Page 50 of A Christmas Adventure

Hernán finally ends the meeting, and everyone stands up. She feels relief on one hand and more stress on the other. She knows she can leave now, with her small duffel bag loaded in the car. She just needs to get in and drive, and by tonight she'll be sleeping with Olga. But something's holding her back, something that, if left unresolved, will turn her weekend with Olga into sheer agony. Now she knows, she's finally understood, and at last, a satisfied smile appears on her face.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there," she tells Teresa.

Her friend nods, surprised by the change in her expression, and follows the rest of their colleagues.

"Hernán," Violeta intercepts him as he's about to leave. "Can we talk?"

He looks at her very seriously.

"Sure, let's go to my office."

"No need, I'll be brief."

Chapter 29

Maite leaves her house and shivers from the cold as she looks up at the sky, wishing summer would arrive soon. She walks a few steps on the sidewalk and opens Olga's gate, slipping into her yard and reaching the entrance to knock on the door.

"What are you doing here?" Olga asks, surprised.

"Get your coat, we're going to see the parade," Maite orders.

"The parade? I'm not in the mood, Maite."

"I don't care, I want to see it and I don't want to go alone," her neighbor says in an authoritative tone.

Olga trembles from the cold.

"I feel bad, Maite, but Violeta's coming this afternoon and I'd rather be here when she arrives."

"I know very well when my daughter is coming and that she'll still take a while to get here. Besides, if she arrives, she can come to the center and meet us. You need to get out and get some fresh air, Olga, I'm serious."

Maite is very worried about her. Since Violeta told her about her job offer, the uncertainty of not knowing her decision is sinking Olga, who just goes from work to home and from home to work.

Knowing that Maite won't give up, Olga puts on her coat and they go together to see the parade. Even in the middle of the crowd, Olga is so alert that she notices her phone vibrating in her pocket. She discovers it's an audio message from Violeta and steps away from the noise to listen to it. In it, Violeta tells her there's a traffic jam due to an accident and she'll be late arriving, so Olga relaxes and manages to disconnect and enjoy the parade with Maite.

When they're back and reach their street, Olga's heart races when she sees Violeta's car parked at her door, not her mother's, but hers.

"She's arrived," she says while checking her phone.

Just as she's taking it out, Violeta gets out of the car and smiles at them while putting on her coat.

"You're just arriving?" her mother asks as they approach.

"I just parked," Violeta smiles with her gaze fixed on Olga.

She approaches her mother and, after giving her a strong hug and two kisses, turns to Olga, whom she grabs by the cheeks and kisses with a passion that leaves her more overwhelmed than she already feels. After the kiss, they melt into a hug, and in the middle of that intimacy they share despite Maite's presence and still being on the street, Olga breaks down and starts crying for no apparentreason to Violeta, who looks at her with a surprised expression.

"Let's go inside, come on, we'll freeze out here," Maite says, opening the outer door of Olga's house.

The two go inside and Maite, although very concerned, decides to leave them alone and go to her house.

Once inside, Violeta hugs Olga again, gives her a thousand kisses, and says everything she can think of to calm her down.

"But why are you like this?" she asks gently without moving away from her.

Olga feels completely broken. For her, Violeta taking so long to respond to her boss's offer only means she has many doubts, and she doesn't know what's worse, if she accepts or if she doesn't know what she wants.

"Because I'm happy to see you," Olga says, telling a half-truth.