«Go. Send me the details».
After the bath, I still made dinner. Pasta, meatballs, salad.
I set the table in silence.
I ate in silence.
As if it didn’t exist.
Later I approached Diego.
— I have to go. Urgent. For work. Five days. Starting the day after tomorrow.
He raised his eyebrows, surprised:
— Oh really? And what about…? —pointed towards the room.
— You manage —I said—. It’s your family.
— Valeria, this is not fair. We have visitors.
— For four days I did everything by myself. Now it’s your turn.
— But I don’t know how to cook like you!
— You will learn. Or they ask for food. Or they go out to eat.
It turned red:
— So you leave me alone with them?
— I won’t leave you. I’m leaving for work. A job that, by the way, pays for this whole circus.
In the morning I packed my suitcase.
Doña Carmen entered the kitchen while I was drinking coffee:
— Diego says you’re leaving. What a shame, we see each other so little.
— Work —I answered.
— At least leave something done. Diego doesn’t know anything about cooking.
I finished the coffee and left the cup in the sink:
— There is food in the refrigerator. There are recipes on the internet. They are all adults.
His face was paralyzed by surprise.
Fernanda was waiting for me at the dock with two coffees and a big smile:
— Well, fugitive, ready for your freedom?
— More than ever.
When the ship set sail, for the first time in a long time I felt like I could breathe.
The phone vibrated:
«Okay, mom asks where we keep the cereal».
I turned off the phone.
Those five days were like a dream.
I slept, read, walked, ate whenever I wanted.
Nobody demanded anything from me.
The third day I turned on the phone.
Thirty messages from Diego.
From anger to confusion.
From reproaches to panic.
I wrote him only one:
«I’m fine. I’ll be back in two days. Fix them alone».
And I turned off the phone again.
— You do the right thing —said Fernanda—. Let him feel it.
