A Tale of Love and Uncertainty

I open my eyes, finding my son sleeping like an angel. Although I love seeing this image, at that moment, it wasn't the one I wanted to see. I turn and look at the ceiling, closing my eyes and reminiscing about the night before. I had forgotten how my husband could affect me. I smile as I remember his smile, the way he spoke to me, and the touch of his lips on my hands. I'm already eager to know what else lies ahead. I get out of bed and head to my closet: My sixth sense tells me I'll see those brown eyes again, so I choose a navy blue dress that hugs my curves just enough and reduces the amount of skin it shows on my back, I'll leave my hair loose. I wake up Juan and get him ready as quickly as I can, not that it's necessary since I have to wait for the babysitter to arrive anyway. I sit with Juan in the living room, pacing back and forth while counting the minutes on my wristwatch for Nina, the babysitter, to arrive soon. Then, my intercom buzzes, and I finally let her in. In a matter of minutes, Nina appears at my door: she's a few years younger than me and does this kind of work to save up for her exchange program. Juan walks excitedly towards Nina, who gives me a once-over from head to toe, surprised:

"Wow, Mrs. Salazar looks gorgeous," she compliments. "All dressed up and even wearing heels?"

"Thank you, but it's just for work," I lie, grabbing my black handbag from the couch. Then I turn to Nina and say, "Today, I wanted to know if you could stay with Juan for me after work?"

"Sure, it will be a pleasure to spend time with this little prince," Nina affirms, picking Juan up. "Enjoy yourself, ma'am."

"It's just business," I reply, leaving the house.

The day at work seems to drag on, and no matter how hard I try to concentrate, I can only think about sitting at the bar and talking with my husband at the end of the day.

"So, how about a Happy Hour today?" I suggest to the girls, who look at me surprised.

"Okay, someone here enjoyed last night," Rúbia comments mischievously.

"Could it be the man who sat at our table that got into her head?" Paloma suggests.

"Alright, if you don't want to go, I'll go alone," I say as I return to typing on my computer.

"Come on, please, if you tell us who that mysterious man is, we'll go with you to the Happy Hour," Lúcia proposes.

"He's really hot, totally worth going back there," Alba comments.

"Hey," I say to Alba, "take your eyes off my husband!"

"He's your husband?" Rúbia asks, widening her eyes along with the other girls. "What do you mean you didn't tell us? Girl, spill all the details now."

"Dália," Mr. Suarez calls, opening the door to his office. "Come in, please."

I get up from my desk, nervous and even more with the girls' eyes on me. Who is Suarez? Suarez is a man who is three times my age, and the combined weight of all his brokers might come close to his body weight. To make him even more "irresistible," he has hair only on the sides of his head and a five-o'clock shadow. However, what he lacks in outer beauty, he makes up for with kindness and a good heart. At least until now, but when he closed the door to his office and sat down, a stern expression took over his face: it was my end.

"We need to talk about what's going on, Dália," Suarez begins, interlocking his fingers. "I need to understand what's happening with you because you should already have a deposit contract here. You've done open houses and advertised the properties."

"Good question, Suarez," I reply to my boss, sitting in the padded chair. I raise my arms and continue, "I don't know what's happening. I swear to you, I'm good at this, but I don't know..."

"I need a better answer than 'I don't know' to keep you here," interrupts Suarez, raising one hand. "What happened?"

"Maybe I'm letting my personal life interfere with the sales," I honestly reply. "As I told you during the interview: right now, I'm the sole responsible for my son. My husband and I are going through a marital crisis, and he's living somewhere else. It's been very difficult to handle everything practically alone."

"But your priority here is the clients and selling the houses," Suarez states seriously.

"Yes."

"That's what matters to me. Look, I don't want to be insensitive, and I understand that your head is full of everything you're going through, but this is the priority. Otherwise, there's not much I can offer you."

"I know, because I'm here to work," I reply, already feeling that chair swallowing me. "That will be my focus, I promise."

"Look, Dália, a separation is not the end of the world. I've been divorced twice, and here I am, whole," Suarez comments.

"Alright," I say with a weak smile.

"And as for your sales, you can still recover. You just need to focus on selling well."

"Of course, I'll do that," I affirm, getting up. "Thank you once again for the opportunity."

"That's okay," Suarez responds, looking at his computer. I'm at the door when he calls me, "Dália."

"Yes?"

"Good luck," Suarez concludes. I believe the "good luck" is for the sales, as I find it unlikely he's rooting for my marriage.

***

After the conversation I had with my boss, I decided to focus the rest of the day on the mansions I have to sell, but not without thinking about the end of the workday that was approaching.

I practically dragged the girls to the bar we went to yesterday, sat in the same spot, and waited for my husband. They chatted excitedly about work, screamed when their song played, and went to dance, just like yesterday. I settled in my chair and finished my wine in one gulp. I looked around the bar, searching for those brown eyes, that smile... but nothing stood out in the crowd. The girls' song ended, but they continued dancing to another and another, while I sat there waiting. Then a glass of wine appeared in front of me. I gave my best smile and then raised my eyes, saying:

"I thought you wouldn't come..."

"Really?" asked the blond guy, sitting in front of me. "Well, it looks like you were also watching me, right?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized awkwardly for the unexpected surprise. "I was expecting someone else..."

"As they say: God writes straight with crooked lines," the guy argued, handing me the glass.

"Hmm, still, I prefer Him to write in straight lines," I replied, getting up. "Excuse me."

I left the bar without even saying goodbye to the girls. I can't believe Carlos stood me up. Why didn't he show up? My urge is to call and take out all my frustration on him, but I don't. The therapist said I needed to leave it in Carlos' hands, so that's what I'll do, even if I have to unlock my phone several times to control myself. I get in the car and drive home, where I find Nina and Juan sleeping in his room. Then I go to my room, take off my clothes, put on my nightgown, and lie down on the bed, once again alone.
***
If Carlos thinks I'm going to be thinking about him every day, he's very mistaken, I think to myself after five days without any contact from my husband. I decided to really make the conversation with Suarez worthwhile and scheduled as many visits as possible that week. The only thing I did was come to the office to pick up more promotional brochures and return to the houses. It was during one of these back-and-forth trips that I noticed a beautiful black box with a generous golden bow on my desk, holding a note and a bouquet of wildflowers with another note.

"When was this delivered?" I ask the girls, who exchange glances.

"I think it was a little before you went to Moragas," Raquel comments, biting her pen. "Someone here has a secret admirer."

"Wow, who could it be?" Rúbia asks. "The blonde guy or the dark-haired one?"

"Or neither of them," she adds with a mischievous smile.

I pick up the note from the box, which says:

"Open only on our first meeting..."

Then I move to the flowers and find only a phone number, which I dial from my desk. After a few rings, someone answers on the other end of the line, saying:

"I knew you'd call, Dália Penedo."

"Hello, Carlos Salazar," I reply, sitting at my desk. "How are you?"

"Better now that I'm talking to you."

"What do you want?" I ask, biting my lip.

"A real date. How about today?"

"Hmm, today I can't. You see, someone made me spend too much money on my son's babysitter's overtime hours," I retort.

"Really? Tell me who the scoundrel was, and I'll take care of him."

"You," I say, smiling.

"Wow, you're quite direct. Well, I apologize for the extra expenses. How about compensating you for it?"

"At this moment, the only reward I want is a good shower and some rest. But as a single mother, I can't afford that luxury."

"Is that so? Let me see what I can do for you."

The phone goes silent, and my heart races: What is Carlos up to this time?