Chapter 22
Olga stares at her bedroom walls with surprise. Since arriving, she's started tearing off wallpaper to avoid thinking about what happened in the oven kitchen, and she hasn't stopped until finishing. Now she looks at the clean walls and feels strange. She's been wanting to finish for days and should be euphoric, but that agonizing feeling in her chest won't let her enjoy it.
She heads to the kitchen to get trash bags and throw away all the paper on her bedroom floor when someone knocks on the door. Her eyes automatically go to the cuckoo clock on the wall, and she checks with astonishment that it's past three in the afternoon and she hasn't even eaten. She assumes it's Violeta coming to help her with the paper, but when she opens the door, eager to hug her, she freezes when she meets Maite's blinking eyes.
"Can I come in?"
Olga's heart races as she steps aside to let her in. Maite feels comfortable enough in her home to make herself at home, so she takes off her coat leisurely, hangs it on a chair, and rolls up her sweater sleeves a bit because it's too hot.
"Are you going to invite me for coffee or stand by the door all afternoon?" Maite says, looking at Olga, who reacts and closes the door.
"Yes, of course," she says, trying to focus. "And Violeta?"
"Violeta won't come until you and I have talked, and in any case, you'll have to go to her because she wants to make another king cake."
Olga nods, and they both enter the kitchen. She serves two cups of coffee while Maite, who's starting to know where everything is, takes out the tray of cookies and shortbread from the cupboard and puts it on the table.
"Maite..." Olga starts to speak but doesn't know what to say.
"I suspected it, Olga," her neighbor cuts her off, and she opens her eyes in surprise.
"You suspected it?"
"Yes. Don't ask me how or why, I guess it's something you can sense, but the way you look at each other and the complicity you have, deep down I knew there was something more."
"I should have told you," she says, ashamed.
"No, you shouldn't have. Violeta has already explained everything to me, from the beginning," Maite clarifies.
Olga looks at her warily and frowns.
"From Huesca?"
"From Huesca," Maite confirms. "I understand the decision you made, although I think it's absurd, Olga, you know that sooner or later I was going to find out."
Olga leans back against the chair, more relaxed.
"Yes, but it's complicated for many reasons, Maite. You're my best friend and Violeta is your daughter, I'm ten years older, you and I work together. There are a lot of factors that I think are crucial to thinking it can't work out. When Violeta and I decided to keep quiet, everything was more volatile for me, it was a very strong attraction and her personality fascinated me, but I didn't know if it would go beyond that, I mean, if feelings could be involved. Damn," Olga lets out a snort until her lungs are empty, "I'm talking in the past as if it's been months since all this happened and it's barely been a week."
"And what happens now, Olga? And in this, I do ask you to be very honest. What do you feel for Violeta?"
Olga also shrugs in a gesture very similar to Violeta's response, except that she's about to choke on her own distress.
"What I feel is that I can't breathe when I think about her leaving on Monday," she says, staring at the kitchen tiles.
Maite presses her lips together with a worried expression.
"I should change the tiles," Olga says distractedly, "they're hideous."
Maite stretches out her arm and takes her hand across the table. Olga jumps and, at the same time, shudders, and that knot threatening to strangle her grows in size.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to keep seeing each other when she leaves?"
"I don't know, we haven't talked about it," Olga's voice chokes.
"I'll ask you another way. What do you want?"
"I want what I feel for her to stop growing with every second I spend by her side, because when she leaves, I'll suffocate, Maite."
"You need to talk about it, Olga. You both need to sit down and make clear both what you feel for each other and what you expect from whatever you have."
"Are you okay with me being with your daughter?" Olga asks, throwing out the question that has been torturing her since she found out who Violeta was.
"I can't think of anyone better for Violeta, Olga, I don't care that we work together or that you're a few years older. What matters to me is that you make her happy, and if it doesn't work out over time, then you each go your own way and you and I remain friends."
"It's not that simple and you know it."
"Yes, it is, Olga. I'm old enough and have enough life experience to understand that relationships may not last forever and can break at any time. As long as you don't do anything nasty to her, our friendship doesn't have to be affected, and if you do, well, you'll find more friends and so will I."
Olga looks at her and smiles, exhaling through her nose, grateful for her neighbor's honesty, but mostly for the support she's showing.
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Your daughter only has three days left here, maybe this has just been a Christmas adventure that we're both giving more importance to than it has just because we see each other daily. Maybe when she leaves, we each go back to our lives and this remains a good memory, or something that repeats when she comes to visit."
Maite isn't very convinced by Olga's words, but if that's what her neighbor needs to tell herself not to get overwhelmed, she's not going to argue. She can't interfere or tell them what to do either, the only thing she'll do is be there, attentive in case either of them needs her and crossing her fingers that whatever they decide, neither gets hurt.
"Well, I just wanted you to know that I'm not angry and that you still have me. Now move that butt and let's try Violeta's king cake. By the way, you should do some tests too, to refine details."
"My king cake doesn't have any secrets, Maite, I'm going to make a traditional recipe, nothing more," she says and gets up.
"Does Violeta's?" Maite looks at her questioningly and gets up too.
"Maybe," Olga says, winking at her as she heads to the living room, leaving Maite surprised and still as a statue.
A minute later, they both arrive together at her house and when they enter the kitchen, they find Violeta peeking inside the oven. As soon as she stands up, her gaze locks on Olga's eyes - located right behind Maite - and her heart races. Violeta wants to jump into her arms and kiss those lips she's been missing all morning, but she doesn't dare, her mother is in front of her and she doesn't know how the situation is between them either.
"This is a bit weird," Maite says laughing while making a gesture with her hands. "I'm going to the bathroom for a moment."
She dodges Olga and leaves them alone in the kitchen. Violeta looks at her with wide eyes until her mother's neighbor, after hearing the bathroom door close, smiles at her and approaches.
"Come here," she says possessively and Violeta gets inexplicably excited.
Olga grabs her by the waist, firmly presses her against her body and gives her one of those kisses that leave Violeta with a disturbed mind.
"Everything okay between us?" she asks when she regains her sanity, with her eyes fixed on Olga's rosy and shiny lips.
"Of course," Olga responds.
"And you and her?" she asks, gesturing towards the hallway.
"Also."
"Then don't ignore me like that again," Violeta gives her a playful slap on the shoulders with both hands and then places her hands on her neck to kiss her again.
Olga lets herself be kissed, although she's listening for the bathroom door and when she hears it open, she breaks the kiss and separates from Violeta.
"If possible, I'd prefer she doesn't catch us again," Olga says, smiling and winking at her.
Violeta melts and returns a goofy smile that doesn't go unnoticed by her mother when she enters the kitchen.