"ThankyouJuan."
I went upstairs thinking that Feliciana must be the maid of some rich family who lived there. As Laura, I never knew much about most of my neighbors. But how wrong I was! As soonasIwalkedthroughthedoor,IsawinthehallabigabstractpaintingwithFelicianaugly face.Thefloorwaswide,muchmorethantheoneIhadasLaura...Thewallswereabright red color and there was hardly a hollow without a carpet, a comfortable and expensive armchair or some seedy but expensive statue. A large bed in the bedroom had a solid gold headboard and footboard, a photograph of a stout, bearded man bored by a pile of darts. I remembered what old Anthony told me ... her husband had left her for her cousin, hence her angerandimpulsetothrowthetoasteroutthewindow...althoughIwasbeginningtodoubtthat maybeitwasbecauseoftheredcoloredwalls.Theycouldmakeanyonenervous.Ifiguredthe Mexicanladywasloaded...Iwasloaded!Beneaththemattresswerethousandsofdollarsand a bank account filled with zeros. Something good had to have ... because I knew right away what to do with that money. They say that one always goes back to the place where he was happy...anddespitemynewsituation,IstillbelievedthatinFeliciana'sunattractivebody,I couldalsobehappy.
July20th.AverysignificantdateformeandwhoIwasasaperson.It’sthedateIchosetogo back,afterhundredsofbureaucraticpaperworkandtheexpensivesaleofFeliciana’sinfamous NewYorkapartment.Afteralongflightinfirstclassandoccupyingthreeseatsoftheairplane, IarrivedatMadrid.Ithoughtofmyparents,mybrothers...inmynieceLaura.IfMartafoundit difficult to believe that she was a friend of a top model, as Feliciana they would die of laughter. So, I rejected the idea of going to see them and hired a chauffeur to take me to my final destination. The only place where I wanted to spend the rest of my days as Feliciana.
Four hours from the capital ... my retreat, my little village ... directly to Pine. Eager to look backatitsbeautifulpinkskyatsunset.
Iwasn’tusedtomynewbodyandIdoubtedthatonedayIcouldadapt.Itwashardforme tomove;Iwashorrifiedtolookinthemirror...Iswappedtheflowerywardrobefortailor-madeclothing,discreetcolorsandmydarkcurlsforasmoothJapanesehairstyleofalighter shade.Therewasnothingmoretodo...Felicianawashideousineverywayandshewasabout toturnsixty.
Ateighto'clockintheafternoon,IbegantoseetheunmistakableolivetreesofCáceres.We passedbyValenciadeAlcántaraandthedriverstoppedatthetrafficlightalittlewaysofffrom
Paseo town square. I could see my friends ... smiling, talking animatedly. Jaime and Silvia werelockedinanembrace.Afterallthistime,theynolongerhidtheirrelationship.Claraand Hugo pushed the stroller with a happy baby inside. And Felisa ... seemed to be snugged up withafat,baldmanwithgiantglassesand...aStarWarsT-shirt!Felipe!HerFelipe...Felisa looked at me. She adjusted her glasses to try to get a better look and smiled at me. I smiled back, knowing that we would surely see each other again ... one day ... but our time of friendshiphadremainedinsomecornerofthetime.Andinourmemory.Iwasgoingtomiss her.
Aftertenminutes,Ireachedmyfinaldestination.Theskyreceivedmeonceagainasthelast time ... pinkish, clear ... I thanked the driver, not without having first paid him with a lot of moneythatthegoodMartawouldhavewantedtohave.Ilookedatmyprevioushouse.Pablo's carwasparkedinfront,soIassumedhewasinside.AndIstillkeptmyricketySuzuki...Iwas soeagertoseePablo!Toseemybaby...IgetridoftheimagesinmymindofthedayIdied with Adrian on my chest and I fixed my eyes on my new home. The one that previously belonged to my octogenarian angel, Angustias. Now it was my house. The octogenarians gathered in the square, and stared at me with curiosity. Completely quiet (something very unusual),toseewhatthehefty,newlyarrivedMexicanlady.Astrangertothem.Igreetedthem allsmilingandwentintothehouse.ItwasjustasAngustiashadleftit.Icouldstillremember herlimpbodyinthenowemptychairinfrontofthetelevision.Youcouldtellthatsomeonehad itprofessionallycleaned.Ismiled.AndthefirstthingIdidwaslightacigarette...
Halfanhourlater,Ritacametoseemewithseveralneighbors.Ithankedthemforcoming togreetmeandpromisedtomeetwiththemthenextafternoon.Atnine-thirtyintheevening,I sawlightinsidemyprevioushouse...whichnowbelongedtoPabloandmybaby.Draggingmy heavybody,Iheadedtowardthehouseandrangthedoorbell.Pabloopenedthedoor.Istared athim,thewayyoulookatsomeonewhenyou’reinlove.Itwasobvioushewasgoingthrough a rough time, he hadn’t shaved for several days, and the sad expression in his blue eyes betrayedhisrealfeelings.Hewasn’tathisbest...Hemissedme.
"Hello,miss,"hesaidpolitely.
"Sorry...Ijustgottothevillage,mynameis,"Iwantedtosay...Marta,I'mMarta...your Marta...,“Feliciana."
"I’m Pablo. And that's Adrian," he said, stepping aside to show me my six-month-old babysittinghappilyinhishighchair.Hewasbeautiful.Hishairwasblond,shiny,andhiseyes wereblueasPablo's.Identicaltohim.Adriansmiledatmeandmadesomecharmingnoises.
"He's beautiful." I put my thick, swollen-fingered hands to my mouth and began to cry.
Pablogavealookofnotknowingwhattodo.
"Areyouokay?"Inodded,unabletokeepfromcrying.
"I'msorryIhavetogo..."
WhenIgothome,IsatonthecouchwithoutknowinghowthehellIwouldgetup.Icried untilIhadnomoretearsleft.AndIcursedSaintPeteragainfornotgivingmemoretimeas
Marta.Ididn’twantFeliciana’sbody;Ididn’twantitall...seeingthepeoplethatmatteredto mefromadistancewasnotsomethingthatmotivatedmetoomuchinmycurrentlife.
As days went on, I adapted to my new octogenarian friends and they to me. We spent the afternoons together in the square talking. I listened to what they said, but the only thing that interested me was seeing Pablo and Adrian. Every time saw them; my heart would sink ...
PablowouldwaveandsmileandliftAdrian'shandtosayhello.Hewasahappybabyandhad thebestfatherintheworld.I,asamother,wouldsurelyhavebeendisastrous...butitwastoo latetothinkaboutsuchthings.Andawful,justawful.
Oneevening,whilegettingdinnerready,theyknockedonthedoor.WhenIopenedit,Iwas surprisedtoseePablowithAdrianinhisarms.Theybothstoodtheresmiling.
"Good evening Feliciana. The other day I felt so bad seeing you cry and all. We just wantedtoknowifyouwereokay"–hewasasgoodandattentiveasever...
"Thankyou,Pablo.I'mfine,Iwasjustexcitedtoseeyoursweetlittleboy,"Irepliedwith mytrademarkMexicanaccent.
"Doyouwanttoholdhim?"-Iagreedtryingnottoreassembleatearfulspectacle.
ItookmylittleAdrianinmyarms.Mybabygrabbedmycheeksandlaughatme.Hewasso adorable...Irememberedmypregnantbelly,theultrasoundsthatwewatchedforhourswith excitement,hisheartbeatandkicksinsideme...ItwasthebestgiftlifeasMartacouldhave givenmeandnowIhadhiminmyarms...aftersolong,whichfeltlikealifetime.
"He'salovelybaby..."Iwhispered.
"Ithinkhelikesyou,"Pablosaid.WouldAdriannoticethatunderthisdisastrousbodywas hismother?"Youcancomeandseehimwheneveryouwant,"hewentonpolitely.
"Thankyouverymuch."
Pablokepthispromise.Icouldseemysongrowingupfromthevicinityofanelderlyneighbor whowasalwaysaffectionatewithhim,lavishinghimwithgiftsshecouldafford.Andevenif lovewasdeniedmeinmynewlifeandsituation,Ijus
thadtoseePablosmilingandtalkingto me always with respect and kindness. At least I could have him in my dreams ... in them I wouldbeMartaagainandIcouldcurlupinhisarmsandkisshimintensely.SometimesIalso dreamedofAlejandro...staringatthestarrysky,holdingmeaswedidwhenwewerealive.
Timewouldpass,theyearswouldgoby...andalsoasFelicianawouldhavetocrossthetunnel again.Iwasinnohurry,IwantedtoseehowthesweetandadorableAdriangotalonginlife.
AsPablogrewold,itwouldbepainfultoseehiminloveagain.
Butwhenwearealive,wefeel.Althoughwe’renotalwayspreparedforthepain.Painisalso partoflife,partofourearthlylearning.Wecometolearn...we’regiventhegiftofliving...so
whywastetime?LET'SLIVE!Andlet'sbehappy.
As long as we have time, we add beautiful memories to our collection. After all, everything happens for a reason ... everything ends up fitting like perfect pieces of the same puzzlethathadbeensoughtaftersinceforever.
AndIwasrelievedtoknowthatonedayIwouldfindmyselfinadimensionthatIhadnot yetbeenallowedtoenter.ThereIcouldbewitheachandeveryoneofthepeopleIlovedin mylife.
THEEND
Your Review and Word-of-Mouth Recommendations Will Make a
Difference
Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyedthisbook,pleaseleaveareview,evenifitisonlyalineortwo,andtellyourfriends aboutit.Itwillhelptheauthorbringyounewbooksandallowotherstoalsoenjoythebook.
Yoursupportisgreatlyappreciated!
AreYouLookingForOtherGreatReads?
YourBooks,YourLanguage
Babelcube Books helps readers find great reads. It plays matchmaker, bringing you and your nextbooktogether.
Our collection is powered by books produced at Babelcube, a marketplace that brings independent book authors and translators together and distributes their books in multiple languages globally. The books you will find have been translated so that you can discover terrificreadsinyourlanguage.
Weareproudtobringyoutheworld’sbooks.
Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutourbooks,browseourcatalogandjoinournewsletterto learnaboutourlatestreleases,visitusatourwebsite:
www.babelcubebooks.com
Document Outline
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHEERS TO THE GOOD LIFE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chapter 1 | TO DIE IS SIMPLE | (To find the stinking light, not so much)
Chapter 2 | SAN PEDRO IS CUTE | (He doesn’t feel the same about me)
Chapter 3 | MARTA | (And my tremendous pain in the neck)
Chapter 4 | “If, for example, you come by at four o’clock, | I’ll start feeling excited at 3 o’clock”
Chapter 5 | PHANTOMS
Chapter 6 | SERENDEPITY | The Lucky and unexpected find that occurs | when you are looking for something else
Chapter 7 | SUMMER’ S A PARTY | (and fleeting)
Chapter 8 | BACK TO THE PAST
Chapter 9 | BEFORE YOU DIE... ¡LIVE!
Chapter 10 | Him | (And his ghost)
Chapter 11 | “They’ll be back” he said. | “Embarrassment doesn’t have a very good memory”
Chapter 12 | Death isn’t the Great Tragedy. | The dreams we let die inside of us | while living is the Great Tragedy.
Chapter 13 | If the Cosmos wants them to meet, | No matter the distance they will meet. | If it’s not meant to be, even face to face | They won’t see one another...
Chapter 14 | Cheers to the GOOD LIFE, ADRIÁN
Chapter 15 | Everyone sees who you appear to be, | But few see who you really are.
Cheers to the good life Page 18