It doesn’t take me long to make my choice and Nico indicates that we are ready to order. The very charming waiter dispenses a taster of wine for Nico. After a ceremonious sip, savouring the flavours, Nico nods his head appreciatively. Pouring an inch of the rich, red liquid into our glasses, the waiter retires, and Nico immediately raises his glass for a toast.

‘What are we toasting?’ I ask, quizzically, as I hold my glass aloft.

‘An offer. I sent photos of some of your canvases to the Marquesa and she agrees that you have talent. In fact, she has offered you space in her very prestigious gallery in Seville.’

‘What?’ My hand starts to tremble and I place the glass back down on the table, for fear of spilling the contents.

‘Three pieces. The choice is yours, but she is definitely taken with the purple rose garden. That’s quite a compliment. But I know your first piece is always special. Sometimes you cannot let it go. I need a decision from you by the end of February, at the very latest, as that’s when the next crate of paintings is due to be sent to the gallery.’

I’m speechless, so I simply stare at Nico, unable to process his words. His reaction is to break out in laughter.

‘What? You didn’t think you had talent? You didn’t realise I saw that the instant your brush touched the canvas? I’ve mentored a lot of students in my time, but none compare to you, Fern.’

To my horror, I burst into tears. I don’t know what to say.

It’s a meal I will never forget and an afternoon that will stay with me forever. Tears and then laughter and then exhilaration. Nico warned me there are no guarantees; some paintings sit on the walls of the gallery for their allotted time, only to be taken down unsold. Others sell within hours.

‘It’s rather like life itself, when everything suddenly comes together in the right way,’ he’d told me. ‘Right painting, right buyer, right time.’

I’d studied his face and saw how much it meant to him, because he knew what it meant to me. I was no longer some hapless dauber. A gallery owner, who looks at art as an investment, was taking me seriously. None of this would have happened without my mentor, the man who saw something in me and gave me the confidence to fly.