by Rute Canhoto
CHAPTER EIGHT
The pills Marina took were very efficient: she slumbered as if she hadn’t slept for ages. There had been no room for dreams or thoughts, only total and absolute repose.
Her sleep was interrupted by a persistent buzz that she couldn’t identify. She remained quiet in bed, hoping that the buzzing would disappear, but it came back. She half opened one eye and saw that her phone was glowing. Still half asleep, she stretched out her arm to reach for the device, stared at the screen and found that she had received a text: ‘Hello, Ms. Guide! Do you confirm the program for this afternoon? It would be an honor to have your company in the discovery of the enchanted city of Alcácer. I have heard that it has wonderful treasures hidden. Let's find them together?’ she read. It was Joshua. Although Marina was still too sleepy to be able to assimilate the text content, she found it amusing and drafted a grimace. She thought for a while, since she wanted to be up to the challenge he proposed, but in the end she wrote something simple, ‘I confirm the program for this afternoon. I hope you're ready to enjoy the richness of this dreamy city and the charm of its people.’ It was a pittance compared to the text he had sent her, but her neurons insisted in not waking. He would have to give her a rain check. After sending the response to Joshua, she recorded his number in the contact list for future use.
Returning to the main screen on the phone, she noticed the time: 1.40p.m? She couldn’t help but feeling surprised by the number of hours she had spent sleeping. She rubbed her eyes and jumped out of bed with spunk to try to recover some energy. She had to recharge batteries, so decided to go have lunch. After a clumsy entrance into the kitchen, she found her mother, also in pajamas, setting the table.
“Good-morning! Or should I say good-afternoon instead?” quipped her mother.
Marina smiled and shook her head as if to say that she could choose the option that most pleased her.
Mom continued, “That was some sleep! Although I can’t complain, since I got up at noon.”
Between a yawn, Marina explained, “I took two sleeping pills and got nailed to my pillow till a while ago. If my phone hadn’t vibrated, I’d still be in bed.”
“You needed a little help sleeping after all? But hey, you cannot do that often, it was an exception,” warned her mother.
“It was only yesterday. I'm no fan of taking pills and you know it.”
The truth was that she had already slept a bit on the couch, which, in itself, had withdrawn her will to sleep. Adding to that the frustration over mismatching with Lucas, she had become even more awake. The reasons that kept her awake were different from her mother’s, still she considered them valid.
“And how are you feeling today?” asked her mother.
“Drowsy,” a new yawn followed. Marina went to the fridge and picked up a Coke can. “I'll drink a Coke for lunch. I need caffeine to wake up or I’ll fall asleep when I meet Joshua.”
Mom lifted her eyes up from the pot, and looked at her suspicious. From what she remembered, her daughter had never spoken of any boy, nor had shown interest in none. Intrigued, and kind of kidding, she asked, “Who’s this boy and what are you going to do?”
Knowing her mother the way Marina did, she estimated that mom would already be making a bunch of films in her head. It was better to put a brake on it, because she was only going to show Joshua the city. It was no big deal. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Let me explain. Joshua was transferred this week to my class.”
Mom cut Marina’s explanation, “Transferred, huh?”
Marina put on a grumpy expression and repeated, “Yes, transferred. He came from America with his parents and now they are living in the buildings of the former graphics, next to the city hall.”
“And...?” queried mom, making her a sign to go on.
That reaction was beginning to get on Marina’s nerves, but she tried to control herself and proceeded, “And, as he knows I live near him, he asked me to show him around Alcácer, because he doesn’t know anything yet.”
“And you accepted right away, of course,” added mom in an annoyed intonation.
How was that possible? Was her mother kidding with her? So she better prepare herself, because she would get a response at the same level. Placing hands on her hips, as if marking a position, Marina said with triumph, “No, I did not accept.”
“What? Now I don’t understand anything. Aren’t you going out with him later?”
“Yes, we’ll go for a walk this afternoon. At first, when he asked me to be his guide, I told him no. However, I remembered that I had promised you that I would expand my circle of friends, so I went back and accepted his invitation.”
Her mother frowned in doubt. That was a clever reply, though it might not correspond to the truth. However, if her daughter was taking the trouble to persuade her to let her take a walk with a boy, it could be something important to her, hence she just commented, “I’m glad you’re making an effort to fulfill your promise. But be careful when walking on the street.”
“Mom, he won’t bite me,” retorted Marina with sarcasm.
“I'm not talking about him, but the bad luck that has dogged you. Try not to get into more trouble.”
Marina shook her body, sending the bad vibes away. God forbid her from finding more hazards. “Mom, I never got into trouble,” she alleged. “Misfortune just seems to be attracted to me recently. I must be a magnet or something.”
Since it was late, mom thought it was better to stop talking and start eating. They ate quickly and half hour later had the kitchen cleaned and everything stowed away.
Before her daughter returned to her room, mom asked, “Do you want to go see grandma with me today?”
Marina agreed. The visit was at 3p.m, which gave her enough time to go to the retirement home and return. After that, she would go to Joshua’s place.
She headed to her chambers. After making her bed and packing up some things she had left out of place, she moved to the wardrobe. Since she didn’t know where she would go with Joshua, she chose a good pair of comfortable jeans. Next, she took the quest for the perfect jersey. She opened and closed two dresser drawers till she got to the third and found a pale blue top, with a 'V' neckline covered with rhinestones, and tight to the body. To complete the set, she picked up her sneakers and a thin coat.
Ready, she looked in the mirror. Not bad, but she still had to comb her hair and take care of the accessories issue. She bet on a pony-tail and put on her favorite earrings – she’d stay true to her style. The same concept of loyalty was applied to her make-up, which consisted of some black pencil on the bottom of the eye to accentuate its contour.
“Are you ready?” shouted mom from the kitchen.
Marina glanced at the clock and didn’t believe how long she had taken. Never in her life had she devoted so much time to such a task. Astonished, she responded, “Uh... Yes, I'm ready.”
The nursing home wasn’t far away, so mom decided it was better to walk there. Winter was closing in and it seemed to be a good idea to enjoy the last days of reasonable weather, before having to be closed in at home due to rain. When they arrived at the nursing home it was 3p.m sharp. They got in, crossed the lobby and took the elevator to the first floor. After entering the room of Marina’s grandmother, Luísa seated herself at the head of the bed and fed lunch to the old woman. The grandmother hadn't pick up silverware for a long time. Not that she hadn’t the strength to do it, but her mind seemed unable to establish the link between holding a fork in a hand and what to do with it. After that, they talked with grandma for a while, although sometimes Marina's eyes filled with water when realizing the effort her grandmother made, as if she wanted to tell them something and couldn’t do it.
Forty minutes later they said goodbye and returned home the same way.
When they reached home, Luísa prepared to enter, but Marina didn’t follow her. Instead, she inquired, “Mom, it's almost time to go for a walk with Joshua. Do you mind if I go now?”
“OK. Will you be long?”
Marina had no idea how long she would be out, so she replied, “I don’t know, but I don’t want to come home very late. I mean, tomorrow we have classes.”
“Fine. Have fun and be careful. And no flirting,” jested mom, winking an eye.
“Entertaining and flirtatious, mommy? Please,” Marina retorted, rolling her eyes as if she was about to make a huge sacrifice.
As soon as her mother shut the door, Marina retraced her way to Joshua’s home. An unusual thought crossed her mind: she didn’t even look in the mirror to see if she was okay. But why all that concern? It wasn’t a date, it wasn’t a date and, for the millionth time, there was no date, so it didn’t matter how she looked. Comforted by the last statement, she continued to march to her destination.
When she reached the door of the building where Joshua lived, she felt uncertain about what to do. She could ring the bell so that he would know she had arrived, or maybe she could text him. She gave up both ideas when she checked the phone and noticed that it had passed one minute from four o’clock. He would come out soon. She just had to wait, so she sank against the wall. As soon as Marina leaned against the wall, a radiant Joshua - so handsome that he seemed from another world - appeared outside. He wasn’t dressed in a suit and a tie, but he had a look so clean and without exaggeration that made him just perfect. She had to fess up and declare that that guy was more than attractive.
Joshua closed the gate behind him and Marina pulled up from the wall, giving him a warm smile. Upon reaching her, he continued playing the role that he had assumed that morning, by giving her a very well-staged bow that reminded her of an actor in a Shakespeare play. “Lady Guide,” he said while bowing.
The girl laughed at hearing those words that sounded so strange. It was a funny situation, yet she preferred that he’d go back to act like a normal guy. The recent events had exhausted her at a mental and emotional level, so she didn’t feel up to the challenge. However, he was being sweet, so she promised herself that she would try to be patient.
In response to her laughter, Joshua made a theatrical air from a burning question and inquired, “Isn’t this the right compliment, my lady guide?”
Marina still had a smile dancing on her lips when she responded, “No, you silly. Drop it. The dance in the rain was fun, but today you have to promise you won’t do anything to try to impress me, ok?”
Joshua raised an eyebrow and questioned in a not so modest way, “Impress you? Me, miss?”
Marina blushed the very next second. She didn’t mean that she had been impressed with what he had done for her the other day. If he thought so, he could become cocky and would think that he had some kind of power over her. Feeling that she had to recover control of the situation, she hastened to say, “You know what I mean, Joshua. So tell me, what do you want to do this afternoon?”
“To visit the city, as we agreed. Show me the way and I’ll follow wherever you go.”
The truth was that Marina hadn’t thought about what to show him. She had thought about outlining a plan on Saturday afternoon; nevertheless, after what had happened, she had totally forgotten. It almost resembled the case of the forgotten Philosophy homework. She sighed, while telling herself that she couldn’t forget things due to stressful situations. The best she could do was to improvise. Therefore, she asked, “Where have you gone so far?”
“I only know the way from here to school. You know, between unpacking things and homework, there wasn’t much time for leisure during the week.”
“So you still haven’t visited the main street?” asked Marina, more affirming than inquiring.
“Don’t think so,” the boy answered, assuming again a theatrical pose.
Marina looked at him with a frown, by way of criticism and replied, “Fine, but do not forget what we agreed: no games. Okay, so today I’ll introduce you to the wonders of the main street of Alcácer.”
Wonders that become too commonplace after you see them once; anyway... Marina thought. When people lived in the same place for too long, they tended to fail to appreciate it as deserved, and things become too ordinary. Marina, however, preferred to follow a life philosophy similar to one of heteronyms of the Portuguese writer and poet Fernando Pessoa, and to ‘discover the eternal newness of things’. Maybe that was why she often passed by the main street when she returned from school.
Joshua stood beside her with all the seriousness he managed to forge, which left Marina a little embarrassed. Walking with a hot guy in a small town where everyone knew each other could start certain gossip. Now, that was one more thing she didn’t need: to deal with rumors.
They had walked only for a few seconds, when Marina stopped and indicated to him an old building nearby. Like a professional tour guide, she explained, “Let’s start with this old house in shades of red. According to what I’ve been told, it once housed one of the first - if not the first - movie theatres of Alcácer.”
Joshua listened with attention to her explanation, nodding his head. Until then, he fulfilled in perfection his tourist role. Marina expected him to continue like that.
After the crimson house, they moved to the street behind it and followed the path straight ahead, without making any detours, which reminded Marina that "Straight Street" (the name given to the main street) was a concept that could be interpreted at a literal level. While they walked, Marina made a small exposition about what they saw. She showed him, for example, the town hall edifice and explained that, the statue at the center of the City Hal Square, was the mathematician and astronomer, Pedro Nunes. Facing the lake, in opposite directions, were the museum and the pedestrian bridge; the museum received the boy’s attention first.
“Can we go to the museum just to take a brief look?” asked Joshua, exhilarated.
Marina was a bit surprised, since guys didn’t like those things, as they considered them too ‘cultural’ and boring. Maybe he was trying to impress her again. A spark of irritation crossed her when she considered this option. After staring at him for a split second, she recognized in him a genuine desire to visit the place, which gave her a twinge of guilt. She had to stop making hasty judgments about him. Joshua deserved the benefit of the doubt.
Joining the boy in front of the building, Marina explained that the museum was closed for renovations, so he would have to wait for the reopening to visit it. “I've been told that, before the works started, the autarchy decided to conduct some excavations to see if they could find some interesting artifacts, given the archaeological wealth of the region. I think this is one reason that has delayed the work.”
“Really? They're digging in there?” Joshua queried, seeming interested in that fact.
Marina nodded. Both leaned their faces at the museum window and pressed their noses against the tinted glass, trying to glimpse something. They were able to see that almost the entire floor had been removed; beneath it, small compartments were discovered and brought to daylight by the excavations.
Joshua heaved a sigh of frustration. “It's a shame for it to be closed,” he commented and let out a breath of frustration.
Without the possibility of visiting the museum, it was time to proceed. Marina was about to tell him to move forward when Joshua decided to take the initiative. He crossed the city square and then the road. After, he climbed the steps of the pedestrian bridge. He looked up and admired the castle. “Wow! It's beautiful, Come see,” Joshua called.
Marina crossed her arms in front of her in a defensive gesture, and bit the inside of her cheek to control the edginess that invaded her. Since the incident, she hadn’t gone close to the bridge or the river’s wall. As she had no intention of crossing the bridge, she decided to stay where she was and wait for her friend. When he got tired of contemplating the castle, he would come to her.
Joshua looked at Marina from the dais and studied her face: it presented an expression that was a mixture of exasperation, impatience and nervousness. Apprehensive,
he returned to her side.
Without wishing to give any justification and prolong that moment, Marina asked, “Shall we continue walking down the main street?”
“To me, we’re good to go,” replied Joshua a little hesitant.
The girl was already preparing to turn away when the inevitable question came up. “Marina, I don’t want to intrude in your life, but why didn't you cross the road and join me? Are you afraid of bridges?” Joshua questioned.
Marina turned around suddenly with a furious expression. She was afraid of bridges? Nonsense. That even used to be one of her favorite spots in town. The circumstances just had changed, and not through her fault. She didn’t cross by being fearful, but cautious instead.
Joshua rushed to shrink his arms in front of him by way of apology, trying to soothe Marina. “Hey, don’t get angry. Don’t get me wrong. For example, my mother is very afraid to go near bridges, and I assure you that she’ll never cross this one.”
The boy spoke with a weighted and innocent tone, which made Marina’s fury dissipate little by little. He had no fault in what had happened and it was normal he asked why she avoided the bridge. If she was in his place, she would put the same question.
Marina swallowed hard and told him a short version of events, trying to sound as detached as possible. “I’m not afraid of bridges. I know I owe you an explanation, but the truth is that I don’t want to talk about this. I’ll just tell you that a week ago I was pushed over that bridge and I was saved by a miracle. I’m not going into details. Maybe one day in the future we’ll talk about this, when everything is distant, so that it seems like a movie scene instead of reality. For now, I just can't do it.”
Joshua's face paled, as if all his blood had drained from him with the news when he heard that justification.
“And when we reach the end of the main street, better not invite me to go through the cross walk. Yesterday, when I did, a car almost hit me. Result: the driver died and I escaped. New miracle. Here’s the evidence, my new war wounds,” shot the girl as she lifted her coat sleeves a little above the elbows, so that he could see the bandages covering the mentioned injuries.
Joshua was astounded, after all he had heard everything at once and Marina didn't use ‘soft soap’ or pretty words to ease the situation. He understood now why she was grouchy, without the slightest patience and unwilling to participate in games. He tried to assimilate what she had just told him; suddenly, the words she told him before in school made perfect sense. He remembered that, after saving him from the clutches of a bunch of girls in a far-fetched rescue, Marina had told him that she had done it, because a few days before she had gone through something similar. Certainly she would have been in the spotlight, albeit for less positive reasons. Thinking about it, made him feel very protective of her - he wished he had been there to comfort her. The last line of reasoning left him more amazed. What if she had died? He would not have gotten to know her. He shook his head immediately, rejecting the idea. She had been rescued, he had got to know her and he was very grateful for that.
During Joshua’s long inner reflection, Marina tried to analyze him, but couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. He was like a book that had been closed in her face. Afraid about his line of thought, she muttered, “Maybe it’s better to cancel this.”
Pulled with abruptness from his thoughts, Joshua rushed to respond, “No. I mean, I’d like to continue. We’ll postpone only, and only, if you feel that you’re not able to carry on and you'd prefer to go home.”
Marina shrugged. Honestly, since he had climbed the bridge, she felt tempted to take refuge at home. However, something told her that she had no right to do so when she had made a commitment to Joshua. Tired, she sat on a bench, moistened her lips with her tongue and said to Joshua, “I don’t feel bad, but I don’t feel good either. Can I tell you a secret? I never admitted this to anyone, but having to go through two things like these in the same week is... frightening and scary.”
Joshua sat down beside her, careful not to touch her in fear that she would step away. She was telling him a secret - to him, who was almost a stranger to her – however, it didn’t give him freedom to take advantage of that and to approach her. In a gentle voice, he questioned, “You wanna go home?”
Marina crossed her arms and avoided facing him. In a low voice, she admitted, “To be honest, at first I thought about it, but now I don’t feel much like going home. I’ve nothing better to do than sit in front of the television watching cheesy movie repeats.”
Joshua delighted himself imagining her grimacing when looking at the TV. He was obliged to suppress the laughter that was trying to emerge. Satisfied with her answer, he asserted, “I don’t wanna go home either. I spent the whole day looking forward to this dat... um, walk,” he hurried to correct, to avoid frightening her. “Can we continue? I think it might be good to you. You’d distract yourself, not think about sad things. And we must not forget that I’m an excellent bodyguard, so you have nothing to fear.”
Marina laughed. Although he had an athletic body, it was hard to picture someone that sweet in the role of a tough bodyguard. Parody aside, Marina knew it was better to be entertained. She rose from the bench and Joshua followed her example. They resumed their march, but not before Joshua saying, “You have indeed had some terrible misfortunes.”
The rest of the main street was mainly commercial, therefore Marina spent the next few minutes explaining to Joshua who the owners of each store were and what he could buy there. She had lived here since she was born; outside of the area, she knew little - her world was that artery of the city. The passion with which she spoke captivated Joshua and made him want to share that same feeling too. But more than delighted with the street, he was bewitched by the girl. He didn’t know everything about her, yet something told him he’d never meet anyone else like her - she was unique.
When they reached her house, Marina told him where she lived. Joshua studied the building: it was one of those edifices that at the bottom had shops, with an apartment above, and further up there was a new apartment. It must be quite old, as showed by the aged walls that hadn't been painted for a while.
They descended the staircase of the arcade and reached the old garden in front of her home. They stopped there for a few minutes. The south shore landscape that could be seen from there was breathtaking. Joshua was sensitive enough to see it, so he looked to the other side, amazed, while the girl gazed at him on the sly. Marina felt much better. There was no doubt that his company worked miracles. It was as if he attracted positive energy and good vibes which, in her case, was what she most needed. Satisfied, she leaned against the kiosk and smiled.
Joshua turned to her. When he realized that she seemed to be remembering something joyful, he asked, “Is everything okay?”
Marina kept smiling and answered, “Everything’s great. You know, this kiosk wasn’t here when I was younger. A little further off the center of this square was a huge chandelier. It was here I spent most of the summer nights with my friends. We played hundreds of games. I just loved the one that consisted of holding the lamp with one hand and walking around it until we were dizzy. It was nice.”
“By the look on your face, I dare say that it was really fun,” Joshua guessed.
Marina allowed herself to be nostalgic for a short time, until the coldness of reality showed up and took over her. Despite enjoying Joshua’s company, she hadn’t much more to show him that day and decided to communicate it to him, “Basically, our tour ends here. Now I can only escort you to where the walk began.”
Joshua saddened at hearing those words. The walk hadn’t been the dream he expected due to all the drama involved; yet, he was near her and he was making her smile, which made him happy. She had even told him a secret unshared with anyone else, and had let him know a happy memory of her childhood. They were closer than before and this made it all worthwhile.
Not wanting the moment to end so soon, he challenged, “Do
you know a place nearby where we can eat something? I had lunch pretty early and my stomach is letting me know that it’s time to eat again.”
Marina stroked her chin, focused. Then she raised her forefinger, like an inventor who had just had a brilliant idea, and announced, “I know just the place. There’s an ice cream shop a few feet away from here. It sells some amazing croissants to die for. Do you like croissants?”
Joshua’s smile grew wider as he replied, “I love croissants, especially if they’re chocolate. What can I say? I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth.”
“Great! And don’t worry about being a gourmand; that makes two of us.” Marina winked at him.
They returned to the main street and went to the ice cream shop, while Marina indicated him the specialties she recommended. After many explanations, both knew exactly what they wanted to eat.
Marina beckoned Joshua to sit down at one of tables in the covered terrace, while she went to the counter to make their order. Joshua didn't think about protesting; he had realized by now how stubborn she was, so he decided to obey. Marina disappeared into the shop and soon returned with two croissants and two glasses of orange juice. Upon seeing her carrying everything, Joshua leaped from his chair and rushed to take a croissant and a glass off her hands, over her protests claiming that she needed no help.
They sat at the table, facing one another, and a heavy silence fell upon them. Marina was embarrassed, since she hated to eat accompanied, because she felt observed. What's the joke in having someone watching her take big bites of food and chewing it? It was awkward. As if sensing her reluctance, and to make her more comfortable, Joshua was the first to try the croissant. He chewed a bit to enjoy its taste and made a small noise of approval, while shaking his head. She laughed at his exaggerated reaction and thanked him in silence for the effort. Then she tasted hers and uttered the same sound of approval, agreeing with him.
While Marina nodded her head to Joshua, her favorite enemy walked out of the ice cream shop and came to greet her. “Marina? Is that you? Gosh, I thought you were a ghost. So, you still ain’t gone?” she said while making dramatic gestures as if she were frightened and believed that Marina was indeed an apparition. Before Marina could respond to her, Joana was already outlining a naughty smile at Joshua. “I hadn’t realized you were there, Joshua. Don’t you want to sit down with us inside? It’s better there. You know, the company has much higher quality. You won’t be disappointed,” Joana proposed.
Marina gasped. What audacity! She came up to their table to mess things up for her? Marina felt like giving her a mighty hair tug, but she didn’t want to make a scene, so she just commented, “There’s a stench here, huh, Joshua? Looks like SOMEONE forgot to spray some deodorant this morning. It smells like a sweating pig.”
Joana stiffened and they noticed that she was trying to sniff as if she smelled bad for real or if Marina was messing around with her. Before they had the chance to say anything more, Joana turned around, making her long blonde hair swing behind her like a yellow fan, and returned to her place in a bad mood.
Joshua laughed. Those two were like oil and water - they did not mix. It wouldn’t be surprising if, one day, they ended up involved in a nasty fight like wild cats. The image made him laugh even more, but he soon fell silent before being reprimanded by Marina, who looked at him visibly angry.
Would Joshua think that she had reacted like that just to defend territory as Joana had done before? It was not that; simply she and that witch couldn't stand each other. Marina thought of scolding him, but his laugh was so nice that she decided to pretend to sulk while enjoying that note from heaven.
When Joshua regained composure, he said to Marina, “Well done. That’s what she gets for messing with you. You gave her an answer that beat the challenge.”
Marina gasped and tried to calm herself. She didn’t want Joshua to have seen one more depressing scene between them, nonetheless she hadn’t managed to avoid it, though she thought that she had given an answer quite restrained.
When she felt more serene, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Joshua. I didn’t want you to see that, but that girl drives me mad. And the most annoying thing is that it looks like she derives special pleasure in bugging me. You know, I swear that if you hadn’t appeared on Friday afternoon, I would have chased her and given her a mighty hair pull.”
“Ouch! Remind me not to mess with you,” Joshua said as he laughed.
Marina turned red. She didn’t want him to have the wrong idea about her. She wasn’t vindictive; just felt that Joana had been pushing her luck for too long. This, combined with the things that had happened lately, made her feel more explosive, yet she was trying to control herself.
“What’s her problem anyway?” asked Joshua.
“Low self-esteem, constant need to be the center of attention, and an ego the size of the world to fill at any cost,” replied the girl without much thought. They could spend the entire afternoon pointing out Joana’s issues, but that would be letting her ruin their walk, so she tried to change the subject by asking, “So, Joshua, how’s moving going?”
He shrugged. “It’s going well. I must confess that I still have some boxes in my room to unpack, filled with books, CD's and DVD's. As for the rest, my parents have almost everything set up, as they hired a local cleaning company to help them.”
The conversation became commonplace, and Joshua told her every detail of the trip from America to Portugal and the adventures of ‘dismantling’ a house to ‘re-mantle’ it elsewhere.
Although both had finished their meal, they decided to stay there for a while. The rays of sun peeped every now and then and crossed the glass wall, warming them up and flooding them with a sense of comfort that bound them there.
They were having a pleasant chat when an unsatisfied Joana decided to return to battle. Strutting, she came to their table and again tried to provoke her target. She leaned over the table in the direction of Joshua, so that he could admire her deep neckline, and said to Marina, “Hey, annoying thing, I dropped a glass of juice on the table and it needs to be cleaned. I don’t want to ruin my new clothes and you look like a ragamuffin, so it should be ok for you to have more stains. Soon preferably. Don’t worry; I'm staying here to keep our classmate company.”
What? She wasn’t her maid. I And ‘ragamuffin’? Who did she think she was, some fashion genius? Then she'd better think again. She wanted to look so sophisticated that, most times, she dressed in a ridiculous way. She should consider buying more mirrors. And even if she was shabby, it was none of her business. Irritated, Marina jumped up, forgetting where they were. The people there had started to look at them, still she intended to make her swallow all those words until she choked.
This time, it was Joshua who intervened. He got up, took Marina’s hand in his and pulled her close. He pretended to sniff the air and said, “You're right, dear. That stench just wafted to my nose. We'd better go before the croissant makes a return trip.”
Joana got pretty upset with the response from her heartthrob, why him! If perchance they started dating, she was sure that they would be the most famous couple in the school. She intended to climb one more rung in the social hierarchy and Joshua was the leverage she needed, so she wasn’t giving up on him. The two classmates ran for the exit door, with Marina sticking her tongue out. Though upset, Joana was left alone, whistling inside like a pressure cooker.
As they left the ice cream store, Marina soon forgot the encounter with the hag, even because she was invaded by the notion that the walk wouldn’t last for much longer. It was time to take Joshua to the starting point. She prepared to return to her friend's house by the same course. However, she was surprised by him, who grabbed her arm. She looked at him, puzzled, trying to understand why he was holding her there. Joshua made a sign with his chin that indicated that he wanted to cross the road in front of the shop and make the return journey along the river’s wall. Intimidated, Marina resist
ed the idea. She retreated two steps back and shook an adamant ‘no’ with her head. Nevertheless, this didn’t dissuade Joshua. He wanted to help her to confront her fears so that she could recover soon. To achieve that, he made a grimace of irony and inquired, “Are you scared?”
“No. I mean, I just don’t feel comfortable. And I’m also concerned that, if I do it, people will tell my mother. She made me promise I wouldn’t approach the river.”
Seeing her frightened, Joshua assumed a more sympathetic posture. He held out his hand with palm facing up, approached her, stared into her eyes and asked gently, “Do you trust me?”
If she were another girl, she would have found that so romantic that she would have grasped his neck right away, jumping and screaming ‘yes’; she restrained herself, nonetheless. ‘Trust’ was a word too strong when they had only known one another for a few days. Despite that, her soul told her that she could trust him and time would confirm that.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Marina took the plunge. In fear, she put her hand on the one he was offering her. Joshua took it with gentleness and closed it in his. Then he pulled her close, till she was by his side. Both approached the cross walk and waited until no cars were sighted on both sides. Only then they crossed the road, and went up the walk along the river’s wall. Oh, brother. Now people would talk. There she was, next to the rail and holding hands with a boy. The sharp tongues had more than enough material to make up rumors. Ignoring that, Marina shrugged at the thought that, at least, the guy with whom she was with was good in every sense of the word, so the perfidious minds could go to hell gnawing with envy.
“Are you okay?” wondered Joshua finding her so transfixed.
Marina consented without saying a word. Hand in hand, they began the walk back to Joshua’s home.
As they took small steps, Marina began to unwind. It seemed that she wasn’t so scared of being there, although she still felt a bit tense. Alas, she didn’t even know what made her more nervous: being near the river or holding hands with Joshua. The warmth of his hand on hers felt so good, that she decided to focus only on that and not think about anything else.
To help her relax even more, Joshua asked, “Tell me a bit about yourself. I told you about my adventure of moving home. Now it's your turn.”
The girl felt shy. Since she had no idea what to say about herself, she thought for a bit before answering, “I don’t what to say. I'm an open book. Everyone knows what’s going on in my life, though I think it's quite uninteresting.”
Joshua rebuked her with his eyes and retorted, “You may be an open book, but you gotta give me a break. I just arrived and I still haven't had many opportunities to ‘read’ you. And you’re not uninteresting at all, I assure you.”
Without expecting it, Marina reddened. She didn’t usually feel affected by that type of phrase, which she considered a picking line of some kind; however, Joshua had the power to reach the depths of her being. Marina decided to go with it and put herself at his disposal, “So, what do you want to know about me?”
“Everything,” answered Joshua the very same second.
Marina laughed, while she placed a hank of hair behind her ear that had escaped from the pony-tail. In a shy voice, she said, “Everything is a bit difficult. By way of a summary, I can tell you I like the color blue, I love Summer but hate the Winter, although the dance in the rain had opened my mind to new horizons. I've a sweet-tooth, I have clear goals and normally I tend to be a well-behaved girl, although the incidents of recent times make it seem otherwise. I like dogs, love listening to music, and I adore movies. That’s it.”
What more could she say? Perhaps she could add more stuff as the conversation winded down, but only in those circumstances. The revelation of a person occurred whenever someone talked to her, and that would eventually happen with them.
The boy toasted her with a warm smile as he said, “I’m glad that you liked to dance in the rain. I loved it! But, truth be told, I had a great partner, which in itself made the experience worthwhile.”
As much as she liked to hear the boy’s words, a wicked involuntary shudder skated down Marina’s back. She turned her sight to the left and found the reason for that shiver: they were passing in front of the pedestrian bridge. She shook her head to distract from that and stared at the path that lay ahead.
Joshua became conscious that Marina was more troubled than before, so he squeezed her hand with more strength to give her a greater security. Then he continued the conversation in order to entertain her. “To be honest, it was also the first for me. Of course I had already jumped in puddles, but dancing in the rain was new and a heavenly experience. You're a great dancer, did you know?”
Marina was pulled back to reality, though painted in pink, and focused on what Joshua had said. It seemed like a coupling conversation, yet she knew that it wasn’t. He was just trying to divert her with wisecracks and jokes similar to flirting, and she just had to thank him for his good intentions.
A few feet ahead, Joshua saw some benches spread in front of the river. The landscape they would have before them if they sat there would be beautiful. He knew that his friend would reject his proposal, but he had nothing to lose, so decided to risk it. “Do you want to sit there for a while?” he inquired while pointing to the benches in front of the water.
Marina replied with promptitude and without even dwelling on the subject more than two seconds, “No, thanks. It’s best to leave it to the next time. With the luck I’ve been having, a shark might jump out of the water and eat me, or a tsunami might come and take me away.”
Those two unreasonable hypotheses had them both burst out laughing while they completed the rest of the journey. Joshua’s house wasn’t far, so they arrived at their destination in no time.
Before any farewells, Marina felt compelled to retract some things that had gone less well. She approached Joshua and looked into his deep blue eyes to show him how much she was being sincere. “I’m sorry. I know this wasn’t the perfect walk and I’ve failed in many ways as a guide. There are many things I wish I had done differently, but this was how things went and I can’t go back.”
Joshua allayed her, “I liked it. Don’t worry. Believe me when I tell you that you made out very well.”
Marina smiled. She knew it was a kind lie and that he was just being nice, still it was good that he made her feel like that - useful and good about herself. That guy should be the reincarnation of Cupid: beautiful, gentle and able to make anyone fall in love with him. Almost anyone, because she wasn’t in love with him.
If she thought things couldn’t get any more interesting, Marina changed her mind in a heartbeat upon hearing his unexpected invitation, “Do you want to come in and see my house? We talked about it so much today, that I think it’s a good idea to finish the tour with a visit to the inside.”
Marina had to confess it was a tempting request, nonetheless an internal alarm indicated her that she should decline the offer; walking along the river’s wall holding hands was enough. Ah! She had forgotten that they were still holding hands. In a mechanical response, and as if she had caught a shock just for thinking of it, she rushed to drop his hand, surprising him in a less positive way.
He had been nice to her despite the mediocre visit, so Marina chose well the following words before speaking them. “Thanks for the invitation, but it’s late and I told my mother that I’d come back early. It’s best not to linger longer or she’ll enter into paranoia. You know, things have been hard on her too and I don’t want to worry her for nothing. Don’t get me wrong, please.”
Joshua saddened. The date was just about to end and he couldn’t avoid it.
His eyes like that of an abandoned puppy led Marina to cut short in haste, “I’d love to visit your home some other day. I'm curious after all you told me about it.”
Joshua’s face lit up to that response that gave him the chance to be with her another day. “Sure! If you want, you can see it tomorrow.”
“Sorry, no can do. I already arranged things with Ana after school,” announced Marina.
Joshua felt the pressing need to sort everything all at once, or he took the risk of postponing that moment for an indefinite period. Therefore, he insisted, “What about Tuesday, are you free?”
Marina thought for a moment and responded, “Tuesday’s perfect for me. We'll leave the English class and go down town together.”
Joshua shone after that confirmation that left him very happy.
However, there was still an issue that they had to talk about and that couldn’t be ignored by Marina, although Joshua would prefer a thousand times that she did, as he wanted to be alone with her. A little reluctant, Marina started, “I know the house is yours, but...”
Joshua encouraged her to go on, “Don’t be shy. Say what you have to say.”
That was a little embarrassing, but Marina felt that she had to ask it, so she murmured, “It’s just that Ana is my best friend. We go down town together almost every day and I feel that, if I tell her that I’m going with you and she can’t come, I'm going to upset her, big time.”
Marina stared at the floor, mortified, but that was what she thought and didn’t want to hide it. She couldn’t just approach Ana and tell her that, that day, they couldn’t hang out, because she had to go a guy’s house. On a second thought, she could do that, they didn’t have a contract of obligation toward one another. Yet, the problem was that it wasn’t just any guy: it was the one that made Ana melt and purr. She would never forgive her for leaving her out of that visit.
For a moment, Marina wondered if Joshua would reject the idea or say some cruel joke about girls. Instead, he just smiled, giving her the opportunity to examine very closely the dimples that formed at the corner of his lips and that were adorable. “You care a lot about your friend, don’t you?” he asked.
Marina agreed with a nod. “She's the only one I’ve got. I can’t afford to lose her.”
“Yeah, but now you have another friend too: me. Never forget that. Tell her that she can come too, there’s no problem,” confirmed Joshua, to the girl’s relief.
“Thanks,” she murmured, smiling.
Without realizing it, Marina was holding his hand again. Despite being an innocent gesture of thankfulness, she didn’t take long to recover her hand, rushing to hide both in the pockets of her jeans. As for her rosy cheeks, there wasn’t much to do but to ignore them. Trying to hide her shame, she queried, “See you tomorrow then?”
“Of course. Thanks for being available to be my guide.”
“Sure. It was a time well spent.” As she replied, she took a few steps back, waved briefly and said a shy goodbye. Then she turned around to leave.
She hadn’t walked far when she heard Joshua calling her. “Wait! Do you want to go to school with me tomorrow?”
Marina hesitated. “Hmm, I usually take a different path from yours.”
“What a pity. Are you sure?” Joshua persisted. “You better keep in mind that I'm a great charm. I attract good luck and I can protect you from the bad omen.”
The offer left her amused. She tried to picture him once more in the role of a bodyguard, but she couldn’t. It was hard to imagine such a sweetie with as a badass. For a split second, she reviewed his arguments. Taking into account her terrible tide of bad luck, it wasn’t very convenient for her to walk around alone. But even though her mother had been with her the day before, the accident with the car had occurred anyway… At least, she wasn’t alone and went through everything with support.
Marina acquiesced, “Fine. Can we meet at the city hall square?”
Joshua nodded his head in return and asked, “Sounds great. Let’s meet at 9.10?”
“Yes. We'll still have enough time to get to school. Now I really must get going, okay?”
“No problem. See you tomorrow then. Ah, text me when you get home. After all you told me, I won't rest until you say you arrived safely,” teased Joshua.
Marina laughed at his alleged concern and agreed to send the message. She turned around and started the walk back home, while Joshua stood a moment longer at the gate watching her walking away, making sure that everything was fine with her.
Marina decided to try to be strong and to walk alone along the river’s rail. She lived on the waterfront; the wall and the river weren’t going anywhere, hence she had to make peace and get to an understanding with them in some way. Joshua had helped her to take the first step; now it was up to her to go on. With an insecure pace, she headed to the bridge. Once there, she took a deep breath to fill with courage, went up the three steps in one jump and walked along the platform. First hurdle overcome. The nerviness hadn’t abandoned her, but it wasn’t as pressing as before. After the bridge, she marched for home by the rail, with her hand always touching its cool surface as if to confirm its presence there. When she arrived in front of her old building, she crossed the road, climbed the arcade staircase and entered home.
“Is that you, Marina?” asked an almost disappearing voice.
“Yes, Mom, it’s me. I just got here.”
Before heading to the kitchen, the girl picked up the phone and wrote: ‘I'm home, everything is fine. See you tomorrow. Kisses!’ She sent the text to Joshua. It seemed a simplistic message, but it contained the essential. They still weren’t what she would consider friends, neither knew each other that long to treat themselves otherwise. It was better to take things slow.
Marina threw the phone onto the bed along with the coins that were rattling in her pocket, and ran to the kitchen. She found her mother lying on the couch watching TV and the table already set, ready to receive them for dinner.
“At last! It’s already 7.20,” mumbled her mother.
Marina rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that late. She had taken a little longer than expected, but it didn’t seem to her anything serious. Gladly she had declined the invitation to visit Joshua’s home, otherwise, if she got in any later, her mother would skin her alive.
“What did you expect? We left his house after four, walked here, got some snacks at the ice cream shop and returned to his home. Then I had to walk all the way back home. It takes a while.”
Despite this explanation, her mother didn’t lose the grumpy attitude and muttered something Marina didn’t understand. Seconds later, and looking more resigned, she asked, “So, did the walk go well? Were you a good guide?”
Not quite knowing what to answer, Marina replied, “It was nothing special. I showed him the main street and explained to him where things were. Nor was there much to show.
Mom didn’t insist any further.
After supper, Luísa didn’t take long to go to bed, since she would go to work quite early. Marina did the same and went to her chambers. She wasn’t sleepy, so she decided to pick up her phone and text Ana to tell her how the walk went with Joshua. She knew that Ana would beg for details, yet she would only give her a brief summary; the next day, at school, she would tell her more. Fulfilling her promise, she wrote, ‘The tour with Joshua was good and I had fun. Tomorrow I'll tell more details, ok? Good night.’ Marina sent the text and, ten seconds later, she received a reply saying, ‘Just good? Spit it out! What did you do? Was it romantic? Did he behave himself?’ So many questions! Marina didn’t feel like typing out more texts. By respect to her friend, she simply replied, ‘I tell you only that he’s a true gentleman. Tomorrow we’ll talk. Kisses.’ Even if Ana asked her anything else, she would not respond.
She put the phone in silent mode and dropped it on the bedside table. Next she turned on the TV and watched a reality show about snow crab fishing in the Bering Sea.
Shortly after the show finished, Marina fell asleep. She had a peaceful night in which she dreamed of Joshua, their walk and especially the part when they walked hand in hand. It was something she had never done before and enjoyed it a lot, so it rang nicely in her dream.
