Chapter 12
Maria drums her fingers on the steering wheel while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Every few seconds, she glances at the passenger seat, where the folder containing the documents she needs Trinidad to sign in person rests.
A week has passed since their encounter at the club the other night and since then, they've only exchanged emails and calls regarding the building purchase in England.
However, now she's going to see her, and tomorrow too because they'll fly again to formalize the purchase and hand over the keys, and Maria feels a strange tingle through her body whenever she thinks about it, because she keeps imagining a thousand different situations that could happen when she faces Trinidad again, and they all stir her up.
In her mind, she has rehearsed her own reaction, which must be as cold as the businesswoman's.
Maria wants to make it clear that those two satisfying and strange encounters they've had mean nothing to her and, of course, not let it show that she's dying to repeat them, because, deep down, Maria is starting to feel a little scared about what Trinidad begins to awaken in her, especially considering that the businesswoman remains a complete enigma to her.
The traffic light changes to green just as her phone screen lights up and Ursula's name appears on it.
"Tell me," she says after activating the steering wheel's hands-free.
"I need you to pick up Lili," her friend blurts out and she fixes her gaze on the dashboard clock, checking that there are few minutes left before the child gets out of school.
"Me?" she asks stupidly.
"Yes, Maria. Mildred and I are stuck in traffic because of an accident on the highway, and we won't make it in time."
"But I have to take these papers to Trinidad before tomorrow, can't her grandmother pick her up?"
"Her grandmother is in yoga class and isn't answering her phone."
"And what do I do with Lili? I have to take this to Trinidad," she repeats again.
"Then take her with you, Maria, she's a child, not a piece of trash."
Maria, amazed, hears Mildred's laugh through the device.
"Fine, I get it," she responds with a snort, "okay, I'll turn around and go get her. I'll bring her home when I'm done, but this costs you one of those Asian dinners you make sometimes."
Now it's Ursula who laughs.
"Alright, we'll stop by the store to buy some things. See you at home, thanks, Maria."
Maria hangs up and searches the navigator for Lili's school location, which she already has saved because it's not the first time she's had to pick her up. Half an hour later, she crosses the door of Trinidad's building with the child by her hand.
"Wow, how big!" Lili exclaims looking in all directions.
"Yes, it's very cool," she responds sardonically, while watching how the child spins around, impressed, "you can tell your teacher to bring you on a field trip, I'm sure Trinidad would be delighted," she says with a mischievous grimace.
"Who's Trinidad?" Lili asks when the elevator doors open.
Maria hesitates when she looks at the child, who watches her with that characteristic curiosity of hers.
She has always admired Ursula for the patience she has to answer all the questions that shoot out of that tiny mouth and adapt the answers so Lili can understand them, she's not sure she can do it.
"The woman we're going to see, she works with Ursula."
"And with you," Lili adds logically, looking at her intently.
"Yes, with me too," Maria responds while wondering when the child will stop being so curious and why she has to be so perceptive.
They finally reach the anteroom of the engineer's office and Adrian receives them, standing up with a smile to greet them.
"I wasn't expecting you, Mrs. Molina," he says and tilts his head with an amused smile toward the child.
"Sorry, I need Trinidad to sign this before tomorrow and I came directly."
"No problem, she's in a meeting now, but I don't think she'll be long. And you are?" Adrian asks without stopping smiling at the child.
"My name is Lili," she responds and extends her hand like an adult.
Adrian laughs and shakes it.
"I'm Adrian, it's a pleasure to meet such a small lady."
Lili laughs and, before she opens her mouth to continue talking, Maria cuts her off.
"Where can we wait for her?"
"In her office, you'll be more comfortable there."
The young man opens the door and invites them in.
"Thank you, Adrian."
As soon as the door closes, Lili's mouth opens like a fish.
"Wow, it's bigger than Ursula's."
"Yes, everything Trinidad has is very big," Maria rolls her eyes.
Lili runs around the office and, before Maria can stop her, sits in Trinidad's plush chair.
"Don't touch anything, Lili," she warns pointing her finger at her.
But Lili ignores her, because she's entertained making the chair spin. Maria finds herself alone and silent and, suddenly, her eyes fix on Trinidad's desk. The dark wood desk is perfectly organized, with several aligned clipboards and an elegant designer lamp.
She sharpens her hearing and, not hearing steps on the other side of the door, decides it's okay to snoop a little.
The lawyer approaches the desk and, while Lili continues spinning in the chair, she starts looking at all the carefully placed papers on the wood.
At first she doesn't touch anything, but then she can't resist and starts reading the sticky notes that Trinidad, in handwriting that Maria loves, has stuck under the screens she uses to work.
She wants to find something personal, anything that might help her know the businesswoman a little better, but she's only had time to read three that tell her nothing, when the door opens and Trinidad discovers them where they shouldn't be.
Maria feels mortified and pretends by grabbing Lili and yanking her from the chair.
"I told you not to sit there, Lili."
"You told me not to touch anything," the child rebuts, while Maria imagines her with tape over her lips.
Trinidad observes them from the door, paralyzed at first while going through several emotional states at the same time.
The child with Maria impacts her greatly, makes her heart race almost uncontrollably and her hands begin to shake, but seconds later, she focuses on Maria and begins to experience another type of nervousness before managing to calm down.
"Sorry," Maria says circling the desk with Lili to go to the other side, "Adrian told us to wait here."
"It's fine," Trinidad answers, who closes the door and approaches them. "And you are?" she asks and narrows her eyes in a playful gesture that leaves Maria petrified.
"My name is Lili," she introduces herself smiling and repeats the action from before with Adrian, extending her hand toward Trinidad.
The businesswoman sketches such a sincere smile that Maria can't help but smile too.
"It's a pleasure, Lili, my name is Trinidad," she responds and shakes her hand gently.
"Are you Maria's girlfriend?" Lili asks.
The two women react very differently to the child's impertinent question. Maria chokes and fans herself with her hand, while Trinidad can't hold back her laugh at hearing it.
"No, I'm not Maria's girlfriend," she responds and glances sideways at the lawyer. "Where did you come from?"
"Maria came to pick me up from school."
"Sorry, she's Mildred's daughter, Ursula's wife. They're stuck in traffic and I went to pick her up."
"I understand," Trinidad nods.
"What's your last name?" Lili asks suddenly.
"Lili, leave Trinidad alone, she has a lot of work," Maria pleads, flustered.
"It's okay," Trinidad gestures to the lawyer, intrigued by the child's question.
"My last name is Aleman, why do you want to know?"
Lili stands open-mouthed while thinking, then turns to Maria.
"Can I have your phone, please?"
Maria doesn't bother refusing, she knows that if she doesn't hand it over, the child will insist until she drives her crazy.
"You don't know this one?" the lawyer teases her with narrowed eyes while handing over the phone.
The child snatches it from her hands under Trinidad's curious gaze.
"She has a small obsession with the origin of last names, she knows almost all of them," Maria explains to her, "but apparently, not yours."
Lili turns around smiling after finding what she was looking for.
"Here it says that people with that last name usually come from Germany. Are you German?"
"Well, actually no," Trinidad responds amused.
Lili frowns.
"And your parents?"
"Neither, but maybe some great-grandparent was," Trinidad narrows her eyes and Lili smiles satisfied with the answer.
"Anyway, I brought you the documents. I need you to sign them," Maria says while handing them to Trinidad.
The businesswoman leans over her desk to sign them while Lili walks around the office observing the decoration.
"Here you go," Trinidad says and extends the folder toward Maria, but doesn't release it when the lawyer grabs it. "Did you have enough time to snoop around my office?" she asks quietly and Maria is flooded with embarrassment.
"How do you know?"
Trinidad sketches a mocking half-smile and points to the top of a filing cabinet, where there's a clearly visible camera. Maria looks at it perplexed, feeling stupid for not having thought of something so basic.
"I'm hungry, Maria," Lili says interrupting the awkward moment.
"Yes, okay. Wait a minute."
"But I'm really hungry, my mom and Ursula bring my snack to the school gate."
Maria turns red and Trinidad can't hold back her laugh.
"You haven't given the child her snack?" the engineer asks in a playful tone.
"I didn't have time," Maria defends herself, noticing how her heart speeds up every time Trinidad smiles.
"There's a cafeteria downstairs with very tasty things," Trinidad says looking at Lili, "want me to take you?"
Lili nods vehemently and Trinidad turns to Maria.
"Shall we?"
"Sure," she responds surprised and follows Trinidad and Lili, who has stuck to the businesswoman like glue.
While Lili eats a sandwich accompanied by a chocolate milkshake that she slurps noisily, the two women have ordered coffee and Maria listens with great interest as Trinidad answers all the questions that Lili is asking her.
The businesswoman shows a patience and sweetness that Maria had never seen in her and that surprises her in a good way.
The only thing she regrets is that the child is only asking about work things, because what the lawyer really wants is to know things about her private life.
"Do kids come here on field trips? Maria says my school could come," Lili blurts out and Maria's eyes snap open.
Trinidad fixes an intense look on her and sketches a half-smile before turning back to Lili.
"Yes, sometimes kids come on field trips, so if you want to see all this, tell your teacher to bring you all, and if she doesn't want to, come another day with your mom and Ursula and I'll show you myself."
Lili doesn't hide her excitement and lets out a small cry of joy while Maria observes Trinidad and gradually realizes that she's not even close to being that cold woman she tries to appear to be when she's with her.
"Don't you want Maria to come?" Lili asks and Trinidad looks at her confused.
"Where?"
"Here, on the field trip with my moms and me."
"Uh, yes. Of course she can come," Trinidad answers glancing sideways at the lawyer.
"Okay, then I think I won't tell the teacher, better we come alone, it'll be more fun," Lili concludes and takes a huge bite of her sandwich to Trinidad's amazement.
"Well, we should go now," Maria says when Lili finishes her snack. "Thank Trinidad."
Lili looks at Trinidad for a few seconds that feel very long to the businesswoman and, suddenly, approaches and hugs her legs.
The gesture catches Trinidad so off guard that she takes time to react and wrap Lili's back without Maria missing the tension that this simple gesture has caused in the engineer.
"Well, then we'll see you tomorrow at nine in the hangar," Trinidad says when Lili releases her, "remind Ursula."
"About that, only you and I will be traveling in your plane," Maria responds, "because Ursula wants to take Mildred and Lili and spend the weekend there with them. Which now that you mention it, I still haven't booked their flights," she says raising her eyebrows.
"Just book their return flight. For going they can come with us, we all fit and I'm sure Lili will like traveling in my plane."
"You have a plane?" the child asks open-mouthed.
Maria covers her mouth with her hand amid Trinidad's sudden laughter.
"Yes she does, and you'll see it tomorrow. Now stop asking questions because we've already taken up too much of Trinidad's time. See you, and thanks for everything," the lawyer says goodbye, taking Lili's hand to leave the cafeteria.
Trinidad raises her hand to bid them farewell and stays planted there for a few seconds, observing them both, but especially Maria, who seems more human to her each time.