THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Forty Nine

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Forty Nine

Cecília was walking carefree down the street when someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder. As she turned around, she was startled... It was Ricardo who was beside her...

- Hey, Ceci...

- Ricardo... what a surprise...

- I hope it's a good surprise...

- I'm sure you don't want to hear my answer...

- Okay, I got the message...

- Same?

- Yes... you didn't like to see me here...

- I couldn't be more right...

- But why?!

- Our story is over, Ricardo.

- We need to talk about this...

- No, you don't have to...

- Ceci, I love you... I never stopped loving you...

- Look, I won't even bother to answer you... what do you want?

- Doesn't it seem obvious? I want to go back with you...

- Keep dreaming...

- Ceci....

- Understand one thing... our affair is over... discovering your betrayal was just the final detail, the whitewash on our relationship...

- Ceci... you are the woman of my life...

- But the reciprocal is not true...

- You mean...

- I don't want to say anything... just that it's over.

- Are you... with someone else?

- What if I was? I am free, unencumbered...

- What do you mean, free? Are you still married to me...

- But I will soon cease to be... I have filed for divorce...

Ricardo was speechless for a few seconds... he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Cecília looked at him, a look of pity... yes, it was all over for them and there would be no going back. No, if it was up to her at least...

- Cecilia...

- Sorry, Ricardo, but I'm in a bit of a hurry... see you around...

And with those words Cecilia ended the conversation, shrugging her shoulders at her ex and speeding up her steps to escape him. Ricardo stood still, surprised by his ex's attitude... but it wasn't surprising... after all, she always said what she thought, not caring much if people liked what they heard or not... when he came out of her dazed state, Cecilia had already lost herself among the people in the crowd.

Cecília tried to catch the first bus that passed, all to get away from that place as quickly as possible... of all the people in the world, the only one she didn't want to see even painted in gold was Ricardo. It was the third time in a week that she had bumped into him, and the second that the two had spoken. What made her quickly leave her ex was the face he made when he asked if she had someone else in her life. No, she didn't have anyone and didn't even think about getting someone to share her fate. For now she was doing very well alone...

About five stops later, she got off the bus. There was no risk of running into him, not tonight, at least... but there was one thing she didn't understand... no one, apart from her and Helena, knew that this afternoon she would be there... she was looking for a school to specialize in some points and that's why he had gone to that region... well, he would be more careful not to cross paths with him again. At least he was sure that he would never show up at his place of work... after all, for him, Cecília worked as a salesperson... he couldn't have imagined that now she was working in an office, performing a bureaucratic service... Finally it arrived to the meeting point, where Helena was waiting for her...

- What happened, Ceci? Why that angry face?

- If I tell you, you won't believe it...

- Tell me... later I'll tell you if I believe it or not...

- I met Ricardo again...

- This way? But...

- Yeah, that's what I thought... how did we bump into each other again? We're not even in the area where I work...

- Suddenly he had something to do around here, uh...

- But what? His Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is close to where I work, six miles from here...

- Calm down, Ceci... you said you didn't care about him...

- And I don't care... but I didn't like how he reacted when I said that we have nothing to do with each other, and that I filed for divorce...

- Did he... threaten you?

- No... but he made a face that made me a little worried...

- Serious? Why?

-I suddenly remembered his dreams...

- Calm girl...

- I'm trying... but just the sight of him makes me upset...

Helena stayed quiet... anything she said at that moment would not calm her sister... on the contrary, it might make her more nervous... after all, since her nightmares started, they were repeated day after day... and it made her sick. The two got into the car and Helena put it in motion. They were still in silence, just looking at the landscape that changed as the car moved forward. Until Cecilia started talking...

- The biggest mistake I made was to have returned...

- What do you think?

- No. But regardless of what I think, that was without a doubt my biggest mistake. After all, where I was, I was well protected...

- I have my doubts, Ceci...

- Why?

- Well, if he's really willing to find you, he'll find you...

-Why is he saying that?

- So that you are prepared...

- I do not know what to do...

- Do you want an advice? Live life the best you can...

- Easier said than done...

- And you think I don't know that? But this is my psychologist's main recommendation for me...

- And can you follow?

- Not always...

- Welcome to real life, Helena...

- Well, the thing is to move on...

And the two fell silent, again. Each one got lost in their thoughts, plunging into the core of the contradictory feelings that surfaced... suddenly all the concern from days ago came back to the surface... and that irrational fear just exploded, bringing out all the dread that they thought was long gone. buried deep within your psyche...

And guess where they went, to calm down, listening to words of comfort? That's right, to his parents' house... they urgently needed to talk to Mr. Mario. But ... well, Mario had left early, as he had some things to resolve in the interior of the State. That being the case, they would only have Dona Janete and Estela to talk to. And that ended up making them even more discouraged than they already were... but... worse than it was, it couldn't stay.

- Hi mommy...

- Our. what was this miracle, of you showing up here like this?

- We missed you...

The baby, as soon as she heard Helena's voice, came running... crawling, in fact... to the living room, asking her aunt to hold her. Immediately, Helena took it. And that clean and positive energy that every child emanates made her heart lighter... she felt comforted, simply with the child in her lap...

- I'm finishing making dinner... Cecília, help me? In three, let's go faster...

- In three?!

-Yes ... Helena has Sissi on her lap, so she can't lend a hand. But you don't have anything to stop you, do you?

Cecília simply accompanied her mother. She preferred not to say anything, because her mother was right. And suddenly, helping her mother and sister in the kitchen could help her to de-stress a little... soon the table was set, and the four of them helped themselves... between one mouthful and another, Janete tried to figure out what had taken her his daughters to his house that day. But the two talked about everything, except what really interested her. And if there was a flaw that Janete couldn't hide, it was curiosity...

- Girls... I know you don't like to talk about your problems with me...

- What is it, mother?

- I'm telling the truth... when your father is here, they don't stop talking for a minute. Today, when he had to travel, this is like a wake...

- Imagine... it's nothing like that...

- So what is it?

- It's that damn Ricardo...

- Your husband?!

- Ex husband, mother... ex husband...

- For God there is no such thing as an ex, girl... marriage is a sacrament for life...

- Mommy...

- But it's true, Cecília... you are living in mortal sin... you should go back to him, as the Divine Law dictates...

- Mom, understand at once... the only thing I want from that piece of shit is distance...

- But I...

- Mom, if you insist on this subject, I'll get up from the table and leave now...

Janete was about to answer, when she looked into Cecilia's face... when she realized that her daughter was serious, she decided to keep quiet. And so she remained until the end of the meal ...