Just Like Heaven (20 page)

And finally, Salvador Dali, one of Nick’s most beloved artists. Even though Nick ha
d admired
Dali’s craftsmanship for over a dozen years, he
could not help but stare in awe at a man whose bizarre images revealed hidden depths and striking portraits of the most twisted, perverse and original viewpoints in artistic history. Nick most often identified
with Dali’s warped way of see
ing the world. He felt a connection to Dali’s darkness, his edge, his unhinged personality.
Nonetheless, Nick most
admired the
idealistic beauty
in
Thomas Kinkade
’s work, and he felt a little disappointed not to see him as well.
He blended both Dali’s surrealism with Kinkade’s romantic vision
and created
something entirely unique.

So, while Nick attempted to ignore Picasso and Monet
and
t
heir artistic contributions, he
couldn’t
overlook
Dali
’s presence
, because they were bound by a similar taste for grandiosity and attention-grabbing behavior. And since Nick considered himself a poor man’s Thomas Kinkade, he couldn’t contribute anything nearly as
profound or influential as any of these men.

Yet,
he had every intention of showing the crowd his skill level, despite knowing that he could never compete with the trio of world famous artists around him.
H
undreds of people sat around him in silence with high expectations.

Nick
picked up his paintbrush and approached the canvas. But his mind went blank. He had no idea how to start.
Or what he should paint
.
Th
ere he stood, in a dream of his own cre
ation, in
a place where he would try to outshine
Picasso, Monet, and Dali. A
nd every bit of creativity
had
abandoned him.

CHAPTER TEN

“You can’t hide from your past,”
Mei Lee
said, catching up to Nina. “It
’ll always catch up with
you.”

That comment stopped
Nina in her tracks. It explained life and the afterlife. And it revealed why people continued to perfect their souls: because no matter what they experienced and no
matter how much hardship they’ve
endured, they would make countless mistakes but always work to correct their behavior
and outlook
.

“Now that you know you’ve lived over one hundred times, don’t
you wonder why? Aren’t you curious to find out what you’ve been working to perfect? Don’t you…care?”

Of course,
Nina wanted to find out why she’d visited
e
arth
so many times. She must have made a plethora of blunders and need
ed
to rectify numerous aspects of her personality.
After all, she had visited
e
arth
thirty-three times for every incarnation
Mei Lee
had taken on. But why?
She opened her mouth to speak, but words didn’t filter out.

Mei Lee
said, “Shall we continue?”

Without replying, Nina walked back into the darken
ed room, knowing her friend followed closely beh
ind.

The screen sparked to life. N
ina
sat alone in a movie theater. Wearing a blue Northwestern t-shirt and jeans, not to mention a weary expression, she got up from her seat and walked down the aisle and soon exited the theater to
look
for
her boyfriend of four years, Rick Steele, an architect who she
hop
ed to marry.

She met
Rick
while studying in a Panera Bread restaurant during her junior ye
ar of college. U
pon seeing him interacting with an irritable employee
, Nina watched as he completely reversed her moo
d; after completing his order, t
he
associate
met the next customer in lin
e with a smile and an optimistic tone.
Rick
reminded Nina
of the character Woody from the
Toy Story
films (minus the cowboy persona): short red hair, bright brown eyes, a figure as wiry as a clothes hanger, and a personable, upbeat demean
or that never failed to win
new friends
no matter where he went or what type of personality he encountered.

Since he didn’t look her way as he headed toward the exit, and because she didn’t kn
ow how to get his attention, Nina
stuck out her foot and tripped him. Both he and the bag in his hand pitched forward. The bagel flipped onto the seat beside her, but the lid on his cream cheese sp
read splashed across her blouse
. Although it had ruined her favorite blouse, she got a date (and a four year relationship) out of the encounter.

In the entire time they’d dated, he’d never argued with her once:
whenever she raised her voice in anger, Rick asked her to
speak with him
so they could “talk it out”
, and if she refused
, he’d just walked away. It forced her to take a mature stance when negotiating arguments.
He had a supportive family that treated her as one of their own, and rather than feel self-pity because her parents didn’t
encourage
her
to live her
dreams
,
she
soon
understood the role family
should play in one’s life.

And while
his exuberant energy and social interactions often wore her out, she
found
his quirks charming: as someone who read a novel each week, he eschewed reviews from friends in favor of a more eccentric method
–
every
time they strolled through a parking lot, Rick looked through car windows to find out what others
were
read
ing
.
He carried around a cheap Kodak camera and snapped pictures of couples in intimate moments and, figuring they would want to
have the memento for posterity,
ha
nded them the developed film
with a smile.
And since he looked so affable, while in any given store, customers often suspected he worked there and consulted his opinions on everything from smartphones and furniture to clothing and various knickknac
ks of
home décor.
If he wasn’t in a rush,
Rick, whose curiosity had resulted in collecting information about everything,
used what he knew about the product to craft a heartwarming story around the merchandise in question and explained how it had transformed his life in one way or anot
her. During these encounters, Nina
eagerly anticipated what he might say, knowing only that he’d leave those who approached him feeli
ng good about either themselves or their purchases.

And while she felt lucky to share every day with her best friend, she felt something missing
from
their relationship. A ring. Aft
er four years, Rick hadn’t
proposed, and she had the impression that he never would.

On the screen, Nina exited the movie theater and entered the hallway.

A
t the other end of the hall,
Rick stood with his back to her,
as though dueling thoughts raged in his head: one attempting to convince him to leave, while
another
urged him to return to the theater and rejoin his girlfriend.

“Rick, what’re you doing?”

Startled, his shoulders jolted upwards and he turned around. A smile flickered, but only for a moment. Then it died and a frown replaced it
. He walked toward her with a
wa
ry
gate, looking to his left and right as he came upon each theater as though hoping to find doors leading to the parking lot, rather than doors l
eading a room full of strangers.

“Where were you going?”

“I…um.” He came up to her, glancing in her eyes for a fraction of a second before looking elsewhere. He put his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? The restroom is at the other end of the hall.”

He focused on the floor. “I’ve been um…”

Nina’s face fell. “You were…leaving me?”

“Nina, I—”

“Four years together and
you were going to leave me in a dark
movie theater? You were just going to walk out on me? And not even tell me?”

He finally l
ooked up at her. He
t
ook
his hands out of his pockets and lifted them to help him expound on what he had to say. “It doesn’t feel right. We don’t feel right together.”

“I put on a few pounds, and we don’t feel right all of a sudden?”

“It has nothing to do with your weight. You look great, okay? You always do. It’s just…when was the last time we had fun together? When was the last time we laughed together? When was the—”

“So life is supposed to be wine and roses every day we’re together? Relationships aren’t like that. You’ve been through enough of them to know.” She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just…we click together, don’t we? We like the same things. We have great sex. We’re best friends.”

He looked away at that last comment.

Her brow creased.
“We’re not?”

“Look, Nina—”

“
I’m in this, too. I’ve given up things in my life to be with you, and—”

“But I never asked you to. I wouldn’t do that. You’re not the same person you were when we met.”

“What does that mean? O
f course, I am.
”

“You’re not. You’
ve settled down already. You want a home and a husband and kids, and I’m…not in love with that woman. I miss the woman you used to be. And you’re not her anymore.”

She just stared at him,
breathing heavy, tears sparkling
in her eyes.

He reached for her hands.

But Nina withdrew them behind her back.

“I can’t be who you want me to be. And you’re not who I need you to be.”

Nina closed her eyes
and tears
spilled out
. “Go. Now.”

“Come on, don’t—”

“I swear to God, if you don’t leave right now, I’ll fucking scream so loud—”

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands and looking around the empty corridor. But he didn’t move. “I’m so sorry, Nina.”

Her eyes didn’t even flicker
at the words, but beads of moisture
still escaped between them
, slipped down her cheeks,
and dangled from her chin. “Go. Just go, Rick. I don’t want to see your face. Just go. Please.”
She hung her head.

He nodded and backpedalled. Then
he
turned around and half-jogged away for a few steps before slowing to a stop. He turned around again and stared at her for a moment. This time, tears surged into his eyes, and he winced, but fought off the impulse to cry and spun around and walked away.

The image froze on Nina standing in the empty hallway with a tear-streaked face
.

Staring at that image, she
held her head high, determined not to feel the emotions that swept through her
at that moment in time
: sorrow,
confusion, abandonment, betrayal. Despite her
best
efforts, she still felt each of those feelings.

Mei Lee
watched her.

Now, five years
removed from that
situation, Nina understood why Rick had broken her heart, and she had
come to agree with his r
e
ason
for leaving
.
But
she
had
loved him so much that she
would have changed into whatever he needed in order to
keep him in her life.
And he’d been right: she had evolved during the course of their relationship.

She wanted so
mething more than weekends at
bar
s
or dance club
s
. She wanted more than late nights drinking and goofing around
with groups of friends
.
She wanted
a diamond ring
.
She wanted
the white picket fence. She wanted
a
symbol of their love and commitment: a child.