Begin Again: Chapter 14

Audrey knows that Ellen hates to be disturbed in the middle of work, even more during the busy hours of dinner. Audrey doesn’t normally take the risk to go see Ellen at times like this, but right now she’s curious to death and she needs answers. 

Audrey is left to wait inside Ellen’s office while Andy is off to the kitchen to let his boss know. Even though Ellen and she already know each other for quite a while, this is only Audrey’s second time inside this room. Ellen’s office at the Ramses. The first time that she went into this room, she meant to give a surprise to Ellen, which… didn’t go quite as planned. On that day, Audrey found out two important things about Ellen. First, that Ellen doesn’t like to be disturbed while she’s working. Two, Ellen doesn’t enjoy surprises. 

Audrey had only wanted to give a birthday surprise by appearing at the Ramses with a birthday cake and some friends that Ellen also knows. But Ellen didn’t seem surprised at all, let alone happy, when she saw Audrey there with her other 20 friends, yelling “happy birthdaaay!” Oh, no. That woman was not happy at all. Audrey can never forget the look on Ellen’s face when she scolds her in front of her friends in this room.

That unpleasant memory makes Audrey looks around the room while cringing. Her eyes land on a box on Ellen’s working desk. That box has the exact same patterns with the one she’s holding in her hands. She approaches the desk to get a better view. Yes, it is the very same box. From A Piece of Cake. On top of the box, there was a sticky note which says, “PRIVATE PROPERTY. Trespassers will be heavily punished. Yes, including you, Andy.” 

Audrey lifts up the lid and sees only 2 tartlets inside it. 

“What do you need, Audrey?” 

Audrey spins around and flashes her sweetest smile despite knowing that it doesn’t have any effect on Ellen. Ellen is one among a very few people who aren't astonished or instantly turns into an obedient dog once seeing Audrey’s smile. That’s one of the things that makes Audrey likes her, besides the fact that Ellen DeGeneres is the owner and the executive chef of Ramses. And if she can be completely honest, Audrey hopes that Ellen’s tendency to be slightly cold and apathetic towards her is just a mask and that deep down inside that woman secretly likes her back. 

“I want to give you this,” Audrey says, lifting the box she’s holding. “I went to your friend’s patisserie earlier and bought this.” 

There’s a slight but noticeable change in Ellen’s demeanor. The light on her eyes softens in a split second and she smiles a little. “Oh? That’s great. Did you see Portia?” 

Audrey nods her head. “I did. I bought these tartlets for you, but I can see that you already bought some yourself,” she says while pointing at the box on Ellen’s desk. 

Ellen smiles. “Oh, I didn’t buy it. It was a gift,” she says, almost proudly. “But I’ll be glad to receive another package of Portia’s tartlets. Everybody here is addicted to it.” 

“That’s why you feel the need to protect the remaining two?” Audrey asks, talking about the sticky note on Ellen’s box. 

“Yes, exactly.” 

Audrey hands her box to Ellen and Ellen puts it carefully on her desk, next to the other one. Audrey’s eyes go to Ellen’s left hand. The ring that she always wears on her ring finger is nowhere to be seen. “Anyway, she told me she’s not your friend.” 

“Who?”

“Portia de Rossi,” Audrey says. 

Ellen raises her eyebrows. “She said we’re not friends?”

“Mm-hm.” 

Ellen is quiet for a while, then shrugs. “Well, I guess she’s right,” she says while smiling. 

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Audrey thinks to herself, frowning. Does this have something to do with the ring that’s hanging on Portia’s necklace? 

“Oh, where’s your ring?” Audrey asks innocently. “Your grandma’s ring, I mean. The one you always wear.” 

Ellen looks at her left hand. “I took it off,” she says briefly. 

No further explanation, so Audrey doesn’t know what to do. She wants to ask more, but she’s not sure that she wants to hear Ellen’s answer.

“So, why were you looking for me?” Ellen asks. “Only to give me the tartlets?”

Audrey puts on her best smile again and mumbles a yes. “But I also wanted to make sure that you haven’t forgotten about the Christmas party at The Plaza tomorrow.” 

“What Christmas party?”

“Oh, Ellen,” Audrey groans. “Why can’t you keep track of your promises?”

“What Christmas party?” Ellen repeats her question. 

Audrey pouts. “The Christmas party that’ll be held by the designer who hires me. I already told you about this weeks ago. This is very important, Ellen, and you promised to go with me.” 

“I did?” Ellen asks again instead. 

“Yes,” Audrey says vexedly. Ellen has always been like this. She rarely remembers her promises and rarely listens to Audrey’s words. Audrey should’ve gotten used to it by now, but instead, it keeps her wondering whether or not Ellen ever really pays attention to her. “I can’t go to the party alone, Ellen. They told me that I can bring my girlfriend with me, so I asked you to come. And you agreed.” 

“Alright. Alright,” Ellen says placidly. “Don’t need to be stressed about it. I’ll go with you. Is that it? Anything else? I have to get back to work.” 

Audrey shakes her head with a wide, joyful grin. 

Ellen stares at her confusedly. “Why are you smiling like that? It looks scary.” 

Audrey shakes her head again, but her grin only gets wider. “Nothing.” 

Ellen looks dubious but doesn’t say anything. She only walks past Audrey and says, “Okay. Gotta get back to the kitchen. You can show yourself out, right?” Ellen already disappears before Audrey can give out any answer. 

That’s okay. Audrey is not offended. She’s too freaking happy to be offended at the moment. She almost shouts out of joy right there. How can she not? She just implied that Ellen is her girlfriend and Ellen didn’t deny it. 

Begin Again: Chapter 13

Have you forgotten me? Or are you still waiting for me? 

Francesca’s words echo in Portia’s mind while she’s sitting in front of her oven that night. To be honest, she didn’t know what to say when the question was imposed upon her. She was saved from the confusing situation because right after Francesca said that, the cab driver suddenly blared the horn and slammed the brake so suddenly that both of the passengers were almost thrown from their seat. The driver opened the window and started to yell out every curse words imaginable, partly in Spanish. 

Satisfied with his curses, the driver closed the window and started to drive again as if nothing had happened. He didn’t even bother to ask if the passengers were okay. 

Welcome to New York City. 

Portia and Francesca enjoyed their lunch afterwards in a Mexican restaurant on Ninth Avenue. They talked about what they have been up to for the last 4 years, they laughed and they joked. However, neither Portia nor Francesca ever mentioned the question that had been asked in the cab before. 

Ping! 

Portia blinks, stares at the oven in confusion, then realizes that it was her phone that produced the sound. A text message. She fishes out her phone from the pocket of the apron she's wearing. The name that shows up got her opening the message in the speed of light. 

Thank you for the tartlets. Sorry I’m not here when you came. 

Portia winced. Seems like the manager had waved away Portia’s words and ended up telling Ellen about her quick visit. 

I hope the poor man is okay, Portia types her reply. 

Suddenly Portia’s phone goes off and Ellen’s name shows up again on the screen. 

“Hello?” Portia says with her phone on her right ear. 

“It’s nothing too serious, thank god,” Ellen says on the other end, continuing their conversation. “He’ll be alright and will be able to get back to work in a few days.” 

Ellen sounds a little tired, but her voice is still as light and relaxed as usual. It’s completely different from yesterday night. Secretly, Portia sighs in relief and smiles. It appears that Ellen is no longer mad at her. “Yeah, thank god,” she mumbles. 

“Oh, you need to know what your tartlets have caused here. It’s started a havoc! Everybody wants to have one. Even my best pâtissier now claims himself as one of your biggest fans,” Ellen goes on. 

Portia raises her eyebrows. “Are you complimenting me?”

“Duh,” Ellen spits out. “My god, what’s not obvious about my words? Or are you the type of person who likes to fish out more compliments?” 

Portia shuts her eyes and sighs, “I hate you.” 

“No, you don’t,” Ellen replies calmly. Portia can almost see Ellen’s smile when she’s saying it. “Anyway, I have to go back to the kitchen now. What are you up to tonight?” 

Those seemingly irrelevant sentences make Portia squints her eyes in suspicion. She hesitates for a while before answering, “Nothing special. My oldest brother has finally come back from his honeymoon trip and we’re gonna have a family dinner at my mom’s place.” 

“Sounds fun,” Ellen says. “Alright. I’ll call you again later.” 

“Why?” 

“Why not?” 

“I really don’t understand you.” 

“I’ll be glad to give you the chance to know me better.” 

“I don’t… Oh, whatever.”

Ellen laughs amusedly. “Okay. I really have to go now.” 

“Then go.” 

“Oh, and one more thing,” Ellen says quickly. “Empty your schedule this weekend. My mom wants to invite your family to dinner at the Ramses.” 

“Wha—“

“Bye!” And the woman hangs up. 

Portia can do nothing but stares blankly at her phone for a minute before chuckling to herself and puts the phone back inside the pocket. She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. After talking to Ellen, her chest feels lighter somehow. 

Remembering something out of the blue, Portia pulls her hand from the warm pocket and looks down to the ring that’s crowning her ring finger. She almost forgets about this ring. She has to give it back to Ellen as soon as possible. Portia makes her way towards the kitchen sink and starts to rub her hand with soap. A couple seconds afterwards the ring easily comes off.

Now what?

Recalling that the ring is one of Ellen’s greatest treasures, Portia surely has to keep it somewhere safe. She looks around. Since she could only give the ring back once she sees Ellen again, she can’t just put the ring somewhere in the shop or in her apartment. It’s not safe and it’s not practical. Storing the ring in a pocket doesn’t feel safe either. Even her purse doesn’t feel safe to her, because Portia, as many other girls, likes to change the purse day to day. The safest place to ‘keep’ it is surely on Portia’s fingers, but Portia can’t possibly put the ring back on. 

Portia bites her lip and thinks. Oh, wait a minute… Portia’s left hand mechanically rises to her neck, touching the silver necklace she’s wearing. The necklace with the fleur-de-lis pendant was a gift from her brothers on her sixteenth birthday, and she treasures it more than anything else. 

Portia unhooks the necklace and slides the ring in. She watches as the ring slides down and makes a soft ding sound when it hits the pendant. She puts the necklace back around her neck and touches both the pendant and the ring that’s now hanging from her neck with the tip of her fingers.

Perfect, she thinks to herself. This way, she knows that the ring is safe with her and that she can give it back to Ellen whenever she sees that woman again. 

Portia’s still staring at the faint reflection of herself on the oven glass when Kali appears on the door and says, “Boss, someone’s here for you again.” 

************

“Hi, still remember me?” 

For a moment Portia doesn’t recognize the pretty face in front of her. She stares at her tall figure; red-head, green eyes, beautiful smile. The next second Portia finally remembers where she had seen this woman before. At the art exhibition she had attended with Nic a few days ago. Portia had stumbled upon Ellen and this woman there. “Ah, yes, of course I do,” Portia says in a friendly manner though she doesn’t remember her name. “How are you?” 

The gorgeous woman’s smile widens and her beautiful green eyes sparkle delightedly. “I’m very well,” she says. She then points at another woman with short black hair à la Liza Minnelli who’s talking to Kali and continues, “I’m here with a friend of mine. Since Ellen told me that you’re the owner of A Piece of Cake, I thought it’s about time I tried your tartlets.” 

The Liza Minnelli woman smiles at Portia and says, “Actually, Audrey also wants to know if you also make wedding cakes.”

Oh, right. Audrey. Her name’s Audrey. 

“Shut up, Karen,” Audrey says although the smile is still on her lips. 

“Oh, are you getting married? Congratulations!” Portia says. “When?”

Audrey waves her hand and shakes her head. “No. Don’t listen to her.”

“Soon after Ellen DeGeneres musters enough courage to actually propose to her,” Karen says, answering Portia’s question nevertheless. 

Portia raises her eyebrows. From the corner of her eye, she notices Kali’s head turns to her so quickly she wonders if Kali was actually an owl. 

“Karen, babe, Portia is Ellen’s best friend. So please don’t embarrass me in front of her,” Audrey says. 

Karen walks up towards them and says to Portia, “Her best friend? Why, that’s perfect. So perhaps you can ask Ellen why she’s been making my friend here waiting for so long.” 

Oh, no, no, no, Portia panics inwardly. She doesn’t want to get mixed up in this. Ellen’s business is Ellen’s business, not hers. “Uh… we’re not best friends,” Portia finally says quietly, staring at the two women in front of her. 

“Oh?” Audrey looks a little perplexed. “But Ellen said you guys have already known each other since high school?” 

Portia stiffens when she’s reminded about the high school life she’s always been trying to forget. She clears her throat and asks Audrey, “And she said we were best friends?” 

Audrey ponders for a while. “I suppose so,” she says, shrugging. 

“Well, we’re not,” Portia says curtly. “So I can’t help you.” 

Audrey and Karen exchanges a glance, then Audrey stares at Portia again with her green eyes. “Oh,” she mumbles. 

Late to realize that perhaps she was snapping, Portia adds lightly, “Yeah, I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Audrey quickly says. Her perfect smile is back on her lips again. “Karen was just being silly. Don’t even think about it. Right, Karen?” 

Karen rolls her eyes and says nonchalantly, “Whatever you say.” And then she goes back to Kali and continues picking the cakes she’s interested in. 

Audrey smiles apologetically to Portia. But when her gaze catches Portia’s chest, her smile fades away. Portia looks down, following Audrey’s gaze. What is it? There aren't any kind of weird stains on her shirt or her apron. 

“Alright, then,” Audrey says suddenly. Once again, her bright smile is there. “Since this would be my very first tartlet experience, I guess you should help me to pick some of the best. What do you think?” 

**************

10 minutes later, right after Audrey and her friend finally stepped out of the shop, Kali runs towards Portia and asks quietly, “Boss, what was that supposed to mean?” 

“Hm?” Portia chooses to play dumb and busies herself with the empty trays. 

“She said she’s waiting for your fiancée to propose to her.” 

Portia sighs and wipes her forehead tiredly. “Ellen DeGeneres is not my fiancée, Kali.” 

Kali scrunches her nose and clicks her tongue regretfully. “Well, yeah, seeing that you have taken the ring off and wears it as a necklace instead, I guess she’s not your fiancée anymore.” 

Portia’s hand flies up to her chest, touching Ellen’s ring that’s hanging on her necklace, then slips the necklace to underneath her shirt. 

“I don’t blame you, Boss, if you want to break the engagement,” Kali continues while grabbing the wet cloth and starts to clean up the empty tray that Portia has just stacked up. “Ellen must’ve done something that makes that woman think she’s gonna get herself proposed by her. An eloquent woman like Ellen must’ve played lots of women. I guess it’d be better if….”

Kali keeps on talking, but Portia doesn’t hear the rest of what she’s saying. She stops when something comes to her mind. Did Audrey also see the necklace and recognize Ellen’s ring on it? 

Begin Again: Chapter 12

“Excuse me, M’am. It’s a package for you.” 

Ellen lifts her head from a staff’s report she’s assessing and sees Arnold, a new trainee in Ramses, standing under the threshold of her office’s door. She indicates the newbie to step in, so Arnold enters the room and puts down 3 pastel purple boxes on the desk. 

“What’s this?” Ellen asks, staring at the boxes that look kind of familiar to her. 

“Cakes, M’am.” 

Ellen lifts the lid on one of the boxes with the pen on her hand. “Yes, I can see that,” she mumbles dryly. “Who sent this?” 

“I don’t know,” Arnold says hesitantly. “The man who delivered this only said that it’s a special delivery for you.” 

Ellen peeks into the box and sees a dozen of tartlets of different toppings. Each one of them is served beautifully and colorfully, making anyone who sees it wants to eat it and not eat it at the same time. 

“Audrey?” Ellen mumbles quietly to herself. But the next second she knows it can’t be Audrey. If Audrey was the one who sent her these tartlets, that woman would’ve made damn sure that the person who receives them knows who is it from.

“Okay. Thanks, Arnold.” 

After Arnold left the room, Ellen closes the box again and that’s when she sees the name of the patisserie. 

A Piece of Cake. 

Ah, seems like it’s Portia de Rossi who sent her these. A simple smile appears on Ellen’s lips. And it also seems like she knows why. 

Last night, she was angry. Because after everything that she had done to show the girl that she’s changed, Portia still couldn’t forget the old Ellen. The girl is still full of suspicions, still judges her, and obviously still hasn’t forgiven her. 

But once Ellen got home, she finally cooled down. And she realized that she didn’t have the right to even hope that Portia would forgive her in such a short amount of time. She also had to admit that everything she had done for Portia is still far from enough to redeem all the shitty things she used to do to her. So, in all actuality, this morning she had decided to go see Portia and apologize for the way she acted last night. Turned out before she could make a move, Portia already made hers. 

Ellen was just about to grab her phone and call Portia when she heard a commotion from the kitchen. 

************

Ben isn’t the kind of person who pays a lot of attention to other people, especially when he’s busy baking a cake. But if that person keeps walking back and forth without any direction around him while sighing every now and then, Ben can’t possibly concentrate on his work. He finally lifts his face from the dough he’s whisking and stares at his boss. 

Portia is sitting in silence on one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen. After a moment of hesitation, Ben finally speaks up. “You ok, boss?”

Portia turns towards Ben and blinks. “Hm? Oh, yes. Yes,” she says quickly and smiles. 

Ben decides to take the answer as it is and doesn’t ask anything further. 

“Hey, Ben?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know who ends up delivering the package to the Ramses?”

Ben ponders for a while. “Mike, if I’m not mistaken.” 

“Oh, I see,” Portia mumbles, nodding her head, then continues, “Is he back yet?”

“I think so. I heard Seb asked him to deliver another package.” 

“Well, so she should’ve received it by now,” Portia mumbles to herself. She frowns and bites her lip, then stares at the phone on her hand. “But, then why…” 

“What, boss?”

Portia sighs again. “Nothing.” 

Suddenly Kali appears on the door. “Boss, someone’s looking for you.”

Portia jolts up. “Who?” she asks eagerly. 

Kali shrugs. “I don’t know her.”

The rush of excitement disappears from Portia’s face, so Ben guesses that it’s not the answer that his boss is expecting. But since it’s none of his business, he goes back to whisking the flour and the eggs. 

********

“I don’t know her.” 

Portia can almost physically feel the disappointment. It means that whoever it is, it’s not Ellen DeGeneres, because Kali already knows her and had met her before. 

Is that woman still mad? Is that why she doesn’t give Portia any reaction even after receiving the tartlets? But come to think of it, how could Ellen know that Portia’s the one who sent it to her when she didn’t even put her name on the package?

Portia groans internally, regretting her own stupidity while she walks reluctantly to the front of the shop that’s pretty crowded by now. 

“Who’s looking for me, Kali?” she asks. 

“I am,” someone behind Portia answers the question before Kali does. 

Portia turns around and lets out a quiet gasp. Even after 4 years have passed and even though Michael already told her that this woman is finally back in New York, Portia isn’t completely prepared to see Francesca in front of her, as it turned out. 

“You haven’t forgotten me, have you, Portia?” Francesca asks with a small smile on her lips. 

Even after all this time….. that voice still makes Portia’s heart skips a beat. Resisting the heavy urge to fling herself towards that woman’s arms, Portia takes a deep breath and flashes a big smile. “Why, hello, Francesca,” she says. She’s so proud of herself for sounding so calm and for being able to stand straight. “Long time no see.”  

Francesca raises her eyebrows. “You don’t seem to be so surprised to see me here,” she says, still with the perfect smile on her lips. “I have to admit that I’m a bit disappointed. I was expecting a much warmer welcome.” 

Portia laughs and shrugs. “Michael already told me.”

“Oh, I see,” Francesca nods her head. “Well, anyway, are you free? I’d like to take you to lunch.”

“Sure,” Portia quickly says, “One sec. Let me get my coat and my purse.” 

************

The cab that they’re riding is making its way along Columbus Avenue when Portia realizes that they’re not too far from the Ramses. She bites her finger, ponders for a while, then says to Francesca who’s sitting next to her, “Hey, do you mind if we stop by a place for a minute?” 

“Of course not,” she responds. “Where?”

Portia doesn’t answer. She leans over towards the driver and mentions Ramses’ address to him. 

“Wait here. I’ll only be a minute,” Portia says to Francesca a few minutes after, when the cab stops not too far from Ramses. Without waiting for Francesca’s reply, Portia jumps out of the cab. 

Ramses under broad daylight looks luxurious and classy. Portia squints her eyes staring at the restaurant, annoyed to remember that she never got the chance to dine there. After standing in front of the front doors for a second, Portia makes up her mind and pushes the heavy glass door. 

A maître d’ looks up to Portia and smiles politely. “Good afternoon, M’am. Under what name is your reservation?” she asks with a thick foreign accent. Perhaps French, Portia guesses in her head. 

“Oh, no,” Portia responds. “I didn’t…. I mean… I don’t…” Oh, for gods’ sake. Since when does she stutter like this? “Is Ellen DeGeneres here?” 

“Miss DeGeneres?” the maître d’ repeats. “Please wait a moment, M’am. May I have your name?” 

“Portia,” she answers. And then just to sound more formal, she adds, “Portia de Rossi from A Piece of Cake.” 

Portia waits while the maître d’ talks to someone on the phone. Not too long after, a man with a funny face and dark brown hair comes up to her with a friendly smile. “Good afternoon, Miss de Rossi. I’m Andy, the manager here. I understand that you’re here to see Miss DeGeneres?” he greets fluently. 

Portia frowns. Why is the manager of the restaurant the one who shows up when she wants to see Ellen? Does Ellen not want to see her? 

“Yes,” Portia says quickly. “Is she here at the moment?” 

“Unfortunately, she’s not. But, perhaps, I can be of any help to you?” the manager stares at Portia with veiled curiosity. “Or maybe you want to leave her a message?” 

Great. Now what? Portia asks to herself, biting her lip. Actually, she hasn’t t really thought of what she wanted to say had Ellen been here. What was I thinking? Portia scorns herself. 

“Well, that’s okay,” Portia finally says. She forces a simple smile. “I….. just wanted to know if she already received the package from our shop. It was delivered this morning. Not a big deal, really.” 

“Ah, the tartlets?” Andy asks suddenly. The look on his eyes changes and his smile widens even though Portia has no idea as to why. “Yes. Yes, she received it earlier today.” 

“Oh…. okay,” is the only thing Portia manages to come up with. Well, Ellen already received it. If so…. 

“But she hasn’t got the time to actually eat it since there was a….” Andy hesitates. “Well, a little accident in the kitchen and she went to the hospital right away.” 

Portia’s eyes widen in shock. “She….?” 

“Oh, no! Not her,” Andy interrupts quickly. “It was one of our chefs. But Ellen was the one who took him to the hospital.” 

“Oh, I see,” Portia mumbles once again. 

“Yes. It’s a pity I don’t know what time she’ll be back.” 

“That’s alright,” Portia says. “I understand that she must be very tied up with this incident going on. I hope everything goes well and the chef is okay.” 

“Thank you. I’m sure it’s nothing fatal. Do you still want to leave a message for Ellen? I can—“

“No,” Portia jumps in. She herself is surprised to hear her own booming voice. She clears her throat and tries again, “I mean, you don’t have to tell her that I came here. I…. I can call her later today.” 

“Very well, Miss,” Andy smiles again. 

“Well, uhm….” Portia looks down to her feet awkwardly. “I guess I better be going now. Thanks for your help.”

“My pleasure, Miss de Rossi.” 

And Portia rushes the hell out of that place. 

*********

Andy Lassner chuckles quietly watching Portia de Rossi almost hit the huge glass door on her way out of the restaurant. He guesses that this girl is the one Ellen has been talking about lately. The girl that Betty DeGeneres has picked out for Ellen. Ellen once said that the girl hasn’t forgiven her yet for what she had done to her during high school. But considering the fact that she sent dozens of tartlets to Ellen and her coming to the restaurant, seems like Portia de Rossi has forgiven Ellen alright, whether the girl realizes that or not. 

Portia asked Andy not to tell Ellen about her visit to the Ramses. Well, Andy always considers himself to be one of Ellen’s best-est friends, so rest assured that he’s going to tell Ellen no matter what. Because that’s what friends are for. 

*************

“Done?” Francesca asks when Portia gets back into the cab. 

She nods. “Yes. Let’s grab lunch now.” 

Portia doesn’t bother to explain what she was doing at the Ramses, but it seems that Francesca notices Portia’s change of mood.

“Any good news?” she asks.

“Hm?” Portia turns. “What good news?”

Francesca shrugs. “I don’t know. You look more cheerful. I just thought you heard some sort of a good news.” 

Portia only blinks. “Oh, no,” she says lightly but doesn’t give out any more explanation. 

“So, who did you see?” Francesca tries her luck again, not giving up just yet. 

“The person I wanted to see wasn’t in,” Portia answers. “And you don’t know her anyway.” 

“I know a lot of people in New York.” 

Portia smiles. “That’s before you disappeared 4 years ago,” she says calmly. “You must realize that quite lots of things have changed during the last 4 years. The people you claim to know might have forgotten you by now.”

Francesca stares at Portia who’s humming something next to her. She lets Portia’s words sink in. She used to like Portia very much. Perhaps she loved her. But, as it turned out, distance can really pull people apart. To be honest, during the last 4 years that she had spent in South Africa, the thought of Portia rarely ever crossed her mind. She was too busy working, too busy adapting to a new life, that she didn’t have the chance to think about home or about people she had left behind. 

But now…. Now that she finally sees Portia again, that warm feeling is back once more. And that particular feeling is what pushes Francesca to ask, “Are you one of them, Portia?”

Portia looks at her with tilted head. “What do you mean?” 

“Have you forgotten me?” Francesca asks, looking straight into Portia’s eyes. “Or are you still waiting for me?”