THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Forty Five

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Forty Five

It had been a week since Ricardo had returned from the hospital. He was still in bed, but already feeling much better. He was able, with some difficulty, to walk between the bedroom and the living room and was already making small forays into the backyard. Being cared for by Dona Olga and Roseli, he gained another aspect, more sober... he almost reminded Ricardo of yesteryear... we can say that the biggest difference between this one of now and the one of yesteryear was, without a doubt, his humour, that had changed drastically. If before he was a cheerful, communicative young man, now he was taciturn... he always lived with a frown on his face, in a bad mood... he spoke little, and when someone spoke to him, he used to turn his face away and not answer. Not even her little daughter could escape her bad mood. And, for that reason, both Ms. Olga and Roseli herself tried to keep the girl as far away from the boy as possible... yes, he had changed a lot... and it wasn't for the better...

After fifteen days he was already able to take short walks. He was off the booze, at least. It had been almost a month since he'd had a single drop of alcohol in his mouth. Considering that before he drank from morning until night, this could explain his constant bad mood... it was his abstinence talking to blow it all away and slake that thirst that was consuming him inside. But he was managing to resist the temptation. It wasn't easy, but he had decided he wouldn't give in to addiction again. And since he couldn't drink now because he was on medication, he had decided that he would not drink again even when the restriction was lifted. It was going to be easy... after all, the hardest part was now...

The afternoon was pleasant, and Ricardo sat down on one of the many benches in the square. The movement was smooth. He just watched what was going on around him. And it began to wander through space and time, which insists on bringing back memories that sometimes we think are lost in the mists of the past, but sometimes they sprout in our mind and do not abandon us, because they are part of our life... and then, he began to remember the beginning of his marriage to Cecília...

His first disagreement with Cecília took place in the third month after the wedding... he arrived relatively early from the garage... it was about eight o'clock at night. Cecília arrived a little later ... that day she had replaced a colleague who had to go to the doctor in the morning. When she arrived, Ricardo was sitting on the sofa, watching TV... she arrived, looked at her husband's posture, went to the kitchen... the pots were still in their usual place, the stove was off...no action was taken for the dinner had been taken. She gave the room a sideways glance…shoes just thrown in the middle of the room, one sock hanging from the TV rack, another just thrown on the floor…she didn't say anything. She simply went to the bathroom, took a shower, changed... and left. A couple of hours later he returned. Ricardo was still in the same place, in the same position. She crossed the room and headed towards the bedroom. That's when her husband asked her...

- Aren't you going to make dinner for us?

Cecilia stopped near the door. She was silent for a few seconds. She turned slowly towards her husband and gave him an icy look... so icy that he felt bad... she said nothing. She didn't even need to. In her silence, she said everything that crossed her mind but was not expressed by her lips. She turned back towards the bedroom and locked the door...

When she heard the click of the key, locking the access to her room, Ricardo got up from the sofa in a flash. He ran to the door, knocked on it...

- Cecilia... what the hell do you think you're doing?

No response came from his wife. He insisted...

- Cecília... open this door!

The most sepulchral silence was what he received in response...

- Cecilia... you're not going to make our dinner, are you?

This time, breaking the silence, there was a burst of laughter coming from the bedroom. Ricardo was disconcerted... footsteps were heard, coming towards the door. The click, a sign that the door is unlocked, sounded as if a gong had been touched. Cecília opened the door a little, looked Ricardo straight in the eyes....

- You haven't had dinner yet? What a shame...

- Cecilia...

- But... wait a minute... you arrived almost an hour before me... why didn't you make dinner for us?

- There is?!

- Yes, my dear... as far as I know, you are extremely competent... and I'm sure you know how to do at least the trivial things in the kitchen... why didn't you?

- Kitchen is your department...

- Since when? When was I hired as the family cook?

Ricardo was silent... Cecília's gaze didn't leave him room for any kind of argument... in fact, he was ashamed when he heard his wife's words. Yes, she was right. He could have made dinner for the two of them instead... but he didn't want to lose the argument, so...

- Cooking is your obligation...

Cecilia just looked at him. Again an icy stare. So cold that it even gave you goosebumps. She slammed the door in his face, not before throwing him a pillow and a duvet... and locked herself inside again... and that's when he was left without dinner and sleeping on the couch... and that condition lasted for a week...

Ricardo was wrong, and he knew it. But he didn't want to admit that fact. He even commented in the garage, with his colleagues, thinking that he would have their support. Of course, there are always those who support all the nonsense you talk, but there is always someone with common sense who tries to open your eyes... if you are ready to hear the truths that will be thrown in your face, that's good.. . will definitely correct your deviations. But while he is not ready to take that step, he will certainly continue to insist on following the wrong path... and Ricardo was still on that level... after a week without talking to his wife... she really decided to give him one lesson, and this one came through complete ice... the boy thought it was time to make up. He spent almost a whole day thinking about what would be the ideal gift for Cecília... jewelry wouldn't work, she didn't like to wear anything... not even a ring, necklace, bracelet, earring... take it out to dinner? He would definitely take it personally and not accept it.... that's when something clicked... before they had their little disagreement about who should take care of certain emergencies at home, like if you arrive first, please, do things the way I would, he remembered that she had commented that she would like to read the book "If there's a tomorrow", by Sidney Sheldon... and that she would buy it at the end of the month... well, she found the right one. white dove of peace. During his work day he took a short break to a bookstore and bought the book for his beloved. He asked the attendant to make a beautiful gift wrapper and, when he got home, he handed it to Cecília. She accepted the apology and they spent a few days in peace... but storms always haunt homes, don't they? Marital peace never lasts long...