To Iva Kassabova,
for the help
and the provided idea
“Come on, relax. Leave the work
aside, it is not going any place!” – Yassen stretched, patted her hair and
leaned back as he spread his arms on the back of the bench. – “Take it easy,
there will always be vexation.”
“Well but I’m the one who will be
blamed if I can’t finish the brochures on time.”
“Why not to finish them? You’re
good, it will work. And that client of yours, what’s your fault if he did not
bring the logo on time.”
“Explain it to my boss!”
“Just to finish my coffee and I’m
going.”
“Stop it!” – the woman laughed. –
“Show some respect to my problems.”
“I have respect to you, not only to
your problems.”
“Come on, now, conversationalist.”
“Do you doubt about that, Nelly?”
Before she could say anything, the
man jumped, passed between the tables of the café, crossed the street and came
back with a big, aiming to the sky red balloon in no time.
“Crazy man!” – the woman laughed but she felt
extremely pleased. – “Do you know how long it was since I’ve been gifted with
balloons?”
“Are the men so blind?”
“Obviously” – she answered and it
seemed to him that she blushed slightly. – “And now, what am I going to explain
to the office when I come back with a balloon?”
“To hell with them! You’ll explain
nothing.”
“You just think so.”
Nelly looked at her wristwatch.
“It’s time for me to go. My
lunchbreak is over, even I’m going to be late.”
“I’m coming with you. I have no more
job for today so I’m going to tell you jokes for a good mood while you are
fighting your brochures.”
“Ha... no way!”
“Do you think I’ve run out of
jokes?”
“The superiors will clap their hands
for joy.”
“The superiors, if they know it
much, will be slapped by me.”
“Stop it or I’ll slap you.”
“Oh! Yes! Beat me, harsh mistress! I’m
ready to do anything for you!” – he yelled out at her.
“Yassen! Behave yourself! You’re twenty-seven”
– she silenced him half-jokingly and looked around to see if anyone was not
looking at them.
“Well, I won’t do it anymore but you
should get rid of some of your forties and let yourself play.”
“I’ll kill you. I’m thirty-six.”
“I know, I know, I’m only joking” –
the man laughed.
He paid the bill and extended a
helping hand to let her go out of the narrow room between the bench and the
table. He put his bright-grey jacket on the dark-blue short-sleeved blouse,
took the keys of the Audi out of his jeans pocket and when he opened the door
of the car, she stopped and laughed:
“I cannot take the balloon with me to work.
I’ll let it fly freely and tell people there are still romantic men.”
“And women who deserve it” – Yassen
smiled.
“Shall I see you tomorrow?” – he
asked while driving to her office.
“I don’t know... Call me in the morning. If I can
go out at lunchbreak, I’ll see you.”
“I thought about to see you after
you finish work. To go for a meal somewhere.”
“Well... no... you know it’s hard to me after work” – Nelly sighed.
“OK, point taken, darling” – the man
smiled.
She had spent all the afternoon in
rows with her boss because of a mistake made by a colleague of hers who had
managed to purge and moreover, to set her up. She had gotten nervous because of
the client’s delay but while she was travelling home on the crowded bus, she
had calmed down. Her thoughts were going back to Yassen who could always find a
way to cheer her up and to make her feel a bit far from the grayness of
everyday life. She felt young, even younger than him when they were together
but meanwhile, she had been asking herself where that adventure would take her.
She liked him but if the age difference did not bother her, it made her feel
somehow particularly; she was afraid he could feel fed up of her because of her
restrictions. But when they were together, she felt so well! She had not felt
the gallant attention of a man who did not overload her with his problems for a
long time. She went out of her drowsy thoughts when the bus drew near her stop.
“It is what it is. We’ll see” – Nelly said to herself and made her way to the
door.
She got down the bus, took her phone
out and called her daughter. She had instructed her to do the shopping in order
to get rid at least of one obligation but as she could expected it, her
fifteen-year-old teenage-girl had done nothing. She passed through a few shops,
hardly reached the doorbell but nobody answered it. She tried to take the key
out of her purse trying not to drop any of the plastic bags.
“Can’t you hear me ringing?” – she asked her
husband who had leaned back in front of TV watching the news.
“No, I can’t. Don’t you have a key
but you ring?” – he turned his head.
“I have a key as well as bags to
bring because here, nobody can do anything!”
“But Silvy was supposed to do the
shopping, wasn’t she?” – he said.
“Have you ever seen her do it? At
least, you could make her do it” – she went to the kitchen with the bags.
“I don’t follow her all the time.
What am I supposed to do when you’ve spoiled her totally?”
“Of course, it’s my fault!” – Nelly
snapped at him.
“Mom, where’s the hair gel?” –
Silviya appeared at the door wearing gossamer bustier and unbuttoned jeans.
“Wait and see a gel! Couldn’t you go
to the shop?”
“I didn’t have any time left.”
“Ah, because I have plenty of time!”
“Oh, leave me alone! I’m fed up to
be hated by everybody!” – the girl turned around and snapped the door of her room.
“Come on, stop yelling, you two!” –
the man raised his voice.
“I am also fed up, fed up to feed
you all!” – Nelly yelled after her and went to change her clothes.
She took her mobile out of her bag
to hear it if it would ring and saw she got a message. She sat at the bed and
read: “And after all, think about a cozy dinner.”
“I’m definitely going to think some”
– Nelly said to herself. – “Even, there’s nothing to think about, see you after
work... darling.” A smile appeared on her face.
“Even, there’s nothing to think about,
see you after work... darling :)” – Yassen read on the screen and leaned back
pleased.
“Stop it! Did you find another
chick” – Peter tapped on his shoulder, leaned on the pier, coated in rattan, by
the counter top and the subdued light of the pipes of the wall lamp lit
vertically his short hair.
“Wow, no mercy!” – Nikolay added. –
“Pete, let’s put ourselves together, because this one will leave nothing for
us.”
“Stop it!” – Yassen smiled, put the
phone back in the case on the belt and put the edge of his leather jacket
above. – “A person cannot find a chick because of you.”
“How’s that one, bro? You’ve worn up
the screen because of those messages.”
“You can do it too but who’s that
chick that would answer to retarders as you?”
“Don’t play smart because if you come
with this lady, you’ll leave alone, you know.”
“Believe in yourself! She’s a woman
of taste” – Yassen waved at the waitress for three more beers.
“You’d better say where you found
her” – Peter was curious.
“She’s great. She works in a company
where I had some job to do. She works something on a Photoshop, some kind of
brochures, advertising matters, stuff like that. The secretary was out and
while I was waiting for the boss, we started talking. Then, when I went to
negotiate the contract conditions, we met again, we had some coffee and...
that’s it.”
“Good for you! And how long?” –
Nikolay turned around on his chair.
“Well, for about three weeks.”
“Stop talking and tell us how she is
in bed” – Peter pushed him from the other side.
“Hey, asshole! That’s why you cannot
keep a normal woman by your side. You need some finesse, bro!” – Yassen winged
him on the back of his neck. – “It’s not a twenty-year-old drunk bustard in the
disco.”
“How old is she?” – Nikolay raised
his eyebrows.
Yassen took a breath and said:
“Thirty-six.”
His friends’ laughter silenced the
music coming from the speakers on the bar.
“Stop it!” – Peter was about to
spill his beer. – “Oh, no... You’re killing me” – he was giggling.
“The boy wanted a MILF?” – Nikolay
kept cackling, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
“OK, keep giggling but your tarts
are nothing compared to her” – Yassen smirked.
A new burst of laughter shook the
men.
“Couldn’t you catch something... oh...
younger?”
“A mom’s boy!”
“Pete, let’s prepare his ad for a
matchmaking site, because we’re gonna lose him!”
“Dude” – Yassen kept smirking. – “Even without
ads, I’m way ahead of the curve.”
“Especially having in mind the
curve’s age” – the rest of them kept giggling.
“Listen to me, Yassen, I don’t know
what’s wrong with you, but pull yourself together” – Peter said in a while. –
“I don’t know how that woman addled your wits but give her one if you have a
pain in the ass and don’t get yourself in a state.”
“We’ll see.”
“But you’re seriously into that
chick!”
“I wouldn’t go so far...”
“It’s your business, pal” – Nikolay
raised his beer. – “It’s important there are women. Cheers.”
A half an hour before the end of the
workday, Nelly started packing up.
“Katy, the boss, isn’t in. I’ll
leave the office earlier” – she whispered to her only colleague who was her
close friend.
“Where are you off to?” – the woman
looked at her and felt the freshly put perfume. – “You’re so shiny?” – she
smiled mischievously.
“Mmm... stuff like that” – Nelly
took her bag and went down the corridor energetically.
“There’s something in here” – her
colleague jumped and ran after her. – “Who, who, who is he?”
“Nothing serious.”
“Ah, you can’t fool me! I see –
you’ve been more cheerful lately” – the two women entered the toilet room and
made sure that they were alone. – “Is he cool?”
“He’s handsome...”
“Come on! He was “handsome”...” –
her friend pushed her shoulder.
“Well, he’s one meter and
eighty-five centimeters tall, with heavy hands, with a well-built, taut body,
short, wavy, brown hair; he’s a casual kind of man, a joker, with a good sense
of humor, and most of all, tidy. A handsome man...”
Katy perked up and took her hand in
her hands.
“You’re killing me! With a good
sense of humor, taut body... Where did you find him, Nelly?”
“We’ve just met.”
“Aha! And where can I meet such a
handsome man? Tell me something more, please!”
“Now, I have no time. I’m late.”
“Is he married?” – Katy squinted
again.
“No, he isn’t” – Nelly answered
nasally while she was putting her lipstick on.
“And how old is he?”
Nelly laughed silently, put the
lipstick back in her purse, turned around and looked at her colleague’s eyes:
“He’s twenty-seven.”
Katy muted but she pulled herself
together quickly.
“Are you mad? Those are nine years
of age difference!”
“Benefiting me” – Nelly winked and
went to the door.
Katy stayed concerned with her hand
on her wrist, and the other one on her forehead.
“You’re killing me... and what do
you think you’ll get out of it?”
“I don’t know... wait and see. I’m
late. Bye.”
“Mad, mad, mad... good luck!” – her
friend yelled after her.
The restaurant was not big but it
was exquisite and the most important – it was sheltered and not very famous
because it was the thing that had bothered Nelly most of all. There was no way
to meet somebody of her environment there; moreover – Yassen had chosen a table
in the corner, hidden behind an enormous plant and a thick pillar, covered in
dark paneling. He had waited for her in his car with a refined, fragrant rose
two blocks away of her office but he had not told her where they were going
till the last moment.
The cozy atmosphere, the light,
delicious food and wine had made her relax and, slightly dizzy, Nelly had
laughed wholeheartedly at Yassen’s jokes who had proved the first impression of
being an incomparable gentleman. He himself had drunk nothing but a small
brandy with the coffee after the fruit salad. He was sitting leaned back and
his wide-open eyes, he admired her, made her slightly thrill.
“How are you?”
“I haven’t felt like that for a long
time” – the woman confessed.
“I’m glad you feel well” – Yassen
was smiling. – “That makes me feel good, too.”
“It was a really nice evening” – she
smiled, too.
“Was? Why “was”? I hoped it hadn’t
been over yet.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I thought we could continue
somewhere. In some club or piano-bar... or we might figure out something else...”
– the man leaned forward, slightly slid his hand over the table and covered her
fingers.
Nelly shivered, she wanted to pull
her hand back but something made her stop.
“What... well, I don’t... I don’t
know” – she stumbled.
“You don’t know or you don’t want?
Wouldn’t you be pleased?”
“No... in contrary” – she could not
believe she had said it – “but I, can you understand me...”
“Are you in a hurry? Come on...” –
Yassen insisted. – “Would you lose something by enjoying a refined to its end
evening?”
“No, of course not...”
“Then what? You’re a big girl” – the
man took her palm between his hands. – “I feel calmly when I’m with you, you
feel in the same way when you’re with me. I know you like me not less than I’m
mesmerized by you... but you’re uptight by your lifestyle loop. You’ve told me
about that. I know that it’s so. You’re missing tenderness... let me set you
free.”
Nelly was shivering from inside. She
hoped that he could not feel that. She did not want the night to be over but
she worried.
“Let’s do it like this: we’ll get
into the car and you’ll tell me where to drive. I’ll either drive you home or
we’ll go somewhere, or I’ll invite you to my place...”
They went out in the cool night
without saying a word. The little unlit street was silent and it was the first
time when the woman had thanked to the darkness. She sat in the car almost
automatically, the man closed the door after her and passed from the other
side. She was sitting silently, looking at her. He did not touch her, he did
not move, he was waiting. The woman was looking out, then she bent her head,
sighed, looked at him and smiled:
“Alright...”
“It was fantastic” – she whispered
and she really thought so.
She was lying cuddled up on his
shoulder, feeling his rapid heartbeats and she felt as if his world had stayed
somewhere far, in another dimension. She had not felt anything like that for
years and she did not know if she would experience such a night again.
“You’re fantastic” – the man kissed
her tenderly.
He was happy, full of energy, strong
and cheerful. He was caressing the woman by him slowly, having hugged her as if
he wanted to protect her from the entire world.
“What are we going to do... I don’t
want it to be over...”
“Why should it be over?” – the man
smiled.
“You know what my state is. I could
barely go out.”
“I know it though I want to have you
every night, every morning to feel the warmth of your skin...”
“It’s impossible” – the woman
sighed.
“Never say die!”
“How do you imagine it?”
“Imagine what?”
Nelly leaned on her elbow and looked
into his eyes.
“Yassen, I have a child who I’ll
never set apart from. Even if we leave aside everything else, how do you think
you’re going to take care for a fifteen-year-old teenage?”
“In general, why not?” – the man
raised his eyebrows. – “You think I can’t manage? We’re going to become friends
and that’s it.”
“She is stubborn even now, she’s
oversexed, changes her moods constantly, she’s willful... how do you imagine
that you can become friends? You’ll see the world upside down!”
“The important thing is to be
together, Nelly.”
“You have no idea what puberty is.”
“Well, yes, but not a big deal,
everything will be fine” – Yassen waved his hand.
Nelly was looking at his eyes, then
she smiled, caressed him and whispered:
“Maybe.”
She stood up and started putting her
clothes on.
“I have to go.”
“I am coming to give you a drive” –
he jumped.
“No, I’ll take a taxi. I prefer not
taking the risk to let my husband see me. You’ll have to stop away of my block
of flats and I don’t want to walk in the dark.”
Yassen sat on the bed again.
“OK. When will I see you again?”
“I don’t know. I’ll hear from you
soon.”
Nelly was sitting in the taxi looking out of the
taxi-window. She felt sad but meanwhile – bright. She was thinking about her
experience with Yassen, about how much she had wanted to be with him but she
realized it would lead nowhere edifying. He was too young and though he was a
good man, he had never changed diapers, he had never been over the moon because
of the child’s first step, he had never worried about a cold, he had never been
in a hurry for school, he had never cared about till late, looking at the
clock. He could not understand what all that was. She was grateful for that only
magical night but she realized there could never be a second one.
~~~~~~~~~
Translated by: Vessislava Savova
