Fraudulent Fertilisation

The next morning, she made her excuses to Burán, telling him she had to visit her family and couldn’t get out of it; she asked him to take her to her friend’s house and was very sad, not wanting to talk. Roberto respectfully accepted her explanations and didn’t force her to break her silence, giving her a lift just as she asked. Before going, he kissed her for a long time and said,

“Alicia, last night you made me very happy, I’m grateful to you, I’ll never be able to forget it, even if you don’t want to go out with me anymore. I hope nothing of the sort happens, I would be very happy if I could see you again...”

Burán had a premonition that the girl had decided to disappear. Alicia Sandrelli censured herself for what she had done; that feeling eclipsed all others. Logically, Burán didn’t know, but his intuition told him that something strange was going on. That’s why he thought that the beautiful Alicia wasn’t satisfied with him or simply wasn’t very interested in the relationship they had embarked upon. He was persecuted by the idea that he was too old for her, he was afraid of making her reject him, or disgusting her in some way. With tears in her eyes, the girl asked him to give her a little time.

“Forgive my tears,” she said to him, “it’s that I’m moved, everything happened so suddenly, so quickly. I don’t know what to think, I like you so much... You can be sure of that much.” She kissed him tenderly on the lips and continued. “Roberto, I’m also truly grateful to you, not just for making me so happy last night, but for offering me so much affection, so much trust. Believe me I’d like to meet up with you again, it’s a long time since I felt as good with someone. I’ll phone you, don’t worry.”

Roberto looked at her doubtfully and spoke. “Whatever you say, dear. I fully respect you freedom, I don’t want you to be a prisoner or a slave, I want you to be free. If you halt your flight alongside me, it must be because it makes you happy. With you I feel something unique. I don’t think I could enjoy your company or your body if I didn’t feel that you were enjoying it too, at the same time as me. I can’t just take no notice of you, my feelings must be echoes, that’s the only way I can love you properly. You know I’ll be awaiting your telephone call, you know my number. If I’m not in, don’t forget to leave a precise message or instructions for me to find you. Don’t forget that for me you’re a kind of miracle of youth, a spark of happiness, like a little sun that lights up my maturity. Consider me an unconditional friend who loves you, regardless of whether you give me the answers I long for. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” she said, hugging Roberto tight as she dreamed about a new encounter. Again she was invaded by the image of Mabel, by the image of Álvez smiling ironically. Her conscience tormented and confused her. She was still highly sensitive because of what she’d been through. She got out of the car and went into her friend’s house. With her hand, she blew a last kiss to her beloved. Roberto remained looking at the door for a few seconds, while his thoughts transported him to distant territories. He remembered his daughter Julieta, his ex-wife, Estela, his first passionate romance. When he snapped out of it, he felt pleased. Life had been generous to him, allowing him to live interesting and pleasant adventures. He smiled, thinking that when he was twenty he had believed he’d be an old man by the time he was fifty. But nothing had changed, luckily he was still had his faculties intact. Slower, with more grey hair, weaker, less athletic, with less resistance and virility, but always alive, enriched not only materially, but also spiritually.

“Experience is not what you live through,” he said to himself, “but what we learn from it. How good it feels to be full of experiences, sensations and affection! Alicia is so sweet. Will I see her again?”