Chapter 5
Several days have passed since her return, and on Thursday, December 7th, Violeta can't focus. It's the middle of Constitution Day weekend, and although she had agreed with her boss over a month ago to work through it to keep the project on schedule, her frustration at not being able to spend these days with her mother has her mind elsewhere, far from the meeting she's attending. She talks to Maite daily and knows that since Tuesday, her mother has a new assistant. A woman named Olga who just moved to the town, specifically to the house of their neighbors that has been empty for a long time after the wife's death and the husband's move to a nursing home. Apparently, the man passed away recently, and Olga is one of the nieces who inherited the house.
"I'm delighted, Violeta," her mother told her just last night. "She's hardworking and reliable. And the customers are very happy with her."
"That's great, Mom."
"Yes, honey, and since we're neighbors and she doesn't know anyone here, she stays with me until I close, you know, I leave so late. And then we walk home together."
Violeta smiles gratefully because it seems her mother has not only found an employee but is also getting along with this Olga despite the woman being much younger than her mother.
"How old is she?" Violeta asks.
"Forty-two, and she doesn't have children, so her availability is absolute. And the best part is that she's also thrilled with the job. Apparently, she needs the money, so we're helping each other."
"I'm glad, Mom. I feel more at ease, although I wish I could be there."
"It won't be long now, Violeta. Don't worry, you'll be here soon, and you'll see, I'll send you back to Madrid with two extra kilos as a gift."
Violeta looks at her stomach and starts laughing. She'll have to make up for those two kilos with many hours at the gym, but she doesn't mind. She's not planning to say no to those delicacies. Her mother suddenly falls silent, and Violeta realizes she's thinking about her father. These silences are quite frequent, and that's what worries her now.
She hears her boss's voice more clearly than before, and it's not until he snaps his fingers in front of her that Violeta realizes he's asking her directly. She manages to muddle through, seeing Teresa's alarmed face, and then becomes absorbed again, this time thinking about her father, from whom she has a missed call that she dares not return.
Violeta doesn't know how to talk to him or how she'll react when she hears his voice. As the days have passed and the initial shock has worn off, she can understand that he might have fallen in love with someone else. These things happen. What she doesn't understand and can't forgive is the way he's handled things, so abruptly. He hasn't just left her mother heartbroken; he's also left her alone to run a demanding business at full capacity.
"Violeta, to my office," Hernán Carro says as they leave the meeting.
Teresa looks at her and wishes her luck in a low voice. Violeta enters behind her boss and sits down across from him reluctantly.
"What's going on with you? You've been distracted throughout the entire meeting," he complains, annoyed, as he puts his phone on the desk.
"That's not true. I'm clear on all the points."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
Violeta stays quiet. She doesn't want to get into an argument where she has everything to lose, plus, he's right. At that moment, her phone starts vibrating. Violeta knows she shouldn't, but ever since what happened with her parents, she's always on high alert in case her mother has a low moment and needs to talk. She quickly takes it out, and when she sees Marina's name on the screen, she lets out a sigh, rejects the call, and puts it away again.
"I'm sorry, I thought it was my mother."
Her boss looks at her, displeased.
"Look, Violeta, we all have problems in our private lives, but we need to know how to leave them at home."
His words hit Violeta like a punch to the gut. She can stand him less and less, and now she not only wants the vacation to spend time with her mother, but she also needs it to disconnect from this job and, above all, to get away from this unbearable, arrogant boss.
"Of course, it won't happen again," she says without looking at him and stands up.
Violeta leaves the office, feeling her phone vibrate again. This time it's a message, again from Marina, telling her she just wants to have coffee with her.
"You look upset," Teresa says when she returns to her desk. "Did he scold you a lot?"
"No, the usual. It's Marina who's annoying me, she keeps insisting."
Teresa's phone rings at that moment, and while she takes the call, Violeta thinks about Marina and her persistence. She can't go back to a woman like her. She left her precisely because she was very controlling and too dependent on Violeta. She always complained that she felt lonely, that they spent too little time together, and that Violeta neglected her. As time passed, all these complaints grew, and Marina became more demanding.
Nothing Violeta did to please her seemed to be enough, until she realized she was starting to do things out of obligation, to keep Marina from complaining, and not because she wanted to. Now Marina tells her she has changed, and sometimes, when Violeta feels lonely, she doubts, but deep down she's sure it's impossible. Her ex-girlfriend is controlling and possessive, and that's not a bad habit she's picked up, it's a personality trait.
"You should talk to her and make things crystal clear," Teresa says when she hangs up, "because this is bordering on harassment."
Violeta suddenly laughs, finding her friend a bit extreme.
"I just can't be bothered to meet with her and have to explain something that's obvious. Not answering her calls or messages seems like a clear message on its own."
"There's no one more blind than the one who doesn't want to see, Violeta," her colleague says.
Violeta leans back in her chair and hovers the cursor over the calendar to expand it, then counts the days left until her vacation. Two weeks and one day to be exact, then she'll have a little over fifteen days to be in the village and relax. She just hopes to come back with her batteries recharged and her mind clear to endure work until the next vacation.