"I'vebeenheretwoweeks,andI'mverycomfortable.Thistownisquiet...justwhatIneed now."
"Sometimes too quiet ... I'm in the salon all day, so I don’t have time to get bored. But I can’timaginelivingherewithoutworking."
"Ofcourse.I’vebeenwarnedthatthefiremenaregoingtobeboredalittlehereinwinter."
"Therearealwayscatsthatclimbtreesandcan’tgetdown..."
"That'strue!Isthechickengood?"
"Yes,it’sveryjuicy.You’reanexcellentcook."
"Inallthefirestations,Ialmostalwayscook."
"Nowonder.Theotherfiremenmustbehappy."
"I think so, yes ..." we stared at each other. He had another way of looking at me, very different from Alejandro. Intense, passionate and curious. Like when you want to know everything about someone, even what happens in the depths of their being. And I liked that.
"Youhavebeautifuleyes.Green,honey...mixcolors...yes,veryamazing."
"Yours’aren’tsobadeither.They’reblue.Likethesky,butmorebeautifulthanthesky."
Pablo went to the kitchen to bring out his homemade desserts. I took the opportunity to observetherusticdecorationofthelivingroom.Thefurnitureseemedtohavebeentherelong before Pablo settled in, and he had only placed a picture on a small table next to the brown leathersofa.Initwerehisparents,Isuppose,anothermanwithanastonishingresemblanceto Pablo but younger and a dog the Labrador kind. Looking back at the sofa, I saw the spirit sitting.Shelookedatmewiththefuryofajealouswoman.
"Whydidyoulietome?"IaskedinawhispersothatPablofromthekitchencouldn’thear meandthinkthatIwasacrazypersonwhotalkstoherself.
"Because you want to steal my husband," she said. Her voice was no longer serene, not pretty,notvelvety...itwaspureevil.
Luckily,shedisappearedagainwhenPablocameinwithtwobowls.
"Serradura.AtypicalPortuguesedessert...Ilearnedtomakeitthreedaysago."
"I'venevertriedit,"Isaidcuriously.
"How?YouliveCáceresandyou’veevertastedthisdessert?NowwhatdoItellhim?"
"Imean,homemade...I’venevereatenit."
"Let'sseeifyoulikeit."Itriedalittlebit.
"Delicious! What a pleasant dinner, Pablo," I said, smiling. Someone had sent me the perfectfireman.SaintPeter,Claudia,myoctogenarianangel...whoknows...
Pablomadecoffeeandreluctantlylethimsmokeacigarette.
"Andyou?Haveyoueverbeenmarried?Boyfriends?"heaskedcuriously.
"No,I'venevermarried..."Ilaughed.InevermarriedbecauseIwasafraidoflookinglike ajackassdressedinwhite."Boyfriends...yes,Alejandro.Afewmonthsago,hewenttowork inAveiroandnowit’sover...itseemsthathe’sfoundanotherwoman,soit'sover,"Ireplied withtotalnormality,hidingthetortureinsideme.
"Wow,I'msorry.WhereisAveiro?"-listeningtothatquestionfromsomeoneelse,itwas heavenlymusictomyears.
"InPortugal.TheycallitthePortugueseVenice.Verynicecity."
"Andthisisrecent?Alejandro,Imean."
"Ithappenedtwomonthsago..."Ilied.
"So...it’sover?"Inoddedwiththebestofmysmiles.
Attwelveo'clockwewenttoValenciadeAlcántaratodanceitup.Agroupoffiremenandmy friendsmettogetherthatnight.Toni,JaimeandAndrés,avoidinganyproximitytothefiremen, conversed among themselves. Their favorite subject was horses. And sometimes they talked aboutwomen.FelisatalkedtoeveryoneandkeptwatchingeverythingIdidwithPablo.Iknew atourSundaycoffee,therewouldbeafull-blowninterrogation.
Pablo and I danced. We shouted in our ears any nonsense and laughed. And we were looking at each other. We looked at each other a lot. There was an instant, in which it even seemedthatitwasjusthimandmeinworld.Perfecttimingforamoviekiss.Hewasshy,but that detail made him even more charming. He was nothing like Alejandro. Cruder in appearance,hehadlessmischiefandmorehumility.Alejandrowasgreat,theidealmanforall
women...Pablowasalsoanobjectofdesire,allthegirlsstaredathimbrazenly,butmorelike asexualobjectthanthemantosharetheirliveswith.Maybeifhehadmadedinnerforthem likehemadeforme,theywouldchangetheirminds.
ALaura,Iunderstoodthoseguyswell...Ineverwantedaseriousrelationship...gooutto dinner,walkinthepark,seeagoodmovieatthemovietheaterorjustenjoyaniceandsincere conversation. No, I used them, they were simply Kleenex for me, without thinking about the consequences or whether they might have feelings. With Pablo, I didn’t want to make that mistake,butIdidn’twanttogotoofasteither.Iwantedtogettoknowhim,toknowmoreabout him ... maybe he was the man of my life. Maybe he would never have noticed someone like Laura, but he would have noticed me. In Marta, my new self. Maybe he had returned to the earthlyplaneforhimandmytimewithAlejandrowasasimplesnack.Butbeforethat,itwas essentialtogetridofhiswife.Wasshestillhiswife?Iwasn’tsure.Thereisnothingworseor moredangerous,thanajealouswoman...andseeingherasaspiritwasquiteunpleasant.
Atseveninthemorningwelefttoeatchurros.Thefiremen,thegirlsandme.Paulhadn’tfora second.Weallhaddarkcirclesandthemakeuphaddisappearedinanycornerofthepubsink.
ClarawasverycozywithHugo,Pablo'sbestfriend.Silvia,however,didn’tmanagefindany lovethatnight.AndFelisakeptlookingatherphoneimpatiently.
Aftertwochurroswithacupofhotchocolate,PabloandIdroveinhiscartoPino.Iwas socomfortableinhisheatedwhiteAudithatIfellasleep.
"Marta,we'rehere,"Pablotoldmeinawhisper,veryclosetomyleftear.Ilookedoutthe window,wewereinfrontofmyhouse.
"Okay...whatadream!Thankyouforbringingmehome.Well,thankyouforthenightout together...foreverything."Iopenedthecardoor.
"Noproblem,Ihadagreattime.Wealreadyhaveeachother’sphonenumberandweare neighbors,so..."
"Yes,I'llseeyousoon."Welookedateachothershyly.Iwentoverandkissedhimonthe cheek. He smiled and nodded. He waited for me to open the door of my house, I waved goodbyeandclosedit.Immediatelyhiscardroveaway.
I stood at the door like a fool, staring at the stairs. The ten minutes of sleep seemed to have sufficedme,Iwasawake.Ilookedaround,notknowingwhattodo,andwithverylittledesire togotosleep.WhenIturnedtothedoorreadytoopenitandtakeawalkinthecountryside,I heardfootstepsonthestairs.Slowly,withlittledesiretotalktoanyoneandevenlesswitha spirit, I turned around. Again, the spirit in a wedding dress had come to visit without being invited.
"What’syourname?"Iasked.
"MynamewasFiona."
"Fiona,itwasanaccident."
"No,itwasn’tbitch.Andtheoldmanwiththeredbeardwon’tletmeinheaven."
"Listen,SaintPeterisnotasaintofmydevotion,butdonotgiveadamnabouthim,"Isaid, hopingtogainsomebrowniepoints.
"DonotgonearPablo.Youalreadyhadagoodtimewithhim,nowleavehimalone."
"I'mnotleavinghim.Idon’twanttoandIwon’tallowaspirittobossmearound."
I didn’t have to blink twice. She disappeared and I had won an enemy. As Laura, I had many,allmodelssoharpyorevenmorethanme.Thatwasanenemy...
Iwentforawalk.Ipassedasmalltownchurchandcontinuedwalkingalongthecleardirt roadwithstonewallsatitssides.Astraydogfollowedme,waggingitstailhappily.Igotto the fountain and I sat on a cold stone and watched sun r
ise and the clouds. The latter were movingathighspeed,leavinganiceclearSundaysky.
WhileFelisadrankhercoffee,Icouldseeahintofsadnessinhereyes.
ShehadaskedmeveryfewquestionsaboutPablo,however,shewasabsorbedinherown
thoughts.
"What'swrong?"Iasked.
"MysweetFelipe...he’snotcomingforChristmasafterall."
"YoucangotoBarcelona."
"Yes,ofcourse...atChristmas.Butmymother...No,no...I'llhavetowaituntilsummer."
"Comenow!Untilsummer?Andthereisnofirefighterthatcatchesyoureye?"
"Sexyguyslikethatarenotforme..."
"Ah,butsexyStarWarsfansare,right?"
"Let'ssee...whatchancedoIhavewithguyslikethat?"None...
"Don’t be bitter ..." I put my hand over her arm affectionately. "You’ll find that one, somedayamanthatmakesyourheartracewillcomeintoyourlife.Andit’llbethesamefor him,he’llloveyou...andyou’lllovehim.Andtherestwon’tmatter.Felisa,ithastohappen...
anditwillhappen."
"Imean,don’tyouthinkit'sFelipe?"
"Idonotknow.That'ssomethingyoucanonlyknow."
"Yeah,well...I'llwaituntilhearrives.Whathappenstomeatthisstepisfixedrice...By theway,IseethatAlejandroisoldnews...nowthere’sthefireman."
"No,he'snotoldnews...he’sstillinthepicture.AndnothinghashappenedwithPabloyet.
Nothingfornow...Iwanttotakeitslow."
"Ilikeitverywell."
Suddenly, my latte flew through the air and fell magically on top of my jacket, totally drenchingit.
"Fiona!Iscreamedpoutingfeelingverypissed.
"Hey,whatwasthat?!"exclaimedFelisa,risingshockedfromherchair.
"Damn..."
"Who are you talking to?" Felisa asked, still terrified that she didn’t understand exactly whathadhappened.
"Nothing."
TheeventremindedmeofaverysimilaroneonasplendidPariswalkway.Rebecca,one
ofthemostsoughtaftermodels,taller,thinnerandImustadmitthatshewasmuchprettierthan me, came out to parade with a coffee stain in her beautiful green dress full of Swarovski crystals.Whohadbeenresponsible?Laura'sharpy,ofcourse...Imean.Neverdiscoveredit, thosewhowereharmedwerethestylists.Butweaccumulatedkarma...andIhadaccumulated verybadkarmainthebodyofthesupermodelthatIwasanddeservedsomethinglikethat.
"You'reokay?"Felisaasked,morecalmly.
"Yes,I’mfine."
"Who’sFiona?"
"Fiona?Whatareyoutalkingabout?-answeringwithanotherquestion,whenyouaretrying toavoidtheanswer."
"You said ... Bah, it doesn’t matter." It was a bad thing that Felisa gave up easily.
Somethingweirdabouther,butitcameinhandyonthatoccasion.
Iwasmakingdinner-asadsaladtoreplaceAngustiassuppers;WhenIheardthedoorbell.It wasPablo.Heworeblackjeansandahoodedgraysweatshirt.
"Hello."Mysmilebetrayedme.
"Hello."
Liketwofools,westoodinthedoorwaystaringateachother.
"Sorry.Comein,comein,"Isaidatlast."Doyouwanttostayfordinner?Iwasmakinga salad."
"Nothanks.Ijusthaddinner,youeat."
"Okay,I'llgetit."
Going to the kitchen, lettuce and tomato were pathetically scattered on the floor. The drawersandcabinets,strategicallyopenedsothatI,onentering,wouldbumpmyforehead.
"Oh,areyouokay?"Pabloaskedfromthelivingroomlisteningtomy"Ouch."
"Yes!"
Certainlynot.Ihadaredforehead,inthenextfewhourswithabitofluck,Iwouldonly have a bruise instead of a horrible bump more worthy of a four year old than a woman of almostthirty.IhadrunoutofmysaladandHEwasthere.Idecidedtogototheloungewithout mypatheticsaladplate.
"Andyoursalad?"
"Nothing, I do not know how but it has fallen ... I should have left it on the edge of the marble,Idonotknow..."
"Wow...I'llpreparesomething?"
"Howniceyouare..."Isighed."Nothanks.Ithinalittlebit."
"Butyoudonotneedit."
"Thankyouforthecompliment,butIknowyoudo."
"Well,Ithinkyou'reperfect."
At that moment, a picture frame crashed to the ground. The glass was broken into a thousand pieces. Well, another tragedy to point at in my collection because of Fiona's damn
spiritandmyaccumulatedevilkarma.
"Howdidthathappen?"Pablowasasshocked,asFelisahoursbeforewiththecoffeeon myjacket.
"It will have been the wind ..." I snorted. What wind? He seemed to think Paul looking around.
Pablopolitelyhelpedmepickupthelittlethingsfromtheframeglass.Inonecornerofthe room,Fiona'sspiritstaredatuswithhate.Iwaswrong,myenemiesthetopmodels,theywere defenseless puppies next to that witch. Pablo took "my" photo. Of course, it wasn’t me who hadposedforit....TheformerMarta'ssmilewasforced,herchintoohighandhernecktense.
"
"Whatchanged...youdon’thavethesameeyesasinthephoto."Itookagoodlookatthe eyesofthepreviousMartahiddenbehindtheglassesofpasta.ItwassomethingIhadtostudy carefullyandatanothertime,butPaulwasright.Hedidnothavethesameeyes.Yesthesame colorandshape,buttheexpressionwastotallydifferent.Itwasevidentthatanothersoulwas hiddeninside.
"Itwillbetheglasses.AfewmonthsagoIoptedforthecontactlenses,"Isaidcheerfully.
"Isthatalot?"
"What?"
"This...thatyoudropthings,justlikethat."
"No,actuallyitjusthappenedtometoday...threetimes."Myresponseseemedtoworry him.
"Ihavetogo."Heroseabruptlyanddidnotlookbacktolookatme,openedthedoorand left.
Fionafromthetopofthestairs,begantolaugh.
"Verygoodghost...I'mnotthefirstoneyoudothisshitto,right?
"Exactly.Butyou'retheonlyonewhocanseemeandthat'sevenmorefun."
"You'reawitch.You'llseewhenItellSaintPeter."
"LookhowscaredIam..."anddisappearedagain.
ThenIgotupoffthegroundtryingnottogetanyglassinmyhandandrantoPablo'shouse.
"Whathashappened?Iaskedasheopenedthedoor.Whydidyouleavelikethat?"
"Believeme,Ihavemyreasons,"heansweredseriously.
"Yourwife'snamewasFiona.Andyes,she’sveryangryandwon’tletyoubehappywith anyone.Shescaresoffthewomenwhocometoyouandyoushowthemalittleinterest,amI wrong?ButIcanfixit."
Pablo's mouth dropped open. I couldn’t define the puzzled expression on his face, but at leastithadarousedhisinterest.AndnotbecausehethoughtIwasafool.
"Comein,please.HowdoyouknowhernamewasFiona?Ididn’ttellyou..."heasked, sittingdownonthecouch.Isatdownbesidehimtryingtoreassuremyself.
"Shetoldmeso."
He nodded. "All these years I have met several women, I only liked three. And what a coincidence...whentheymetmeandwereinterestedinme,strangethingsstartedtohappento them.TheythoughtIwasbadluck,butforacupofcoffeetoflyingthroughtheairbyitselfisn’t normal"Helaughedshakinghishead.
"No, it’s not ... just ask Felisa. Don’t ask questions, I can’t tell you too much ... but I've seenher,talkedtoherandshe'sveryangry.Alot..."
"But...thatexist?IthoughtIwascrazy."
"You’renotcrazy.Thereismoretowhatyoubelieve,thanto
whateveryonebelieves."
IwantedsomuchtotellsomeonewhoIwas...butIcouldn’t...iftosaythatIcouldsee spiritswastooriskyandcrazy,explainingthatmysoulwasthemodelLauraSmith,wouldto sendmedirectlytotheAsylumwithNapoleon.
"Andyou...Canyouseespirits?"Iwonder.
"Ifsome."
"Itdoesnotscareyou?"
"AtfirstIthoughtI'dbeterrified...I'veneverbeenabletoseehorrormovieuntiltheend...
a simple program by Iker Jiménez made my hair stand on end ... But you see, you Are you afraidthatIcanseethem?"
"Notatall.AndIdonotthinkyou'recrazyifthat'swhatyou'reworriedabout."
"Best.BecauseFionaishere."Ilookedup.Hisexpressionofanangrywitchturnedintoa sadlookatPablo.
"Hewassoyoung...hehasalonglifeaheadofhim,"thespiritwhispered.
"Iknow,buteverythinghappensforsomereason,"Isaid,underthefireman'swatchfuleye.
You should let him be happy with whom he chooses. He’s alive, let him live. He doesn’t deserveeverythingyou'redoingtohim,Fiona.
"Fiona ..." Pablo was crying like a little boy. "Ours would have lasted two days ...
Remember the discussion we had minutes before the accident? We were always fighting."
Fionanodded.
"ButIlovedhim,"Fionasaid,withallthepaininhersoul.
"Hesayshelovedyou."
"AndItoher...ButIwanttoturnthepage.Sevenyearsisalongtime.Iwanttobehappy andstoprunningaway."
Fiona crouched down and in her own way, hugged Pablo. He looked at me feeling the warmthofhiswife'sspirit,notunderstandingwhatwasreallygoingon.
"He'sholdingyou,"Isaid,smiling.
"I'msorryforeverythingI'vedoneyou,Marta.""Takecareofhim,okay?He'sveryworth it,"Fionasaid.DoyouthinkSt.Peterwillletmein?
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