4. THE BOSS

Voices awakened Nina from the living room. It was a man's voice that they were from her mother's lover, who would have arrived by now. It must have been late in the afternoon because a ray of sunlight was coming directly through her window. She had hardly woken up, and again the images of what had happened the previous night came back to her mind because they weighed on her conscience. Now she wasn't so sure about blaming Nano, because she remembered asking her to join them for dinner with them, just as she had promised, but she preferred to go with Marc's friends. She alone was to blame!

The sound of two soft knocks on the door interrupted her bitter thoughts. Without waiting for her answer, her mother entered the bedroom.

“Nina, are you awake? My boss is already here, and we plan to go to a restaurant for dinner. I would like you to join us ...”

“Mom, I'm not hungry, I'd rather stay here. You two can go alone.”

“Okay, but try to be dressed when we return. My boss wants to greet you.”

The mother returned to the living room, and a few minutes later, she heard the street door close, and the apartment was silent. Nina had no desire to meet anyone, least of all her mother's lover. She just wanted to cry and never get up from that bed!

When she was calmer, she got up, showered, and dressed, just as her mother wished. She did everything mechanically, without ever being her will. She made himself a coffee and went out onto the terrace when it was already getting dark. A full moon that was gaining intensity was still slightly reflected in the calm waters of the sea. That image reminded her of the lyrics of her song: “How the sea kisses the full moon.” This image and the rest of the lyrics of her song: “I dreamed that you sank in the sea and made me cry.” Now she understood why she wrote those verses! Maybe she had had a feeling of what would happen after the happiness of the first verse.

Nina remembered the newcomer and thought that her mother and her lover would probably have sex that night, and she did not want to be in the apartment. She went for a lengthy walk on the beach and left a note for her mother, reminding her of their agreement on the red towel.

The night was pleasant, and the sand caressed her bare feet. Her new teenage friends were celebrating one of them's farewell, but Nina had not been invited. Marc didn't want to know anything else about her for fear that she might have gotten pregnant. Her success the day before did not survive the next day.

She passed the bar where only a few hours before she had felt admired, with a new feeling of guilt, and listened to the sound of Nano's guitar, which played his improvisations of classic songs, like the ones she had heard the night before. But she did not want to meet him, and she continued her walk. On the terrace of the restaurant, she saw her mother in the company of her boss, a middle-aged man, bald and with a vulgar physique, who did not have any appeal to her, but who seemed to amuse her mother, who laughed at what his boss was telling her. It was evident that her mother had no remorse and enjoyed her lover with no problem of conscience.

When she left the last houses of the town, she sat down on the sand. She concentrated on contemplating the magical spectacle of the moon reflected in the sea, which was already shining with great intensity. She left her mind blank and did not think of anything to torment her. Other vacationers, with other motivations that would be less sad than theirs, also strolled along that lonely part of the beach.

She remained in that same place, absorbed in her contemplation until the sea breeze became wetter and cooler. She supposed that her mother had had enough time to sleep with her lover and returned to her apartment without rushing and paying attention to everything that could be seen on the beach at that time. As she passed by Nano's bar again, his music was still playing, and she wanted to come in and apologize for the way she had treated him on her return from the party with the teens. But she did not have the spirit and would wait for the next day, in which she hoped to be more animated.

When she got to her apartment, the red towel was still on the railing of the terrace. Nina felt deeply depressed and forgotten by everyone. She had no desire to go for a walk again and decided to go to Nano's bar and apologize. But his guitar was no longer heard. She entered the bar, and Nano had left the bar a few minutes ago. No one could tell him where he had gone. Nina felt deeply dejected. She did not know what to do or how to pass the time, and she sat down on one of the stranded boats on the beach, unable to avoid a bitter cry, because she felt alone and abandoned by everyone.

During her deep dejection, she heard a guitar coming from one boat. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stopped sobbing. She got up and moved excitedly to where the music was coming from because she knew that was Nano's guitar. And there he was, leaning on one boat, playing the first chords of the arrangements he had written for her song.

Nina's sudden appearance surprised Nano because he thought about her while playing those first few bars. Nina said nothing and sat next to him. Nano sang Nina's song, and a duo sang the last verse:




“I dreamed that the sea was returning to you, and you made me remember.

That we loved each other yesterday, as the sea loves the rain

That we meet today, so as not to separate ourselves again.

That I had a heart again, where before I only had a song”.




After that lucky reunion in the boat stranded on the beach, both decided to strengthen their musical ambitions by consolidating the duo, which had been so successful in their presentation the day before. Nina returned to the apartment that night accompanied by Nano, and the red towel was no longer hanging from the terrace railing. Nina brought Nano up to date on her mother's relationship with her lover and her strained relationship with her.

“At least now, my mother won't have to worry about me anymore. She already has what she wanted: someone to hang out with while she entertains herself with her lover.”

They said goodbye with a passionate kiss and promised each other that, from that night on, only the two of them existed, in a world that despised innocence and only sought their own satisfaction. But they were not like that, and they would strive so that whatever happened, they would never lose their innocence.

When she entered the apartment, the mother was concerned about Nina's attitude when introducing her to her lover. But to her surprise, Nina did not seem affected; on the contrary, she was friendly, even funny.

“To be my mother's lover, you have less hair than I imagined!”

“Nina, don't be disrespectful!”

“No, she is not disrespectful; Your daughter is right, I am bald as a billiard ball, and that should not be the look expected from a lover!”

“But Nina, what happened to you that makes you look so happy now?”

“Why wouldn't I be?”

“I don't know, but just a few hours ago, you seemed furious ...”

“In a few hours, a lot can happen. You don't have to worry anymore; Nano and I have formed the duo, and I will sing every night at Nano's piano-bar. I won't come until midnight.”

“It is glorious news. I'm glad because Nano seems like an agreeable boy and a skilled musician,” the mother answered, relieved of her fears, about the sullen behavior of her daughter that same afternoon, when she returned from the party with her new friends.

“You didn't tell me that your daughter was an artist!” Her boss said to win Nina's friendship.

The next morning, Nina, her mother, and her lover ate breakfast together on the sunny terrace. They were all in a pleasant mood as if each had seen their wishes fulfilled with no one being hurt. Another ideal day had dawned to enjoy on the beach, but Nina preferred to stay in the apartment to write a new song.

“If you prefer, you can stay,” her mother said, satisfied with the decision, “but we are going to the beach. Today will be another boiling day, and we will have to spend it in the water. Put on a hat, and don't be in the sun too long.”

When her mother and her companion left the apartment, Nina felt inspired to compose a new song. This time it would also be romantic and with a happy ending. The verses arose as if they were already written in some strange place in her mind:




“That summer, I met you.
The sun rose just for me.
You were cozy like the warm sand.
Stimulating like the cool breeze
Desired as the expected rain.
Sensitive as the pale moon.
Mysterious as the distant stars.
Faithful as the constant waves.
Free as a seagull.
Necessary as a beacon in the mist
Strong as the hurricane wind

That summer I met you,
You were on the beach so close to me.
That I could hear your heartbeat for me.
That summer I met you will never end.”


Now Nina was sure of her feelings for Nano because all her songs evoked him. Perhaps it was the flight of an elegant seagull or the intense turquoise blue of the sea, or that immense blue sky, that inspired a new melody for that song. She wrote her notes on a new sheet of lined paper and the title at the top of the sheet: “The Summer I Met You.” Now all that remained was for Nano to write new arrangements for two guitars, as he had done so successfully with her first song. Her life, which is just 24 hours had been in heaven and hell, had smiled on her again. She tried to forget what happened last night and the gang of teenagers so changeable in their passions, and, above all, their despicable fellow from the academy, whom she did not want to see again.

She sang her new song several times and made some arrangements for it. She liked it. That new song was also inspired. She felt happy.

At noon the heat was stifling, and Nina entered the room where the temperature was more acceptable. She thought she would be better able to bear this height temperatures wearing her mother's light silk robe and went to the bedroom to look for one. Above the night-table was a mobile phone which was not her mother's, so it must be her boss's. She couldn't resist the curiosity and turned it on. She was surprised that it was not protected with a password and accessed a file that must contain photographs. Nina was about to drop the phone because the numerous photographs were of her mother having sex with two lovers. One was her boss, but the other man did not know him. It horrified Nina.

She closed the file, turned off the phone, and put it back on the nightstand. She went out without her mother's robe, lest she suspects she had entered her bedroom. She fell stunned and embarrassed on the sofa and could not help condemning the indecent behavior of her own mother and exclaimed angrily: “My mother is a whore!” When she understood the gravity of the judgment she had made of her mother, the image of her came back, allowing Marc to possess her, and she exclaimed again with deep bitterness: “I am not better than her!”

She felt caught between her mother's immorality and her own. She didn't even have the consolation of censoring her without palliation because she had shown no more honesty. She needed to blow off steam with someone and tell him the cause of her regrets. Only Nano could work such a miracle. She regretted not being of legal age to emancipate herself from an unscrupulous mother's negative influence, and, of course, without morality. Now she was afraid of meeting her and her love again when she returned from the beach because she could no longer see her mother without seeing those horrible images.

She wanted to see Nano, but he would work at the bar and couldn't confess their remorse. And her mother and boss would also be there, and she did not want to see him. She would have to wait until night when they would meet at the bar. Nina stretched out on the sofa and let the time pass without knowing what to think.