THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Forty Seven

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Forty Seven

After a good night's sleep, Cecilia was composed. All the tension of the previous day had disappeared as if by magic. The conversation she'd had with her father had helped calm her nerves. Besides, there was no real reason for all the dread she had felt for Ricardo. After all... did they always fight? Yes, with a constancy that is not beneficial for a healthy relationship. But when the situation started to get out of hand, she broke up with her husband and, in a way, everything fell into place... at least for her. Admittedly, her ex ended up going down the drain and ending up in the gutters of life... but even he seemed to be on the mend. Well, what she knew for sure was that sooner or later she would have to talk to him. And she resolved that she would do it that day. It was better to clear everything up once and for all. So that there were no problems, she would first talk to Roseli, explaining her reason for arranging a meeting with Ricardo. It would be better that way...she didn't want to give any room for what she said. When calling Roseli, she found out because Ricardo was walking near her place of work ... he was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in a hall on the same street where she worked. Well, then she already knew what to do... she would talk to him after her shift... and put everything in order...

The clock said six o'clock in the afternoon. Cecilia went down towards the street and began to pay attention to the passers-by, until she caught sight of Ricardo's face in the distance. She moved on as if by chance, and they found each other...

- Ricardo!...

- Cecilia! What are you doing around here?...

- I was looking at the windows... I need to buy some things for the house...

- Will return...

- Huh? No, no... I'm talking about my new house...

- Oh...

- And you? What are you doing around here?

- I'm participating in an "A.A." group....

- I was needing...

- Yeah... after some falls in life, we have to get back up...

- And how's life?

- As that song says, we're taking...

- Well, that's life...

- Cecilia...

- He can talk...

- Could we talk more calmly? Now I'm just in time for the meeting...

- Talk about what?

- About Us...

- Mass doesn't exist "we", Ricardo... not anymore...

- I...

- Look, our separation was final, there is no going back.

- I think we need to talk... we need to understand each other...

- I'm sorry... but we already understood each other... and we disagreed, too. I'm sorry, but for both of us there's no turning back...

- Cecilia, I...

- Sorry... just like you, I'm in a bit of a hurry, I have a few more things to do... see you around...

And Cecília turned her back on her ex, walking with firm steps, without turning back even once... the boy stood still, watching the girl disappear among the people passing by on the street...

- Hey Helen...

- Wow, Cecília... today you took a while, huh?

- I was talking to Ricardo...

- Wow... did you decide to face the beast?

- There's no beast, girl... I needed to talk to him, and I did it... so I exorcise my ghosts at once...

- And how it was?

- Easy...

- Did he take it well?

- Not much... I wanted to arrange a meeting...

- And you...

- I jumped out, of course. As I said once... I just want distance from Ricardo...

- Do you think he will accept your decision?

- And does he have a choice?

- All I ask is... be careful!

- Leninha, we can't live in fear... because then we run the risk of dying in life...

- Ceci... I don't want to be a bird of ill omen... but my dreams...

- They're just dreams, girl... you shouldn't give so much importance to them...

Helena didn't answer. She had her misgivings, and she feared for her sister's physical integrity. But she recognized that she was right... one cannot live all the time in fear, or one runs the risk of just vegetating in this world...

- Have you decided where we're going now?

- Like this?

- Huh... mom's house or our house?

- We went there yesterday, Ceci...

- And what's wrong with going there again today?

- Not bad, but...

- Well, Lena... mom's food is delicious... and it's really nice to talk to dad...

- Okay, okay... let's go to Mom, then...

And there the two of them went, chatting about pleasantries, laughing at the small events that had happened during their day... Helena would talk about her customers in the stores, Cecília would talk about the bureaucratic processes she had to go through during her workday... yes, the tension of the day the previous day seemed to have completely dissipated...

- What good winds bring my girls to this humble enclosure?

- Mom's cooking...

- I thought they missed me...

- A little, right, dad?!... but we have to confess that we came after mom's food...

- You gold diggers... but it won't stay like that, no... I asked your mother to make jiló soup with chicken feet for dinner!

- I think, what a bad taste...

- Bad taste, why? This is a delicacy from the gods...

- Delicacy of the gods, is it? Let mommy hear you say that, and she'll crucify you until morning...

-Nothing... her mother is calmer these days

-Trust ... trust that she will find out what is good for coughing ...

- Hey, Helena... the best cough syrup is St. John's Wort... it's a hit and miss!

- Ceci, he understood what I meant...

- Yes, girls... I understand... but your mother is less religious these days...

- That's good to hear... there was a time when she was just unbearable...

- These are phases, children... we all go through them...

The three of them laughed together... they started talking banalities and little Selene came crawling into the living room. She held on to Helena's legs, asking for a lap, which she won right away. And that's how they stayed, talking and laughing about everything and nothing, until Estela and Janete called them to the dining room...