Outside the gate, I saw Nellie sitting in the porch doing something on her handy laptop. Clara get up on my car first and crawl under the gate to open it for me. Nellie get up on her chair when she noticed the clang sounds. "Hey, finally! You're home!", Nellie's commotion when she notice I get up from my car. Clara walks beside me but she decided to go to the garden farm and take her rest on her favorite site I exclusively made for her, the dandelion garden. I approach her, kissing her cheeks and immediately point out what was this exciting news she called out on me. "Ohh, before I forgot too… your interns here are doing good", putting aside her laptop then facing me again. "There's no need for you to worry much about them. They take good care of your garden under my auspices", she winks on me putting her 2 elbows under the small table, resting her chin between her two intertwining hands. "Alice called me yesterday about your painting. Seems like someone got the attraction on it. What's the reason? Remains surreptitious", she looks on me intently as if weighing me if I feel something more on that. I open my mouth but then I don't know how would I react. Until she continued, "You told me that all your abstracts were brought by your past. Although a lot of visitors come to notice your 20 masterpieces...", before she tried to continue, I glance for a while to the interns who arrived as they greeted us. I look back again on Nellie as I give her a nod to continue.
"Alice told me that he sounds indifferent and…", upon pointing out that pronoun, "he", it's logic to identify that he was a guy. "I think he is less concerned on the paintings. But he is enticed to know you". I feed it to my mind the word she was referring to. I repeat it to myself knowing it's either a foe or just a normal busy person trying to hooked on finding someone they want to be a stardom using their influence. But it is contradicting of what my mind tells me. My heart wonders where should I find that man behind the paintings he is in search for. I mask my emotions to Nellie knowing it will be at odds with to tell her my interest to the person she vaguely introduces. I cross my legs and repressed my please by letting me add some information with regards to the man. "At present, Alice had his business card. If you want to check it, you can drop by a little while in the Gallery", her assurance on me as she takes her phone on her pocket purse, but I doubt she would call Alice. "I'm willing to meet him…", I get up on my chair and about to walk to open the door when I remembered the interns is with me for the whole 2 weeks. "Ahm… maybe you should told Alice to give me his business card. I'll be the one to call him. But let Alice call him first to let him know the artist behind those crafts is also a country girl". Nellie give me an approval smile and dial the number of Alice.
I pass by Nellie's waiting call for Alice as I go inside my room to take my shower and quickly get up a passé outfit to instruct the interns what should they do today and how they undertake their activity while I was out. I am not on the mood to wear my garden outfit, so I switch on to loosen fit gray t-shirt and a jumper pants with a suspender. I brush my wet hair, roll it like a dough bread and pin it in between to avoid to fall down my long black hair almost reaching my skinny flat hips. I hurriedly go to my farm garden to approach the interns and see their activities as they apply their learnings outside. It's a good thing to know they are only 5 interns in my farm. The less they are, the better work tasks they can since I assigned each of them on every corners of my farm: the flower garden, the café, the vegetable, the fruit-bearing trees and the botanical garden where the newly sprout fruits, vegetables and flowers are found. I go to my office and look for the calendar if I missed some of my upcoming schedules. There I notice I wrote that on next week, a certain person will come to buy some of my farm products. I went back to Nellie who is still in the porch while she is doing something on her handy laptop. "Nellie, did Oscar look for me?". Nellie stop for a moment and glance a while on me wondering why on earth Oscar would call me. "Oscar? I don't know what he's up to (with you) but I think he's somewhere else with his fiancée. You know how crazy she is with her. and I don't care", rolling her eyes that seems she doesn't like to talk about. I keep my hair on the side as it is being blow by the wind and added, "No just wondering because he told me once someone is looking for me too". Nellie stops for a moment then back on her laptop and told me, "I think that person who's looking for you is also the person Oscar introduce to you. Although Alice didn't tell me but when I was there yesterday, I heard Larrie who was in the office of Oscar that someone came over to see him too".
I make an attempt to twist the facts that gives me a coincidence of that scenario. But I didn't focus my attention on those stuffs, thinking that it would be better if I home in myself to what makes my life be get busy. When I left Nellie tied up on her laptop, I encounter the interns one by one on their tasks. Seeing them willing to do their working loads, makes me think of they are like-minded to be an agriculturist one day. I decided to prepare them a delightful snack. While I am inside the garden café's kitchen, I heard Nellie calling out my name outside. Because of her echoing voice, I feel irritated even if I feel reluctant to answer right away. I become surprise when Clara bite my pants and push me to see what is happening outside. "Hey Clara stop it! You're tearing my pants". But she never stops doing that to me. "You have to see who is out there. I want you to see it with your own eyes". I pull hard myself from her strong force and say to her, "Okay I will go now. Fine!", shrugging my shoulders to surrender from her persistent urge.
I put down my apron on the stool and take off my hairnet too. Clara opens the door for me and I step down towards the door. When I heard the door clangs to close, I noticed between my two eyes Nellie is walking beside the man that so to speak, I met him already. I froze for a moment when I saw him that seeing his icy cold eyes would makes you wonder if that is just the way he will look when he meets a stranger. But are just a passing stranger? Or are we a long-time wanderer looking for the both of us where have we been for so long time away from one another? I observe the details of his face letting me know if he exists for a long time. Yet I see nothing but a deep, unheard story hidden for a long time. His pointed attractive nose, exquisite lips, capturing line of his jaw…. takes my breath away to see it over the time. To take that light-hearted feeling on me not letting him know that I gaze him for a long second, I stare at Nellie to let her introduce the man beside him. But before she could do that, I see the man in front of me stepping forward to meet me. Clara's tail wiggles when she saw him as if something behind that reserve cold emotion that he showed on us, there is a heartbeat that talks about for us. "It is my pleasure to meet the artist behind those masterpieces that gives me other perception in the world of painting". Though I heard him speaking, his eyes speak of affection lesser to describe. I swallow my throat hiding the affinity that I feel while I am around his. "Thank you for appreciating the paintings that I made", giving her a quick nod and smile as I continued, "It is my pleasure to know you and nice meeting you…", giving him my right hand to have a quick shake saying, "Mr.?" "I am David Theaus. The president of CLuna perfume brand". He extends his right hand too and say, "Nice meeting, you Chiara". "Yes, sir. Chiara Katerina….is my name".