Navigating Love and Business

One day after my conversation with X, I arrive at the foundation with apprehension about what I will find. I'm sure he must have prepared something extra to impress me, but as soon as I enter the office, I am surprised by its emptiness. I sit in my place, worried. Filomena had said she would come straight here and that I didn't need to wait for her. Has something happened to my friend? I call her phone and, to my surprise, I hear her ringtone coming from the hallway. I hope she answers, then the door opens, and Filó enters, smiling, accompanied by X.

"Good morning," X says, placing a cup of coffee on my desk.

"We met at the cafeteria, and he offered me a ride," Filomena explains. "Dália, you need to hear the hilarious story he lived in Switzerland. Can you believe he's living there?"

"Oh, that's interesting," I say, looking at X, who is fully focused on Filomena, not even turning to me.

"Oh, Filomena, I have many stories to tell you," X says, smiling at her, causing her to blush instantly. He bites his lower lip slowly. "Of course, if you want to hear them."

"With pleasure," Filó responds with a mischievous smile.

"But not during work hours," I say, raising my hand. "We have a lot to do and little time."

"I agree," X says, putting his hands in the pockets of his black dress pants, matching the suit he's wearing. He smiles at Filomena. "After work, we can have a drink while I talk about what it's like to live in the cold."

"Must be terrible not to be able to keep warm, right?" Filomena asks, getting closer to X, who doesn't back away.

"Well, we always find ways to stay warm over there," X responds, also getting closer to Filomena. He takes one hand out of his pocket and guides it toward her face, touching her hair and slowly tucking it behind her ear. Both Filó and X have their lips slightly parted, and then he smiles, touching Filó's chin, saying, "Have a nice day."

"Without a doubt," Filó replies with sparkling eyes.

He leaves without even looking at me as if I don't exist. Filomena sits at her desk, satisfied, while I observe her. They still haven't slept together, but it wouldn't take long for that to happen with her.

"So, you refused my ride to find a way to come with him?" I ask reluctantly.

"Actually," Filomena says, happily typing, "I called him and said I needed a ride, but knowing exactly the dissatisfied face you would make, I decided to lie."

"Fine," I replied grudgingly. "Just don't forget that he's the financier, and if anything goes wrong between you two, the foundation will suffer the consequences."

"Fine, Mom," Filomena says, slightly irritated.

***

One month later...

With time, the flirtation between X and Filomena became the least of my problems, as he now was dividing his time between Madrid and Barcelona. Besides that, for some reason, we started having difficulties finding investors, participants for the inauguration, and the projects were stuck, forcing us to postpone the opening. But that's not all. In my personal life, things weren't going as I wanted...

As promised, Carlos came home every weekend, at least his body was present, as the rest remained fully in Lisbon. I might not care if he didn't pay attention to me, because every time I confront him, the excuse is the same: accumulated work due to the time he spent here. But he isn't giving any attention to our son. And today is one of those days... I watch from the kitchen as Juan clings to my husband's legs, who is fully concentrated on his computer, totally ignoring his own child. That was the last straw. I finish adjusting the counter and walk toward him, irritated, closing his notebook and receiving his shocked gaze.

"We need to talk," I say, with my arms crossed.

"Dália, not now," Carlos replies, opening the notebook. "I really have a lot to do, and the deadline is tight."

"I think this can wait a few minutes," I reply, closing his notebook.

"Fine," Carlos says, putting away his computer. He finally notices Juan wrapped around his legs. "Do you want to talk in front of Juan, or can I take him to his room?"

"You can take him to his room. I'm sure that's the maximum attention our son has received from you this month," I retort.

Carlos gets up from the couch with Juan in his arms and takes him to his room. A little while later, he returns with a stern expression, stopping in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips.

"Speak, Dália. What's the problem this time?"

"Remember when you promised to always be present with your family? I asked you not to make promises, but you decided to do it anyway?"

"Yes, and I've been keeping that promise since then," Carlos replies.

"Then I'm sorry to inform you, but you haven't kept another promise you made," I say. "How so? I'm here, aren't I?" Carlos questions, raising his arms.

"Yes, you are here. Your body is here, but you're not," I retort. "Look, I don't mind if you put me second in the middle of all this, because I've been living like this with you for a long time. But I don't want you to do that with our son."

"Again with this, Dália? Again with this story, I'm neglecting you and all that nonsense. It's like a broken record, always the same thing. I'm tired of it."

"Yes, because you do the same thing! Always the same thing!" I accuse. "You're not the only one tired of repeating ourselves. But you don't do anything to change it..."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Carlos questions, holding my arms.

"No, you're not," I reply. "I tell you about the problems I have at the foundation, and it's like talking to the walls! I bet you don't even remember that I said I'll have to postpone the inauguration once again."

"I remember, but, Dália, it's not that important," Carlos says, moving back, annoyed. "You're exaggerating with this postponing thing. It's not a big deal."

"Of course, because everything I do isn't as important as what you do," I say, contradicting. "Your things are always more important than anything here..."

"Don't put words in my mouth, Dália. I didn't say any of that. And besides, we're getting off the main subject: us."

"But this is about us, Carlos. This is part of us. And you've been ignoring it, just like everything else in this house, even your son."

"I'm doing my best."

"Your best is far from enough here," I retort.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to be here at home only when you really want to be. I just want you to come home when you actually want to be with us. That way, we don't create the expectation of being with you while you stay focused on your work. That's what I want."

"Your wish is my command," Carlos says, heading to our room.

I sit on the couch, exhausted. At least this time we were honest with each other. It takes a while, and Carlos appears with his suitcase packed, kisses me on the forehead, and walks toward the door, leaving without a return date.