THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Fifty Two

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Fifty Two

It had been a long time since Estela had left the house alone. She was always accompanied by her little daughter. But that morning she had to leave early, and left the little girl sleeping, in the care of her mother. when she crossed the square that was almost in front of her house, it was strange to notice a familiar face, which tried to dodge, as if wanting to go unnoticed. Since she was really in a hurry, she pretended that she didn't notice the person's action, and walked on. I had an appointment at the gynecologist and I was already a little late...

Later, at home, she decided to talk to her mother about the incident. But at the last moment, remembering how her mother handled certain matters, she thought it best to keep quiet, and talk to her father in the evening...

It was eight o'clock when Mario arrived, accompanied by Cecília and Helena. The two sisters decided to stop by the department where their father worked and they were lucky, because he hadn't left yet... he was finishing a customer service. The three of them followed together to Mario's house... lately the two were going straight there and almost always spent the night with their parents. So much so that Janete even left their room tidy, and always had a change of clean clothes for them... the three arrived talking loudly, joking, making jokes. When they saw Estela looking serious, they were surprised. It's okay that she didn't live laughing all the time, but she wasn't a serious person either, as she was now. Estela went directly to Cecília...

- Ceci, I think you should take care of yourself...

- Why?

- Guess who I saw this morning, there on the bench in the square...

- I have no idea...

- Of course it does... I saw your ex... he also saw me, but he disguised it, thinking I didn't notice him...

- Oh, not that one! What was he doing there?

- Waiting for the bus wasn't...

- Daddy, what do I do?

Mario was thoughtful. What could he say to Cecilia? He himself was worried, but he couldn't show it to his daughter.

- Well... suddenly he was waiting for the bus, yes... after all, he's a driver... maybe he was scheduled to work on some nearby line...

- Ah, dad... give it some time... here in the neighborhood there is no starting point for any line...

- Calm down... what I meant is that, all of a sudden, he had to come do something here in the neighborhood...

- Like spying on me, for example...

- What an imagination, my daughter! Why would he do this?

- Why would I? Good question, Daddy...

- Daughter, you can't always live in fear. Then your life turns into hell! There's nothing worse than a paranoid person...

- Do you think I'm paranoid, Dad?

- Not yet... but if you start seeing ghosts in every corner, you will definitely be...

- You know, Dad... I didn't want to say this... but the last time I talked to Ricardo... well... I...

- What happened, daughter?

- He scared me...

- Like this? Did he threaten you?

- No...

- Assaulted you?

-No, none of that... but... the way he looked at me...

- What was it?

- I don't know... there was a strange glint in his eyes... I can't explain it... but it gave me goosebumps... honestly, I was scared....

Well, what could Mario say to his daughter to put her mind at ease? That she wasn't in any kind of danger? That would be reckless of him. On the other hand, so far the boy hadn't taken any action that would justify any kind of action on their part... yes, Mario was quite worried. But, as I said earlier, he tried not to show his condition to his daughters, so that they would calm down... in fact, at the moment, the only person in the family who was not concerned with the situation Cecília was experiencing was Janete . For her, the solution would be for the girl to cohabit again with her husband... that would solve both worldly and spiritual problems. Understand, it's not that Janete was dying of love for her son-in-law. In fact, she even had a bit of a dislike for him. But, in her mind, the daughter had made a choice before God and men, and that bond would simply be indestructible and any kind of attempt to break it could end in some kind of disgrace, both physical and spiritual... she avoided voicing her thoughts as often as she did early on in the separation... after all, the family as a whole made it clear that they were not interested in her religious views... yet, when the opportunity presented itself, she used to give her daughter her pinpricks, telling her that if she forgave her husband and returned to his side, everything would be straightened out, because it would be in accordance with the commandments of the Holy Church...

- Did you visit your in-laws today, Estela?

- Yes... after I got back from the appointment. Before coming home, I stopped by...

- And how are they?

- Well, Helena... it's like I said... they're going through some tight spots. And if you don't take care of yourself, I think your Geremias will end up in bed again...

- He was there?

- No. he had gone to moonlight one of his clients. But, from what Dona Isabel told me, he is not doing very well in health....

- Yeah... everyone has their problems... some, a little more serious, others, not so much... but we all have our branches to solve... ah, that we have...

- Do you know that sometimes I get remorse?

- Remorse for what, Estela?

- I don't know... sometimes I think that if I hadn't pressured Jairo as much as I did, maybe he would have been alive beside us...

- Get that kind of thinking out of your head, sister... it's dangerous to think that way. If not, soon you'll say that Selene is also to blame for her father's passing...

- Your sister is right, daughter. Things happen when it has to happen. We have no control over this. What happened to Jairo was fatal. it was his fate...

Janete called the family into the dining room. The table was set, and as always, the delicious smell of her food made everyone's hunger increase. The evening's menu featured creamy oven-baked rice, chicken medallions with bacon and potato gratin... plus a salad to go with it. It was the moment when all the problems disappeared from her thoughts. With that food, she had no way of thinking about anything but enjoying it...