Page 41 of A Christmas Adventure

"Violeta won't come until you and I have talked, and in any case, you'll have to go to her because she wants to make another king cake."

Olga nods, and they both enter the kitchen. She serves two cups of coffee while Maite, who's starting to know where everything is, takes out the tray of cookies and shortbread from the cupboard and puts it on the table.

"Maite..." Olga starts to speak but doesn't know what to say.

"I suspected it, Olga," her neighbor cuts her off, and she opens her eyes in surprise.

"You suspected it?"

"Yes. Don't ask me how or why, I guess it's something you can sense, but the way you look at each other and the complicity you have, deep down I knew there was something more."

"I should have told you," she says, ashamed.

"No, you shouldn't have. Violeta has already explained everything to me, from the beginning," Maite clarifies.

Olga looks at her warily and frowns.

"From Huesca?"

"From Huesca," Maite confirms. "I understand the decision you made, although I think it's absurd, Olga, you know that sooner or later I was going to find out."

Olga leans back against the chair, more relaxed.

"Yes, but it's complicated for many reasons, Maite. You're my best friend and Violeta is your daughter, I'm ten years older, you and I work together. There are a lot of factors that I think are crucial to thinking it can't work out. When Violeta and I decided to keep quiet, everything was more volatile for me, it was a very strong attraction and her personality fascinated me, but I didn't know if it would go beyond that, I mean, if feelings could be involved. Damn," Olga lets out a snort until her lungs are empty, "I'm talking in the past as if it's been months since all this happened and it's barely been a week."

"And what happens now, Olga? And in this, I do ask you to be very honest. What do you feel for Violeta?"

Olga also shrugs in a gesture very similar to Violeta's response, except that she's about to choke on her own distress.

"What I feel is that I can't breathe when I think about her leaving on Monday," she says, staring at the kitchen tiles.

Maite presses her lips together with a worried expression.

"I should change the tiles," Olga says distractedly, "they're hideous."

Maite stretches out her arm and takes her hand across the table. Olga jumps and, at the same time, shudders, and that knot threatening to strangle her grows in size.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to keep seeing each other when she leaves?"

"I don't know, we haven't talked about it," Olga's voice chokes.

"I'll ask you another way. What do you want?"

"I want what I feel for her to stop growing with every second I spend by her side, because when she leaves, I'll suffocate, Maite."

"You need to talk about it, Olga. You both need to sit down and make clear both what you feel for each other and what you expect from whatever you have."

"Are you okay with me being with your daughter?" Olga asks, throwing out the question that has been torturing her since she found out who Violeta was.

"I can't think of anyone better for Violeta, Olga, I don't care that we work together or that you're a few years older. What matters to me is that you make her happy, and if it doesn't work out over time, then you each go your own way and you and I remain friends."

"It's not that simple and you know it."

"Yes, it is, Olga. I'm old enough and have enough life experience to understand that relationships may not last forever and can break at any time. As long as you don't do anything nasty to her, our friendship doesn't have to be affected, and if you do, well, you'll find more friends and so will I."

Olga looks at her and smiles, exhaling through her nose, grateful for her neighbor's honesty, but mostly for the support she's showing.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Your daughter only has three days left here, maybe this has just been a Christmas adventure that we're both giving more importance to than it has just because we see each other daily. Maybe when she leaves, we each go back to our lives and this remains a good memory, or something that repeats when she comes to visit."