Take him!

by Parejo, Sandra

  “No. Why?” I ask.

  “Everybody knows on Friday you left with the handsome boss of Néstor on a taxi.” Angélica says.

  “So what?” I ask again.

  “We didn’t see any of you in the whole night!” Emma continues.

  “He didn’t go back to the party?” I ask skeptical.

  “Are you trying to pretend?” Angélica blurts out.

  “Noooo.”

  “So?” Lucia asks eagerly.

  Then I tell them about the encounter at the cloakroom, the taxi and what happened when we got to my block.

  They look at me as I were telling the most beautiful story in the world and I roll my eyes and finish the narration.

  “He goes home with you and you don’t invite him in?” Emma asks incredulous.

  “Of course not” I defend myself.

  “You’re mad as a hatter.” Angélica tells me off.

  Damn, another person who tells me the same as Carlos did. Actually, I don’t know what they all think of me.

  At three, when we go back, the principal tells me to stop being silly and go to the doctor, he’ll find a substitute teacher.

  I know I must go to the doctor because this pain is starting to be unbearable, but I doubt about going to Javier’s consultation or the school mutual insurance Company. Finally, as I don’t feel like waiting in a crowded waiting room the whole afternoon, I decide to go to Javier’s consultation which, besides, it’s near to the school.

  When Javier’s assistant lets him know I’m there, he makes her walk me to the office. When he sees me, he gives me two kisses again and asks me:

  “Is everything okay? Álvaro didn’t warn me you were coming. He doesn’t come with you today?” He bombards me with questions.

  I answer the first one and I omit the next one.

  “It started to hurt more than the previous visits about three days ago.”

  “This is not normal. Are you taking the last anti-inflammatory I gave you? It was stronger tan the first one.”

  “I started three days ago…”

  “Excuse me?” He asks as he hadn’t listened well.

  “I haven’t been doing it well…” I recognize.

  “Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, but this really doesn’t look good.” He tells me off before adding. “Let’s see what I can see in the X-ray films and we’ll decide. Come with me, please.”

  I follow him through the consultation corridor, he’s serious and he doesn’t make any comment.

  After looking what he has to check, we go back to the office.

  “You must go on sick leave to be able to rest, at least three days. And you must take this medication or this pain will become chronic.”

  “Chronic?” I ask scared. I don’t like this at all.

  “Yes. And I’m telling you this very seriously.”

  “Alright, I’ll go on sick leave and give me the medication.”

  “Come back here on Thursday and we’ll decide if you’ll be discharged, okay?”

  “Yes, thank you. Tell me how much it is, please.”

  “You don’t have to pay me anything, the only thing you must do is do as I told you, please.”

  “Thanks a lot, Doctor Ruiz. I’ll come back on Thursday.”

  “Javier. Call me Javier.”

  He gives me two kisses and sends Álvaro his regards, as if I was going to see him again.

  When his assistant makes the appointment for next Thursday, I go back to the school to tell my boss I’ll be absent for three days and I take the opportunity to say goodbye to my kids.

  I go back home worried, I didn’t like that he told me this could be chronic.

  When I get home, and as every Monday, I call my little Carla.

  “Hello auntie!”

  “Hi honey!”

  “You know I love you a lot, right?” She says very affectionately.

  “Can you tell me what you want?”

  “Me?” She asks as if she were ofended.

  “Come on, spit it out.”

  “I’d like to go to see you.”

  “That’s great!” I say very happy.

  “And…”

  Now it’s when I get scared.

  “I want you to take me to Justin Bieber’s concert. Pleeeeeease…”

  “When is it?”

  “In two weeks.”

  “But honey, those tickets must be sold out months ago.”

  “Yes, but a friend from school told me her parents would buy her a motocycle if she sells the tickets and doesn’t go to the concert. That’s why she offered me the tickets. Can I buy them?”

  “Did you talk with your mom about this?”

  “She says that if you pay the tickets and go with me, she allows me to go.”

  And I think my dear sister is as collaborative as always.

  “Buy the tickets. I’ll transfer the money to your mom’s account tomorrow morning. How much is it?”

  “Three hundred euros.”

  “What?” I ask shocked, this is very expensive! Goodbye to my few savings!

  “It’s because they’re in a great place.”

  “They’d better be, they’re very expensive.”

  I say nothing, listen to her silence and I make her suffer for a bit.

  “I don’t know, Carla…”

  I stay in silence for a bit more.

  “See, there’s a problem.” I say.

  “Geez, what is it now?”

  “It’s just that I don’t have any Justin t-shirt.

  ―You can borrow one of mine.” She says in an imploring tone.

  I don’t make her suffer anymore.

  “Okay, we’ll go.

  “Thank you, auntie, you’re the best. I have to go as I have to call her and tell her I’ll buy her the tickets tomorrow.”

  “Goodbye honey, I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  I feel happy to know that my niece must be jumping all over the house.

  I decide to eat a yogurt and watch the TV for a while. I choose a gossip show and catch up, because when the girls talk, I never know who they’re talking about.

  However, calmness doesn’t last long as five minutes later I hear someone knocking on the door. I can’t believe Mrs. Margarita comes to complain about the TV, I can’t hear it.

  I open the door with a smile which freezes instantly. Álvaro is at the door with a very serious look.

  “Can you tell me what are you playing at?”

  “I don’t need you to tell me off.”

  “Let me in” He orders instead of requesting.

  As I know Mrs. Margarita will call the cops on me if she sees through the peephole I’m fighting with this annoying man, I open the door to let him in.

  I think on the kiss on my hand he didn’t give. He looks at the TV and asks.

  “Do you watch that kind of shows?”

  I say as I’m not in the mood for bullshit:

  “What do you want?”

  “Javier called me to tell me you were at his office. He knew you hadn’t warned me and because of the gravity of the issue, he warned me. I was at a meeting and I couldn’t get out until now.”

  “You didn’t have to come here.”

  “But, can you tell me why you aren’t doing what you must?”

  “Look, I don’t have to give you any explanations, I think you took this very seriously, but it’s my problem. Don’t worry if you think that I’m going to fill a report or something like that, I’m not.”

  The moment I say this, I keep quiet and I regret my words. He doesn’t lose his hope and handles me a bag from a very famous restaurant from the city.

  “I brought you something for dinner. I only ask you to rest and if you don’t want to see me anymore, behave yourself and on Thursday, when Javier tells you everything is alright, you won’t see me again. I’m not afraid you would call the cops on me or anything like that, I only want what I hurt to heal as fast as possible.”

  “Excuse
me for speaking to you as I did.” I see in a regretful tone. “I’m worried because Javier told me that this pain could become chronic and I didn’t like it at all.”

  “He told you you’re on time to heal and that, resting and taking the right medication, you’ll be recovered by Thursday.”

  Suddenly, I burst into tears.

  “Hey, stop worrying. Don’t cry.”

  “It hurts a lot right now.”

  He hugs me so I stop crying and take my hand to give it the kiss he owes. Then, when he sees I’m more relaxed he says:

  “I’m going to set the table. I’m staying for dinner.”

  He gets up and goes to the kitchen. I hear him moving around it, opening cupboards, closing them, grabbing cutterly and a few minutes later, he shows up and stretchs his arm.

  ―”Come on, let’s have some dinner.”

  I get in the kitchen and I see he has set the little table with some food on it that looks amazing.

  We eat dinner while we tell each other about our professional life. I tell him that I have worked at Sensat school for two years and I’m teaching kids from third year.

  He, however, tells me something much more interesting. He owns a company he created alone in a little office in a district near where I live. It’s a consultancy firm for companies with problems. They use him and his team to get through a bad time. Currently, he has different offices all over Spain, part of Europe and they’re starting to expand through Asia. I’m shocked.

  Once we finish, he gets up and gets all the dishes in the dishwasher. I go back to the couch as he suggested and five minutes later he comes with two mugs. He prepared a latte for him and a lime blossom tea for me, which I drink without question as we watch TV together.

  When we finish, he goes back to the kitchen to get the mugs in the dishwasher. He comes closer to me and says:

  “Get into bed, I’m leaving. But before, if you don’t want me to come back at eight in the morning, you’d better give me your phone number. I want to call you.”

  “This is coercion, you know?”

  “Yes. Give it to me.” He tells me with his phone on his hand.

  “Okay.”

  I give my number to this annoying man and now that he’s happy, he tells me:

  “You’re very kind, Miss. Go to bed.”

  Then he takes my bandaged hand and gives me a kiss wishing me a good night. I see how he gets up, puts his jacket on and leaves through the door.

  On Tuesday, when I get up, my hand doesn’t hurt so much. I decide to take a shower and have breakfast with no hurry.

  The first thing I do is going online to transfer the money to my sister so Carla can buy the tickets.

  Around eleven my mobile phone goes off. His number is not saved on my phone but I immediately know it’s him.

  “Hi! How are you today?”

  “Hi! It hurts less, to be honest. But it still hurts a lot.”

  “Are you taking your medication?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you behaving yourself? Are you relaxed?”

  “Yes, I’m correcting some funny tales my students wrote.”

  “Good, I’m happy you’re more lively. Magda will go to see you around noon.”

  “Magda?, your maid?”

  “Yes, she’ll take you some food she made for you and help you in everything you need.”

  “But it’s not necessary, I can cook something, anything.”

  “Remember your promise.”

  “Alright.”

  “Behave, baby.”

  And he hangs up. Did he call me baby? I think about it for a few seconds until someone knocks on my door.

  I open and I see a small woman, with a lot of bags.

  “Are you Miss Martina?” She asks.

  “Yes, it’s me.·

  ”I’m Magda, Mister Álvaro sends me.”

  “Come in, he told me about this.”

  “Can I go to the kitchen?”

  I don’t want to be rude with this woman, but I think it’s stupid she has to come to take care of me and that’s why I tell her:

  “Look Magda, you don’t have to bother. I appreciate all this, but I can handle it myself.”

  “I can’t leave. Mister Álvaro would be furious at me.”

  I know that if I make her leave I’ll get her in trouble so I give in. She notices and starts moving around the apartment.

  “You’ll have your food ready at one. Now, what do you want me to start with?”

  “You don’t have to tidy up, Magda.”

  “I can iron all these clothes for you.” She points at the clothes which are on a line near the window.

  “Do whatever you want.” I give in again.

  This woman is as annoying as her boss.

  At one, I eat a delicious soup she prepared for me. Afterwards, I lie down on the couch, where I fall asleep until five. When I get up, I see the apartment is spotless. Magda is already gathering her things to leave and she comes closer to me.

  “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll leave. I left dinner ready for when Mister Álvaro arrives. You only have to heat it up.

  “Thanks for everything, Magda.”

  “You’re welcome, it’s my job.” And she leaves.

  The fact that Magda has prepared dinner for the two of us means Álvaro intends to come again. I can’t help it and I decide to change the comfortable clothes I’m wearing for something fancier.

  At six my phone goes off. It’s Angélica.

  “Hey, injured! How is it going?” She greets.

  “Hi! I’ve been sleeping the whole day, to be honest.”

  “You’re so lucky! I’ve been with your devils during most of the day.”

  “But they’re so nice.” I say thinking about my rugrats.

  “They’re for you.”

  “Are you calling only to criticize my kids?” I ask tired.

  “Yes, and also to know how your wonderful love story is going.”

  “Angélica, you’re very silly today. What wonderful love story are you talking about? Because I can see everything, but love.”

  “Because you insist on wearing a hard shield. Luckily, not everyone is like your stupid ex.”

  At that moment, someone knocks on the door. I go to open, I’m annoyed by Angelica’s nonsense. When I open I see Álvaro at the door and he has a tired face, even so, I must confess he’s very handsome.

  I greet him in silence as I keep listening to Angelica’s lecture. He comes closer, takes my hand and kisses it. After that, he walks to the dining-room where he waits patiently for me to hang up.

  “Hey! Are you there?” Angélica asks from the other side of the line when she notices I’m not listening.

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  “I see what it’s happening. You aren’t alone. You’re with him, right?” She guesses correctly.

  “Come on, drop it. If you need anything from school you call me; if you don’t, don’t do it again. I’ll see you on Friday. Goodbye.”

  I don’t give her time to talk back and hang up among sighs, thinking on how annoying Angélica is when she wants to.

  I watch Álvaro in silence, who is distracted with the back cover of the book I’m reading. And by his mocking face I know he’s laughing at the romantic novel so I take it away from him quickly and I sit down next to him.

  “Interesting novel.” He says in a tone that I don’t know if he’s mocking or not, although I guess he is.

  Then I answer with a smile only.

  “How is that hand?”

  “Much better.”

  “Are you sure?” He asks while He raises an eyebrow so I don’t lie to him.

  “And how was your time with Magda?” He asks again.

  “Very good. She cooks amazingly, but she didn’t have to come to clean the house. You see my apartment dirty?”

  “Ha, ha!” He laughs at my comment and adds. “I brought some movies in case you get bored but, giving it a second thought, I don’t know
if you’ll like them… by your preferences, of course ―he says while he points at my novel.”

  “Can you leave me alone?” I ask him.

  At that moment, I check out the moves he has brought. They’re awful for my liking, but there is one I like.

  “I’ve been planning on seeing this for a while now.” I tell him.

  “Play it… we could see it together.”

  << God, alert, alert!>>, Álvaro wants to see a movie in my home, on my couch. I get tense and he notices it.

  “I’m tired, I don’t feel like inviting you to go out, I prefer to watch a movie.” He defends himself.

  I don’t know what he means with inviting me to go out and I get tenser.

  “I’m not going to grope you, it wouldn’t be fair, we don’t have equal opportunities.” He jokes. “Play it before I fall asleep.”

  I do as he says, but I’m still very, very tense. It’s been a long time I wasn’t in that situation. Little by little, and thanks to the movie, I relax. We laugh a lot and I love when I see him crack up. I’d say it’s the first time I see him smiling so wide and I must confess he’s gorgeous.

  When the movie ends I say:

  “I suppose you’ll want to eat the dinner Magda prepared, right?”

  “Mmmm… Yes, please.” He tells me.

  “Let’s go to the kitchen, come on.”

  We delightfully eat the wonderful dinner Magda prepared for us, which is delicious.

  During the dinner, Álvaro says:

  “I’m going to Bilbao tomorrow and I won’t be back until Thursday. I’ll be back just on time to go with you to Javier’s consultation.”

  “You don’t have to come with me, I can go on my own.”

  “I want to go with you.”

  “Okay.” I know it’s a lost battle to argue with this stubborn man.

  I notice Álvaro is tired, but I don’t say anything about it until we finish dinner.

  “Leave now… It’s late and I can see you’re tiredAre.” you kicking me out?

  “No, silly, but you should rest. I have slept for the whole day and I feel great now.”

  “I can see that.” He says making me blush.

  Then he says goodbye with his usual kiss on my hand and I walk him to the door.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow, baby.” He adds before closing it.

  On Wednesday I’m still on sick leave, but my hand barely hurts. I’m dying to go to work, but I know I won’t be able to until Friday.