Page 97 of Now and Forever

Feeling tough, I lean on the doorframe. Betta is dazed; she doesn’t know what to do, and she finally takes her friend by the arm.

“Let’s go,” she says.

Once they’re out of the store, Anita and Marta look at me.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me, girls, but I had to do it. That woman has given Eric and me a lot of problems, and when I saw her, I couldn’t help myself. My anger got the better of me, and I, I ...”

Anita nods.

“Don’t be sorry,” says Marta. “She deserved it, that dirty pig.”

When we leave the store, we decide to go to a bar and have some beers. We need to. The encounter with Betta was something I never expected, and it’s thrown us off a little. When we manage to relax, Marta tells me about her date.

“The day after tomorrow is Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes,” Marta says. “Didn’t you know?”

“Well, no ... I’ve got so many things on my mind that I honestly forgot. Even though, well, knowing your brother, I’m sure he won’t care too much about a day like that either. If he forgot about Epiphany, I can’t even imagine what he’d think about a day as romantic and consumerist as Valentine’s Day.”

“Girl, he told you up front he’d be getting back from his trip that day.”

“Yes, but he didn’t mention our doing anything special. Although not long ago I suggested we add a padlock to the lovers’ bridge, and he said yes.”

“Eric? Mr. Grumpy said yes to putting on a love lock?”

“He did,” I confirm, laughing. “I mentioned it was something that had caught my attention, and he said whenever I wanted, we could go put one up of our own. But he hasn’t mentioned it again.”

After incredulous laughs from both of us, Marta whispers, “Honestly, I’ve never seen my brother as much of a romantic. And, as far as I can remember, when he was with that pig Betta, I never heard about them doing anything special on Valentine’s Day.”

Mentioning her sets us off again.

“I imagine you got like that because of something more than what that bitch did to my brother, right?” Marta inquires.

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me?”

My mind starts going a hundred miles a minute. I can’t tell her the truth about what happened with Betta. She doesn’t know about our sexual games.

“She stuck her nose into our relationship in Spain, and your brother and I argued and broke up.”

“My brother broke up with you over that horrible bitch?” Marta asks, openmouthed.

“Well ... it’s kind of complicated.”

“He wanted to get back with her? Because if that’s true, I’ll kill him!”

“No ... that wasn’t it. It was because of a misunderstanding caused by she-who-shall-not-be-named, and he believed her more than he did me.”

“I can’t believe it. Is my brother an idiot?”

“Yes, and an asshole too.”

We both laugh and opt to put an end to the conversation and have something to eat instead. Eric calls to tell me he’s arrived in London, and I decide against telling him what happened with Betta. It’s for the best, at least for now. I can’t fathom his reaction from so far away, and I fear he’d never understand.

28

After dinner, Marta leaves me at Eric’s house. Simona tells me Flyn is doing his homework in the playroom and she’s going to the supermarket with Norbert. She’s taped today’s episode ofEmerald Madness, and we’ll watch it later. I agree, go up to my room, and change. I put on a T-shirt and gray cotton pants, perfect for sitting around at home, and decide to go see how the boy is doing.

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