"Serafina, what's the matter with you? It's just a ring. Why are you making such a fuss?"
I was taken aback. "What am I making a fuss about?"
He pressed his lips tightly together and pulled me out of the store.
"I have business to attend to. We can take the Union portraits later."
"Or, you could take your solo photos first and I'll have the designers put my image alongside yours for the ceremony."
"Okay."
Ansel's explanations got caught in his throat. He looked at me for a long moment before gently embracing me.
"Serafina, once I'm done with business, I'll take you on a trip and we can do the portraits properly."
To me, his dismissive promise felt like an insult. He had no time to visit me in Palermo, but he had plenty of time to accompany Elara to the coast to watch the sunset and to the northern territories to see the lights.
Seeing his location and profile picture hurrying towards Elara's studio, I went back into the store and returned the ring to the sales associate.
As I expected, Ansel didn't come home for two days. He was accompanying Elara to the seaside for their Union portraits. And indeed, he had someone put our faces onto their pictures.