"Hey, Helena! Good morning, young lady." Cicero entered the place with his typical grandfatherly manner, carrying some bags with him. He was an extremely nice gentleman in his fifties who was always smiling around. Like my mother, he had also worked for the Carters for years, but as a sort of butler."Good morning! How are you?" I smiled broadly at him and went to help him with the bags, placing them on the table and already removing the bread rolls from there. "I'm fine, thank you! What are you doing here? You're going to be late for class, young lady!" The gentleman reported exasperatedly, drawing a laugh from me. "My mother woke up a little unwell this morning, so I volunteered to serve coffee today," I explained as I adjusted the coffee pot, which soon began its work. "Oh. What's wrong with her?""Flu" I grimaced, taking the cold cuts out of the fridge."I'll make some tea that's shot and gone and take it to her." Cicero expressed excitedly as he followed me, I laughed and tha
When I said the day was going to suck, I was not kidding. It was a short, very short time before I got to the bus stop, and, as in all good Murphy's Law*, my bus passed by in that instant. My morning certainly resembled a part of a really bad romantic comedy movie.By the way, I was the young lady who saw the love of her life arranging an expensive trip with her wonderful girlfriend.C'est la vie*, my friends. I cursed loudly and sat defeated on the bench at the bus stop, almost having a syncope during the waiting time for the next transport. Minutes later it finally arrived, preventing me from having a seizure right there. As soon as I arrived at the college, I hurried to my classroom, bumping into the professor who was leaving after the end of the first class. I smiled weakly at her and walked into the class, seeing Sophie staring at me with a thousand questions stamped on her confused face. "What happened?" she asked as soon as I buried myself in my chair. I threw my arms over t
"I don't think he needs me anymore," I joked, pointing with my head at the dog. "I'll be right there, then," I told John. He seemed to awaken from some reverie and looked at me seriously, seeming to sway about something. He looked away, ruffled his hair in a way that bewildered me, and then looked at me again, quickly running his tongue over his lips in a natural way that, if it had been on purpose, would not have been nearly as mesmerizing as this unpretentious act.God, he was so uneducatedly handsome.Liking someone is a strange business, because the person is just there breathing and you think, "Holy shit, what a wonderful human being." Still reluctant, Carter finally said something."I don't know what our level of closeness is," he began, and I looked at him strangely, staring at him with the biggest possible blank stare, "but... You seem to be the only person I can have a decent conversation with." John laughed humorlessly. I froze without understanding the reason for his ra
John's POVSix fifty-five in the afternoon.As I drove to the gym after another tiring day at the office, I found myself thinking about the calls I had received in the last month. By now, I had not had any more unpleasant surprises, which only made me more and more doubtful about the origin of the threats.Why did they occur?Would they still occur?Who was behind this?It was all too suspicious to be put aside. I gave the car to the valet parking attendant and entered the gym, heading straight to the changing room to take off my suit and put on my workout clothes. Once this was done, I walked over to where Paolo and I were exercising, s
Walking distractedly inside the condominium, I noticed from a distance that the hall used for residents' meetings was "full," probably for this reason. The buzz of people in its external area indicated that the meeting was already over. As I approached the place, I noticed that a little girl, "who couldn't have been more than four years old," was standing on the sidewalk, looking somewhat frightened. Strangely enough, I approached her cautiously, seeing her shrink back as soon as she realized my presence. I bent down with the intention of staying at her size, smiling amiably at the little girl and demonstrating that I wouldn't do anything to her. "Hi." I began. "Cool teddy bear" I spoke, referring to the toy wrapped around her little arms. The little girl looked grudgingly at it, and soon after at me, expressing no reaction at all. "What's his name?" I tried again."Mister Bubu." she answered in a mumble. I smiled at her response. "Cool name! Hi, Mr. Bubu." I greeted him, laughing
"No, I believe there was a mistake!", Lavinia's mother defended herself, exasperated. "We were just talking, after all, she lost sight of my daughter!""There are other methods of getting an employee's attention without denigrating them." John stated and I gently touched Val's shoulders in an act of comfort as I noticed the concern evident in her gaze.The nanny looked at me in dismay and I flashed her a friendly smile in mute affirmation that things were under control. I felt bad imagining that she probably needed her job badly, a situation that closely resembled mine and my mother's. "I don't know what happened, however, her behavior could get her a lawsuit for moral damages." The little girl's mother, who was playing near where we were meeting, was stunned and visibly nervous. She became irritated and I once again held her gaze. "Okay. Just ask that young lady to stay out of your business, she's nothing here!" she grunted affectedly. John's expression became stern and I rolled m
Helena's POV"Good morning, Lena!" Barret, the driver, greeted me as he saw me laying out some clothes on the clothesline on that sunny and somewhat hot Saturday morning. "Hey, how are you, Barret? Enjoy your vacation?", I asked smiling. Barret was a middle-aged man who looked a lot like Mario Bros* and possessed an infectious friendliness. A trusted driver for the Carters, he had been working in the trade for over twenty years "his words"."Absolutely! Don't you notice my tan?" he joked, pointing to his own face and I laughed in agreement. "I'd better hurry, Mrs. Carter doesn't usually tolerate tardiness.", Barret said, already pulling away as he waved to me, who reciprocated the act. "Have a nice day!", I wished, raising my tone of voice so he could hear me, receiving an "equally" in response.I focused my attention back on the rest of my clothes, until I heard a distant noise coming from the area where the pool was located.John was there, partially lying on a sun lounger while
"It depends... Do you want it with emotion or without emotion?" he inquired playfully and I looked at him annoyed trying to hold in my laughter. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay... "I'll leave the emotions for later," he spoke in my ear and I shivered. I looked at him with an arched eyebrow and took his hand, finally getting on the bike. Vicenzo also climbed on, putting on his helmet, and before I could put on mine, I saw John's black Maserati leaving the condo. Our gazes met for a few seconds until he quickly swerved, looking at the street in front of him, and then disappeared from my field of vision. I put on my helmet and grabbed Vicenzo's waist like those little pencil grabbers, soon hearing his laugh. "It's hard to ride a motorcycle when you're short of breath, Lena," he said amid laughter, and I followed, not laughing. "Sorry.""I'm kidding. You can grab all you want.", I didn't have time to sketch a reaction, because after saying that, he took off with the bike. I
I took his drawing out of my bag and the tears that I had held back throughout the day fell stubbornly down my face. I didn't make a point of holding them back. They flowed uninterruptedly with my full permission, as if the fact that I had omitted them worsened the intensity of the silent weeping.I analyzed the illustration, remembering his proud face as he finished his art. Benedict sprang up in front of me and I gave a start, bringing my attention to the German Shepherd sitting with his tail wagging frantically. I saw that the sash was no longer on his paw and smiled at him."Good boy, you have recovered nicely! "I stroked behind his arched ears.An extremely familiar scent invaded my sense of smell and I looked up only to confirm the veracity of such a characteristic aroma. John stopped in front of me and I quickly tried to wipe the traces of weeping from my face that surely gave away my tears. He moved closer and I cut off eye contact, focus
"Hold on, I'll get Trish! "He got up quickly and ran to the woman, who had been pulled by the hands to where I was standing. He spoke excitedly, pointing to the two freshly painted cards."Wow, I think we have a great artist here! Tell us about them. "Trish asked kindly."The first one is a dragon and a knight! " He explained, pointing to each stroke made.I noticed heavy lines and a few other details that caught my attention. I studied it and recognized emotional indicators throughout the figure."The second one I made for her! "He pointed at me and I smiled, surprised by his gesture. "It's a boat on the sea with a sailboat and a bunch of flowers! And it has a rainbow! " He demonstrated excitedly."Thank you so much, Archie! I love the present, I'll keep it in a very special place in my room. "I announced with a warm heart, and the little guy's face lit up." You swear?!""I swear! It's beautiful," I said, t
"Welcome again, Helena. How was your first experience here? We didn't get to talk last week, I'm sorry. I had a meeting and it messed up my schedule. "Magnolia, the director of the shelter, explained, sitting down on the chair behind the desk in her simple living room."I can imagine, don't worry, I loved it, the kids are great! "I said enthusiastically."I'm glad. They have left the class and are finishing their lunch, then they have a play activity*. Trish, our instructor, will tell you more about the whole process. You met her on your first day, didn't you? Any questions?"" No, it's all cleared up. Thank you for your willingness, Magnolia. "I stood up and shook her hand in greeting."Anything you need, you can come to me. "The woman smiled and I reciprocated.I excused myself and left the room, walking to the patio, paying attention to all the rustic details of the orphanage. I spotted a group of children running around in the
" He said, "I'm fucking with his head! " I exclaimed falteringly. The sentence in question was making my mind go round and round endlessly towards nowhere."Wow... "" And there's more! We almost... Well, we made out today. "I said, trying to sound as unassuming as possible, but ended up sounding stammering."My friend practically screamed, and again I had to hold the cell phone away from my ear with a grimace on my face. " Everything we talk about becomes ambiguous, it's like we can't stay close to each other without a weird vibe arising, you know?"" I usually call it sexual tension." Sophie deduced and I laughed, finding the term very fitting to the circumstance."Whatever it is, it's driving us crazy. We only didn't go all the way because, guess what? Bryan showed up. " I said, allowing boredom to take over my sentence."I can't believe it! What was that asshole doing there?"" He went to get something, I didn't qu
"He really knows how to give a welcome. " I commented, laughing at Benedict's indecision as he looked at John and me, not knowing who to play with. " His paw is fine now."" Yes. I'm taking him to the vet before he rips the band off by himself."" I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet. " I said laughing."I'm glad he's spending some of his energy on you. " She spoke with the serene smile that remained after her succession of giggles."And I always end up on the floor. John stood up and took my hands, helping me up. We stared at each other for a few seconds and I decided it was time to go home. "Thanks again for yesterday," I smiled crookedly and he denied it with his head."Not at all. "I stroked Benedict's fur one last time and nodded, seeing the dog and his owner standing side by side looking at me.I turned my back and hurried out of the garage, running through a thunderstorm that did not cease for a moment.The
It was all so unbelievable, I had never even considered the possibility that one day I would be in the situation I was in: confused about getting involved with John beyond what could be considered normal, if you keep in mind the fact that he had always seemed unattainable to me. I didn't know whether to enjoy the moment, or rationalize about the problems that this unusual involvement would bring. I hardly knew if I could risk calling...this involvement.As much as it hurt to admit, Bryan was right. John had just gotten out of a long relationship, and although I did not know what had occurred for the breakup to take place, I knew that getting rid of the fragments of a relationship was not usually that easy. A few minutes later, John reappeared in the room with damp hair, and the unmistakable scent of his perfume wafted into the room before he had even finished coming down the stairs as he shook out his newly wet hair. He raised his eyes and found me staring like a perfect
"I think you'd better... " I began, bewildered." É. I'll get that. "He added visibly stunned, releasing my thighs and helping me down from his lap.The feeling of incompleteness hit me full force and I was thankful that John was still supporting me, for my wobbly legs were not enough to support my trembling body, which was extremely vulnerable to the touch of the man, who was staring at me seriously. I withdrew my hands from the back of his neck and he turned away, walking to the door.I ran my trembling hands over my face with my heart racing to the point that I forced myself to breathe in and out several times in order to calm him at least a little, not believing what was happening. What was about to happen. John pulled the knob and ruffled his hair, greeting the person in front of him and I immediately closed my eyes and wished I didn't hear what I heard at that minute.It couldn't be true.Bryan's voice resonated a
"And what would that context be, John?" I asked, forcing naivety.He finished his cigarette and left it in an ashtray nearby, all in the utmost tranquility. He turned his shameless eyes to my cynically innocent figure and ran them through mine to the point of sparking. A strong gust of wind hit us, and I cringed, though I felt warm inside. John stood up without saying a word and nodded for me to follow him; I did so. He gave me room to pass first, and then walked into the room, closing the window. I was already feeling like a complete jerk for playing his game, but when his presence was felt just behind me, a warning bell sounded that this was not going to be left out in the open like the situations between John and me used to be."I'm not sure I'm good at explaining. "The deep voice sounded too close. His warm breath bumped against my ear and I shuddered. I turned and faced him, who was watching me precisely."I'm good at understan
"Good afternoon. "I replied, totally dull, standing there like a mummy."Are you feeling well?" he asked.I wrinkled my nose and moved uncomfortably, nodding even though I was certain that my face revealed my deplorable state. As I expected, John made an expression of not believing a word I said."You're greener than this plant, Helena. You're greener than that plant, Helena," he said, referring to the fern located near the barbecue grill.He stood up, and I stopped myself from biting my lip at seeing it all revealed like that, just after waking up. His pants were just a few fingers below his waist, leaving the bar of his black underwear showing as if it were an underwear commercial or one of those mindless advertisements for imported perfumes, in which the beautiful people only play the role of embellishing the scene, which, to my mind, made no sense at all."I'm fine," I remembered saying when I saw him a few ste