Page 103 of Rivals
I lift my chin and kiss him again. “Let’s go see David,” he says. I nod, and he gets off of me. I watch him stroll into the bathroom and close the door. I’m looking forward to seeing this famous sculpture, but I’m more excited to watch him see it. I have a feeling it will be even better than seeing the other David. There was one in the Palazzo, but it wasn’t the original. The original is in the gallery, and for some reason, Lachlan seems to think it will be different. It doesn’t matter to me because he’s excited about it. Weirdly enough, that excites me, too.
***
We get to the gallery, and I know he will beeline straight for the statue when we get past admission. He was studying the map to pinpoint David’s exact location like we were running out of time to see him. It was all I could do to contain my laughter.
Admission moves quickly, and Lachlan takes off. I almost have to jog to keep up with him. We can see David from the other end of the hallway. Lachlan walks past all the other sculptures in the hall to get to David. The statue gets bigger and bigger the closer we get, and it is stunning. I look at Lachlan, and he is in total awe. He once told me his favorite thing about David is the way he stands. He said most statues look like that, statues. Others are more dynamic, like the other David, but this one feels like it was a picture caught in time instead of a man intentionally posing for it.
I have to agree with him. It looks like Michelangelo caught David mid-thought as if he was staring off into space, contemplating on walking into a battle that he may not win and the cost of losing would be his life. But he still went to fight Goliath. And for some reason, that feels way too close to my own life.
My mother, the drugs, maybe even Lachlan, are some form of my Goliath. But I am by no means David, and I have no slingshot. I watch Lachlan circle the statute over and over again. He studies it from head to toe. I wait off to the side while other observers look at the magnificent stone.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and angle it to catch the size difference between Lachlan and David. I want to remember this. He doesn’t notice what I’m doing because he’s too entranced with his favorite art form. I walk to another angle to get a picture of him focused without other people in the background. His head is tilted at David’s hand, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. It may be one of the best photos I’ve ever taken of him.
I play around with the photo to edit it, and feet come into my peripheral. Locking my phone, I look up to find Lachlan staring down at me. “Enjoying yourself?”
He smiles so wide it’s infectious, and I can’t help but smile back and reach for his hand. “I can’t believe I got to see it. It’s stunning. It’s inspiring. The workmanship is unbelievable. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it,” he says so quickly he’s almost breathless.
I giggle. “Good. I don’t think I’ll ever get over you looking at it like that.”
He shrugs sheepishly, and I squeeze his hand. “Ready to see everything else?” he asks.
“Only if you are.” He nods and leads the way.
We end up looking at most of the paintings on display. I thought the late gothic collection was fascinating. The era is one of my favorites, but it’s mysterious compared to the other surrounding pivotal times in history. It was almost as if it was a blip in time.
“I love that we have seen some of the world’s most famous and oldest art, but I’m not going to lie, I’m tired of it.”
Lachlan chuckles and lifts my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “Then let’s go,” he says.
I almost cackle when I recognize the other contestants standing off to the side of the gallery entrance. I think we’re all done with the museums. It’s starting to feel like we are being force-fed inspiration, and it only made us all want to puke.
“Hey Revna! Lachlan!” One woman in the group calls for us. I glance at Lachlan, and he grins at me, entertained by my discomfort.
Everyone looks at us, and I want to leave immediately. I don’t do group outings. “Hey, so we were talking about our agenda for tomorrow. Would you like to join us? We planned on hitting a few local spots we’ve heard about and maybe have dinner together?” She looks at us expectantly, and Lachlan glances at me. He knows I don’t want to go based on the way I’m squeezing his hand.
“Thank you…” Lachlan trails off because he doesn’t know her name. I don’t either.
“Allison,” she says.
“Allison,” Lachlan parrots. “Revna and I had a few things planned, but thank you for the offer.” She dips her head and blushes a little.
Hot and fiery jealousy consumes me, and I want to lunge for the girl. The realistic part of my brain has totally shut off. I take a step, and Lachlan pulls me back. “Ok, well, see you around,” she says.
“Yep,” Lachlan quips and turns me around, practically dragging me away from the group. “Deep breaths, baby. I could see the green seeping from your pores.”
“She was flirting with you,” I grumble. He chuckles.
“I don’t care, Revna. She’s not you,” he says. My steps falter, and he catches me before we keep walking. I feel those last icebergs that have kept my heart on ice since I was a girl finally start to slip away.
He is thawing me. I would say it’s a good thing, but the more I melt, the more can be seen. It’s only a matter of time until he sees what’s left. The ice-covered things were supposed to stay frozen forever, so I can’t help but feel like we were doomed from the start. There has always been that little part of me that says to leave now before he can leave you. Either I won’t be enough, or I’ll be too much for him; only time will tell.
We go past that same playhouse, and I want to go in. I don’t know why I want to see it, but it could be cool. “Hey, let’s sneak in.” I toss my thumb towards the doors.
“Really? Do you want to get arrested in a foreign country? I’m all for taking risks, but really?” He tilts his head in disbelief.
“Yes, really. You in or not?”
“Why not,” he sighs.
