THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Twenty Six

 THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Twenty Six

Mario and Cecília were talking about the past when Janete arrived from mass. She had with her some things she had bought at the market on her way home. She was happy to see her daughter wasn't gone, which meant she wasn't mad at her mother anymore. Yes, Cecilia did not want to talk to her mother for some time, and Jane knew that it was her fault. The problem is that Jane was a religious fanatic, and when something didn't fit her belief, she couldn't keep quiet. She had to speak! Her priority was always the salvation of souls and, if for that she had to hurt someone, so be it. But she didn't let actions contrary to what she believed in grow until they were uncontrollable….

The disagreement with her daughters… yes, she had argued with all three of them at once… was based on a comment made by Estela, the youngest of her daughters. The three sisters were in her room, and they were discussing what a spiritual experience would really be... Helena soon said that she didn't like this subject, because it was something quite difficult to measure, and she didn't like to mess with anything that didn't could really understand. Letícia was more down to earth, and she said in so many words that she was an atheist and that she didn't believe in anything that some people said. It was then that Estela, who saw her mother near the bedroom door, spoke in a loud voice, so that she could hear….

-You mean, Cecília, that in her opinion mom talks a lot of zucchini, doesn't she?

- I didn't say that, Estela. What I said is that I don't share her beliefs...

- And isn't it the same thing? If you don't agree with her, it's because you think her beliefs are silly...

- Estela, Ceci didn't say anything about that...

- And you, Helen? With your strange beliefs...

- What strange beliefs? Are you crazy, are you?...

- Hey, don't you keep saying that you feel things walking around you? That it seems like there's always someone walking beside you?

That's when Janete decided to join the conversation...

- Do you feel things walking by your side, Helena? My daughter... that's the devil trying to get you! This is prayerlessness! Also, you don’t go to church anymore, you stopped praying… you’re becoming an atheist like Cecília…

- Whoa, whoa, whoa… leave me out of this, please!

From there, the discussions began. Estela, the pivot of all the confusion, tried to sneak out, but Helena didn't allow it. When tempers got more exalted than normal, Mário went up to see what was going on, and he almost didn't believe what he saw. The four women, mother and daughters, were grappling with each other…

Well, it goes without saying that, after that, both Helena and Cecília stopped going to their parents' house for some time… the mother, until they managed to forgive…. But the youngest sister, who had caused all the fuss... well, they didn't want to talk to that one anymore. They only softened a little when their father told them that their sister was pregnant...

Jane was busy with her pans, preparing lunch, when Cecilia entered the kitchen. While she prepared one meal and another, Jane was talking to her daughter. Logically, the subject at hand was the couple's separation, she wanted to understand why her daughter refused to reconcile with her husband. Cecília explained several times that the main pivot of the separation was her husband's second family, that she was unable to maintain an open marriage, as her ex-husband's desire seemed to be... besides, she couldn't stand drunk people, and a lot that Ricardo had started drinking every single day, arriving every morning more there than here, changing his legs and butting the walls... and definitely, she couldn't take that situation anymore. When she finally decided to part with him, the relief she felt in her soul was the most intense thing she had ever felt in her life...

Jane shook her head disapprovingly. In her conception, marriage was something so sacred that it did not allow any kind of rupture, no matter what the reason. And it is clear that Cecília did not agree with her mother's ideas.

The four of them were at the table for lunch. By a divine miracle – Jane's words – Estela decided to have lunch with her family. It had been a long time since this had happened. The truth is that Estela had a thousand things going through her head and needed to talk to someone other than her parents. And since her sister was with them this Sunday, why not have a little chat? Suddenly, she could help her solve some doubts that had been tormenting her for days… it is clear that Estela knew that her mother would not accept her ideas about her future very well, but she felt protected by the presence of her sister… perhaps , who knows, a light would come on in your life and you could find an answer to all your problems...

- So you decided to leave Ricardo…

- Yes, Estela… there were no more conditions for us to live together…

- But... why?

- This is a difficult question... and the answer is not easy... I think we stopped liking each other...

- Do you think so, or are you sure?

- Of course, I don't. Sometimes I miss you. That could mean I still like him...

- Uh, so why did you leave him?

- Many reasons... one of them, the main one, was the breach of trust...

- Like this?

- You've been dating Jairo for a long time, haven't you?

- About three years ago...

- Very well… now tell me something… what would you do if you found out that he has another woman in his life?

- I…

- And even worse... if you found out that he had a child with that woman?...

- I wouldn't want to see his face for the rest of my life...

- Well, that's exactly what I found out about Adriano... he's been cheating on me practically since we got married to that girl, and he has a daughter with her... the girl is a year old...

- And how did you find out about it?

- It wasn't difficult... this kind of thing you discover easily...

- And then you decided to take a walk...

- Yeah… but the worst was yet to come…

- Serious?

- Yes… I was missing for a month, more or less…

- Yeah… you drove everyone crazy…

- I had to put my head in order… you can’t imagine how I felt when I found out about the dirty trick he had played on me…

- Yeah, but you messed with him too… he was almost arrested on suspicion of having murdered you…

- I know… that was one of the reasons that made me come back… clarify things, so that there was no doubt about our actions…

- But you said he did something worse...

- Yes… after we went to the police station and clarified everything, he had the nerve to ask me to live with the lambisgoia in our house…

- I don't believe…

- I wouldn't believe it either, if they told me...

- And what did you do?

- I let him take her. Not for the two of them, but for the child...

- Really?

- Yes. The girl is not to blame for being the daughter of who she is...

- I wouldn't leave it cheap like that...

- I know... but life is not always as we expect it to be...