The best friend

And so, all the following hot summer days and evenings, as well as nights, the venerable Adelard could not find a place for himself.  Everything seemed to him so unreal, not natural, inanimate.  Everything seemed even more feigned.  What could have fluttered his untouched nerves before, now were nothing more than a phantom, a ghost of the future.

The world appeared before him with all the mysterious colors that had previously been hidden from his beautiful eyes.  Old Adelard was completely lost, he sacrificed him to get a little closer to love itself.

“Monsieur, Madame Suzanne is here," Theo said, opening the door.  But noticing that Adelard was holding a cigar in his hand and twisting it from side to side, he had to say it again.

"Let her come in."

Opening the door with a sharp movement, an elderly woman exclaimed without ceremony, "Oh my dear!"

Directing his sleepy eyes, Adelard, without any emotion on his face, simply said, "Glad to see you Suzanne."

Taking off her wide-brimmed red hat, the woman took out a lighter with some patterns from her purse and brought it to Adelard's cigar that hardly touched his lips.

"I don't smoke Suzanne. This is just a riot," he replied to her generous gesture.

The woman, throwing the lighter back with a certain carelessness, put the red purse on the table and again, without any ceremony, called Adelarda "My dear"

The very woman who was one of the famous wealthy people, managed to support a whole row of hat shops and factories for the production of stockings, handkerchiefs, bags and shoes.  In short, she equipped all the women of America with beautiful accessories who in turn adorned her life with the material side.

And all this was due to the fact that once, she was not afraid to lose her comfort and tranquility, and exchanged these two things for the life she dreamed of from an early age.  Glamor life.

And now, in her 50 years, she lived in full glamor without children, her husband.  And nothing made her regret anything or doubt the correctness of her life path.

Suzanne, despite her age, had the strength of a hero and the courage that any man would envy.  She was strong, independent, energetic, proud, and most importantly, she was flattering in appearance.

Small gray eyes that always expressed the years of their labor, thin eyebrows that froze in one emotion: distrust; a small nose that completely remained unnoticed and thin lips that expressed the temper and the presence of iron nerves.  And short black hair that was slightly curly at the ends.

And the hallmark she was proud of was that she never allowed herself to lie or be hypocritical.  She didn’t care about the opinions of others, she didn’t care about the feelings of others, and she also never smiled if she didn’t want to.

Therefore, at times, such honesty and straightforwardness frightened everyone around and from this, one might say, she never had friends.  Except for Adelard.

Adelard was not afraid of such a woman, on the contrary, he felt the strongest respect for her.

She gave him the desire to become better, to become stronger and smarter.

Abruptly taking off her short red jacket, Suzanne took the newspaper that was lying on the table and began to wave it like it was a fan.

"I don't like summer. In New York, summer is cozy."

"When did you arrive?"

"A few days ago. I came to you but you were not here. I have already begun to worry that you have given everything that you have to everyone and now you sit writing poetry and romanticizing about the meaning of your life."

“But I'm not such a fool," answered Adelard, now sitting upright and looking straight at her.

"Not a fool, but you can become one,"  she said.

In the room was a light scent of perfume that was produced by the Adelard's factory.

"Adelard, your problem is that you are kind.  I'm worried about that."

"And every time you say the same thing. I'm not a little boy anymore. I know a lot of things now."

“But you don’t know life."

"But this is my business," he said softly, smiling broadly. Taking her hand, he examined her ring with a ruby ​​and said, “Every time you read me a lecture, and for some reason it seems to me that you are giving me instructions on how to use kindness."

Placing a cigar between her fingers, she casually looked towards the door behind of which there were too loud voices.

Adelard continued, “You don’t have to worry.  Moreover, now, I am not the same as before.  Now I have a reason to protect myself from the silly manifestation of kindness."

Throwing the cigar into the trash can, she took his face with both hands and asked, widening her eyes, "Are you in love?"

Adelard blushed. And on this everything was clear.

Pushing him away, she said, "I knew it. I felt it."

Throwing an unkind glance at him, she quietly added, "Stop, Adelard. Love is not for you."

"Aren't you both tired of being such harsh cynics? I mean you and Jean."

"This your Jean, he is not a cynic. He's a fool!"

"Suzanne, you do not believe in kindness, in love, in friendship. Like Jean. I do not know whether I feel sorry for you or, on the contrary, be surprised."

Suzanne went to the open window. Plunging into silence, she just nodded her head. Brazen rays of the sun burned her skin.

Then she said, "I do not believe in love because I am afraid for you.  I do not believe in kindness because I am afraid for you. It's about you. You are too naive, too pure, too sincere. This world will quickly destroy you."

Adelard straightened his hair, loosening the bow tie, he got up to reach for a small book and then sat down again.  He was in no hurry to say anything, he knew that she would begin to speak her next lecture.

“You are already thirty years old, Adelard.  And you still haven't explored this world. Although since childhood, all you did was travel around the globe. Tell me, haven't all these numerous books taught you anything? These philosophers, scientists, poets, artists, didn't they teach you the art of living in a world like this?"

"They taught me. They just taught my brain, but not my heart and soul. I left them to teach everything to myself."

"Fool!  How sorry I am for your parents. They would be worried about you.  Especially your mother."

"My parents are just like me."

“Don't put the blame on them. They created you to adapt to this world and become cold-blooded."

"Suzanne, so why are you here?"

Taking a sharp step in his direction, she turned his chair towards her and grabbing his chin, she brought her face closer and said a little angrily, “I won't let you fall in love. Pack your things, I'll take you with me to New York tomorrow."

Smiling, Adelard replied,  "My dear, you like to dramatize too much.  But let me be on my own in my thirties. Yes, I am in love, and I do not intend to lose this great feeling."

Suzanne exhaled loudly.

After a glorious conversation in the office, Suzanne wanted to dine at the most famous restaurant "Moonlight", which made Adelard only happy.  Because he was thrown into a shiver, in anticipation of seeing his love again.

To Suzanne's great luck, just before the dinner, a light rain fell, which refreshed the hot day.

As they rode in the carriage, Suzanne eagerly looked out the window at the city.  Although she had seen it not for the first time.

"Monsieur, should I wait for you?" asked the coachman.

"Yes of course.  Mademoiselle Suzanne becomes very moody after eating," he said looking at her and friendly pushing her aside.

The coachman only smiled.

"It is a pity that I did not wear my best dress.  Although I do not like dresses."

"You are already beautiful."

"Sometimes I think that I have gained too much weight."

"This is not true. You look like a slender cheetah."

Taking his arm, Suzanne proudly walked into a darkened restaurant full of candles and musical records with her nose raised to the top.

"Perhaps today I will choose a place in the garden," Adelard said, pointing in the direction of the garden.

"In that case, follow me Monsieur."

"In the garden? Adelard you know me too well,"  Suzanne said, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Please have a seat," the waiter said, holding out the menu.

Light drops gently landing on the surface of the roof of a small gazebo created a gentle symphony that made them want to go to sleep.  A soft wind, carrying the scent of flowers, enveloped from all sides.  And the brightest flowers rose to the sky, to the sun, as if they knew their only goal in this life.

Looking around him, Adelard felt anxious. Knowing that She, Celeste, was here somewhere nearby, his heart began to beat with the volume of the orchestra. But everything what he saw were flowers and several other people who were peacefully dining without paying attention to each other.  And only one old man in a big glasses sometimes glanced at him and Suzanne and then at the newspaper lying in front of him.

"It's wonderful here," Suzanne said, resting her chin on her hand.

"Wonderful."

“Tell me Adelard, you really don't want to move to New York and live there with me. We will live as two kindred spirits, we will not be bound by any banal relationship, but we will just listen to each other, argue and build our dreams. But you know, you could open your factories there too.  Yes, you can open your worlds everywhere. This is not a problem for you.  With your money and mind. You have been living in France since birth.  You are already thirty, and at your age I already lived in New York, just after London.  Adelard, can you leave with me this time?" Looking at him, Suzanne's expression changed to become more tender and feminine.  Drops in an embrace with the wind, fell on her blouse, but this did not bother her in any way.

Adelard smiled slightly. Putting the menu on the table, he rubbed his hands together and then touched his gold cufflinks.

"My dear, how can you not understand that I'm comfortable here. And now, I have a reason to make this place even more comfortable. I am grateful for your friendship. But perhaps our friendship is alive only because we live on different sides of the world."

"Monsieur, Mademoiselle are you ready to order?" the waiter, holding a blank note in his hand, asked energetically.

"Yes. I want this salad and this one. And also this whole cake."

"Only salads?"

"Yes. Only salads. And the cake."

"And you Monsieur?"

"Just bring me something sweet and something without meat."

"Please wait,"  the waiter said and disappeared behind the bushes.

“You eat so little Adelard. But you are a man.  You need muscle and strength. This will not go further."

"I always eat like that. And you eat so many salads and sweets,"  he remarked.

"I'm a vegetarian. And in sweet, life itself lies."

"You!" He poked his finger at her and she grabbed his finger and kissed it lightly.

The rain has stopped leaving behind the scent of the sky. They were the only ones left in the garden. Now, everyone was about to dive into the maelstrom of endless thoughts.

Eating the last piece of chocolate cake, Suzanne humming a song and peacefully watched the remaining raindrops that fell from the roofs of the gazebos.

Adelard sat upright. His eyes were fixed on the spot by the rose bushes where he stood in front of her. There was only one thought in his head: Where is she?

"What are you thinking about?"

"About her."

"So you found her here? That's why you look so tensed. Are you afraid that I will see her and hurt her feelings with my cynicism?"

"She won't notice you Suzanne."

"I already hate her,"  she answered with contempt after finishing the remaining piece of cake.  "And who is she? What is her name?"

"Celeste."

"I already know what she looks like."

"And how?"

"Like a silly girl from a small village."

"What does a silly girl from a small village look like?"

"Arrogant."

Adelard said nothing.

"So, are we going to wait for her? Or let's go swimming," Suzanne lazily said, putting on her red jacket and hat.

“She must have a day off today,” Adelard whispered.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Yes. Come on. Today is the perfect day for swimming."

“Don't take your servants. Only you and me."

"As you wish."

"Come back, Adelard!  Don't lose your head.  Although it will pass. Men are not able to love for a long time." Suzanne said with a wave of her hand.

As expected, the weather became even hotter after the rain. But the slow crests of the waves created the illusion of coolness and freshness.

They say that the Moon and the Sun are witnesses of everything that happens on earth, but the sea sees no less than these two.  The sea, by its nature, stores in itself something that is not on the Moon and the Sun, namely, the echo of the human soul.

Slightly washing the stone shore and washing away traces from the sand, the sea seems to be holding a conversation with everyone.  And its words sound in every soul.

In some places, waves suddenly rise up, creating the walls which look like a multi-storey building and then descend again. At times, the sea seems to forget that it is part of the world, it begins to live its life showing that it is here, the queen.

Carrying a small boat on its calm waves, the sea seemed magnificent to Adelard's soul that time as never before.  Seeing in these waves Celeste herself, her outlines of arms, her thin waist, he only dreamed, dreamed like a madman.

Deepening his sinewy graceful hands, he, with dexterity controlling the oars, seemed to have completely forgotten that it was he who sailed on the sea, and not the sea that made him float.

Looking straight ahead, not paying attention to the sun's rays that adorned his black, shiny hair, he rushed a little sleepily in an incomprehensible direction.

The thin white shirt was slightly covered in sweat patterns on the back, and the splash of water left inconspicuous marks on his thin trousers.  Bare feet were completely swimming in the water that wandered right to the bottom of the boat.

Sometimes casting a quick glance at Suzanne who was lying, he wanted to talk, talk a lot and talk about her, but he restrained himself.

Suzanne, dangling her legs in the water carelessly, as if nothing existed around, was singling some kind of a song. One hand played with the button of her blouse and the shadows of flying seagulls painted their outlines on the brim of her hat.

"This is just wonderful,"  she finally said.

"What?"

"This moment."

"The beauty lies in the moments," he answered, stopping the boat.

"After that, will you work in the office? Or will we continue to collect wonderful moments?" she asked without removing her hat from her face.

"Already thinking about another occupation?  But what about boating?  Are you already tired of it?"

"After all, when we learn the beautiful in something, we quickly get bored with it," Suzanne said, slowly getting up and shaking off the small flies.