Marc drove back to the flat in a pensive mood. So many questions to which he had few answers. Was this all going much too fast? Just how compatible were he and Katya? Was he reacting to being flattered by such a person or was she truly attracted to him? Could he afford to think about being serious? Was he in love? The questions mounted up and he really had nobody to talk with, except perhaps Sophie. Would she laugh at him, seeing that he hardly ever spoke to her: maybe once or twice a year? He couldn't discuss Katya with his mother!
Katya called that evening to say the flight, arrival, meeting with 'the crowd' - all was fine. She was missing him already, but would be so busy she might not call often. The sounded like a bit of a non-sequitur to him but he didn't say anything, just listened to her and said the appropriate things at breaks in the conversation. He felt he was retreating into his shell.
California is 8 or 9h behind London, so waking at 6 am he could talk to Sophie at her bedtime, around 10 pm. In fact, Marc woke at 5.30, made coffee and called long-distance.
"Hi Soph, it's Marc in London. How are you doing?" he said quietly.
"What a lovely surprise, I'm delighted to hear from you, not-so-little brother. We are all fine over here. The children are growing like weeds." Sophie went on to talk about the close friends, Jane and Alastair, Anna and her mother Alicja and the children. "Thank you for the card and present for Mark: yes, he is named after you. He will be one year old in 3 weeks and we are having another soon: in fact I'm preggers again! Did I tell you or did Mummy? It will be a girl who we are going to call Sandra after Peter's sister. Anna brings her twins to the cabin at San Gregorio whenever we go: great fun, specially when Mummy and Alicja come as well. Next time you visit we will plan a long weekend there. Sorry, I'm taking up the airspace here."
"Lovely to hear all is well, Soph" Marc continued, "but along those lines, how well do you know Katya, Katya Ulsen? She said she got my phone number from you."
"She's a really, really close friend, Marc. She is Anna's cousin, who was Peter's girlfriend before I returned to grab him. They share an apartment when she visits. I think the place belongs to Katya's fashion company. She's a pretty high-up model, I think, and incredibly beautiful. What did you want to know, bro?"
"Well," mused Marc, "she and I are seeing each other right now. Not actually now: she is in Milan for about 10 days. But she gives me the impression she is serious and I'm not quite sure about what to do. You know me: not much experience, a bit scared of women, easily prone to falling in love!"
"Marc, go for it!" Sophie replied "she is a wonderful woman and I happen to know she is really looking for someone to be serious with and settle. What have you got to lose? Or do you already have several girlfriends and you can't decide which?"
"Nothing like that Soph. She recognized me when I did a photo shoot with her. I knew I had met her but she seemed way out of my league so I didn't make a move. I'm still trying to break into the fashion photography and I didn't want to muddy the water or make a fool of myself. But after the first date - coffee- we got on very well. She's a very physical woman if you know what I mean, as well as being very pretty. She is a goddess to me I suppose. One problem of course is the inheritance tax, as you know. I managed to get the total down to less than a quarter mil and I am paying that off slowly, so I don't lose the old place, but it doesn't give me a lot of spending money."
"You are an incredibly attractive man, Marc, and that's not just your sister talking! By any measure you are a good catch: sophisticated, educated, self-deprecating, easy to get along with - and nice! But why didn't you tell me about Her Majesty's Tax Inspector? You chump. We can help you with that: I'm sure Peter will agree. Let me talk to him and I will get back to you."
"No, Soph, I won't agree. This is not primogenitur stuff. In the will I am the inheritor and it's my responsibility to pay the tax and I will. If or when I have a child, female or male, I want The Manor to continue in the family. I just wanted you to know why I can't come and visit you as often as I would like. But I will come!"
They talked for about an hour: family, work, childhood, almost everything. Marc got a serious boost to his self esteem and when Sophie hung up Marc felt good. He began to wish he had been at Mrs Banks' school for longer as a child.
Katya called every evening. Marc looked forward to these times, when they chatted about the day's activity, and made plans for the future. He told Katya about calling Sophie and the invitation to visit the cabin at San Gregorio. She told him she had dropped 'a few hints' to her colleagues about his plans to become a serious fashion photographer, and showed her portfolio to some; it had to be a bit discrete she said.
Nothing happened for a while. The European season occupied several weeks and Katya spent much of her free time with Marc. There was one fashion shoot, with Linda Evangelista, a supermodel from the 1990's who was a good friend of Katya and still very active. She was interested in a portfolio similar to the one he had prepared for Katya. Marc took special care of the shoot with Linda and worked very hard to make a good impression on the L'Oréal model. He was delighted with her response: perhaps he could make it in this specialized field! A few days later he had a message from a "Lauren" who knew Linda, had seen her folio, and wondered if she could make a booking for a similar shoot: was his career taking off he wondered?
When the other women were in town, he and Katya were mainly in Marc's small flat but at times they moved into the three-bedroom unit shared by the models: so different! On one occasion two of Katya's colleagues arrived at the apartment early and unannounced. Katya and Marc were in the bedroom and hurried to make themselves presentable. Marc was introduced to Heidi and he already knew Linda from the shoot and folio he prepared for her. The four spent a relaxed hour over tea getting to know Marc as Katya's boyfriend.
One evening Katya mentioned the American season to Marc. The models and their entourage would move to New York and the West Coast, in two to three weeks time.
"How much time can you take to come with me?" Katya asked.
"How much time would you like?" Marc replied.
"Forever" she said, her arms around his neck, kissing him softly.
"You did say you wanted me to meet your mother so that would be a few days in NY? And Sophie said I could visit anytime. I could go out west ahead of you; how long do you plan to be in New York?" Marc asked.
"The circus will probably be 10 days but the last three are make-up for promo and the like. By the way, Naomi saw the folios you did for Linda and Lauren. She wants one too and she asked if you were going to NY and how busy you would be. Apparently one of her friends, Vittorio, has a studio you could use if you are interested and have the time?"
Katya was careful not to overplay the photography side but she was carefully promoting her boyfriend. Even so, it had to be him making the plays and directing the shoot.
"Of course! That sounds really good. Certainly I would love to shoot Naomi: thanks for getting me the contact Katya. Do you have her phone number? If she is in town I will call her in the morning."
