Page 7 of Until You Came Along

“No. I told you 1202, but as always, you don’t pay much attention when I talk to you.”

He moved away from my side and began walking toward Baco, who I imagined was his brother, which meant this arrogant man was the famous Hermes that he had told me so much about that night.

This has to be a joke of destiny!I thought.

“You should apologize to Delfina.”

“Apologize? Why should I? The lady was the one who started shouting.”

“Hermes, don’t be an idiot and apologize to her. You barged into her apartment uninvited and started giving her orders as if she were one of your employees. Apologize to her,” Baco ordered, seriously.

“Don’t worry, I imagine the ‘gentleman’ was just leaving,” I said, emphasizing the word gentleman.

He looked at me with a furrowed brow and then turned back to his brother.

“Do you know each other?” he asked, ignoring what his brother had said.

“We’re friends, and Delfina doesn’t deserve to be the target of your bad mood.”

“Baco, forget it,” I said, trying to calm the atmosphere.

“Miss, there was obviously a misunderstanding. I apologize for barging into your home,” he said, looked at his brother and added: “Let’s go to your apartment. I need to talk to you. You made me come here because you don’t answer my calls.” Without another word, he turned and left.

“Beautiful, I’ll be right back. You can look at this that I brought,” he said, pointing to a package on the floor that I assumed was his painting.

When they left, I stood staring at the door, not believing what had just happened. That man was arrogance personified. Now I understood everything Baco had told me about him. It must be very difficult to contradict him. Although he was incredibly attractive, all his charm collapsed when he looked down at you as if you were little more than an insect he could crush, and even worse when he opened his mouth and spoke as if he were the king of the world and the rest of us were his subjects.

I prepared the cups to serve coffee and went to look at Baco’s painting. When I unwrapped it, I was amazed and fascinated. It was a wonderful landscape inspired by a beach that transported your mind and masterfully captured a sunny sunset. I stood looking at it captivated; I could almost feel the waves, the air, and the warmth of the sun. It was a magnificent work. Baco was a great artist. Thinking about him reminded me of the comments about his brother and his unwillingness to support him, and I was filled with fury again. That man needed to be put in his place! I took the painting and carefully placed it on the long couch. I continued looking at it, dazzled, until I felt a presence beside me.

“What do you think?” Baco asked.

“I’m fascinated. It’s beautiful!” I exclaimed, still admiring the painting.

“It’s yours,” he stated.

I turned abruptly and stared at him with my mouth open.

“I can’t accept it. It’s too much.”

“Are you going to reject a gift? Take it as an early birthday present. By the way, when is your birthday?”

“January 19th.”

“Then it’s a gift that’s almost two months early. Do you like it?”

“How can you even ask that? You’re a great artist! This painting is a true work of art!”

“Thank you,” he said shyly. This man was the opposite of his brother.

“Your brother is a fool!”

“That’s not news. I apologize for the way he treated you,” he said, looking downcast.

“You don’t have to apologize. Besides, I’ve already completely forgotten about him and his ogre face,” I lied, because I didn’t think I would forget that gaze so easily.

Baco burst out laughing.

“You’re right, he does look like an ogre, although deep down he’s not so bad.”