Sumario

14. THE PATRON

The next morning Nina woke up in the guest bedroom, rested and spirited. Nano, who had slept on a large and comfortable sofa in the living room, also woke up with the same optimism. The kind woman's help had been providential in one of the most critical moments of their escape. From somewhere in the house came a pleasant aroma of freshly ground coffee, and could already hear the children's noise playing in their bedrooms.

“Good morning, Nina, did you sleep well?” She greeted her as she entered the room. “Your friend is now ready to continue your adventure. I have prepared an excellent breakfast for you, so you have enough strength to carry those heavy backpacks and the guitars.”

“Thank you, you are very kind!”

“Your friend has told me your story, and I understand that you have made the decision to get away from your mother, but, despite everything, I think you should let her know that you are fine, even if you don't tell her where you are. No matter how bad a mother is, you don't have to make her suffer from the uncertainty of not knowing anything about you. I guess you will have a mobile. You can send her an SMS to reassure her. Will you promise me you will, Nina?”

“But we don't have a mobile ...”

“You can send it from mine.”

“Yes, I will!”

“Take my mobile, send it to me right now, and then go down to breakfast.”

The woman left her the phone, and Nina wrote:

«Mama, I know that you will have suffered because of my flight, but you should not worry because we are fine.”

The message was brief, but Nina thought it was enough, and her protector also thought it would reassure her mother.

“This is better, show that you behave with the responsibility of adults, although sometimes we adults are more irresponsible than our teenage children!”

Nina nodded with a wistful smile.

“As a mother and a woman, I would like to give you some advice: Nina, don't complicate your situation with an unwanted pregnancy anymore. Your friend seems like a good boy, and he will understand. You will have time to enjoy sex when you can lead a normal life, and you may even get married!”

Nina blushed, but the memory of what had happened on the beach the night of her first performance saddened her.

“Thank you, yes, I will follow your advice ... If my mother had spoken to me like that ...”

“Come on, get dressed, and go down to breakfast as the coffee is getting cold.” She interrupted her.

When the three of them gathered in the enormous kitchen for breakfast, the hostess became interested in Nina and Nano's escape plans.

“We try to find some Nano friends who form an orchestra to entertain the hotels' dances. We hope that they help us and find a quiet place to compose a lot of songs that I have in my head.

“I understand,” said the hostess, showing a keen interest in them, “and what will you do if you can't find them or can't help you?”

“We will make a living singing on the street, and maybe they will admit us to some club ...” Nano replied, without much conviction, because he also feared that they would not be found, or if they were found, that they did not want to take responsibility for helping two escaped minors. We will find something to survive!”

“Nano, you are very optimistic, but what songs will Nina sing if she could not compose them? No music comes out of your head!”

Nina nodded with a slight smile.

“I have a good lawyer, I hope he can get me out of the trouble I'm going to get into with you, but I've always wanted to be the patron of some talented artist, and I think the opportunity has finally come to do so. I think I can help you! I have an old house in the country, inherited from my grandparents, near to here, surrounded by orange trees, where you can work and compose all those beautiful songs that Nina has in her head. It is inhabited by a couple in charge of caring for the orange trees, but the house is large enough so that you can share it without being disturbed. What do you say, does the idea seem good to you?”

This extraordinary offer surprised Nina and Nano, and both answered practically in unison:

“We think it's wonderful!”

“Then let's get down to work and prepare everything you need. I will take you there today in my car.”

At that moment, the four children of the patron burst into the large kitchen and said good morning with a profusion of kisses and hugs.

“Good morning, Mommy! Will they stay and live with us?” He asked her mother, pointing to the amazed musicians.

“No, honey, but they will live for some time in the grandparents' house.”

“I also want to live in the grandparents' house, because it has many animals that I like.”

“I know, honey, but we have to leave them alone because they are artists, and artists need to be calm to create their works.”

“Mommy, what is an artist?” The little boy asked.

“A person who does things that make us happy, like the stories you read or the songs you like so much.”

“I understand.”

The older daughter greeted Nina with a comment about her performance the night before:

“I really liked your song. I'm also learning to play the guitar, but I don't sing as well as you do. You have a delicate voice.”

“These are my children,” said the hostess. “Silvia, the oldest, who also has an artist vocation, Jorge and Carlos, who are twins as you can see. The two want to be helicopter pilots, although I don't know why, and the youngest of the family, Quico, who has us all captivated by his occurrences.”

Little Quico approached Nano, took him by the hand, and said:

“My dad knows how to play the guitar, but now he is in Heaven.”

Nano exchanged a meaningful look with her mother.

“Yes, darling, and he must touch it so that the little angels can hear him...” and turning to Nano, she said in an indistinct voice so that the boy would not hear him. “My husband died two years ago in a car accident. I live alone with my four children, but we have already made up our minds. Only Quico cannot understand what happened to his father.”


Comentarios