Chapter 19
It's Thursday and Violeta and Olga have been serving customers non-stop for a couple of hours. They've barely had time to talk to each other, but the knowing glances, spontaneous smiles, and subtle brushes of their hands occur whenever they get a chance. Neither of them wants to think about how little time they have left, but the week is ending and on Monday, Violeta will be traveling to Madrid. Olga can't stop thinking about it and the idea of maintaining what they have long-distance feels unbearable to her. She's not one of those people, not one of those who knows how to wait, she needs to express everything she feels and she knows that the days of waiting could destroy her. For her part, Violeta is a mess and every time she thinks about it she feels her chest tighten and she can't breathe. Her life in Madrid seems very far away now, as if it belongs to a different person she doesn't know, and that overwhelms her in an undeniable way and every time she looks at Olga and remembers that she'll be left without that tingling caused by her winks or her smiles when she notices her, she feels that knot in the center of her chest grow in size.
"Hey, Violeta, do you mind if I hang this here?" Violeta hears her in the background, she's so absorbed in her thoughts that she can't focus and the customer repeats the question until Olga approaches.
"What is it?"
Her presence by her side, the scent of her perfume and her body heat, but above all that subtle caress Olga gave her by placing her hand on her waist for a moment, have brought Violeta back to reality. The customer, a lifelong neighbor Violeta knows because her granddaughter and she went to school together, shows them a poster she intends to hang in the glass of the shop window.
"It's a poster for the Three Kings' Day roscón contest we've organized, the neighbors on the street."
At that moment Maite comes out from the back of the store and Violeta and Olga, even though they're not in any compromising position, separate a little leaving room between them. Maite approaches the poster and reads it while nodding.
"You could sign up," says Olga, glancing at her sideways.
"Maite? No way," the neighbor laughs, "it would be playing with an advantage, but you two can," she says, pointing to Violeta and Olga, who look at each other and laugh.
"Me?" Violeta points to herself with an incredulous gesture.
"Why not?" asks the neighbor without losing that smile.
"Because I run the risk of being left without an oven, Josefina, yesterday she made some aniseed cakes and almost set the kitchen on fire," says her mother, making everyone laugh except Violeta.
She makes a face and frowns, stung when she realizes that her mother thinks she's only good for serving in the store.
"Well, I'm signing up," she says suddenly to Maite's surprise, "and Olga too."
"Me?" Olga points to herself in surprise, "leave me alone, I barely have time."
"Come on..." Violeta begs her, taking her hands.
Olga gets very nervous.
"Please, it will only be one day, the contest is decided on Saturday," she says, re-reading the poster to make sure. "Give me the satisfaction of beating you before I go."
"You beat me?" Olga also gets annoyed at the amused look of everyone present, including Maite, who loves the complicity between her daughter and her neighbor.
"That's what I said."
"All right, sign us both up," Olga orders the neighbor.
"Wonderful," Josefina applauds. "Can I hang it then?"
"Of course," replies Maite. "Put it wherever you want."
Josefina pins the poster on the front door and leaves after reminding them that the contest is on Saturday at three o'clock in the afternoon.
"Are you really going to participate?" asks Maite looking at them with an amused expression.
"Of course," replies Violeta very dignified.
"You could give us a hand," says Olga. She likes to cook and occasionally makes some dessert, but she has never dared to make a roscón de reyes.
"Me? Don't even dream about it, you'll manage on your own, the only thing I'm going to grant you is the kitchen so that tomorrow you can spend the day testing. But I warn you that Josefina's daughter has a very good hand with pastry, why do you think she organizes it?"
"Are you saying we're going to lose?" asks Violeta offended.
"But let's see, honey, you've never done pastry in your life, you can't expect to enter a contest and win."
Maite kisses her and goes back to the back of the store. Violeta stands still with a sulky expression.
"Why are you angry?" whispers Olga, taking advantage of the fact that there are few customers at the moment and her other colleagues are attending to them.
"I'm not angry," Violeta doesn't even look at her and Olga finds her too adorable.
"Of course you are, honey," she says and Violeta turns to her with her heart racing, "you're upset, you only have to look at yourself."
Olga hasn't even been aware of the affectionate tone she just used with her for the first time, but it has affected Violeta a lot. She's at a moment that she considers a low point, and having Olga treat her with such affection in such a natural way, is something that has just taken root in her chest until it cuts off her air intake.
"She thinks I'm only good for selling bread," she protests with watery eyes.
Olga is surprised at how affected she is and drags her to the little room they use to rest.
"Why do you say that?" she whispers when they're alone, "your mother values you more than anything in the world, and considers you capable of everything. It's just that you've never shown interest in learning, and after yesterday's cake disaster..."
Olga decides to omit that moment when they began to smell an intense burning smell and found Violeta putting the tray of cakes under the faucet.
"I was nervous," she defends herself agitatedly, "I had to run out of your house and start making a recipe I had never made before in record time. Then she arrived with you, started scolding me and I could only look at you, who were there looking outrageously beautiful..."
"Okay," Olga cuts her off, looking at her with adoration. "All right, you're right, yesterday doesn't count. But don't get like that, Violeta, your mother didn't say it with bad intentions."
"I know."
"Then?"
Violeta shrugs like a child, at that moment she only wants to be with Olga, for her to shelter her in her arms and let her relax next to her. And Olga does, she seems to read her mind and, after taking a look towards the door, pulls her towards her and holds her tightly.
"I trust you, Violeta," she whispers in her ear between kisses she spreads very slowly over her ear, "but if you want to place well, you'll have to try very hard and do something innovative that at the same time is traditional. You've already heard your mother, Josefina's daughter has a good hand."
Violeta nods in her arms, at that moment she doesn't care about the contest, the only thing she wants is for Olga not to let go of her.