https://www.badosa.com
Published at Badosa.com
Cover Library Novels Global Fiction
87/87
PreviousTable of contents

Fraudulent Fertilisation

Episode 86

Ricardo Ludovico Gulminelli
Smaller text sizeDefault text sizeBigger text size Add to my bookshelf epub mobi Permalink Ebook MapMar del Plata, Bosque Peralta Ramos
MAR DEL PLATA
Saturday 21 March 1990, 18:30

When Roberto reached the Patisserie Plaza, it was already half past six.

“Too late!” he said to himself, “Alicia’s not here.”

He looked for her fruitlessly along all the galleries and the beach.

“She’s gone,” he thought, “or perhaps she never came...”

He sighed deeply, sitting next to a stone sea lion. He sat admiring the ocean. The breakwaters were deserted, a storm was expected; enormous waves covered everything and then withdrew again. He had gazed upon this scene countless times. It was always changed, but this time it was he who was different. Broken, defrauded, his enthusiasm had proven short-lived.

“Perhaps it’s better this way,“ he concluded, “so many things have happened...”

He turned round to go back; he’d go and pick up Agustín and Julieta.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight,“ he thought. He decided to ask Julieta out to dinner...

When he looked up, he saw her... She was next to him, gazing at him in silence. He had thought about an encounter many times, imagining the serious and profound phrases he would say to her, but he was unable to speak a single one. Alicia, as always, did the best thing... She embraced Roberto warmly, shedding tears of emotion. He felt the same... They embraced for a long time, merging their bodies and faces, until she spoke:

“How nice to hug you, Roberto! I missed you so much...! Could you forgive me? Please say yes!”

“I forgave you along time ago, almost immediately. I never thought you were guilty, but rather a victim. It was just that I lost control, I couldn’t take on board what was happening to me. To find out the truth, so suddenly, was too much... I should ask forgiveness as well.”

“I’ve got nothing to forgive you for; but you have to forgive me. I would understand even if you never forgave me.”

“Don’t think about it any more, Alicia; don’t mention it again, OK?”

OK, dear...”

“You’re beautiful, better than before: time has matured you a little, now you’re just right.”

“Do you like me like this? I’m glad, I dressed up for you, haven’t you noticed?”

“You’re right, I’ve never seen you in a skirt before... That’s not true, just the once. You look fantastic in this one...”

“Roberto, you look great, you know. Who did you so much good? Doctor Rocío Bareilles?”

“So you’ve heard about her, have you? She’s a good woman, she helped me a lot...”

“Don’t explain anything, Roberto; simply tell me one thing, do you love her?”

“That’s the second time I’ve been asked that question today, the first person who wanted to know was Julieta.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“I’d better not repeat it because it was too complicated. Metaphorical, she said...”

“Don’t be so complicated with me, Roberto, you know I like things simple and direct. Do you love her?”

“Alicia, what do you want to know? If I love her or if I love you?”

“Both things.”

“All right, but it’s not fair: I have to answer all the questions without asking any... You’re not telling me anything and you want to know everything.”

“You haven’t asked me anything, Roberto. I don’t know what answers you want, I won’t conceal anything from you... Tell me, what do you want to know?”

“The same as you, do you love me?”

“I’ve no reservations about answering you... Yes, I love you, without metaphors, without beating about the bush, without limits... I love you enough to live with you, to share your sadness and your joy. To raise your son as if he was mine...”

“Are you serious, Alicia? Have you thought it through properly? It won’t be at all easy...”

“Easy? Do you think it’s easy living without you? I need you, and the child too... I can’t forget he came into the world because I intervened... The semen that fertilised Juana Artigas was meant for me. I would have liked that child’s gestation to have occurred in my belly.”

“You seem so sure, I don’t know. What about the age difference?”

“Don’t be silly! What do I care? We’ll see about tomorrow, right now I haven’t got any doubts. What does it mean that you’re older than me? That we’ll have fewer years of happiness? Well, let’s enjoy them! Let’s not lose any more time... I’m waiting, Roberto...”

“What, Alicia? What are you waiting for?”

“Your answer, you haven’t given me one yet: do you love Rocío? Do you love me? That’s important to me...”

“I love Rocío, I can’t lie to you, there were many beautiful things between us.”

“There were?“ she asked.

“Yes, it’s part of the past now... I’ll never forget her, but today I told Julieta that I had always come up against an obstacle, something which prevented me sticking my neck out for Rocío, overcoming her resistance and her tendency to be independent. Do you know what that obstacle is called according to Julieta?”

“No, what’s it called?”

“Alicia. And do you know something else, dear? She’s absolutely right... It was for you that I accepted the separation that Rocío imposed on me. If you hadn’t existed, I would have done anything to avoid losing her. I wouldn’t have resigned myself so docilely, I would have fought desperately, perhaps successfully. Now I understand it clearly.”

“But you still haven’t answered my question, Roberto. I’m waiting, do you love me or not?”

“You already know the answer: I love you very much, with all my strength. Living with you would be like a dream, I don’t care how long it might last... If you’re with me, I’ll have the strength to start anew. I touch you, and a shiver runs down my spine; I can’t believe I’m feeling your scent again, caressing your hair... I’d kiss you all over, I’d bite you all over, it’s been too long, I’m losing control....”

“Perhaps that’s why I missed you as well...”

“Alicia, shall we go home? Shall we celebrate our reunion? Do you feel like it?”

“I do. Do you?”

“It’s what I most desire in the world. I only ask of you one thing...”

“Whatever you want,” said Alicia, softly biting his lips, “what is it?”

“Tonight, Alicia, don’t ask me to use a condom...”

THE END
Translation: Peter Miller (© 2002)
87/87
PreviousTable of contents
Table of related information
Copyright ©Ricardo Ludovico Gulminelli, 1990
By the same author RSS
Date of publicationNovember 2002
Collection RSSGlobal Fiction
Permalinkhttps://badosa.com/n145-87
Readers' Opinions RSS
Your opinion
How to add an image to this work

Besides sending your opinion about this work, you can add a photo (or more than one) to this page in three simple steps:

  1. Find a photo related with this text at Flickr and, there, add the following tag: (machine tag)

    To tag photos you must be a member of Flickr (don’t worry, the basic service is free).

    Choose photos taken by yourself or from The Commons. You may need special privileges to tag photos if they are not your own. If the photo wasn’t taken by you and it is not from The Commons, please ask permission to the author or check that the license authorizes this use.

  2. Once tagged, check that the new tag is publicly available (it may take some minutes) clicking the following link till your photo is shown: show photos ...

  3. Once your photo is shown, you can add it to this page:

Even though Badosa.com does not display the identity of the person who added a photo, this action is not anonymous (tags are linked to the user who added them at Flickr). Badosa.com reserves the right to remove inappropriate photos. If you find a photo that does not really illustrate the work or whose license does not allow its use, let us know.

If you added a photo (for example, testing this service) that is not really related with this work, you can remove it deleting the machine tag at Flickr (step 1). Verify that the removal is already public (step 2) and then press the button at step 3 to update this page.

Badosa.com shows 10 photos per work maximum.

Badosa.com Idea, design & development: Xavier Badosa (1995–2018)