At exactly nine o’clock, Roberto Burán was buzzing the Bareilles practice on the entryphone; a few minutes later, Rocío came down, ready to go out. Following her advice, they went to a small but cosy restaurant, situated in the San Telmo neighbourhood. Rocío was impeccable and seductive; as was her custom, she had dressed simply, in a light blue suit with a wide skirt and light coloured sandals. She wore a fine gold chain around her neck and very simple earrings with a diminutive pearl.
Burán felt happy to be in the company of such a splendid woman: it was an unusual sensation, the conjunction of intelligence, culture, good taste and a shining beauty. He had dressed casually, jeans, a sky blue shirt, brown moccasins and a fine coffee-coloured suede jacket.
There were very few tables; the volume of the music, almost inaudible, allowed them to converse comfortably. Candlelight and cut glass, it was a place for the chosen few. She spoke first.
“This is my favourite restaurant, doctor, ever since I was a teenager... I haven’t been for two years. Nothing has changed, it’s still very intimate and full of memories...”
“I’m glad you like it. Seeing you happy makes me happy. It’s good to be here, sharing these moments with you, I’m grateful you’ve come out with me.”
“Why?”
“Because it comforts me a lot; this afternoon was difficult for me, I didn’t want to be alone. Also, your company is very agreeable. I’m very grateful: you and your father helped me see things more clearly.”
“There’s nothing to be grateful for, it’s our job.”
“Yes, doctor, that’s true, but there are many ways of rendering services... You did it with great humanity and delicacy. Believe me, telling my story is not easy, it’s like showing a certificate of stupidity, perhaps well deserved. But what’s done is done; I won’t gain anything by torturing myself with the past and thinking about my mistakes. Do you want me to tell you something, doctor? I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I assure you I’m telling the truth... If I had to live through a similar situation again, I wouldn’t hesitate a second, I’d do it again. Of course, without repeating certain details...”
“I can imagine which ones,” said Rocío laughing jovially, “you ought to be careful, doctor, you’re a rich man and you awaken many appetites, you should take more precautions than others.”
“I’m aware, but do you know what? At my age, I want to enjoy every moment, to savour it and feel it happen. Awareness of the fleeting nature of time, of the proximity of death and decrepitude, is painful...”
“But, Burán, you’re talking as if you were an old man! Don’t you think you’re exaggerating? You’ve still got many years ahead of you...”
“No, Doctor, I’m not talking like an old man. I’m talking like a fifty year-old man who soon will be an old man. To be honest, I never was, not even when I was young. Unfortunately I learned late. Now I’m convinced that everything is momentary, passing, each unrepeatable moment... So much lost time, doctor! They should teach us from infancy to take delight in every minute, to value affection. Pleasure, happiness, they should be fundamental objectives... If we were to learn that, we wouldn’t reach maturity in a state of total ignorance, or feeling cold and dead inside.”
Rocío shuddered when she heard those words...
“My God! It’s as if he was describing me,” she thought, “this man perceives that I’ve reached thirty-five years of age without ever having lived. It’s like my dear Sebastián predicted, he was right when he said that with time I’d realise that opportunities don’t repeat themselves, that it would hurt me to have run from love. Burán complains, but what about me? At least he’s got a passionate past, lots of things to remember. Me, on the other hand, I’ve hardly got anything, just the odd teenage romance, my long and frustrating relationship with Hernán... I didn’t want to commit myself emotionally, I was afraid of passion, I stopped feeling. Why didn’t I take any notice of Sebastián? I missed the chance to love him.”
Rocío Bareilles felt the leaden certainty of having made a mistake, of having wasted her existence. Her eyes grew cloudy. Roberto noticed she was acting strangely. He was tempted to address her informally, but he chose not to.
“Are you unwell?” he asked her, “Can I help at all?”
“No, thank you, Doctor, it’s just a slight discomfort, a minor headache, it’ll soon pass. I’ll ask for an aspirin. Don’t worry, I’m OK.”
“As you wish, but if you’re not feeling well, don’t hesitate to tell me. I can take you back whenever you like.”
She was sensitised, as if her soul were red raw; in spite of her confusion, her shame, it was exciting to feel herself dominated by purely emotional impulses.
Copyright © | Ricardo Ludovico Gulminelli, 1990 |
---|---|
By the same author | |
Date of publication | August 2002 |
Collection | Global Fiction |
Permalink | https://badosa.com/n145-54 |
Wonderful. I think that the story is fascinating, the situacion is provocative, and the end is surprising. Congratulations. It's a fantastic book. I'm so happy to have found it.
In my opinion, Ricardo Ludovico Gulminelli is an excellent writer... I'm from Miami Beach (Florida) and I have been studying Spanish since 1999 and I'm very happy indeed that I had the opportunity to be able to read this wonderful book. I know that I liked it because he described everything so well, as if he had lived it, and I felt very identificated. I hope to read more materials from Ricardo Ludovico Gulminelli. Thank you!
I fell in love after reading the description of the character Roberto Burán of Fraudulent Fertilisation (Episode 11). The man I am currently dating is so much like him... except, he's not an Attorney. I work with Attorneys. I'm a legal assistant... and I think Attorneys are so fascinating!
Me gustó la obra: me hizo sentir deseos de seguir leyendo página a página, no sólo por la trama, también porque me sentí identificado con su protagonista, su forma de ver las relaciones, su concepto de la mujer como compañera e igual. Hay también manifestaciones sobre determinados temas (aborto, matrimonio) que comparto y me hicieron reforzar mis propias opiniones.
Soy un asiduo lector y hacía mucho tiempo que un libro no me despertaba tantas emociones. Gracias a Badosa por publicar libros así (además gratuitos).
Creo que se trata de una novela-folletín que, en cuanto atañe a aspectos judiciales, está muy bien documentada; se nota que el autor procede de la abogacía y judicatura. En el e-mail que le envié, le dije que vale más un folletín bien relatado que novela suspirada, pero no conseguida. Salut i tenis-sala.
Como escribe de lo que entiende, se le entiende todo lo que escribe. Salut i tenis-sala.
Éste ha sido un gran libro, donde el lector se va adentrando a la vida de cada uno de los personajes, es un libro bien documentado en cada uno de los temas a los que se refiere. Debo felicitar a Badosa.com por brindarnos este servicio.
Mi opinión es que es una historia excelente. Me atrapó verdaderamente leer el libro, me enseñó, comprendí lo complejo que puede ser un tema que parece tan simple. Es un orgullo tener académicos de tan alto estirpe, espero que el Dr. Ricardo Gulminelli haga otras obras tan interesantes como es Fecundación fraudulenta.
Es un libro muy interesante, muy bien planteado, que lo atrapa en su lectura de principio a fin. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.
Inquietante la secretaria, se llama Estela, como mi hermana ídem de un médico... Un saludo Ricardo,
Un libro que atrapa, una historia plausible, muy bien tratado el tema, mis felicitaciones para el Dr Ricardo Gulminelli.
Besides sending your opinion about this work, you can add a photo (or more than one) to this page in three simple steps:
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.
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
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.