Let Me Photograph You

“Zhenya?” her husband says, baffled. “When did you come back?” I want to answer something like, “I’m the one who asks questions here!” But all that comes out is a nervous gulp. For another minute we just stare at each other in silence.
“ I came back when you were still in the middle of it,” I answer belatedly.
My husband frowns with annoyance, and I continue with irony:
“And I also thought: ‘Imagine—Marina was lucky.’”
Well, yes—lucky.

At that last phrase I crack. My voice breaks; it starts to rasp. Tears appear in my eyes.
“Sasha, why are you so long?” a neighbor’s voice sounds from somewhere.
“Honestly,” I smirk sarcastically. “What’s taking you so long?!”
“Marin, wait,” he says over his shoulder to himself, and then turns around. “Zhenya, let’s just—no hysteria. We’re adults.”

Zhenya is a successful photographer, but her marriage is falling apart. Her husband leaves for a younger, beautiful woman. Hoping to escape loneliness, she agrees to a new project and throws herself into work headfirst. Shooting with a hot Sicilian guy ends in a dizzying romance.