I walk to the kitchen and pull up a chair in front of the computer, warning him of these facts.
Nick grabs a drink while the file opens and then walks over to me. The screen is off, and the finished picture is there waiting. All I have to do is press a button. My heart thumps, slamming into my ribs. “Ready?”
“Show me,” Nick urges, and I hit the button. The image comes onto the screen and I close my eyes. I can’t watch his reaction. The picture is Sophie, floating on her back, eyes closed, in the cove. Her satin gown clings to her pale body, revealing every inch the water doesn’t conceal. The cream colored hem of her skirt billows around her ankles and off to one side of the picture. Dark hair swirls around her face and she floats with her arms by her sides, a single raised finger is the only way you can tell she’s alive. It’s life and death, beginnings and endings, darkness and light all caught up into one piece. It screams of utter confusion and sublime emotion. It felt like I’d drowned that day, but symbolized in that raised finger there was a flicker of hope.
Nick gasps and leans in closer. “My God, Sky. This is…” His jaw hangs open and I inwardly cringe. He hates it. I reach for the screen to turn it off, but he grabs my wrist. “This is the most amazing piece you’ve ever created. She looks like that old painting of Ophelia, but it’s different, hopeful, like she’ll float away and begin again. And the dress and the way the water surrounds her, she looks perfect, like a Greek Goddess.”
Oops, I didn’t think about that part too much before I opened the image. Sophie is dressed, but her breasts are clearly visible. It’s like there’s a layer of tissue paper to conceal her modesty and that’s it. “I shouldn’t have shown you this.” I try to pull away, to shut off the screen, but he won’t let me.
Instead, Nick pulls me to my feet and brushes my hair behind my ear. “Don’t tell me that you’re too shy to show me pieces like this.”
“That’s not it. This is my best friend. She looks perfect because she is perfect. Everything about her is perfect.”
Nick tips my face up so our gazes lock. “Who made you so insecure? I want to kick his ass. I also need to tell you something. You need to see it, hold on.” Nick clicks a few buttons and pulls up a picture of Sophie the way she usually looks and puts the two images side by side. “The woman you photographed may be your best friend, but she doesn’t look like that. The woman in that picture, the heart and soul of that piece, is you. You made her body curvy with the water lines and shadows. The highlights from the sun illuminated her skin perfectly. This piece reveals more about you than her. I don’t see a half dressed body in the water. I see you, your thoughts and fears, beautifully displayed in a context that means something to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s your mermaid cove, right?”
“Yeah.” Nerves shoot through me. I knew Nick was perceptive and the thought was in my mind when I shot the picture, but I’d not verbalized it to anyone, not even myself. I start to shake.
“This is symbolic for you, too. It’s the end of childhood and the beginning of something else, something unknown. The mermaids only favored Peter in that book. They tried to kill Wendy and any other girl that went near their cove. The location of this portrait matters, because it reflects the end of one life and hopefulness of another. This Ophelia is not dead, she just needs to be revived—you needed to be brought back to life and leave some childhood notions behind—not all of them.”
I stare at him feeling completely exposed, even though I’m dressed. I smile crookedly, awkwardly, “You see through me.”
“Scary, isn’t it?” Nick smiles and pulls me toward him. “I know how that feels. It haunts me every time I look at you. At the same time, it’s freeing. I don’t have to pretend around you. I already know who you are and I like what I see, childhood dreams, crazy mother and all—Sky, it just makes me want you more.”
I throw my arms around his neck and he sweeps me up, taking me to the bed and showing me just how much he loves me.
CHAPTER 36
A few weeks pass. Sophie picks up her pictures and loves them. Her cousin defaulted on her bet since Sophie had no wedding pictures, so there was no money to be won. Amy is back working the front desk in the new studio and I’ve replaced all the albums that were ruined, and now my work and Nick’s line the front room. We shoot together, but business has been slow.