The Hamilton Charm

Chapter 39

Recap:

"I hope we never meet again" he murmured and with those faithful last words he stormed from the apartment and out of my life. And that was the last time I saw him.

I knees buckled and I slid down the side of the counter to rest in a heap on the cold marble floor. I could hear the engine of his car start and then the squealing of tires as he raced down the road disappearing on the horizon.

Then the uncontrollable wailing began. I bawled my eyes out as sobs wracked my body. And then finally when there were no more tears left to shed, I became numb to the world around me. I stared at the cup of tea he left on the table until the milk in the cup began to smell sour.

I pulled myself off the ground and approached the mug. My hands flexed at my side and all the pent up anger I felt for Iver came out. I reached forward and swiped the mug off the table. It slammed against the wall with a satisfying crash.

I wandered into Ethan's bedroom like a zombie. My energy was drained. I pulled up the sheets and slowly climbed into the bed. I wrapped my arms around him and held him as he began to cry some more. "Its okay" I whispered as I stared at the stark white ceiling.

I pulled Ethan tighter against my chest. We had to stick together because all we have is each other.

********

4 years later

I framed the shot of the Pont Neuf with my camera. It was a wonderful shot with the seine meandering away in the distance. I turned off the camera and sighed loudly when my phone began to ring. I snatched it out of my pocket and answered it.

"Salut Talia. C'est Tomas. J'ai les nouveaux photos pour ta gallerie." Tomas, Ethan's new boyfriend greeted me. "Merci beaucoup, Tomas. Can you drop them off later today?" I asked while biting my lip. I really needed them to be ready for the opening at the end of the week. "Pas de problem, Talia. I shall drop them off within the hour. Is there anything else you need?" He asked. "No, no it's all good. Are you and Ethan heading out tonight again?"

Usually on a Friday night Ethan and Tomas head out and hit up some new gay/cocktail bar. Sometimes I go but tonight I wanted to relax with some Netflix. "Yup, we are going to some new bar in Le Marais" I could practically see him grinning down the phone. "Cool well have fun" I said cheerfully and then hung up after saying goodbye.

After Ethan came out and the whole other fiasco in London, I booked the next flight back to Paris with him. I left my job and decided to follow my dream with what little money I had and pursued a career in photography. After a shaky year and a few months my career started to take off. I was able to purchase a meagre Gallery in Paris to showcase my work. Later on I hired Tomas and he too shows off his photography skills.

We had been working flat out for the last year to produce an amazing collection for next Friday as it was our chance to make it big. We had quite a few famous names and faces in the art world coming to view our creations. It had to be perfect.

For a while Ethan lived with me in my old apartment as he attended university in the Sorbonne but then he got a place of his own. I eventually found a new apartment in a more affluent region in Paris. It nearly broke my bank account but when I saw the bathtub I knew that it had to be mine. The thing has like a billion jets!

I checked the time on my phone and then cursed out loud. I was late. I shoved my camera back into my bag and began to run to the nearest metro station. In fifteen minutes, I was panting heavily outside la maternelle. I caught my breath and began to look around. Suddenly a little dark haired, olive skin toned boy ran towards me with a flurry of limbs. His black hair was mussed and unkempt. He was dressed in dark jean shorts that cut off at the knee and a thick, light grey, jumper with brown sown on leather patches at the elbow. He was also wearing scuffed, white high top leather converse shoes. They were his favourite.