noticed that Fred smiled more with Cheska than the time they had spent touring the Mysts.

The chauffeur kept an eye on his passengers as he drove to the art gallery. He discovered later why they were on friendly terms in just one meeting.

“Thank you for yesterday”, Fred said as Cheska moved to the door that Tony had opened.

She waved it off and said, “That’s nothing compared to your having bought my paintings.”

“You know it isn’t true.” He frowned at her flawed logic.

To his credit, Cheska paused and admitted: “You’re right. All the same, thanks for buying my work.”

“It was your talent that made me buy it.”

“And thank you for the ride.”

“The honour is mine. I hope we could see each other again.”

“I look forward to it.” They shook hands.

As Tony drove further from the gallery, he sneaked a glance at Fred. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the doctor was interested in his friend.

Speaking of friend, Cheska had forgotten to mention that she had met Fred yesterday. It was natural for her to either omit details or forget things she considered unimportant. The latter seemed more likely though, but the way she behaved with Fred was surprising. Tony rarely saw Cheska close to anyone, except for him, her guardian, and her fiancé. Ugh! Fiancé, he thought scornfully. What did she ever see in him?