‘Thank you.’ We say in unison when the waiter brings our coffee’s. ‘Mmm I needed this.’ She hums closing her eyes briefly letting the much needed caffeine do its job.

‘Are you happy living in Paris again?’

‘Am I happy in Paris? Pff… that’s complex. If you ask me if I enjoy living in Paris again. I do. The city is amazing, the food, the people, the language, the whole country…I love it. But happy? That’s something else.’

‘I didn’t really have time to re-discover much yet, but I do enjoy being back here as well.’ I offer her reassuring smile asking to have a bit more patience with me. ‘Do you remember that artist whose work was shown during my last exposition before I left the CAC? I believe you said you found him….’

‘Quirky. Of course I remember him. What about him?’

‘We stayed in touch and his quirkiness took him to Patagonia in search for inspiration. He recently bought a pied-a-terre in Paris and I asked him if I can rent it.’

‘I don’t understand.’

I take a deep breath and a sip of coffee, as always my senses immediately heighten. This time coffee is not the only reason though. It’s her quizzical look that probes me and the knowledge of what I’m going to tell her. ‘After you left I started thinking about what I wanted in life and I did a lot of soul searching. Very soon one thing became clear to me; the gallery wasn’t what I thought it would be. So for months I have been busy with working out a plan on how to give myself time to reflect without giving up entirely on the gallery yet, before I figure out what I want from it.’

‘Ow…wow…That’s… I didn’t expect this.’

‘Before I came here I handed over daily business to James. That means I will be silent owner on the background, for an undefined period of time.’

I can hear a pin drop on the table between us before she blinks her eyes and her facial expression goes from surprise to a million other expressions available in her pallet until she stammers. ‘But…you love that gallery, you gave your heart and soul.’

‘I love art but the gallery is something else.’