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“I get what you mean,” I say slowly, as I recall more and more memories of the painting. “And those three legs were held together by the seat part… and… holy shit, it wasn’t completely round but more the shape of a heart… A heart, Tiero! Claudette’s paperweight I knocked over… that also was a heart.”
Oh my god!
Now, I really don’t know what to think or feel anymore. Claudette’s letter. I wish I had it with me. I wish I could read it right now. Would it give us answers to the questions swirling around in my head?
“Why did our soul split? Why did the three of us have to go on this journey? What happens next?” I fire off in rapid succession.
“I don’t know,” Tiero replies quietly.
“So, threes have been part of all our lives. For you, it was Neptune’s trident. And may I just throw in here, I doubt you’ll be coming back with webbed feet,” I joke, Tiero’s responding chuckle music to my ears. “Then there’s your dad’s saying above your office door…”
“Omne Trium Perfectum—every set of three is complete,” he recalls. We’re quiet for a moment, letting the meaning sink in.
I clear my throat to continue. “And you gave me three huge bunches of flowers… and also three puppies.” Oh my god, how did I forget about them? “What happened to Oreo, Brownie, and Milk? Please tell me they’re okay.”
Tiero kisses the top of my head. “They’re fine, angel. Mariella has been looking after them. She even took pictures of them every other day, so I could show you how they grew when you were back home with me. Just that never happened.” He pauses to think. “You should take them to America with you. Now that I’m not going to be there anymore, it’s the best place for them.
“I’ve grown quite attached to them,” he admits. “They were the only thing I had left of you. So I kept them close to me. I even allowed them to sleep in my bedroom. Brownie is the naughty one. He kept stealing my shoes and would jump on the bed as soon as I was asleep and curl up around my legs. They were the only joy in my day.”
I can relate. It’s impossible to be sad when you have such joyful creatures around. It was one of the reasons I loved my job as a guide dog trainer.
“What about Aiden? How did three play out in his life?” Tiero asks.
“He has the triquetra tattooed over his heart. He said it always seemed to be something in his life, so he made it permanent after he nearly lost his two best friends. Now he wonders if he was always drawn to it because he sensed you and me.”
“Hmm. We were always meant to find each other,” Tiero muses. “Now that we have, what do we do? Is having found each other enough?”
“What? To be free?” It’s the same question I’ve asked myself many times. Claudette’s answer floats into my memory.
“Only you can know if you feel freer,” I repeat. “I feel more complete whenever the three of us are together, but freer? No, I don’t think so.”
“Time is running out to get this right. Perhaps it will take all the three of us to work this out,” Tiero says. “When Aiden is up, let’s do this.”
What this exactly is, I have no idea.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ella
Claudette:You’reonmymind. How are you, darling?
Me: I don’t know.
Claudette: I’m here for you. Talk to me.
Me: I’m conflicted… why does it have to end like this?
Claudette: I’m listening.
Me: I finally found the missing parts of my soul, and now I’m about to lose one forever. Tiero got shot and needs new lungs, but decided he’ll die for me so he can give me his heart, because I need a heart transplant or I’ll die. I’ll have to say goodbye to him in a few hours and then I’ll say goodbye to Aiden, because God knows if I’ll survive the surgery. Why is this all happening? Didn’t I lose enough with my parents?
Claudette doesn’t reply right away. It’s four o’clock in the morning, but she doesn’t know that I’m in Rome, or does she? She always seems to know everything, and the timing of her message can’t be a coincidence. She’s in Chicago, hours behind, still in yesterday. I wish I was.
Next to me Tiero is asleep. He couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and with a kiss to his lips, I let him drift off, safe, if that’s the right word, in the knowledge that he will wake up one more time.
I know I should rest too, given the stress my body is about to endure, but I’m not tired, my mind too active to let me switch off. Plus, I don’t want to miss a second of Tiero’s chest rising and falling, of his eyes flickering beneath his lids, of hearing the steady beeping of all his monitors, telling me that, at least for now, he’s still here with me.
Time becomes my enemy more with every second that ticks by, every second closer to having to say goodbye.
