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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 06/01/2014
Breakfast in Malaga
Born 1949, F, from Zurich, Switzerland.jpg)
They arrived late afternoon at that modern hotel near the port and check in was efficient apart from the fact that Anthony - as usual – got a phone call. When he signed the check in papers while talking to a person on the phone in the typical hyper-polite way, this caused misunderstandings with the front desk manager. The manager was not sure whether some comments were addressed to him or not. Finally, Irene stepped forward, took the room key and thanked the front desk manager. They grabbed their exclusive leather bags and walked to the elevators. Anthony was still talking on the phone.
Their large room had a nice view over the rooftops of the town away to the Sierras.
Anthony had promised to spend all afternoon with her, and for the evening, they were planning a shopping trip, then an exquisite dinner in a restaurant nearby. Irene had been looking forward to this stay; such opportunities were extremely rare in their daily life, because of the working conditions of Anthony. The company he worked for was selling special retirement packages, and demanded his attention almost 24 hours a day. Many of their holiday plans had already been destroyed in the past and in many cases Irene had to attend a concert alone, or find another person to accompany her to the theatre, or even a dinner, if the restaurant was already booked, and Anthony in the last minute could not make it because of his never-ending business talks.
At home Anthony was the longer the more nearly constantly on the phone. He had one of those devices with headphones on his ears and a microphone around his neck. Even when cutting grass, he kept talking into his microphone, or when emptying the mailbox, or when jogging. He used to come down the stairs in the morning, holding one smart phone onto his ear, and carrying a larger smart tablet in his other hand. Irene never knew whether his ‘good morning’ was directed to her or was meant for one of the phone callers. She got used to this habit of her husband, and neither argued nor complained. Yes, of course, once she asked, in fact, if all that was necessary. He then stood before her, and gave her a very long lecture on modern daily life and business in these hectic times in a fast changing world, where one had do be prepared for new rhythms and new gadgets almost every hour. A world dictated by money, the money the individual customer could save in a portfolio with a special savings plan, namely the special retirement package of the company Anthony worked for. People who bought such a package would in the future be safe and rich and live a wonderful life, while all the others would have to almost starve and in any case struggle for survival. Her husband seemed to be so convinced and committed to these retirement packages he was selling, that she came to the conclusion that it would be better to accept all his habits and not to get in the way of his work. Even if his working hours seemed to be extended more and more throughout the day, and the whole week. Saturday and Sunday were no exceptions, he continued with calls and talks on his various phones.
And so Irene was accustomed over time to the fact of having a husband who was actually physically present, whose inner life, however, was absent because he permanently talked on the phone to the world. She also wondered how many of these exclusive retirement packages he had already sold. Surely he had broken all records of the company, when counted by the volume of the phone calls he was performing.
This weekend in Malaga was meant as his present for her last birthday more than three months ago. He could not take a weekend free sooner, he said. This was an unusual statement, because he never spent a day without performing his continual phone calls. His life was dominated by work on the phone around the clock. As he explained to Irene on the day of his long lecture to her, his work was very special and the clientele very distinguished, and therefore it needed long conversations, to build up confidence and to finally lead to a sale.
Irene worked in a design firm as an administrative assistant and earned a good salary. And she had inherited a considerable sum from her parents who died within a short time of each other, some years ago. She was very much interested in art and culture and liked the people working in these areas. Her husband did not have much interest in her activities and often he almost smiled a bit snobbishly whenever she dared to talk about an upcoming event with people she knew personally, or when her firm had a special presentation. Meanwhile, Irene hardly spoke anymore to him about her work or her colleagues.
They went to the new shopping center near the hotel. While Anthony was soon busy again with his phone calls, wandering back and forth in the wake of people who poured incessantly through the corridors with bulging bags, Irene went her own way through some of her preferred stores. It did not really matter that he apparently had no time to accompany her. Maybe alone it was even better, because no one would interfere. After about two hours she walked with several bags from different stores toward the place in the mall where they started. Anthony was still walking up and down, holding a smart phone close to his ear.
After a nice siesta in the hotel they went out for dinner to a restaurant nearby that was recommended to them by a colleague. It was a small and very simple place with rustic decor and its speciality was meat from the charcoal grill. Anthony ordered a large T-bone steak while Irene, who was not actually a regular meat eater, decided herself for a small entrecote. They shared a large salad to start with and even maintained a kind of a conversation for some short time. Both smart phones of Anthony were silent and resting next to his plate. He asked the restaurant owner if he was sure that the phone net was accessible here. When the course with the meat came, it was indeed a highlight and one immediately got a watery mouth because of the wonderful smell and delicious-looking dishes. After the first bite they both looked up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes. ‘This is absolutely delicious,’ said Irene and Anthony nodded without talking. Their world seemed in order.
Until one of his smart phones rang.
Anthony saw who called, dropped his fork and knife and jumped up like a servant, and answered the call. ‘But of course I have time!’ he then said obsequiously, and turned around to face Irene while he covered the smart phone with one hand. ‘This is a very important matter, you do not mind if I deal with it, do you?’
And before Irene could reply, he delivered his own usual answer: ‘You know that I sometimes have very important phone calls, which is part of my job, and I am sure this is not a problem for you.’ He left the table and disappeared through the door.
Irene continued slowly with her dinner. Some thoughts came to her, but they were disordered and flashed through her head like arrows from left to right, then from right to left. Anthony reappeared on the doorway, covering with one hand his smart phone, loudly stating towards her: ‘This is going to be very intensive and I have to send some charts immediately, which I have to download from the computer in the room. I must let you finish dinner alone, I know you do not mind. This is a top deal, the customer needs a life insurance proposal tailored to her specific situation. And it must be immediately because her future husband just now made her a proposal of marriage. He is a very rich man and she, of course, wants to be well insured and financially secured. Ok my dear, see you later in the hotel.’ And he disappeared.
For quite a while Irene continued to eat with a face like stone. Then all of a sudden, two tears ran down her cheeks, first left, and then right. Huge tears. She put her fork and knife on the table. More tears followed. She sat there, drank her wine and wept silently with a face like a dripping mask.
The wife of the owner noticed what happened and came over, sat down and patted her back. With a great feeling and understanding, but without actually knowing the details, she tried to console Irene. ‘What wonderful people these Spanish are!’ thought Irene. She felt cared for. The wife of the owner suggested to Irene to finish her dinner with a refreshing melon dessert, a creation of the house with honey and milk. Irene agreed and nodded gratefully.
While eating her dessert Irene faced vivid thoughts that were so clear that she was a bit astonished: This was definitely not the life she would continue any longer. She had had such thoughts some months ago already, but she then had pushed them away, being reminded that this was her second marriage and she wanted to try somehow building up a good relationship in spite of everything, and not run away. her first marriage lasted two years only and broke up because another woman showed up and won the heart of her first husband, so that he got totally lost and followed his new flame to another continent.
After some time, Irene then met her present husband at a wedding party of a friend. Their affair was romantic in the first months and then consolidated to become a good relationship. After two years they decided to get married. Their marriage was now in the fifth year. In the last two years things changed dramatically with his new job and his ambition to become rich by selling many of the exclusive retirement packages, as well as become the star employee of the enterprise he was working for. There was a kind of a ranking and at the present time he was number 3. Number 1 would get a sports car for two years.
The wife of the restaurant owner came to see whether everything was fine. Irene explained that she would now walk back to the hotel that was not too far from the restaurant, and asked for the bill. With the bill came a glass of cognac and the restaurant owner’s wife said encouragingly: ‘This will help rinse away the sadness but will also awaken your defences!’ Irene drank the cognac in small sips and stared out of the open window into the night.
She left the restaurant shortly after eleven o’clock and walked slowly back, breathing deeply. Everywhere groups and couples sat in the boulevard cafés and restaurants, happily chatting and laughing. She would have loved to join one of these groups, talk and laugh and just enjoy the warm late summer night. A little jealous and wistful she looked here and there to the tables and the laughing people. Thoughtfully she went her way.
At the hotel she decided to have a good night drink and went to the bar. She ordered another cognac and sat down in a comfortable seat in front of the bar, sitting with her back to the wall and overlooking the small plaza. She stretched her legs and looked at her new sling pumps. She was thirty-eight years old and married for the second time. Apparently she was plagued by misfortune and men did not find her interesting or worth enough. Her second husband had lost all interest in her and did not even notice when she wore new clothes or wore a different hairstyle. He treated her like an object or a stranger. Often he asked her something, and immediately supplied the answer himself in his next breath, as if she could not think. Great sadness came over her. ‘Obviously, some have good luck in private life, while others are pursued by bad luck, and I belong definitely to the latter ones!’ she murmured and looked sadly out into the night.
For almost an hour she sat there, her hands deep in the pockets of the new jumpsuit she had bought today, and looking over the small plaza into the darkness of the night, without perceiving anything particular. Then after a while, the nearly full moon appeared over the roof of a house at the other side of the street. ‘What do you advise me, moon?’ she said with an almost silent voice.
Of course, she knew that the moon would never really answer. Human beings had to find their own solutions in difficult times. But she sat there with the hands in the pockets, and waited for the answer. Before the moon disappeared behind the higher roof of the next house, she knew the answer, and she said into the night: ‘Yes, tomorrow morning at breakfast I will talk to Anthony!’
Irene found her husband half undressed in bed, with a smart phone on his chest and still the cable around his neck and the headphones on his head, snoring loudly. He looked like a mad appearance from outer space.
The two cognacs and the whole situation brought for Irene a night full of flying thoughts and wild dreams. She saw herself dressed as a bride with two men on a floating piece of wood in a wild raging river, drifting towards a thunderous waterfall and finally with the two husbands and the piece of wood falling down the cataract, plunging deep into the water. Then in the next dream she was walking in the street and all the people passing by were on the phone. Hundreds, thousands of humans were walking around her, making phone calls, talking to phones, microphones, tablets. They passed faster and faster, talking louder and louder, flying around her shoulders and around her head, talking and talking and holding huge tablets to their ears. No one paid attention to her, they all were absorbed with their phone world talking to invisible people.
But no one called her.
Irene awoke and went to the bathroom. Anthony was under the shower. The two smart phones were resting on the cover of the toilet. She ignored them, turned to the sink and brushed her teeth. She was totally calm. Anthony stepped out of the bath, sent a quick kiss blown in her direction. Already the two phones had again caught all of his interest.
Irene took a shower, got dressed, she wore again the new jumpsuit of the night before, and then packed her travel bag.
They went for breakfast and in the elevator Anthony checked his new messages. Irene smiled and walked at a certain distance behind him to the breakfast hall. A wonderful selection of delicious food was displayed generously on large buffet tables. The two found a table in the row near the wall overlooking the room. After ordering coffee they both went to the buffet.
Irene was first back at their table with a plate full of slices of exotic fruits. She intended to begin the serious conversation, as soon as he sat down. Therefore, she concentrated not to miss the right moment. Anthony came back carrying a plate with several pieces of toast, butter and marmalade. She was just about to start talking when he jumped up stating ‘Oh, I forgot the fried eggs and the fruit juice!’ and then left the table again in the direction of the buffet.
Irene looked around in the breakfast hall. About half of the guests were staring at smart phones while walking around between their table and the buffet, or were even making phone calls while eating. At the next table sat a young couple with a baby. The man was fully absorbed by typing text into his small computer, he was feeding himself tiny muffins with his free hand without seeing what he ate. The young mother seemed to be used to this situation and played extensively with the baby.
At another table sat an overweight man in a rather hideous T-shirt, holding a huge tablet to his ear, loudly talking into the tablet. It looked totally absurd, like an additional giant ear, and also a little sick. A couple walked by, both were on the phone, but probably not with each other. Irene thought by herself: ‘What do all these people need to talk over already at breakfast time?’ They actually lose any pleasure or sensual sense for how to enjoy things. And they miss many nice moments.’ Lost in thought she let her gaze wander over the crowd.
‘Good morning, my lady, allow me to join you on this beautiful day. Your partner took my seat at the table over there, so the best thing is that I take his!’
Irene, pulled out of her thoughts about all these phone calls, looked up totally overwhelmed and stared with disbelief at the man in front of her table, carrying his plate with eggs. Since she did not say a word he placed his fried eggs on the table, and said with the most wonderful smile on his face: ‘Hola, my name is Alejandro Murillo’ and sat down, elegantly unfolding the napkin on his knee.
Irene slowly turned her head and looked over the next tables. Indeed, there, two tables away, sat Anthony eating his fried eggs, holding the fork with one hand and staring at his plate, with the other hand he was holding his smart phone to his ear. He seemed completely absorbed. Irene leaned back to see the other person at said table. It was a very elegant looking lady in her late forties, with a freshly coiffed hairstyle, exclusively dressed and wearing expensive jewellery. She seemed to be amused and was sitting there with a smile on her face, from time to time sipping at her fruit juice, now and then taking a bite of cake. But somehow it was clear that she was absolutely superior, mastering and at the same time enjoying the situation.
Irene turned her head back and started to examine her new vis-à-vis, who with great appetite ate his breakfast. What one noticed at first glance was his facial expression. He showed such a kind and pleasant expression on his face, that one was attracted to him right a way. One wanted to know why this man was so pleased. His semi-long dark hair framed a well-modelled face with brown eyes and a prominent nose. He wore casual clothes, beige linen trousers, a beige cotton shirt with tiny sailing ships imprinted and soft moccasins without socks. There was something very elegant about him. A very attractive man.
‘And what is the result of your examination?’ he said, wiping his mouth elegantly with his napkin, looking directly into her eyes and giving her this unbelievable friendly smile that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, which almost took her breath away. Then he added: ‘By the way, your jumpsuit fits you perfectly. You look beautiful in that marvellous print of butterflies.’
Irene felt totally delighted, amazed and confused at the same time. She had never before received such nice compliments at breakfast time, and also accompanied by such a tremendous smile that was obviously intended for her. She was sitting on a sea of a thousand white soft clouds, wonderful music sounded, a whole symphony orchestra played her favourite pieces, and a seductive scent of exotic flowers enveloped her. A wonderful feeling crept up inside her. She sensed an unknown lightness. And she felt the will to tell this wonderful man, certainly sent by the moon of yesterday night, all of her thoughts. She was ready for whatever he suggested. But she could not utter a single word. She was sitting there, looking at the man who had appeared like a wonder at her breakfast table, and she felt that her life was already beginning to improve.
‘Does your partner often change tables like he did this morning or was there a special reason?’ asked Alejandro cautiously.
And then suddenly, Irene found her voice and said: ‘Good morning, my name is Irene Schwendener, I am living in Basle in Switzerland. We came for a pleasant weekend to Malaga, actually it was his birthday gift. But my husband is almost constantly on the phone, as now, as he has been for more than two years. And actually I have just decided yesterday night to leave this depressing relationship. I wanted to say this to him at breakfast this morning. But I could not, because he jumped up again to get his fried eggs and his juice, and then he took a seat at the wrong table.’
Irene took a large sip of her fruit juice and looked at Alejandro to see his reaction, perhaps with a certain fear. And then Irene added with a light gesture pointing over to the next table: ‘And how about your elegant partner?’
‘Well, do not worry about it. Frankly spoken, she was for me an opportunity in an interregnum phase, for her I was probably merely a nice artistic entrepreneur as another adventure on her large list. I am a designer, I design chairs and have my own firm since about two years. Because I was lucky enough to get some orders from large hotel chains my company prospered quickly, some rich people became aware of me, of my work, and the lady over there was a customer. She ordered various special models for her two villas in renovation. Somehow she was for a while without partner, and somehow we arrived in a romantic relationship. But for me, it was clear that this would not last. She just loved the artist in me. And I felt flattered. And when she came to Malaga, we met together. This was now anyway the end, because all chairs are delivered.’
He sat there and smiled at her. She would never forget that smile.
Then there was his voice again, full of joy: ‘You know what, let us go for a long stroll on the paseo along the sea, and then we will visit my grandmother, she lives in a small village about half an hour drive from here. We will eat her milhojas de calabacín. You will love them! They are the best in the world, my grandmother is a fabulous cook, and a wonderful person. We can stay there a couple of days. There is ample space. I have transformed the goat stables of my grandfather into a rustic but very idyllic house for myself, with an atelier and a tiny terrace overlooking the sea.’ And when Alejandro noticed the hesitating expression in Irene’s face and the question marks in her eyes, he added with another of his wonderful smiles: ‘And there are two bedrooms.’
Irene did not have any idea what milhojas de calabacín were. Also she in fact did not have any more holidays. But she felt that she already was in a wonderful transformation, and was about to become an overjoyed adventuress, or was it a gypsy? She felt great, free and ready to discover a new world. Hundreds of butterflies were dancing in her stomach. Her feet tingled. And the tingling went through her whole body. Her cheeks began to glow and her heartbeat was doubled. She smiled still a little shyly at Alejandro, who was waiting with expectant eyes for her answer. He then said: ‘Let me get some more of this delicious passion fruit juice for us. In the meantime you can think about my proposal and take your decision’, he stood up and left the table.
Just as he carried away his fried eggs from the buffet, Anthony got a message by phone from the rich lady with whom he had talked extensively on the phone the night before. After having checked the lists and documents he had sent her, she was now not only ready to conclude a contract Maxim, but was even interested in a contract Maxim plus. This would bring him a large bonus and the top score in the sales ranking. He would be the next to drive a sleek sports car for two years. Wow!
Anthony placed the plate with the fried eggs on the table, sat down and called the lady. Immediately they were in a good conversation. Now it was extremely important that he did not mess it up. He had to be patient, not pushing. But he had to lead her carefully to the final step.
He sat at the table, fully concentrated on the matter, eating his fried eggs in small bites with the left hand, holding the phone with the right hand, and now and then giving in an appropriate short comment. He knew that he had to give her the impression that such packages would be sold several times a day. It all seemed perfect. He enjoyed the situation. This was great business. His business. After a rather long conversation the rich lady finally said that she would send him all the necessary details and information that afternoon, so that he could prepare the contract documents.
Anthony wished to jump from his chair up into the air. His chest was filled with pride. He straightened up slowly, looked over the table with the attitude of a great commander after an important battle, and could not believe what he saw. ‘Who on earth are you, what are you doing at my table?’ he shouted, staring wide-eyed and totally shocked at the elegant lady opposite him, holding his two smart phones to his body as if to protect himself with them.
‘You seem to be real cheeky and impudent, young man, obviously due to lack of education. You stubborn type came to my table without greeting, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Then you sat there at my table eating your fried eggs and at the same time maintaining a long phone conversation about a life insurance package, without looking up and paying attention to the person at the table. You seem to be mentally disturbed, overworked or totally cocky!’
Anthony sat there with his mouth wide open, and did not understand what had happened. Before he could gather himself or move, the elegant lady reached out and said with a very sexy voice: ‘I am Aurora Campbell. I am a widow and I am very much interested in your package Maxim plus. Could you give me more details, please.’
‘Anthony, um, my name is Anthony Schwendener, I am very sorry for having mixed up the table,’ said Anthony a bit bewildered and looking around to the next tables to find out where his wife was. But he could not see her. Then in the next second he was just re-infected by his business fever, and continued with a firm voice, as he sensed a big business coming up: ‘Oh yes, but of course and with great pleasure I will present you all necessary data and details of the Maxim plus, whenever you wish.’ And he showed her his best business smile.
‘Why do you not start right now, my dear. I am full of expectation’ said Aurora, in a deep and seductive voice.
After a quick glance at the elegant lady, Anthony started with his summary as he had practised it a hundred times. Aurora leaned back and listened amused, pretending to be extremely interested.
After he was about half away through with his speech about the basic details of Maxim plus, there appeared all of a sudden two persons at the table, each carrying travel bags and both smiling happily: Irene and Alejandro.
Anthony was grey in his face, he could not believe what he saw and stared aghast at the happy couple, while Aurora remained with a wise smile.
Then Alejandro said beaming with happiness: ‘We are off for a holiday. We just came to say good-bye! We think we are the better match!’
The two, radiant with joy, took each other lovingly around the waist and left.
Anthony’s phones dropped to the floor.
Breakfast in Malaga(Dill McLain)
They arrived late afternoon at that modern hotel near the port and check in was efficient apart from the fact that Anthony - as usual – got a phone call. When he signed the check in papers while talking to a person on the phone in the typical hyper-polite way, this caused misunderstandings with the front desk manager. The manager was not sure whether some comments were addressed to him or not. Finally, Irene stepped forward, took the room key and thanked the front desk manager. They grabbed their exclusive leather bags and walked to the elevators. Anthony was still talking on the phone.
Their large room had a nice view over the rooftops of the town away to the Sierras.
Anthony had promised to spend all afternoon with her, and for the evening, they were planning a shopping trip, then an exquisite dinner in a restaurant nearby. Irene had been looking forward to this stay; such opportunities were extremely rare in their daily life, because of the working conditions of Anthony. The company he worked for was selling special retirement packages, and demanded his attention almost 24 hours a day. Many of their holiday plans had already been destroyed in the past and in many cases Irene had to attend a concert alone, or find another person to accompany her to the theatre, or even a dinner, if the restaurant was already booked, and Anthony in the last minute could not make it because of his never-ending business talks.
At home Anthony was the longer the more nearly constantly on the phone. He had one of those devices with headphones on his ears and a microphone around his neck. Even when cutting grass, he kept talking into his microphone, or when emptying the mailbox, or when jogging. He used to come down the stairs in the morning, holding one smart phone onto his ear, and carrying a larger smart tablet in his other hand. Irene never knew whether his ‘good morning’ was directed to her or was meant for one of the phone callers. She got used to this habit of her husband, and neither argued nor complained. Yes, of course, once she asked, in fact, if all that was necessary. He then stood before her, and gave her a very long lecture on modern daily life and business in these hectic times in a fast changing world, where one had do be prepared for new rhythms and new gadgets almost every hour. A world dictated by money, the money the individual customer could save in a portfolio with a special savings plan, namely the special retirement package of the company Anthony worked for. People who bought such a package would in the future be safe and rich and live a wonderful life, while all the others would have to almost starve and in any case struggle for survival. Her husband seemed to be so convinced and committed to these retirement packages he was selling, that she came to the conclusion that it would be better to accept all his habits and not to get in the way of his work. Even if his working hours seemed to be extended more and more throughout the day, and the whole week. Saturday and Sunday were no exceptions, he continued with calls and talks on his various phones.
And so Irene was accustomed over time to the fact of having a husband who was actually physically present, whose inner life, however, was absent because he permanently talked on the phone to the world. She also wondered how many of these exclusive retirement packages he had already sold. Surely he had broken all records of the company, when counted by the volume of the phone calls he was performing.
This weekend in Malaga was meant as his present for her last birthday more than three months ago. He could not take a weekend free sooner, he said. This was an unusual statement, because he never spent a day without performing his continual phone calls. His life was dominated by work on the phone around the clock. As he explained to Irene on the day of his long lecture to her, his work was very special and the clientele very distinguished, and therefore it needed long conversations, to build up confidence and to finally lead to a sale.
Irene worked in a design firm as an administrative assistant and earned a good salary. And she had inherited a considerable sum from her parents who died within a short time of each other, some years ago. She was very much interested in art and culture and liked the people working in these areas. Her husband did not have much interest in her activities and often he almost smiled a bit snobbishly whenever she dared to talk about an upcoming event with people she knew personally, or when her firm had a special presentation. Meanwhile, Irene hardly spoke anymore to him about her work or her colleagues.
They went to the new shopping center near the hotel. While Anthony was soon busy again with his phone calls, wandering back and forth in the wake of people who poured incessantly through the corridors with bulging bags, Irene went her own way through some of her preferred stores. It did not really matter that he apparently had no time to accompany her. Maybe alone it was even better, because no one would interfere. After about two hours she walked with several bags from different stores toward the place in the mall where they started. Anthony was still walking up and down, holding a smart phone close to his ear.
After a nice siesta in the hotel they went out for dinner to a restaurant nearby that was recommended to them by a colleague. It was a small and very simple place with rustic decor and its speciality was meat from the charcoal grill. Anthony ordered a large T-bone steak while Irene, who was not actually a regular meat eater, decided herself for a small entrecote. They shared a large salad to start with and even maintained a kind of a conversation for some short time. Both smart phones of Anthony were silent and resting next to his plate. He asked the restaurant owner if he was sure that the phone net was accessible here. When the course with the meat came, it was indeed a highlight and one immediately got a watery mouth because of the wonderful smell and delicious-looking dishes. After the first bite they both looked up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes. ‘This is absolutely delicious,’ said Irene and Anthony nodded without talking. Their world seemed in order.
Until one of his smart phones rang.
Anthony saw who called, dropped his fork and knife and jumped up like a servant, and answered the call. ‘But of course I have time!’ he then said obsequiously, and turned around to face Irene while he covered the smart phone with one hand. ‘This is a very important matter, you do not mind if I deal with it, do you?’
And before Irene could reply, he delivered his own usual answer: ‘You know that I sometimes have very important phone calls, which is part of my job, and I am sure this is not a problem for you.’ He left the table and disappeared through the door.
Irene continued slowly with her dinner. Some thoughts came to her, but they were disordered and flashed through her head like arrows from left to right, then from right to left. Anthony reappeared on the doorway, covering with one hand his smart phone, loudly stating towards her: ‘This is going to be very intensive and I have to send some charts immediately, which I have to download from the computer in the room. I must let you finish dinner alone, I know you do not mind. This is a top deal, the customer needs a life insurance proposal tailored to her specific situation. And it must be immediately because her future husband just now made her a proposal of marriage. He is a very rich man and she, of course, wants to be well insured and financially secured. Ok my dear, see you later in the hotel.’ And he disappeared.
For quite a while Irene continued to eat with a face like stone. Then all of a sudden, two tears ran down her cheeks, first left, and then right. Huge tears. She put her fork and knife on the table. More tears followed. She sat there, drank her wine and wept silently with a face like a dripping mask.
The wife of the owner noticed what happened and came over, sat down and patted her back. With a great feeling and understanding, but without actually knowing the details, she tried to console Irene. ‘What wonderful people these Spanish are!’ thought Irene. She felt cared for. The wife of the owner suggested to Irene to finish her dinner with a refreshing melon dessert, a creation of the house with honey and milk. Irene agreed and nodded gratefully.
While eating her dessert Irene faced vivid thoughts that were so clear that she was a bit astonished: This was definitely not the life she would continue any longer. She had had such thoughts some months ago already, but she then had pushed them away, being reminded that this was her second marriage and she wanted to try somehow building up a good relationship in spite of everything, and not run away. her first marriage lasted two years only and broke up because another woman showed up and won the heart of her first husband, so that he got totally lost and followed his new flame to another continent.
After some time, Irene then met her present husband at a wedding party of a friend. Their affair was romantic in the first months and then consolidated to become a good relationship. After two years they decided to get married. Their marriage was now in the fifth year. In the last two years things changed dramatically with his new job and his ambition to become rich by selling many of the exclusive retirement packages, as well as become the star employee of the enterprise he was working for. There was a kind of a ranking and at the present time he was number 3. Number 1 would get a sports car for two years.
The wife of the restaurant owner came to see whether everything was fine. Irene explained that she would now walk back to the hotel that was not too far from the restaurant, and asked for the bill. With the bill came a glass of cognac and the restaurant owner’s wife said encouragingly: ‘This will help rinse away the sadness but will also awaken your defences!’ Irene drank the cognac in small sips and stared out of the open window into the night.
She left the restaurant shortly after eleven o’clock and walked slowly back, breathing deeply. Everywhere groups and couples sat in the boulevard cafés and restaurants, happily chatting and laughing. She would have loved to join one of these groups, talk and laugh and just enjoy the warm late summer night. A little jealous and wistful she looked here and there to the tables and the laughing people. Thoughtfully she went her way.
At the hotel she decided to have a good night drink and went to the bar. She ordered another cognac and sat down in a comfortable seat in front of the bar, sitting with her back to the wall and overlooking the small plaza. She stretched her legs and looked at her new sling pumps. She was thirty-eight years old and married for the second time. Apparently she was plagued by misfortune and men did not find her interesting or worth enough. Her second husband had lost all interest in her and did not even notice when she wore new clothes or wore a different hairstyle. He treated her like an object or a stranger. Often he asked her something, and immediately supplied the answer himself in his next breath, as if she could not think. Great sadness came over her. ‘Obviously, some have good luck in private life, while others are pursued by bad luck, and I belong definitely to the latter ones!’ she murmured and looked sadly out into the night.
For almost an hour she sat there, her hands deep in the pockets of the new jumpsuit she had bought today, and looking over the small plaza into the darkness of the night, without perceiving anything particular. Then after a while, the nearly full moon appeared over the roof of a house at the other side of the street. ‘What do you advise me, moon?’ she said with an almost silent voice.
Of course, she knew that the moon would never really answer. Human beings had to find their own solutions in difficult times. But she sat there with the hands in the pockets, and waited for the answer. Before the moon disappeared behind the higher roof of the next house, she knew the answer, and she said into the night: ‘Yes, tomorrow morning at breakfast I will talk to Anthony!’
Irene found her husband half undressed in bed, with a smart phone on his chest and still the cable around his neck and the headphones on his head, snoring loudly. He looked like a mad appearance from outer space.
The two cognacs and the whole situation brought for Irene a night full of flying thoughts and wild dreams. She saw herself dressed as a bride with two men on a floating piece of wood in a wild raging river, drifting towards a thunderous waterfall and finally with the two husbands and the piece of wood falling down the cataract, plunging deep into the water. Then in the next dream she was walking in the street and all the people passing by were on the phone. Hundreds, thousands of humans were walking around her, making phone calls, talking to phones, microphones, tablets. They passed faster and faster, talking louder and louder, flying around her shoulders and around her head, talking and talking and holding huge tablets to their ears. No one paid attention to her, they all were absorbed with their phone world talking to invisible people.
But no one called her.
Irene awoke and went to the bathroom. Anthony was under the shower. The two smart phones were resting on the cover of the toilet. She ignored them, turned to the sink and brushed her teeth. She was totally calm. Anthony stepped out of the bath, sent a quick kiss blown in her direction. Already the two phones had again caught all of his interest.
Irene took a shower, got dressed, she wore again the new jumpsuit of the night before, and then packed her travel bag.
They went for breakfast and in the elevator Anthony checked his new messages. Irene smiled and walked at a certain distance behind him to the breakfast hall. A wonderful selection of delicious food was displayed generously on large buffet tables. The two found a table in the row near the wall overlooking the room. After ordering coffee they both went to the buffet.
Irene was first back at their table with a plate full of slices of exotic fruits. She intended to begin the serious conversation, as soon as he sat down. Therefore, she concentrated not to miss the right moment. Anthony came back carrying a plate with several pieces of toast, butter and marmalade. She was just about to start talking when he jumped up stating ‘Oh, I forgot the fried eggs and the fruit juice!’ and then left the table again in the direction of the buffet.
Irene looked around in the breakfast hall. About half of the guests were staring at smart phones while walking around between their table and the buffet, or were even making phone calls while eating. At the next table sat a young couple with a baby. The man was fully absorbed by typing text into his small computer, he was feeding himself tiny muffins with his free hand without seeing what he ate. The young mother seemed to be used to this situation and played extensively with the baby.
At another table sat an overweight man in a rather hideous T-shirt, holding a huge tablet to his ear, loudly talking into the tablet. It looked totally absurd, like an additional giant ear, and also a little sick. A couple walked by, both were on the phone, but probably not with each other. Irene thought by herself: ‘What do all these people need to talk over already at breakfast time?’ They actually lose any pleasure or sensual sense for how to enjoy things. And they miss many nice moments.’ Lost in thought she let her gaze wander over the crowd.
‘Good morning, my lady, allow me to join you on this beautiful day. Your partner took my seat at the table over there, so the best thing is that I take his!’
Irene, pulled out of her thoughts about all these phone calls, looked up totally overwhelmed and stared with disbelief at the man in front of her table, carrying his plate with eggs. Since she did not say a word he placed his fried eggs on the table, and said with the most wonderful smile on his face: ‘Hola, my name is Alejandro Murillo’ and sat down, elegantly unfolding the napkin on his knee.
Irene slowly turned her head and looked over the next tables. Indeed, there, two tables away, sat Anthony eating his fried eggs, holding the fork with one hand and staring at his plate, with the other hand he was holding his smart phone to his ear. He seemed completely absorbed. Irene leaned back to see the other person at said table. It was a very elegant looking lady in her late forties, with a freshly coiffed hairstyle, exclusively dressed and wearing expensive jewellery. She seemed to be amused and was sitting there with a smile on her face, from time to time sipping at her fruit juice, now and then taking a bite of cake. But somehow it was clear that she was absolutely superior, mastering and at the same time enjoying the situation.
Irene turned her head back and started to examine her new vis-à-vis, who with great appetite ate his breakfast. What one noticed at first glance was his facial expression. He showed such a kind and pleasant expression on his face, that one was attracted to him right a way. One wanted to know why this man was so pleased. His semi-long dark hair framed a well-modelled face with brown eyes and a prominent nose. He wore casual clothes, beige linen trousers, a beige cotton shirt with tiny sailing ships imprinted and soft moccasins without socks. There was something very elegant about him. A very attractive man.
‘And what is the result of your examination?’ he said, wiping his mouth elegantly with his napkin, looking directly into her eyes and giving her this unbelievable friendly smile that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, which almost took her breath away. Then he added: ‘By the way, your jumpsuit fits you perfectly. You look beautiful in that marvellous print of butterflies.’
Irene felt totally delighted, amazed and confused at the same time. She had never before received such nice compliments at breakfast time, and also accompanied by such a tremendous smile that was obviously intended for her. She was sitting on a sea of a thousand white soft clouds, wonderful music sounded, a whole symphony orchestra played her favourite pieces, and a seductive scent of exotic flowers enveloped her. A wonderful feeling crept up inside her. She sensed an unknown lightness. And she felt the will to tell this wonderful man, certainly sent by the moon of yesterday night, all of her thoughts. She was ready for whatever he suggested. But she could not utter a single word. She was sitting there, looking at the man who had appeared like a wonder at her breakfast table, and she felt that her life was already beginning to improve.
‘Does your partner often change tables like he did this morning or was there a special reason?’ asked Alejandro cautiously.
And then suddenly, Irene found her voice and said: ‘Good morning, my name is Irene Schwendener, I am living in Basle in Switzerland. We came for a pleasant weekend to Malaga, actually it was his birthday gift. But my husband is almost constantly on the phone, as now, as he has been for more than two years. And actually I have just decided yesterday night to leave this depressing relationship. I wanted to say this to him at breakfast this morning. But I could not, because he jumped up again to get his fried eggs and his juice, and then he took a seat at the wrong table.’
Irene took a large sip of her fruit juice and looked at Alejandro to see his reaction, perhaps with a certain fear. And then Irene added with a light gesture pointing over to the next table: ‘And how about your elegant partner?’
‘Well, do not worry about it. Frankly spoken, she was for me an opportunity in an interregnum phase, for her I was probably merely a nice artistic entrepreneur as another adventure on her large list. I am a designer, I design chairs and have my own firm since about two years. Because I was lucky enough to get some orders from large hotel chains my company prospered quickly, some rich people became aware of me, of my work, and the lady over there was a customer. She ordered various special models for her two villas in renovation. Somehow she was for a while without partner, and somehow we arrived in a romantic relationship. But for me, it was clear that this would not last. She just loved the artist in me. And I felt flattered. And when she came to Malaga, we met together. This was now anyway the end, because all chairs are delivered.’
He sat there and smiled at her. She would never forget that smile.
Then there was his voice again, full of joy: ‘You know what, let us go for a long stroll on the paseo along the sea, and then we will visit my grandmother, she lives in a small village about half an hour drive from here. We will eat her milhojas de calabacín. You will love them! They are the best in the world, my grandmother is a fabulous cook, and a wonderful person. We can stay there a couple of days. There is ample space. I have transformed the goat stables of my grandfather into a rustic but very idyllic house for myself, with an atelier and a tiny terrace overlooking the sea.’ And when Alejandro noticed the hesitating expression in Irene’s face and the question marks in her eyes, he added with another of his wonderful smiles: ‘And there are two bedrooms.’
Irene did not have any idea what milhojas de calabacín were. Also she in fact did not have any more holidays. But she felt that she already was in a wonderful transformation, and was about to become an overjoyed adventuress, or was it a gypsy? She felt great, free and ready to discover a new world. Hundreds of butterflies were dancing in her stomach. Her feet tingled. And the tingling went through her whole body. Her cheeks began to glow and her heartbeat was doubled. She smiled still a little shyly at Alejandro, who was waiting with expectant eyes for her answer. He then said: ‘Let me get some more of this delicious passion fruit juice for us. In the meantime you can think about my proposal and take your decision’, he stood up and left the table.
Just as he carried away his fried eggs from the buffet, Anthony got a message by phone from the rich lady with whom he had talked extensively on the phone the night before. After having checked the lists and documents he had sent her, she was now not only ready to conclude a contract Maxim, but was even interested in a contract Maxim plus. This would bring him a large bonus and the top score in the sales ranking. He would be the next to drive a sleek sports car for two years. Wow!
Anthony placed the plate with the fried eggs on the table, sat down and called the lady. Immediately they were in a good conversation. Now it was extremely important that he did not mess it up. He had to be patient, not pushing. But he had to lead her carefully to the final step.
He sat at the table, fully concentrated on the matter, eating his fried eggs in small bites with the left hand, holding the phone with the right hand, and now and then giving in an appropriate short comment. He knew that he had to give her the impression that such packages would be sold several times a day. It all seemed perfect. He enjoyed the situation. This was great business. His business. After a rather long conversation the rich lady finally said that she would send him all the necessary details and information that afternoon, so that he could prepare the contract documents.
Anthony wished to jump from his chair up into the air. His chest was filled with pride. He straightened up slowly, looked over the table with the attitude of a great commander after an important battle, and could not believe what he saw. ‘Who on earth are you, what are you doing at my table?’ he shouted, staring wide-eyed and totally shocked at the elegant lady opposite him, holding his two smart phones to his body as if to protect himself with them.
‘You seem to be real cheeky and impudent, young man, obviously due to lack of education. You stubborn type came to my table without greeting, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Then you sat there at my table eating your fried eggs and at the same time maintaining a long phone conversation about a life insurance package, without looking up and paying attention to the person at the table. You seem to be mentally disturbed, overworked or totally cocky!’
Anthony sat there with his mouth wide open, and did not understand what had happened. Before he could gather himself or move, the elegant lady reached out and said with a very sexy voice: ‘I am Aurora Campbell. I am a widow and I am very much interested in your package Maxim plus. Could you give me more details, please.’
‘Anthony, um, my name is Anthony Schwendener, I am very sorry for having mixed up the table,’ said Anthony a bit bewildered and looking around to the next tables to find out where his wife was. But he could not see her. Then in the next second he was just re-infected by his business fever, and continued with a firm voice, as he sensed a big business coming up: ‘Oh yes, but of course and with great pleasure I will present you all necessary data and details of the Maxim plus, whenever you wish.’ And he showed her his best business smile.
‘Why do you not start right now, my dear. I am full of expectation’ said Aurora, in a deep and seductive voice.
After a quick glance at the elegant lady, Anthony started with his summary as he had practised it a hundred times. Aurora leaned back and listened amused, pretending to be extremely interested.
After he was about half away through with his speech about the basic details of Maxim plus, there appeared all of a sudden two persons at the table, each carrying travel bags and both smiling happily: Irene and Alejandro.
Anthony was grey in his face, he could not believe what he saw and stared aghast at the happy couple, while Aurora remained with a wise smile.
Then Alejandro said beaming with happiness: ‘We are off for a holiday. We just came to say good-bye! We think we are the better match!’
The two, radiant with joy, took each other lovingly around the waist and left.
Anthony’s phones dropped to the floor.
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