The Promise - By Danielle Steel Page 0,40
was a heavy confession for her to make. She was still clinging to the last shreds of hope—that he would finally find her, and the deal with his mother would be off. “I don't know why I still do that to myself, but I do.”
“Wait till you get out in the world a little more, Nancy. You have nothing to do now but look back at things you remember, or ahead at things you don't yet know. It's natural that you'd spend a fair amount of time looking back. You have no other people in your life just now, but you will. In time. Be patient.”
Nancy sighed a long tired sigh. “I'm so sick of being patient, Faye, and I feel like this work on my face will go on forever. Sometimes I hate Peter for it, and I know It's not his fault. He's doing it as fast as he can.”
“It'll be worth the time you invested in it. It already is.” She smiled, and Nancy smiled back. The delicate shape of the girl's face had already emerged, and each week there seemed to be changes. The voice coach had done her work well, too. Nancy's voice was pitched a little lower now, beautifully modulated, and she had far greater control over the smoothness of her voice than anyone without training could have. It gave Faye an idea. “Have you ever thought of acting when this is all over? The experience might give you an incredible amount of insight.”
Nancy smiled at her and shook her head. “Making films maybe, acting in them, no. It's so plastic. I'd rather be at my end of the camera.”
“Okay, it was just a thought. So what's on your agenda for this week?”
“I told Peter I'd take some pictures for him, we're flying down to Santa Barbara for the day on Sunday. He wants to see some people there, and he offered to take me along for the ride.”
“I should lead such a life. Well, kiddo …” She looked at her watch. “See you on Wednesday.”
“Yes ma'am.” Nancy saluted with a smile, and Fred bounced out of the room with his leash in his mouth. He was used to the sessions in Faye's office. Nancy never left him behind.
When she left Faye's office, she decided to walk a few blocks toward a little park nearby, to see if there were any children to photograph in the playground. She hadn't taken any shots of kids in a while. When she got there, there was an ample supply of subjects, climbing and pushing and shoving and running. Nancy sat down on a bench for a while to watch them and get a feeling for who they were and what they were up to. It was a beautiful day, and she felt good about life.
“Do you come here often?”
Michael looked up in surprise from the bench where he sat. He had escaped to the park for an hour, Just to get away from the office and see something green. There was always something magical about those first spring days, when New York turns from gray to lush green, bushes and trees and flowers exploding into life. But he had felt sure he would be alone in the secluded little spot where he had found an empty bench. The sudden voice surprised him. When he looked up he saw Wendy Townsend, the designer from his office.
“No… I… as a matter of fact, almost never. But I was having a rare case of spring fever today.”
“So was I.” She looked embarrassed as she held her dripping ice cream stick and then took a quick lick to keep from losing a big slice of chocolate.
“That looks delicious.” He smiled at her in the warm spring air.
“Want some?” She held it out like a friendly third grader, but he shook his head.
“But thanks for the offer. Would you like to sit down?” He felt a little silly being caught in the park, but it was such a nice day he didn't mind sharing it, and she was a pleasant girl. Their paths had crossed a number of times since she'd walked into his office five months before, to wish him a Merry Christmas. She sat down next to him and ate the last of her ice cream. “What are you working on these days?” he asked.
“Houston and Kansas City. My work is always five or six months behind yours. It's kind of interesting to follow on your heels that way.”
“I'm not