The locksmith finished his work, and he heard Emilia under her breath.
“All good now… I just have to start looking for an apartment I can afford to pay.”
He wasn’t sure why he was still around, he’d only come back because he forgot his wallet on the couch of her living room after the three of them crashed into Emilia’s apartment barely able to walk straight. But she invited him to have breakfast and it did not seem right to leave her alone when she was evidently not okay, despite everything she could have said the night before.
“I have a friend who works as an agent and can help with that. I’ll send you his contact.”
She walked to the kitchen, and he followed behind, sitting at the counter and feeling a bit unsure of
“Goodnight, mom.”“Goodnight, Manu. Sweet dreams.”After a goodnight kiss, when the boy finally went to bed, Valeria was free to panic about that afternoon’s events in the loneliness of her bedroom.The edges of the card felt sharp as she held her in between her fingers. Mateo had left that for her, but what exactly did he mean?Did he want her to call him?She’d never do it.However, going to Manu’s academy he was telling her wherever they were, he could reach them. Even if he wanted to come and knock at her door one of those days, nothing stopped him from doing so. He was taunting her with this card.
“You look tired. Are you eating and sleeping well these days?”Until the moment she saw his face again, even if it was through a screen, Valeria hadn’t realized just how much she missed him. Daniel only needed to smile at her and show some concern for her well-being, and she already felt the much-needed comfort she wasn’t finding anywhere else in the past month, which made her question why she’d been avoiding him at all.Ah, yes. She still could not bring herself to tell him the reasons why she was losing sleep recently.[Can we meet up?]Just as she hadn’t replied to that text either.“It’s just that I have tons of assignments to check. But that’s nothing to worry about. How are you doing?”“Hmm, same as always.” He paused, looking down and muttering something she could not hear. “Actually, I was a bit worried I said something that upset you the last time we
The coffee shop was busy at that time of the day, this was the first thing she noticed as she walked in, stopping for a moment to mask her uneasiness before she headed to the table where he’d be waiting. Five, Six, Seven…‘It’s okay, there are many people around, that’s why I chose this place.’Just in case. One could never be too careful.“Valeria, you’re quite early.” Mateo stood up to greet her, dressed in a formal suit but looking every bit the same person he was seven years ago. Who used a suit in this type of weather?She did not think this was a situation where anyone could smile (she certainly couldn’t) but he did. “Nice to see you again.”“Hello.” She took a seat, ignoring how he’d leaned on her as if he wanted to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.“So… you’ve been doing well. I’m glad you decided to me
They were utterly silent during most of the drive until his father decided to mention the reason everyone had long faces for the last hour or so.“Was there really a need for you to say that?”In retrospect, it was a big bomb to drop before dinner. Daniel had spent far too much time without visiting his grandparents to remember that some things, like him saying in a passing comment that he was thinking about moving to Cartagena, would not be taken in the best way.“I know. I know.”“Besides, what’s this about moving abroad-”“He didn’t say anything wrong.” Her mother intervened in the chastising that would continue on and on. “So what if he wants to move to Cartagena? He’ll be close to family, isn&rsq
“But dad says mom and dads have to be together. Mom, why don’t you like dad?” Manu asked as they crossed the gates of his school.She should have known that Mateo would try to twist things in the moments they were far enough for her to see them but not hear what they talked about.“Not all moms and dads are together.”“So he can’t live with us?”“All this time we were living well with grandma, right? Why are you suddenly saying this?”“If we live together, I’ll see dad more often.”“You can just ask him to visit you more.”However, Valeria d
Thinking about love… she didn’t really know much about love. Mateo had clearly been not the right choice, and therefore a failed attempt with terrible consequences. She loved her mother, and she loved her son, the two were the only family she had.And she loved Daniel. So persistently, for so very long, that Valeria thought her feelings would finally be reciprocated in some way when he started seeing her the way she saw him. If he felt for her at least half of what she felt, then he could wait a bit too, while she sorted out her most important problem: making sure her son would always be hers.“Mom, look! I can go really fast!”“I see you can go fast, but slow down Manu. Be careful!”“He really resembles you.”
This was so not what he planned his arrival to be like.Then again, Emilia seemed to have it all planned out by the time she asked if he could tour her around Cartagena for a couple of days, as part of her so much-needed vacations. She felt inspired by Joy’s sudden travels, she said.“That’s… great for you. But I’m really going to be busy this time, and I have a wedding to attend, so maybe I won’t be a good guide.”Still, he’d agreed to take the same plane, and for her to stay the first day at his home before checking into a hotel. Daniel couldn’t bring himself to say no, seeing how much of Emilia’s confidence was gone after the recent events in her life and how this was her attempt, in a way, to take it back.
People in love had a certain light around them at the beginning.Emilia could understand it now. At times during the past month, she fancied herself having rekindled old feelings of love, but it was mostly because she no longer knew how to be alone, and Daniel was such a good friend. Someone she knew. Someone safe.Above all, people in love had a certain something of bliss and good spirits about them that made others want to get some of that too. Now she guessed she must have felt that, too.“Emilia, this is my girlfriend, Valeria.”“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”Emilia hadn’t heard about her, which was weird, but who was she to question things?