CARL.Yes, I made sure Olivia was okay.No, I didn't use the gun. There wasn't even time to touch it behind my back.Yes, I was fine.No, Ray wasn't. Neither was Juan. By the time my brain alone asked those questions, I was thinking about his father, and mother, and how they would be handling the news.Something kept my sanity linear and strengthened yet. It was nothing more than being able to hear the phrase, fluttering in my consciousness: he's alive, he's alive, Ray is alive.I was in the hospital. We had been there for more than four hours. Neither Olivia nor I wanted to move until we understood that the man who was taking care of us, especially her, was okay. Ray's wife was in tears, but she looked strong and handled everything much better than her brother, who was trying to hide his nerves.She thanked Olivia and me for acting fast and told us something very important (looking us straight in the eye): not to feel guilty about anything.Juan was a mess. Seriously, a mess. Even-te
CARL.Ray was discharged three days later. Doctors said he could recover at home. Police tracked down the gunman. His face and demeanor were not out of the ordinary; there were no surprises. He could well have been a neighbor or a co-worker. The subject could have gone unnoticed by anyone. That put us all partially at ease. I talked it over with Finol, Olivia, and even Nancy, and we had to take a break from the escorts.I was not worried about the money, I believe security and welfare should be well-paid and remunerated. It was just a matter of understanding that the enemy was no longer lurking in the streets. Tony was a fugitive, Vasallo was lost almost like the previous one, and worse. And most likely also out of the country, what did I know? The guy in the blue car behind bars was singing all the stories about the most damaging Urdaneta, as far as we knew, which gave him a good amount of time in prison. We were safe at last, nothing could happen to us, and nobody was still chasing
CARL.On my way home, at the end of November, on a Friday afternoon after knowing that we could not have dinner out at the beginning of the weekend, that is, we could not organize our furtive meeting that week thanks to work and commitments, I was contacted by one of my former clients, who was beginning to invest in another business field (not so far from what he has always been dedicated to). He wanted immediate advice in the accounting area and seeing his insistence, asked me to please visit him as soon as possible at one of his offices, I thought I would do it the next day, but it was urgent, so I turned around and went back on the road, heading to one of the most important avenues in the city.Delicias, that immense avenue, crosses another one, also of great importance for the road structure of Maracaibo City, as is the famous 5 de Julio Avenue, the same one where the restaurant La Napolitana was located, the bank where my cousin is Manager, near Olivia's Insurance and my office.
OLIVIA.I like the idea of meeting people who belong to Carl'ss life. Besides, getting out of the house is always fun.He wasn't home yet. The appointment was at 19:00hrs. Dinner could be at 21:00 or 22 o'clock, since Mr. Fito Graterol liked to chat before eating, showing his new bottles always brought from outside, adding the fact of wanting to know me better; data that my boyfriend launched the same day he announcedto me that outing.I asked Carl to bring something. Even though the host usually collects liquor, it came to my mind to bring a wine from a Spanish vineyard I saw in a store near work, which came with a promotion if you bought the dessert of the day, something great, since the cakes they made there are truly exquisite.Carl thought it was an excellent idea and went to buy it, so while he was doing that errand, I put music connected to the audio system, programmed with an iPod and from one moment to another, the different melodies began to spread throughout the apartment.
CARL.Graterol poured a whiskey on the rocks and then poured another for me, handing it to me as we sat around his desk."I thought Darwing would be here," I mentioned, taking a sip of my drink."Yes, it would have been nice, but he has to travel tomorrow. And I prefer it that way, let him take care of that travel pressure, I'm not good for it anymore.""You don't like to travel anymore?" I asked with a hint of amusement, I knew his all life was business and travel."I'm getting too old... but well, let's talk about what's important." He opened a drawer on his side of the desk and took out a black folder with several documents inside. "Are you still working alone, or do you already have an assistant? I need someone to organize these statements for me."I shook my head in disbelief at the mess he had inside the folder and sighed, taking the folder from his hands."I can't believe that in this day and age, there are still these kinds of printouts. Fito, there is such a thing as a comput
OLIVIA.Mrs. Violet Graterol reminded me of my mother and her friends when they got together to chat.She was a tall, elegant woman, with shoulder-length auburn hair, with an incredible complexion that I wish I had at her age. Milky white skin, wearing subdued makeup, combining copper and beige shades. She was wearing that night a nightgown and pants set of thick, luxurious fabric, loose-fitting garments, of a similar shade to her hair.When we arrived at the beautiful, spacious kitchen of that apartment, I sat down at her invitation in one of the lovely high chairs that lined the marble countertop.There I realized that in that house they liked to talk while having a drink or two since Mrs. Violet served me a different drink than the one we were sharing in the living room. I gladly accepted, why not? The same glass, another wine. This time, some white wine for a change.She asked me about my work and believed from the beginning when I told her what I did for a living, that Carl and I
CARL.We went out several times, we went back to our games, and it seemed that we could not stop dreaming, living invented experiences, all based on those encounters, as if we were still strangers, just lovers, but strangely because in that way we got to know each other even more. Rather than boring us, the opposite happened.From the twentieth dinner we shared with the Graterol family, we visited other places, we escaped here and there and without further ado, we stumbled into December, passing by the fairs of La Chinita, as they are usually called in Maracaibo City. Incredibly, we did not celebrate the patron saint festivities precisely on the day we were supposed to.Nancy, incorporated in her role as administrator again, invited us to the anniversary of one of her restaurants, of course, the famous Napolitana (this time Olivia and I, in this month, would not make the mistake of not knowing what the heck was going on in that place, arriving without a reservation and not even with a
CARL.I bought a building with some sheds next to it. The structure was in gray and not only did I need a loan at the bank for the acquisition of the real estate (since the sheds come with the building), but also my cousin wanted to invest in the project, looking for the best credit that would benefit us through her bank: a credit that we would pay in half with benefits coming from her and her position.To achieve all this, she traveled to Caracas first and met with a great friend of hers (and boss, by the way) to invite him not only to grant the credit without so much paperwork, bureaucracy, or protocol but also to manage the installation of a bank headquarters in one of the commercial spaces. Nothing grandiose, Caracas has, of course, the original headquarters. It was simply a matter of a ticket office with a minimum of staff to speed up procedures in the area, which lacked the presence of that same bank branch.At first, it seemed a bit exaggerated and unnecessary for her to travel
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