by Ariel Zorion
truth. I don’t know why I wouldn’t do it. It seems you don’t know that I don’t lie.
- So, would it be all right if I invited him for coffee or something?
- Of course not! - she answered trying to sound indifferent.
- Well, you can not imagine what I'm happy about. I have not been able to get him out of my head since I saw him yesterday. I thought men like him only existed in movies. Of course, not at Caltech. I’ll have to get a move on or I'm sure other girl gets ahead of me - Lisa continued with a mischievous smile.
What was happening? What was it all about? Was it some kind of joke? Sophia could not believe what was happening. Her life, quiet and routine not too long ago, was being turned upside down in a matter of moments. Why did Lisa have to be interested precisely in Adrian? And why had she told her that she did not care? The said, said was and could no longer retract. She did not want to rack her brain. Surely when she told him, they would both find the situation amusing and laugh. She had hardly noticed that Lisa was still talking.
- You have to tell me many things about him. Although I'm sure he's not interested in someone like me. What do you think? Because I'm sure he'll be used to his students trying to hook up with him, so I have to do something different so I don’t look like a stupid kid. Do you think I have a choice? Are you listening to me?
- Yes I listen to you.
- Then, do you think I have a chance? Because I’m sure for him it will be the most common thing to have women following him. I can imagine one of his classes, all the students in the front row to not lose detail - Lisa continued, as if she was absorbed. -Seriously you don’t care, Sophia? I wouldn’t want to find out after that it really bothers you.
- No, don’t worry. I’ll meet him later to eat. I'll tell you what he tells me.
- Great! See you later for coffee, okay?
- Sure.
She tried to focus and continue with what she had programmed. At ten, it was scheduled a meeting of the department, then she would have breakfast with Lisa and the rest of her group of friends and she would finish the morning with classes. So she had barely an hour and a half to advance work. It was a challenge, considering how absentminded she felt, her disconcert and her mood at the time.
Because the department meeting finally got too long, she had to go straight to her classes, so she sent a message to Lisa to tell her not to wait for her. There were about twenty minutes left of the last class of the morning, when she saw that Adrian was entering the classroom. What was missing to finish the day! He nodded and sat in the back row. She picked up as best she could the thread of what she was explaining and tried to forget that he was there. When she finished the class, he approached her.
- How was your second day at Caltech? - She asked, almost realizing for the first time what Lisa was talking about when she asked about him a few hours earlier.
- Very good! People are very nice here. No wonder you like this site. And up in good weather, with the cold I've spent in Germany all these years! There's no denying that you were always the smartest of the two.
- Don’t doubt it, - Sophia said, smiling.
- By the way, you get very serious when you give class.
- Of course, I take my job very seriously.
- And me too, but you don’t have to be so tense and so serious the whole class. Students also appreciate that their teachers are kind and friendly from time to time.
- Whatever you say. And can you tell me why you came so soon? I think we agreed to meet in half an hour. You haven’t given me time to pick up my things.
- I'm done soon, and I was looking forward to seeing you. Why should I wait? I asked around and they told me you were teaching. The decision was simple, because that way I made good used of my time and saw you giving class.
- No, so you could criticize how I give my classes, which is different.
- Put your guard down a little, okay? Don’t take it bad. You know I do it with love. Come on, I'll go with you to your department so you can pick up your things and I’ll take the opportunity to know the place where you spend most hours a day.
When they were on the way, they met Lisa who was already leaving work that day. Was it fate? Nobody knows. The point is that Sophia had finally made the decision not to tell him anything of the conversation she had had that morning with her friend. However, seeing the attitude of the young woman, it seemed inevitable. During the few minutes they shared with her in the hallway, she did not stop flirting with Adrian, in a way that Sophia found too obvious.
When they arrived at the restaurant and sat down to eat, Adrian began to say the following:
- When are you going to take me to do some sightseeing? I'm looking forward to getting to know the area a little. I hope this afternoon you have no commitments and you devote the whole time to me. Also, I need to find a flat as soon as possible to get organized a little because I have everything strewn around my hotel room.
- You're a spoiled brat. You've been asking me for things since you arrived - she joked.
- It’s the consequence of being an only child. I guess you know that, too.
- Yes, I know what it's like to be an only child, but unlike you, I'm not a brat.
- Well, that's what other people should think, don’t you think so? Now seriously, are you going to help me look for a flat? Because if you are waiting for me to beg you, I warn you that I will not do it. Although a good friend would have offered me a room in her house.
Adrian stared at her in a way that Sophia could not interpret, as if a word had remained in the air for fear of pronouncing it. And she, unwittingly, got caught in his brown eyes.
- By the way, and don’t take it as a requirement, but I’d love to meet your friends. Of course Lisa is a lovely girl. If the others are the same, I will be very calm to know that you are well surrounded. And then you can throw me away with ease.
- The truth is they're good friends, but don’t think they're all as effusive as Lisa. In fact, she isn’t always so. The thing is, she was fooling around because she likes you.
- Seriously?
- Have not you noticed? It has been exaggerated. In fact, this morning she came in the first hour to ask me about you and to ask me for telling you about her.
- And you, what do you think?
- Of what?
- That she's interested in me - Adrian asked, trying to put out his feeler.
- Well, she's a good girl, I assure you. She is a good friend, very affectionate, she cares a lot for others. It would be a good choice. You should consider it - she replied, not understanding why she had said something like that.
- Are you trying to get me involved with your friend? - asked Adrian astonished and with a serious face.
- I haven’t said that. That is your decision. I only tell you what she has told me - she replied, as she played with his napkin and avoided meeting his gaze.
- I know, that she would be a good choice for me.
Adrian looked at her rather bewildered. He felt so hurt that he had no words. What was Sophia playing? The night before he confessed to her that he had accepted that work because he wanted to be close to her and she could not think of anything better than throwing him into the arms of her friend. He felt himself again as a child before her, just as he felt when they were little kids and he tried to get her attention. However, for some reason, I had thought that everything would be different now. He used to be successful with women and felt confident about himself. But with her ... Okay, he decided he would play her game.
- The truth is that she is a pretty girl and looks nice. And now that I'm single, I have nothing to lose. You could give me your phone and I'll call you later.
- Of course - Sophia agreed, her voice weak.
“All right. Very good. He had not thought about it for a second”, she thought instantly. And suddenly, the expectations and hopes that had besieged her during the previous hours, were transformed into disappointment and disillusion. She concluded that it had not been a good idea
that Adrian had traveled to California to sweep away all her tranquility like a gale. Now she would have to see him every day holding the hand of what was supposed to be her friend. And surely they would pretend that, from time to time, she would stay with them and drink coffee as if everything were perfect and they all live happily ever after. How could she bear something like that? Now they were not separated by thousands of miles in order to rebuild that fortress that kept her feelings isolated from the outside world and protected her from any possible damage that might be inflicted.
She could not imagine that Adrian suffered as much as she did.
CAPÍTULO 11: EXCUSES
I do not know why, but the real thing is that human beings often try to complicate everything. It seemed to me that everything was simple. That is, I took my part so that Adrian and Sophia would meet again on a cold morning in Geneva. They just had to continue with what I had started. It was not so difficult, because I knew perfectly well that the two wanted each other. Besides, no one had managed to find happiness completely. I mean, both had a good life, with friends, the job they wanted and so on. That is something that many people do not even get in their wildest dreams. And yes, they could feel very satisfied, even calling it happiness. But both were sensitive and affectionate people. Sophia had given up on love since her ex-boyfriend had left her. She had not opened that door any more, nor thought to do so. Adrian, despite appearances, had not done much better.