Page 32 of A Christmas Adventure

"Like a teenager?"

"It won't be the first time I've done it," Violeta admits with a mischievous expression.

"Well, well, and poor Maite thinking her daughter is a saint."

Violeta arches an eyebrow and shrugs.

"You stay tuned to your phone. When she goes to sleep, I'll send you a message and you wait for me with the door open."

"Okay, but you'll have to leave before your mother gets up and sees you're not there."

"We'll set the alarm. I'll leave the window open and sneak in like a stealthy cat."

Olga laughs again, hugs her and kisses her before taking her hand to go up to the walkways and begin the route above the Vero River.

Chapter 17

When Violeta arrives home, Maite already has dinner prepared. She felt tempted to ask if she could invite Olga too, but since her mother didn't say anything, she preferred to stay silent to avoid raising suspicions.

"How did it go in Huesca?" Maite asks while they eat dinner. "Did you have any problems with the delivery?"

"None at all, everything went smoothly, light traffic and no parking issues," Violeta explains with a smile.

"And what did you do there?"

Maite stabs a piece of salad and brings it to her mouth.

"Not much, just walked around the center and ate. Then we came here to go to the Vero Walkways."

"Oh, really?" Maite looks at her surprised and Violeta worries, thinking that maybe she intruded between them.

"Did you want to take her?" she asks anxiously.

Her mother chews quickly when she sees Violeta's distressed face.

"No, honey," she hurries to answer, "I think it's great that you took her. Olga really wanted to go and I barelyhave time, I just assumed you'd take advantage of the day in Huesca."

"Yeah, but it was so sunny out."

"Yes, it's been a nice day, but by the end it was too cloudy, it will surely snow."

"That's what Olga says."

Violeta lowers her gaze, unsure if she's mentioning her too much. Maite glances at her, noticing her daughter acting a bit strange, but can't figure out why and doesn't want to overwhelm her.

After dinner, Violeta takes a shower and, after spending some time together on the couch, Maite starts nodding off.

"Go to bed, Mom," her daughter asks, her heart racing.

She can't wait to climb out the window and go to Olga's house. She would go through the door if it weren't for the loud click it always makes when closing, knowing it would certainly wake her mother. Maite yawns and arches her back tiredly before getting up and wishing her good night.

Violeta waits still as a statue, attentive to every sound her mother makes. She knows her routine by heart and knows the last thing she'll do before getting into bed is empty her bladder. As soon as she hears the bathroom tank, she lets fifteen minutes pass to make sure she's asleep and sneaks to her room, closing the door quietly. Then she sends a message to Olga announcing that she's coming out and puts on her jacket, opening the window to a wave of cold air mixed with tiny snowflakes.

"Damn," she says, upset by the setback.

She leans out and sticks out a hand to check the magnitude of the snowfall. It's quite light, so she decides she doesn't need the umbrella given the short distance she has to travel. The exterior light illuminating that side of the house - which in turn faces the side of Olga's house - is located on the corner that meets the front and barely illuminates that area. Violeta turns on her phone's flashlight, she only opened one of the window panes, so the space to exit is quite narrow.

Olga, who upon receiving the message went to the entrance to wait for her with an umbrella, sees her leave from her house. She sees how first a leg appears. Olga doesn't understand why she hasn't opened the whole window. Violeta wriggles and passes her body and head until she's left hanging as if riding a horse. The leg that's outside doesn't reach the ground and she feels around with the toe while slowly lowering herself.