Gigi

Her hand, protected by the wool of a glove, reached for the buzzer of the building where Tony Prince lived. She dialled the apartment number she knew by heart, and then heard the classic beep that signalled authorization to enter the complex. Prince knew the woman would be arriving at his residence at any moment, which is why he didn't bother to ask who was at his door. That said, he cared even less when Jones entered his apartment.

– Nikki, my dear, you're here sooner than I expected, –mentioned Tony, who was peeking his head out of his room – I'll tell Luis to come over right away, feel free to serve yourself a drink if you wish so.

When Nikki was ready to greet the entrepreneur, he had already turned his mind to whatever business he was attending to in his room. The woman leaned against the wall, allowing herself a break from the overwhelming wind chill outside. Soon, her rest was interrupted by Prince's lively voice.

– Lou, Lou, your girl has arrived! Get your ass over here – Tony chirped, Nikki could -even without having him in front of her - imagine the sly grin he probably had–Come on, hurry up.

The girl let out a soft giggle. Ever since her boss had found out about the curious nickname the woman had given Lopez, the man hadn't caught a break. For Tony, there was something particularly hilarious about the fact that his dry, sarcastic bouncer had a nickname that sounded like a "poodle dog's name." 

– He's coming, he said he was buying something around here or some crap like that.  – Explained Tony, coming out of his room once again – Excited about your date?

Nikki raised an eyebrow before relaxing her frown and smiling, Prince's impish expression was, to say the least, curious. However, she wasn't about to give herself the task of figuring out what kind of ulterior motive that question carried. 

– Quite so! – Jones took off her right glove, allowing her boss to see the beautiful job her nail stylist had done. –Luis paid for them, don't you think they look great?

The man approached and analysed the work carefully, finally, he gave his approval with a slight whistle and nodded in agreement with a smile.

– They do justice to the occasion and the rest of your outfit!

Nikki smiled, thinking a little about the situation unfolding around her. While Tony seemed to be completely honest in his compliments, the woman couldn't help but notice that her boss seemed particularly attentive to the situation, and additionally, seemed slightly uneasy. Prince was truly an open book, the constant rubbing of hands, the slight movement of his foot, his eyes, which occasionally peered over the top of the shades. It was undeniable; he had something to say.

–Hmm, Nikki, can I talk to you about something? – And there it was, she thought, as she smiled and nodded, answering "sure" with total reassurance – I... I promise he's trying, okay?

That was something she particularly didn't expect, her head tilted slightly and once again she raised her eyebrow, waiting for Prince to give more explanations regarding his last comment, explanations he seemed uneasy, yet eager to give.

Being the passenger princess was a perk that Nikki never got tired of enjoying. Next to her, in the driver's seat, was Luis. His eyes were on the road, one of his hands held the steering wheel firmly, while the other rested on her thigh, unconsciously tightening his grip slightly every so often. Seeing Luis' car filled with her belongings filled Jones with a certain sense of pride, the hair garters resting in the cupholder, her picture on the sun visor (plus the kiss mark that was on the small mirror in it), her favourite lip gloss in the glove compartment, all were positive affirmation of their relationship. She was perfectly aware that Luis wouldn't bring another woman into his car, but if by any chance it happened, well, she had ways of marking her presence in her man's life.

In that soft moment of calm, she decided to meditate on what had happened only moments before. Her mind flashed back to her boss's uneasy expression, how his hands fiddled uncomfortably as he explained what he so insistently wanted to talk about.

– So, what's the plan? – Asked the woman, turning to Luis, who gave her a sideways smile without taking his eyes off the road –You haven't given me a single clue the whole way, baby.

– First stop; Middle Park.

The woman was silent for a few short moments, waiting for her boyfriend to give some other indication, a broader hint about the day's agenda; however, he kept quiet, his usual calm smile plastered all over his face. 

Nikki sighed with a smile, if Luis wanted to play surprise dates, then she was simply going to enjoy the ride. She calmly decided to lower the sun visor and start touching up the various parts of her lipgloss combo, watching out of the corner of her eye to see if she would get any additional reaction from Lopez, who denied her such a thing, keeping his ideas inside his head.

It was at that moment that she resumed her thoughts about the conversation she had had with Tony Prince just before their appointment, in particular, she was recalling the way her boss had been startled when the phone on the intercom had rung.

"¿Cómo está mi reina?" Lopez had said, as his arms wrapped gently around her from behind, once close, his head came quietly and confidently into the compartment between Nikki's neck and shoulder, allowing space for a gentle kiss to be left. The woman laughed serenely, amused by the sensation of lips against her skin; however, it was difficult for her to concentrate solely on the moment with Prince in front of her, who looked freaked out about something. It was then that Jones understood that what they had spoken before should not, -in theory - reach Luis' ears. 

– ¿Mi reina? –  He repeated for who knows what time – Everything all right? 

Nikki regained contact with the reality in front of her, now they were at a traffic light, waiting for the red light to change. Her gloss rested open in her left hand, while the applicator had dripped a little product as she held it with her right. She closed the bottle quickly and tossed it carelessly into the glove compartment, closed the sun visor and turned back to Lopez, feeling exposed.

– Right, so, Middle Park, huh?

Nikki was more than fascinated. 

Regardless of the foul weather, she was having a great time. Her boyfriend had spread a series of clues throughout the park, written in whatever medium he could come up with. She didn't know exactly what the clues were leading her to, and she suspected that the "full treasure" wasn't even in Middle Park, this considering Luis had described it as the first stop. It's not like she had any problem with spending the whole day with Luis, their jobs kept them pretty busy -especially Luis, who was basically running around with Gay Tony everywhere - so, being able to spend a whole day with him doing this sort of thing filled her with a special warmth.

– I got it! Middle Park Plaza, right? –Nikki announced, the golden hop earrings decorating her ears twitching with the excited movement of her body.

– Wow baby, you're so smart, we should tell Tone to promote you to head counsellor.

Luis smirked, while his girlfriend stood up and gave him a gentle fist on the shoulder before she started laughing at the nonsense her boyfriend was saying -it was part of his charm-, Lopez joined her, and soon they were both laughing, more for what it provoked to see the other laughing than for Luis' words themselves.

Once they calmed down, they headed toward the Middle Park plaza, since Nikki had guessed correctly. There, attached to the center of the structure, just below the statue of the warrior angel, was a Polaroid photo. Jones tried to get her head closer to see what exactly it was, and, while it was clear that it was a photo of the two of them, it was difficult to appreciate the details from a distance.

– Go for it, mi reina – Luis encouraged her with a smile – You've been killing your head for half an hour to discover it, don't you want to enjoy your prize?

Certainly, the fountain did not work in winter, so it was no big deal to go in there. Determined, the woman entered the fountain and got as close as she could, until her hand successfully grasped the picture. Once she got out of the fountain, she was able to calmly observe the Polaroid, and soon, an amused smile appeared on her face. 

Luis calmly began to explain the context of the photo. It showed a smiling and calm Luis, who was receiving a kiss on the cheek from a beautiful Nikki. The photo showed in detail her glam makeup, other earrings from her collection and, most importantly, the combination of nude lipstick, which, curiously, could also be seen more lightly on Luis' own lips. The photo had been taken with a cell phone just after Nikki and Luis had agreed to give their relationship a second chance.

The memory itself was tender, and the photo made it even more captivating. It was a physical display of how they had been able to overcome the difficulties in their relationship. 

The woman lifted her gaze and focused on her boyfriend, leaving a long, laughing kiss on his lips. She had to admit she was pleasantly surprised, Luis was a cool-headed man, someone who always did his best to think before he acted. Unfortunately, being so pragmatic made him seem indifferent to certain situations, too cold, even. Their relationship was on similar terms, Luis was generally a gentleman with her, but on certain occasions it seemed almost implausible to think that he was capable of planning overly romantic things. His thing was more about taking her out dancing, driving aimlessly through the night, simply enjoying the air on his face and the presence of his girlfriend. And, not to be misunderstood, Nikki loved these plans, she just, like anyone else, looked forward to more elaborate plans on special occasions. Today, Luis seemed to be appealing to her wishes. 

Just as she'd presupposed earlier, Middle Park had only been the first stop. A note was taped behind the photo giving the clue to their next location, along with a series of strange letters, which Lopez promised would make sense by the end of their evening. Their second stop was Suffolk Church cemetery, where Nikki found the second Polaroid. On it was a photo of Nikki that Luis had taken shortly after she began working under Gay Tony. In Luis' words, that photo framed the first time she had succeeded in captivating him. Like the first, this photo also had the hint of the following address attached to it, along with more strange letters.

Given the season, it was only 5:30 p.m. and yet the sun was beginning to set in the west, drawing a beautiful dance of orange and pinkish hues in the sky. At this point, the lovers had collected about seven photos. Like the first two, these marked moments of some inflection in their relationship, tangible reminders of the road they had travelled together as a team. 

Now, it was time to find the final target, the one that Luis claimed would make sense of all the strange letters scrawled on the backs of the seven photos. The seventh Polaroid had brought them back to Algonquin, to Star Junction, to be precise. Following the information provided, they had arrived at an information booth located in the middle of the numerous vehicle lanes, the booth glowing with vibrant colours, a product of the neon signs around it reflecting their light back at it. Truly, it felt like the ultimate goal.

A feeling that began to cause heaviness in Luis' stomach when his girlfriend - perched on his shoulders - confirmed that, indeed, there was nothing on the booth's roof. Luis carefully lowered the woman down to check the facts for himself. Just as she had announced, the eighth photo was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it had been the wind, maybe he hadn't secured it properly, or maybe someone had taken it away. In any case, the "how" seemed to be the thing that mattered least to him, he cared about the fact that they had been since 9:00 doing something that had basically just been ruined.

– I swear it was there! – Luis mentioned while shaking his head with obvious irritation, grabbing the bridge of his nose – Damn, in the eighth was the code to decipher the message, is that- –Sigh– Man, I'm definitely the best at this planning stuff or whatever.

His frustration was clear, in Lopez's eyes, this was a wasted day. The photos could be reviewed at any time, that's what cell phones were for, but the message? That had just been lost, Luis had no fucking idea what it said, since he had forgotten it. The original, coherently written message had been discarded to mitigate the possibility of his girlfriend stumbling upon the surprise by chance. Looking at it, Nikki dared to suspect that there was something else that was causing her man's inordinate sense of discomfort, something related to what Tony Prince had said to her in the morning, perhaps this was her time to bring it up.

– Lou, baby, look at me – Jones grabbed Luis' face gently, the cotton of her gloves caressing the man's cold cheeks –It's okay baby, I promise it doesn't matter, whatever was written on that picture, I'm sure it was a longer way of saying 'I love you' and, believe me, I love you too. So don’t give me that face, ok?

Luis seemed to find some comfort in his girlfriend's words, in the sincerity that her brown eyes were conveying. Finally, accepting his defeat, he nodded, leaving a heartfelt kiss on his girl's lips.

–You're right, reina.

The lovers returned to the car and Luis drove off to Chinatown at Nikki's request. The lighting in that place was as captivating as that of Star Junction, except that it was less saturated with cars and advertisements. Upon arrival, they held hands and began to walk down the busy eastern block, enjoying each other's company, which made up for any missed Polaroids. 

–You know, Lou... –Nikki began, unable to keep her curiosity at bay –I spoke to the boss this morning, and he told me something that....

When the woman fixed her gaze on Lopez, he already had his full attention on her, his gaze laden with anticipation. Nikki laughed nervously and picked up where she left off, searching her head for the right words.

–Tony told me that you had put particular effort into this whole situation, in his words, 'you were really trying' – she quoted, remembering her boss's insistent expression –In other words, he asked me to make an effort to appreciate all this 'cheesiness'... May I know what that's about? It's not like the boss cares much about our relationship, I guess.

Jones tried to read his lover's expression, trying to understand what she was thinking about it. Her courage waned slightly as she noticed Luis's calm expression turn to a grimace of displeasure.

–Tony sure knows how to keep his mouth shut, doesn't he– he spat with annoyance as he sighed heavily –Someone should give him an award for his reliability.

Luis shook his head, as if somehow disappointed in his colleague for sharing something that Nikki had concluded she wasn't supposed to know. Under the circumstances, the only thing left to do was to explain why Prince had made such a strange recommendation.

–A few days ago Tone and I had an argument, –he began to explain, with a calm tone of voice, but lower than usual – You know mi reina, the usual. Tony doesn't know when to put a fucking brake on his actions, no matter how many times he screwed up, the idiot still acts like an impulsive child with anger issues –Luis rolled his eyes, showing how habitual such a situation seemed to be –In the middle of the ruckus he yelled at me that maybe... and only maybe, I was too cold, too... pigeonholed?

Luis made a gesture with his free hand, downplaying the word whose exact meaning he didn't seem to know, but could more or less associate with a definition given the context. After a brief pause, he continued.

–Normally, I don't mind, T usually spits out the first thing that comes into his head, but then he mentioned that even you must be tired of how "boring and Stoic I am"–he mentioned the latter, making quotation marks with his hand–And, I mean, I don't know what right he has to criticize my relationship knowing that he was with that worthless Evan Moss. Although that doesn't mean he might not be right.

At that instant, Luis stopped in his tracks, turning slightly on his own axis to face his girlfriend. Gently, he lifted the hand he held intertwined with hers and turned it over, leaving just enough room to leave a delicate, but devoted kiss on the back of her hand.

–Maybe, and just maybe, Tone has a point for once, – he whispered before leaving another kiss–I haven't been treating you like you deserve, baby.

Eliminating the distance between them, Nikki basically threw herself into Luis' arms. Messy -and emotionally charged-kisses moistened the man's face and left the particular sticky marks of the lip gloss Jones used to apply. Finally, she concluded with her real target, his luscious lips. The kiss went on longer than either of them could count, but duration or visibility was the least of it. 

–Thanks for telling me, Lou, I love you.

It was all Nikki managed to say before plunging into another kiss. She hoped with all her heart that the thanks and love she felt for her boyfriend would be conveyed through the movements of her lips, since in situations like that, words would never measure up.

The rest of the walk was quite pleasant, with all worries out of their heads, the couple could walk freely through the bustling Chinatown, prisoners of their own bubble of complicity and love.

–Lou, look! –Nikki excitedly pointed to a photo booth, overshadowed by the gaudy street lights of the neighbourhood, but totally intact –Shall we go for that eighth picture?

Without waiting for any confirmation, the woman dragged her lover to the entrance, took out the necessary amount of money and plunged into the booth, pulling back the curtain in a hurry. Filled with excitement, the woman sat down next to Lopez and the countdown began, the first photo was a classic smile, the flash of the screen blinding them slightly for a few short moments.

The improvisation was done with trepidation, but the second photo resulted in simple grimaces (Nikki's a little more expressive than Luis', whose main appeal was a thumbs-up), however, when the countdown to the last photo of the series began, Jones wasn't about to capture another of her boyfriend's stiff expressions. She tugged at the collar of his coat and pulled him tightly to her, by the time the impertinent flash made its appearance, the woman had brought their lips together in a passionate - and slightly awkward - kiss that Lopez wasn't exactly prepared for, a detail Nikki would later appreciate in the final product. 

With the session over, the booth ejected the film with the three photos, the last one being Nikki's favourite. This had been a memorable Valentine's Day, and now, like the first seven Polaroids she kept in her purse, this photo also immortalized a turning point in their relationship; the moment when she could recognize and see how madly in love she was with Luis Lopez, just as he was with her.