Victor was still interned when the place he had promised Rita ceased to be a house,s. and for several hours no one dared to tell him that behind those walls was no longer the life he gave for sure.
He still had discomfort from the surgery, walked slowly and had to follow the medical instructions carefully, but what irritated him the most was something else: Ana did not answer her calls.
The first night she thought she was angry.
The second one decided to be passed.
The third began to understand that the ring she had left on her watch had not been an impulsive gesture.
Victor kept it in the drawer of the table next to his bed.
He didn’t call Ana to ask him why he left him there.
He wrote to him how he had done for twenty-two years every time he wanted something to return to his place without having to apologize.
When you can, bring me a change of clothes.
Ana read the message and did not respond.
Then came another.
“I also need the long charger that’s on my bureau.
He didn’t answer either.
Victor still didn’t understand that those little orders had stopped working.
For years he had confused Anne’s perseverance with obedience, her way of caring for lack of character, and her habit of solving problems with the certainty that she would never leave.
That is why, even after having spoken to Rita from that hospital room and promising her a property that was not even in her name, she remained convinced that Ana would return.
I had an argument ready.
I’d say she’d heard wrong.
I’d say Rita was a friend.
