Impossible Things (27 page)

She was serious when she said she wanted to get to know him and to find out how she felt about him, apart from the sex. He didn’t pressure her at all. Instead he had her over for dinner a few times, takeaway of course, and they walked and talked their way around London as they got to know one another.

Two days before Christmas Lucy realized that she hadn’t bought a single present yet. Rodrigo and Chiara where in a board meeting so she decided to take a long lunch and do some shopping.

She wandered down Sloane Street and passed store after store but couldn’t afford anything in most of them. She had a thousand
dollars in her savings account but that was it, she would need that money to live on until she got paid. She and Rodrigo hadn’t discussed a salary and she was hesitant to ask. He had done so much for her that it seemed crass to ask about money.

Further down the block she passed a few high end jewelry stores and she was surprised to find that she didn’t want to go in. She stopped to look in their windows but for some reason
that she didn’t stop to think about, the beautiful jewelry in the windows didn’t produce the usual feelings of lust in her.

At a world-famous French luxury store she went in and after careful deliberation she bought her mom a bottle of perfume. It was warm and spicy and different from
Rosaline’s usual fragrance. Lucy bought it because it better suited the woman that Lucy now knew her mom was.

At an antique store she bought Rodrigo a small, leather lion. It was elegant, beautiful and simple like he was.

Feeling happy with her purchases she wandered further down the high street smiling at the people hurrying by with their packages. For the first time she felt like she was in the Christmas spirit. The street was decorated simply and most stores had elegant bows in their windows. The day was crisp and cool, though Lucas had told her that snow was expected on Christmas day.

She stopped for a coffee and stood inside the shop staring out. London was finally starting to feel like home and she knew that had nothing to do with the city and everything to do with the inner changes that were taking place.

She finished her coffee, got a hot chocolate and cookie to go and went out into the cold feeling happy.

An hour later she was no longer feeling happy
. Instead she felt stressed out and worried. After going from shop to shop she still hadn’t found anything for Isabella or Lucas.

Her grandmother was hard to shop for and she wanted something special for Lucas, but she needed to get back to the office before Rodrigo and Chiara missed her.

This was probably the last chance she’d get to shop before Christmas so she went in a few more stores and was about to make her way back when she saw a shop across the street with a Chinese name that she’d never heard of before. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to try she went in.

The minute she walked in the door she spotted the perfect present for her grandmother. It was a silk scarf in a vibrant scarlet that Lucy knew would perfectly match Isabella’s lipstick shade.

The clerk wrapped it for her and she was about to leave when she glanced over and saw a display case full of jewelry. Curious she stepped over and her eyes fell on a pair of onyx and silver cufflinks.

She smiled.

Cufflinks were the male version of jewelry and after all the jewelry that he had given her it was her turn to give some to him.

She bought them and left the shop smiling again with the knowledge that for the first time in her life she had bought presents that reflected the personality of their owners. The presents were small but thoughtful, and she had spent half of her thousand pounds but she didn’t care, because she was
so happy with each of them.

She walked back to the office on a different side of the street and when she passed a stationary store she glanced in the window to see a white leather picture frame. She went in and bought it and had them wrap it
up. She had only known Chiara for a week but she wanted to give her something to thank her for everything that she had done.

When she got back Rodrigo and Chiara were in his office. They looked up when she came in and she smiled at them.

“I thought maybe we’d worked you too hard and you ran away,” Rodrigo said, smiling in relief.

She sat her packages on the floor and said, “No, I went to get something to eat and to Christmas shop. I hadn’t done it yet.”

Chiara laughed, “I start my Christmas shopping in August. I have to with two kids or I’d never get it done otherwise.”

They talked for a few minutes, and Lucy was ecstatic to find out that the pieces they’d spent the week working on were going to be ready for London fashion week.

At five Rodrigo closed his laptop and said, “Your grandmother is going to be furious with me. It’s Sunday and I worked all day and kept her granddaughter from her. We need to go home.”

He stood up and Lucy capped her pen and stood up as well. She took her papers
back to the office that she was sharing with Chiara and then went back to Rodrigo’s office. He was going around the room turning off lamps and Chiara was putting her things away in her briefcase.

Chiara
stood up and approached her brother. “I love you,” Rodrigo said and leaned down to kiss his sister on the cheek and to embrace her.

“Ti amo,” Chiara said and kissed him back.

Chiara came across the room and hugged Lucy, “Have a wonderful Christmas,” she said, “And I’ll see the two of you in the New Year.”

Lucy pulled back, “We won’t work again?”

Chiara laughed and shook her head. “No, even Rodrigo isn’t that much of a slave driver. We’ll see each other the week before the runway show. They need time to make the pieces and everything else is done. I’m going home to see my family and we’re going to celebrate Christmas and then take the kids to the Amalfie Coast to see my parents.”

Chiara reached into her purse and pulled out a small, wrapped package, and handed it to Lucy. “This is for you.”

Surprised Lucy smiled at her and took the package before going over and taking out the package for Chiara from her bags. “And this is for you. I saw it and thought of you.”

Chiara smiled and ripped open the package. When she saw the white leather frame she looked up at Lucy and said, “Thank you, it’s beautiful.”

Lucy shrugged, feeling suddenly shy and hesitant. “It reminded me of your beautiful white coat and I thought you could put a picture of Diego and your kids in it for your desk.”

Chiara nodded and leaned forward to kiss Lucy on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said again.

Lucy opened her present, pulling off the pretty red paper to see a leather box. When she opened the box and saw that it contained a beautiful pair of ruby and diamond earrings she gasped.

“Oh no, I can’t,” she said and Chiara reached out and put her hand on Lucy’s. “Of course you can. These are from me and my mother and we want you to have them.”

Not understanding Lucy asked, “Your mother?”

Chiara nodded. “Even though in technicality you’re Rodrigo’s granddaughter, you’re the only granddaughter from him that our mother is ever going to get. So she wanted you to have these. They were her mother’s. She also sent your mother a pair which Rodrigo will give to her tonight.’
 

Lucy felt the tears pouring down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, “Thank you so much, and please thank her for me.”

Chiara had tears in her own eyes as she said, “You can do that yourself. In a few weeks Rodrigo will bring all of you to see us and you can thank her then.”

Not knowing what else to say Lucy nodded her head and reached out to hug the older woman. Before Chiara pulled away she said, “Welcome to our family Lucy.”

Chiara left shortly after that and Rodrigo and Lucy were quiet on the drive home. It wasn’t until they were stopped at a light that Rodrigo said, “Oh! I almost forgot,” and reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

He handed it to Lucy and she took it and unfolded it to find that it was an envelope. She opened the envelope and reached it and pulled out a check. When she saw how much it was for she couldn’t help but say, “Wow!”

Rodrigo laughed. “Chiara and I had no idea how to determine how much to pay you. While you’re designing the collection for us, it your work and you’re not really an employee. So we calculated how many pieces we expect to sell and divided it in half. That’s your share.”

She turned to look at him, “But what if they don’t sell?”

Rodrigo shook his head. “Lucy they’re going to sell. Believe me, I know my job and the pieces you designed this week are going to sell as quickly as people can get their hands on them.”

Lucy looked down at the check in her hand. It was the most money that she had ever seen in her life. It was more than her parent’s
entire mortgage.

For a second she thought about going shopping again but then realized that the presents that she had picked out were perfect. It wasn’t about the money spent; it was about the thought that went into each gift.

             
When they got to the house it was silent and Rodrigo went looking for her grandmother while Lucy went to change her clothes. There was a knock at her door a few minutes later and she said, “Yes.”

Rodrigo opened
the door and said, “Lucy you’d better come.”

He turned and Lucy felt her stomach drop as she rushed after him. They went into his and Isabella’s room and found her mom and grandmother on the bed. Her mom was lying in Isabella’s arms and was crying her eyes out.

Lucy flew across the room, “Mom what’s wrong?”

But Rosaline was too upset to tell her. Instead it was Isabella who said, “Your father called. He told her to come home and bring you with her.”

Lucy looked at Isabella and saw the fear in her grandmother’s eyes.

It had been too good to be true, Lucy had put off thinking about her mom going home, but it had always been there in the back of her mind.

While she knew that there was no way she was going back to the states, she knew her mom would. She wished with all her heart that Rosaline would stay in London as well.

“Mom, I’m not going with you.”

Rosaline nodded through her tears and choked out, “Of course you’re not. You have a life here now. You have a job and family. I would never expect you to come with me.”

Lucy reached down and grabbed her mom’s hand. “But you’re my family too. Can’t you stay?”

Rosaline began to cry again and Lucy rubbed her shoulders as Isabella rubbed her hand over her daughter’s hair and made soothing noises. When she was finally able to stop crying Rosaline said, “I have to go. He’s my husband.”

Lucy took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said a quick prayer before saying, “Mom I love you and I love dad. I do. But I don’t think he’s right for you.”

Rosaline looked up at her daughter. She didn’t say anything she just watched Lucy as she said, “Life is very short mom. Very. Tomorrow something could happen and take one of us. I don’t want you to live in unhappiness for a single second and I don’t want to either. I want us to live.”

Rosaline and said, “You sound so much like your grandmother,” and smiled up at Isabella.

Lucy nodded. “I know I do. Dad was right, she
is
infectious. But not because of the beautiful clothes or the jewels or even the beautiful men,” she turned and smiled at Rodrigo who was pacing back and forth at the end of the bed. He stopped for a minute and smiled at her.

She continued, “What’s infectious is her love of life. That’s what I’ve learned in my time here. That’s what she’s taught me. Life doesn’t hand you happiness, you have to go after it. You have to refuse to take the life that is given to you and to go after the one you want.”

Rosaline sat up and pushed her black hair out of her eyes. Without make-up and with a runny, red nose she looked like a young girl as she stared at Lucy. “But I love him,” she said, and Lucy nodded.

“I know you do. But sometimes we love the wrong people. You didn’t want me to stay with Sam because he was wrong for me. I don’t want you to stay with dad because he’s wrong for you.”

“He’s my husband,” Rosaline said and Lucy answered, “I know. But you’ve tried enough mom, you’ve given enough to him and your marriage. It’s time to give something back to yourself.”

The words were whispered as Rosaline asked, “Divorce?”

Lucy nodded and asked, “Mom if you could live anywhere in the world and do anything you wanted to do what would it be?”

Rosaline looked confused as she shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything. I went to college but that was it. I never had a job after your father and I got married.”

Lucy leaned forward and her words were a whisper as she said, “A new life mom. A new you. You can be anything or anyone you want to be. It’s not too late.”

The three women sat talking for the rest of the night and Rodrigo went downstairs to watch TV.

At eight he knocked on the door and Lucy opened it to see him standing on the other side holding a pizza box, a bottle of champagne and glasses. He came in the room and sat it on the bed before handing out paper plates and napkins. He kissed each of them in turn before turning and leaving the room without ever saying a word.