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I laugh, without being able to control me. No, he couldn’t.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea. The job is yours! I’ll make the change and we’ll sign it.Is there anything else about you that I don’t know, but I should know, Antonella?”
“No,” my lips immediately respond against the thoughts that explode in my head and say: you have no idea, Marcos...
He smiles, giving me the impression that he not only heard what I didn’t say, but that he liked it too.
Of course not, Antonella. Don’t freak out!
?
I look at the space around me, and although this is the place I longed to return to every day, there is no attachment to it in me.While the company hired by Marcos carries my few boxes out of the apartment, I say goodbye to it without any pain, sadness or feeling of nostalgia.This is a time in my life that I will not miss.
What there is to keep, like Bella’s pranks, her discoveries and wills, I will carry with me wherever I go, in my heart.In this taco-floor apartment and old walls, there are only memories of a reality that I hope I will never have to live again and which I hope I will soon not even be able to remember.Without a second glance, I turn my back, leaving the past where it belongs: behind.
The man in front of me talks non-stop, however, each word of his enters through one of my ears and almost immediately exits through the other.Zero is probably a few levels above my state of concentration today.I found myself completely unable to stay focused on anything, just knowing that while I’m here, Antonella is moving into my apartment.
And why does it matter to the point of making me not able to do my job? I have no idea. It’s the first time since I left my parents’ house, more than ten years ago, that I’m going to live under the same roof as someone else.And honestly, I don’t know what to expect.Logically, it’s not like we’re going to be confined to a forty-square-foot apartment, there’s enough room on the penthouse that Antonella, Isabella and I won’t even see each other for the next two years if we want to.
Isabella.
A child. How is this going to work? I have no idea. I really don’t. But I would like to have. Scattered toys?Constant crying?Will my television be dominated by cartoons of talking dogs and pigs? Damn…
“Marcos, can you hear me?” Marcelo waves his hand in front of my face to get my attention.
“No, Marcelo, I’m sorry, but I didn’t really hear anything.”
“Yeah, I realized that. Are you ok, man?” I open my mouth to answer, but suddenly I realize I didn’t ask myself that question.
I mean, am I okay?I shouldn’t be okay, should I?After all, there’s a woman and a child moving into my apartment right now.My apartment.My fortress of solitude.My manly sanctuary.
I shouldn’t be okay, so why the hell do I feel so good, so good, like it’s natural?As if nothing extraordinary is happening when, in fact, my world is being turned upside down with my permission?
“Marcelo, I think I’ll call it a day.Can we reschedule this meeting for tomorrow?”
“Of course, of course,” he replies, getting up from his chair in front of me and buttoning his jacket. “We just need to sort this out before the party, ok?”
“Party?”
“The fundraising ball, Marcos...” He frowns with my confusion. “I thought you were attending... Saturday… In less than two weeks, Marcos.”
“God damn it, the ball...” I rub my hand over my face.I had completely forgotten after all the drama of last Thursday. “All right, Marcelo, we’ll sort it out tomorrow without fail. And, yes, I’ll be there Saturday.”
?
The first thing to hit me when the elevator doors open is the childish laughter.It’s sweet, it’s cute, and before I know it, I’m laughing too.Then the smell of cookies.The same one Antonella’s apartment had is now all over my lobby and, I imagine, inside the penthouse.
I follow the sound, it’s a strange feeling that dominates me.I definitely don’t feel like they’re invading my space, in fact, I feel suddenly nervous about the encounter that awaits me.This is the first time I’m going to find Isabella awake.
“Yes, just like that! Make the balls and then knead!” Antonella’s voice sounds closer and closer as I advance down the hall.I leave my briefcase on the sideboard right at the entrance of the house and take off my shoes.From the room I can see them, but they, with their backs to me and sitting in front of the counter, still do not realize my presence.
And the instant my eyes reach Antonella’s naked thighs, holy shit!
I choke on my own saliva as my eyes rise up the curvy body, exhibiting wide hips, a waist neither too thin nor too wide, and the contour of her breasts.
Baby wife, Marcos! Baby wife! It ain’t happening!
I fight with myself, expelling from my mind the inappropriate images that have taken over it. Fuck!
