Chapter 2
?The most important meetings have been planned by souls before the bodies have even seen each other?
—Paulo Coelho
At four-thirty in the morning my phone alarm went off and I woke up immediately.
I let out a sigh and covered my head with the comforter, I was still sleepy, but I knew I had to get up.
I had rested for a few hours, but my body was begging for more.
After a few minutes I sat up in bed and stretched.
A long journey awaited me and I needed to get moving.
As I was getting up, my phone rang again, this time it was a call from my friend Sol.
We had been friends since childhood. Sol was a beautiful girl with brown eyes, dark chestnut hair that fell in abundant waves halfway down her back, and a tanned complexion that gave her an exotic air.
—Helloooo
—Are you awake already? —Sol asked.
—What do you think? I don’t usually answer the phone while sleepwalking.
—I see you’re wide awake. Frieeend, a wonderful island awaits us to enjoy for several days. You packed a sexy bikini, right?
—Obviously. I’m going to have a huge coffee because I worked late yesterday and I’m about to collapse from exhaustion.
—Better that way, so you can sleep on the plane —she assured me.
—With you next to me… I find that difficult.
—You’re the worst. See you at the airport —she said, pretending to be offended.
—Mykonos, here we come!
—Here we come! —she repeated, returning to her cheerful self, and ended the call.
After a long flight of almost 19 hours, we landed in Athens, from there we boarded a ferry and arrived in Mykonos.
The small, paradise-like island was a beauty, with its rounded houses painted pristine white, but with doors and windows painted in vibrant colors, its narrow and charming streets, and its extraordinary beaches.
Our routine was generally to get up relatively early, spend the morning at the beach enjoying the transparent and wonderful water, eat something light and typical of the area, and watch the sunset.
Upon returning to the hotel, we would take a shower and go out again in search of a nice place to have a drink or one of the beaches that turned into a nightclub as soon as the sun went down.
The days spent there were delightful and we rested and had a lot of fun.
We also met several girls and boys with whom we had a good time and promised to stay in touch.
With one of the girls I formed a nice friendship because she was also Uruguayan.
She left the island a few days before us, but we promised to get in touch as soon as we returned to Uruguay.
Her name was Nicoletta, but everyone called her Niky.
We landed in Montevideo with the certainty that our vacation had been wonderful and that, at some point, we would return to that dreamlike place.
—Is the hotel driver coming to pick you up or one of your brothers?
—The driver. Given the hour, I didn’t want to bother my brothers —I replied, because we had arrived at five in the morning.
—Can you drop me off at home? —Sol asked.
—Of course, you don’t even need to ask that.
—You know? I’m sure that when I return to Mykonos, because I’m definitely going back, I’ll do it with the love of my life, because I’m also convinced that trip will be like our honeymoon.
That island felt very romantic to me and I couldn’t stop imagining myself there with him —she stated, convinced of what she was saying, while we waited to be picked up, sitting in the main hall of Carrasco International Airport.
—You’re the romantic one and I hope your dream comes true. But tell me, when you say ‘him,’ are you referring to someone specific? Do you already have a love interest? —I asked, surprised, and noticed that Sol looked at me hesitantly.
—No; I’m referring to the man of my dreams. Because I’m going to fulfill that dream, whatever it takes. Don’t you expect the same? —she asked.
—If you’re referring to love, I don’t expect anything.
Destiny will know if it has reserved for me one of those unforgettable loves.
And in case my destiny isn’t a great love, I’ll be one of those aunts who devotes herself to her nieces and nephews.
Because I hope my brothers will give me lots of little nieces and nephews.
I don’t know why, but when I spoke about that feeling that was so elusive to me, the person who came to mind was Henry Woollardy, the attractive man I had met at the hotel bar, but whom I hadn’t mentioned once to Sol.
The strangest thing was that it wasn’t the first time it had happened; while in Mykonos I had caught myself thinking about him on several occasions, especially when I saw couples cuddling.
That longing always managed to throw me off balance.
—Have you looked at yourself in the mirror, woman?
You’re beautiful with a knockout body, not only do you have beauty to spare, you’re intelligent and have a pretty hefty bank account.
Do you really think there won’t be a man who falls in love with you?
—she said, with irony—. I already know several who are drooling.
And speaking of that, I swear I was convinced that on this vacation you were going to have your sexual debut.
I think you’re too demanding because you didn’t lack candidates and some of them were absolutely delicious.
As always, you don’t know how to appreciate the luck you have.
Yes; I was a virgin. Probably the oldest adult virgin on the planet.
At 24, I hadn’t had sexual relations. For me, it was important to have sex with someone I at least connected with, and that had never happened.
Guys my age bored me tremendously and, although I had tried to open my mind and have sex, I’d never felt comfortable enough to go through with it.
I didn’t want that experience to be with just any guy I met.
I was well aware that I was considered a beautiful woman, with delicate features highlighted by my exotic violet-blue eyes, a color I shared with my brothers that we’d inherited from our mother.
I had long dark blonde hair that I brightened a bit with subtle highlights.
I was tall with a slender build, but even being thin, I had a sensual figure from my work at the gym.
“I suppose someday I’ll find the right person. Someone I love who feels the same way about me. Having those feelings reciprocated isn’t so easy—only some are destined for that luck,” I said.
“I don’t know, I think falling in love isn’t that difficult, as long as you’re not as demanding as you are.”
“You’re wrong about that. I don’t consider myself demanding, I simply haven’t fallen in love.”
“And what about sex? You should enjoy that activity, even if you don’t feel ‘connected,’” she said, using the word I always used. “You can’t imagine what you’re missing by being so inflexible and pretentious.”
I looked at her and said nothing. I wasn’t going to convince her; she obviously thought my situation was simply about being demanding, and she was very wrong. What was wrong with wanting to wait for someone with whom you felt you had at least something in common?
At that moment, the hotel driver called to let me know he was already at the airport, and we both left, dragging our suitcases and ending the conversation.
I arrived at the hotel a little before six in the morning.
I greeted all the employees working that shift and asked Josefina, one of the receptionists, to have breakfast sent up to my room.
Since it was Sunday, I wasn’t planning to stop by the office, so after resting, I would dedicate myself to organizing everything I’d brought back from the trip.
I woke up around ten in the morning to the sound of my phone’s ringtone. I was so deeply asleep that it took me quite a while to open my eyes and return to reality. After sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes a bit, I picked up the phone and answered.
“Hello, Lolo, good morning.”
“Hello, little sister, how was your arrival?” he asked, with his typical cheerfulness.
“Very well, I’m at the hotel and was sleeping peacefully.”
“So you’re criticizing me for calling to check on you because I’m a brother who cares about his little sister and…”
“Enough, enough, enough. You’re making me dizzy with all your verbosity,” I said, and Lolo burst out laughing. “Thank you very much for caring, my dear Lolito.”
“That’s better,” he said, laughing. “What are you planning to do today?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Then I’ll pick you up and we’ll go buy Bastián’s gift. Remember his birthday is tomorrow?”
“Of course I remember. What has he organized?”
“A gathering of friends and siblings at the ‘High Sin’ Disco Pub,” he informed me.
“I know it,” I said, “I’ve been there with my friends.”
“I’ll pick you up, we’ll buy the gift and then have lunch together, sound good?”
“What time?” I asked, because it was obvious my brother had forgotten about jet lag.
“How much time do you need to get ready?”
“All day,” I said, joking.
“How old are you? Stop complaining and get ready because I’ll be there in an hour and a half,” he ordered.
“Okay, bossy. I should have stayed in Mykonos forever,” I replied and hung up, hearing my brother’s laughter.
We decided on a work of art, and the gift ended up being a beautiful painting that, knowing his tastes, we imagined he would love. Since we liked all of them, deciding on one took us quite a bit of time, and by the time we finished, we were starving.
“There’s a good restaurant nearby, let’s go because my stomach is growling,” Lolo said.
“I’m ravenously hungry too,” I commented.