Chapter 7 The Call

• “Hi.” A deep male voice entered Elle’s ears. The voice belonged to Lucas, of course.
• “Hi,” Elle replied, looking nervous. It affected her greeting, which sounded a little stiff.
• Yes, the two of them, Lucas and Elle, had just started their conversation over the phone. According to the message Elle received, Lucas contacted her. Sure, after getting her permission. However, they did not immediately do it. As she had already said, Elle didn’t want to disturb Lucas’ focus on his work. So she was willing to wait until she and Lucas finished what they had to do.
• And finally, Lucas called her at almost eleven at night. At that time, Elle had finished working on the order from her client. She waited nervously on her bed with the phone in her hand.
• “I already asked how you were, so I’ll replace it with another question. How was your day?”
• The long sentence that ended with a simple question instantly brought laughter to Elle’s lips. Her nervousness slowly disappeared, replaced by the comfort that began to warm her chest. “It was good. Today I spent a lot of time in art class. I also met Amy for lunch.” She mentioned some of her activities, which were not much. That was her routine for the last three years. She only dwelled on those repeated activities. They sounded boring, right?
• “Ah, I almost forgot that you’re a painter,” Lucas interrupted with a hint of amazement in his voice. He once said he was just an amateur who didn’t understand art much.
• “Still learning,” Elle corrected quickly. As she recalled, she had already said it at their meeting yesterday. But perhaps, Elle needed to mention it again in case Lucas forgot about that fact. It hadn’t been long since she had held the same status as Lucas. Amateur in art. So Elle didn’t want to brag about being an expert. She was still a novice painter.
• “At least you’ve produced some masterpieces.” Lucas chimed in. What he said was true. There were already several paintings that Elle had produced, so she deserved to be called a painter. “May I see your works?”
• “Of course. Next time, I’ll show them to you,” Elle promised. She had a plan in mind to take pictures of all the paintings she made. Then she would show some images in her sketchbook. And also the digital work. Oh, there was so much she wanted to show him. She was so excited just to think about it.
• “How about we meet this weekend?”
• “Huh?” Like an idiot, Elle responded.
• “This weekend, we meet. What do you think?” Lucas repeated his question.
• Elle blinked her eyes repeatedly to digest Lucas’ sudden offer. She was happy, of course. But, on the other hand, she remembered something. They lived pretty far apart. London-Copenhagen wasn’t as close as her apartment and Amy’s house. “Are you going to London?” Doubtful, she asked.
• “Yes.”
• She bit her lower lip. It embarrassed her to ask Lucas to do it. Who she was to Lucas that he had to fly to London only to see her. “Wouldn’t it bother you to come all the way here?”
• “No. I travel to London a lot.”
• “Are you sure?”
• “Yes. I love London.”
• A sigh escaped Elle’s lips. She was relieved to hear Lucas’ answer. At least she didn’t make him come to London just to fulfill his promise. “All right then.”
• “I will pick you up.”
• That quite surprised Elle. Not only meet, but Lucas would also pick her up? She could no longer hide her smile. “Okay.”
• Then, silence. Lucas and Elle were both silent in their thoughts.
• “Between painting and cooking, which one do you prefer more?”
• Again, Elle was taken aback by Lucas. His sudden question caused a frown to form on her forehead. Why did Lucas suddenly mention cooking?
• Maybe, hearing about her silence, Lucas continued to say, “I heard from Amy that you two love to cook together.”
• Elle nodded in understanding. The wrinkles on her forehead had disappeared as she understood why the word cooking came from his lips. Her best friend had already told Lucas about her hobby. “How much do you know about me?” she asked as she leaned back until her back touched the headboard.
• “Hmm,” Lucas mumbled. “Enough to know what kind of person you are,” he replied.
• Elle slightly tilted her head. Her brain digested his statement, which seemed ambiguous. So, really, how much information did he have to get to know her?
• “So, which one do you like more? Cooking or painting?” Lucas asked again, sounding impatient.
• Following Lucas, Elle muttered as she thought of the correct answer to give to him. “Maybe, cooking. I’ve loved doing it since I was a little.” It was then flashes of her past that came through her mind. The longing was also present when recalling the happy memories. There was her dad, her mom, and herself.
• But she did not deny the pain that also interfered with happiness and longing. It was always like that. The pain always came along with an emptiness that felt like it wanted to take over her whole heart. And she would end up the same. Empty. Something must be there. Something she didn’t know what it was.
• “Then what’s your favorite dish?” Lucas asked again.
• “Pasta. I can make all kinds of pasta, and I guarantee they’re delicious,” Elle replied confidently. Her father taught her recipes and tricks to make her pasta even more delicious.
• “Really?”
• “Yes.”
• “Can I try?”
• “Of course.” Just as Elle replied that way, she seemed to have realized something. “What did you say?” she asked to confirm her hearing.
• A soft chuckle was heard from the other side. Lucas laughed. What else was he laughing at other than her silliness that answered without hearing the question correctly? Sometimes, her mouth responded faster than her brain. That often made her look careless, even though she was careful and thought of everything well.
• “I said, may I try your dishes?” Lucas repeated his words as his laughter subsided.
• “Sure.” And Elle still gave the same answer. Of course, after listening carefully to his words.
• “Thank you, Elle. I feel honored to try your homemade food.”
• This time, it was Elle who wanted to laugh at his words. She wasn’t that great to deserve his credit before he even tried her food. But she would still accept it. It was not good to refuse compliments other people gave her, right?
• “What about painting?” Lucas changed the topic to another hobby she had mentioned earlier.
• “I learned it because-“ Elle stopped just as her lips were about to reveal the reason behind choosing to paint as her favorite activity.
• “Because?” Lucas parroted her last words.
• “Because-“ Elle said lowly and deliberately paused her sentence because she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell everything. “Because-“ She kept repeating the same word. She was not prepared to share her life story with someone new.
• “Did something happen?” Lucas understood the hesitation in Elle’s voice. He didn’t force Elle to answer and directed her to another question.
• “Yes.”
• “Something bad?”
• Correct guess. The reason was not something pleasant. If Elle had a choice, she wished it had never happened in her life. “Yes.” Softly, she agreed to Lucas’ question.
• Both of them fell silent. Elle again felt the emptiness in her heart. There was pain that trapped her in a pit of despair. She never wanted to be like this. She wanted her whole life.
• “Hey, listen, Elle,” Lucas called her name in a very gentle and soothing way. “Those who love you sincerely will never blame you for anything bad that happened to you. It’s beyond your control. You can grieve, you can be at the worst, and you can cry as hard as you can. If necessary, scream. Tell them you are not good. But you have to remember these. They love you. They support you. They want you to get up. Even though they don’t show it, or maybe you don’t know them at all. But these people exist. They are real, Elle. So, you can stop blaming yourself.”