CARL.I was urgent to get there because I needed to get out of that place as soon as possible.I parked at the back of the building, getting a free place for an easy exit.The door officer and security gave me one of the tickets to the parking lot, the greatest treasure. So I put it in the glove compartment. I turned off the vehicle, got out with the belongings required for my appointment, and activated the alarm as I closed the door.The back entrance of the insurance company was smaller than the main entrance and my car was diagonal to it; I had to take a few steps to get inside.This is the moment to confess that my predicament had dressed —before arriving— in another suit: invisibility. I was sure that Olivia, the woman I'd been sleeping with, was there. Something told me that my luck couldn't be so well-adjusted as to send me to that building on one of her days off. So I must also confess that the idea of parking in the back area was intended to keep me from running into her. I'd
OLIVIA.I was applying makeup to one of my eyes in front of the bathroom mirror when my phone rang with a call.I ran out to take it thinking I'd been delayed and my boss was already downstairs.But it wasn't him.The screen flashing left me speechless for a few seconds."Oh my God..."I looked around totally shocked and smiling at the same time, Carl was calling me! He was calling me!I inhaled deeply, exhaled fast all that air that was about to make me burst. I took courage and I toke the call."Hello?" I heard."Hey.""Hello?" There was a very brief silence on the other end of the line. "Excuseme, It's Olivia there?"I had to sit up in bed."Yes, is she," I answered jokingly.He knew right away that I was playing crazy because he exhaled just once and was amused. I loved that."I'm Carl. Carl."I think he repeated jokingly."I know." I laughed lightly. "How are you, Carl M?"He lightly laughed."I'm very well, thank you. So... you saved me on your cell phone, don't you?"Now it was
CARL.Something happened that night. One of those parts of us is kept hidden, sometimes nonexistent, or not coming to the surface. Feelings that are created out of nowhere, like when we develop an allergy, some strange pathology, or some viral process we must have suffered from as children.My cousin's future husband called me a few minutes before I arrived at my commitment to assure me that his wife was already anxious and waiting for me with the toast ready.And what was the reason for the entertainment? The couple's official engagement, with "a la carta menu", the best bottle of champagne, and a few guests.I waved, quite happy to be there with them. I sat down, ate the appetizer and main course, and we joked about anecdotes while we drank white wine too (not mixing), waiting for the arrival of that special drink.I must confess that I liked that the couple did not prepare something too exclusive. It's good to celebrate in private and when you're with friends like them, since work
OLIVIA."Olivia? It's you?" I heard someone ask in a voice that sounded too surprising. "Hey, it's good to see you!""Carl?" My mouth opened wide.Carl Malaver, Carl M, my Friday lover, whom I had just texted, was standing next to our table.What the hell is he doing here?He looked at my companions."Sorry for the interruption...""Not at all," somebody replied. I don't know who it was; my boss's girlfriend or himself. I couldn't notice anything but Carl, who was looking at me from above with a wide smile on his lips. Although there was something in his look... What the fuck was Carl doing in that place? I couldn't believe it. I was... dumbfounded."Ehh..." I seemed slow for a moment, my mouth went dry.He'd approached our table wearing a formal suit jacket and a casual pose with his hands tucked into the pockets of his expensive pants. I'd always seen him well dressed (and well undressed), but that occasion was different. I had to react.I put on my best smile (I think I succeeded)
OLIVIA.I couldn't focus on anyone or anything else, anymore, after that thick, sexy voice entered my brain and knocked it out.Or boiled it.However, I was able to pretend so well that all my pieces were still in place for the time (which seemed too long to me) that I lasted looking for a suitable moment to get up and pay attention to the man sitting behind me.I wanted so much to obey him... I knew he was pissed off and I was curious as to why, to know what the exact point of his annoyance was. He and I were nothing, just lovers; and that in many cases is nothing. In most of those same cases, it turns out to be nothing more than that, and it's always better to understand it that way, it's always better not to feel. For a moment I wanted to look at him, but after that encounter, I assumed I would look too obvious if I did. For that fact, I settled for the effort of listening to him, where the laughter of his friends, and his cousin, where the toasts and speeches explained what his ou
CARL.There are many things in the world and in life difficult to digest, to tell, understand, process... and those we learn to live with. But there are also those aspects of life with silent difficulty, those stories of subtle appearance but with overwhelming certainty fluids, even unforgettable: the touch of some fingers on the back, background musican incomparable dress or specific color, maybe a song, maybe the rain, not being alone..., can mean difficult situations to explore when they matter, when we know that those simple details have caused a change, a click.Hell, I don't know how to explain it.After making love the same night I met her at the restaurant where I was celebrating my cousin's engagement, after making love, I don't know, two or three times (I don't think I'm sure anymore), I knew that the surroundings don't exist with her, especially in those moments that become beyond special.Well, I could qualify the terms: the external surroundings with her would be the taci
OLIVIA.A fucking long line at the bank, Thursday and at the worst time. Pathetic.I don't think I hate anyone, and I think I hate a a few things in the world, but one of those is going to the bank.The only advantage of the day and being confined to such torture is that the building is close to my job. So, any escape is possible. And even if I can do it, the hours and days are worth gold to me.I'd one check in my hand, "the" check, the same one my boss had given me as a "birthday bonus", an amount of money that I'm still assimilating and makes me smile every time I remember that day. Not because of the bonus, but the whole story and the memories surrounding it: the outing with my superior, his girlfriend, and his friend. They wanted to set me up that night, although they denied it over and over again. Then, I ran into Carl at that restaurant, left the dinner by taking off with him, and spent a great night sleeping with that man... I shudder and hiss with the memory of him because I
CARL.My work is usually too competitive and tiring. I always say and think that and I always complain and try to be understood or understand for myself why I am still in this.I used to put my weekends aside to dedicate them to nothing, to disconnect, as I often said to the mother of my son when I went out with her, something too repetitive, but for some while things were no longer like that.I wasn't alone that night. And my friend kept talking while I did not stop thinking.What is that woman doing? I asked myself.I would take the cell phone to write to Olivia (the woman), but I could no longer invite her to dinner that night. That Friday already seemed out of place because I hadn't planned to see her.I leaned in again and swallowed some of the whiskey I was sharing with one of my former clients."That nephew you're talking about now, is he the same guy you told me about before?" I asked, because, in some way, I was listening to what he was saying."That is correct. He's the one
OLIVIA.I didn't bleed anymore. Of course, we didn't have sex that month. But the next month, in April, after the first official consultation and starting the usual check-up, we started to break the news.I told Mom, he to his parents and cousin. Everyone screamed in their way, too surprised, tearful, beautiful, very beautiful to say something like that and have everyone's support, the best thing that could happen.I wasn't nauseous, I just disliked some foods, while others I like very much now. I was very sleepy, that's for sure. And I used to sleep as much as I could after coming home from work.Then came the news in the Insurance. I thought a lot about whether to announce it at once or not. It was getting busy and pregnancy always meant sick leave, pre, and post-natal leave, and bonuses, among other things depending on the company policy, I did not know if the news would go down well at all.But the opposite happened; at least that's what they made me feel. Especially my boss, his
CARL."Excuse me?""Help me to my feet."Of course, I helped her.I carefully lifted her, and helped her clean herself.I got her clothes immediately, sat her on the be,d and dressed quickly.I grabbed the keys from the pick-up,and the wallet and we walked out of the apartment straight to the elevator, to my car, where I helped her into it, although I realized she could do it on her own, and we got out of there.I tried to drive like a civilized man, but my nerves were attacking me."Did you know you were pregnant? Since when?""I'm not. Drive carefully, Carl, please."I nodded and slowed down."Okay, let's see. If you're not pregnant, why did you tell me that in the bathroom?""My period is not due yet and I was bleeding heavily. I was in a lot of pain, Carl. I didn't want to wake you up, but I almost didn't make it to the bathroom.""Shit, Olivia, damn it! You should have said something to me, we've been at the clinic for a while now... We're getting there. Good thing I thought of m
CARL.I carried dinner in bags, my rolling suitcase in another, and maneuvered with the keys. I waved to the concierge and went upstairs.I opened the door expecting to see Olivia, but I didn't expect her to be like this.Yes, I asked her to undress, but being obeyed to the letter and beyond is too much of an impression.She stood with her back to me wearing wicked black heels. Nothing else.Her hair was down and as she turned towards me, her fully waxed mons pubis and wild face almost made my pants explode.Quietly (pretending to feel that), I arranged everything on the floor of the entryway and walked over to her.She had her hands behind her lower back and with them, held herself against the glass.The terrace had been reopened and rearranged, and that construction served perfectly to generate light around the female who was waiting for me.I sighed deeply. She smelled exquisite, all of her."Stay like this." I knew my command would be fulfilled to perfection.I took the food to th
OLIVIA.Hot, it was very, very hot that morning in early March.The months fly by, you don't realize it. And things are happening and passing as if everything was a long corridor that we had to walk down.The end of the year was a good celebration. For obvious reasons, we preferred to stay at home. Our adrenaline level was already sky high and Carl was not ready to "jump-jump for his life", as he put it. So, we invited his cousin to the apartment, who came with her husband, and a little black box that I didn't see until after the gunshot.The ring... I still can't believe it.Carl has told me how he got it, without any shame, managing very well that philosophy of no secrets, although I know we'll always keep for each other some little thing we don't want to say or tell.But there he was, hugging me from behind as we watched some beautiful fireworks that some neighbors launched outside the entire building.We watched them from the largest window in the living room, Carl and I, his cous
CARL.Olivia saved my life. That's how it is. That's how it was.I only think of the possibility that if I had been there alone, or with another woman, maybe I wouldn't be telling this episode of my life.I'm still dazed and in my body runs a painful relief, the one that manages to channel and make me think of things that I would not have done before, but I needed to get up soon, or I would go crazy.Walk a little, go to the bathroom, drink water, or something stronger. Olivia was doing all that for me, but she was asleep, I wasn't going to wake her up.Nobody shot me, they shot Nancy. And thanks to Olivia, who saw when the guy came towards the blonde to shoot her almost at point blank range, my girlfriend managed to get to the ground just before being hit by the bullet.The problem was when we fell, we stumbled hard against the table, the tablecloth rolled off crazily and we got tangled up in sharp things, like a damn glass pitcher full of water that someone left on the edge of the c
NANCY.Juan Finol's push prevented my body from lying, catastrophically, on the pavement in front of my restaurant.Both of us, escort and I, fell to the ground. And in a matter of seconds, a couple of men belonging to the restaurant's security and part of Finol Sr.'s crew, fell on top of the guy like hungry gazelles making his escape impossible."Nancy, are you okay? Nancy, hey, are you okay?!"I was trembling, my heart was beating fast, and I felt dazed.I looked at the person who wanted to kill me, I wanted to see his face, something that the hood of the sweater made impossible for me.But face down, hands tied behind his back, I could not see him.Then, I focused my gaze on Juan. He looked dismayed, waiting for an answer from me.I held his forearms tightly, he kept caressing my face trying to revive me."Am I hurt?" was what my lips said, but it was not what I wanted to say. I wanted to say a thousand things and that's all that came out.He quickly checked my body. He shook his h
NANCY."Can't I stay out of my restaurant either?" I asked Juan Finol's inveterate pursuer. "What a nuisance with that guy! I came to hire your bodyguard services at the right time".He wouldn't let me in the sun, or the shade, neither to other people's cigarettes nor to city fumes or alcoholic beverages. He wouldn't leave me either on roads or sidewalks, cars or trucks, nothing, he wouldn't leave me in peace, he wouldn't leave me in peace! And I thought he didn't like my resistance and every act of stubbornness I showed him.Finol Junior Second approached me while I was on the phone.Mom wouldn't answer. I'm the worst daughter in the world. I started to organize everything and I missed the time she told me to call her. She must have left her cell phone somewhere in the apartment or whatever.My family is big, but few of us are close. My father and mother were still alive, still married and traveling, spending Christmas far away from home. They were in Miami.I wanted to talk to them,
OLIVIA.I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.We arrived at the restaurant, we were treated excellently. What a spectacular atmosphere there was inside La Napolitana, it reminded me so much of their anniversary party, the one Carl and I were at; (well, I was, actually). That time, waiting for him was uncomfortable, I thought he wouldn't go, but it was fun to see the level of organization of Nancy and her people, they always pull out all the stops.That 24th were not as many people as that night, the paraphernalia was not as high.Outside I did not find girls dressed in the promotion of a brand of alcoholic beverage, the celebration that December was a little quieter, although all the tables around ours were occupied.I saw families with underage children, that partly I liked, partly I did not. It always generated a bit of stress for me to see 14, 12-year-olds there. I never understood why they let children in the place, but sure, I understand, it is a family restaurant, however
OLIVIA."Baby, are you all right? It hurt pretty bad yesterday. When are you going to see a doctor? Every time that happens, my life gets a little short." I had to laugh. "I keep thinking about it all day long. I'd like to think about sex all day long, not what exactly hurt you from sex."That was Carl. That was the memory of Malaver in my head, as I was grooming myself in the bathroom, one that was about to be over, just a few minutes away.In just one week, being that night December 24, we were already loaded with all the ready clothes and the desire to enjoy ourselves.We wanted to go now. Especially to that specific place. Carl and I were very excited because last December we didn't celebrate together because of our breakup. I remember it with a bit of annoyance, since he celebrated in Caracas with the mother of his son and they even kissed and I celebrated at my mother's company in a tower in the city, the same company that at that time was having problems, even though mom had no