Page 45 of A Christmas Adventure

"Try not to make noise," Olga smiles, flushed, as Violeta begins to undress. "I want to be able to look your mother in the eye in the morning."

"My mother is a very deep sleeper, she doesn't need the earplugs," Violeta concludes, throwing her panties at her.

Olga catches them mid-air, and with desire tingling her mind, she begins to undress as Violeta approaches her.

Chapter 25

Olga opens her eyes, bothered by the bedside lamp turning on. She finds Violeta curled up, looking at her with a defeated expression. Despite her sleepiness and her brain not yet fully awake, all of Olga's alarms go off in that moment.

"What's wrong?" she asks, reaching out from under the blankets to caress Violeta's cheek.

"I don't want to leave," Violeta's voice comes out strangled, and Olga sees her swallow as she presses her lips together.

The realization that everything ends this morning falls on Olga like a collapsing wall, crushing her. She scoots closer to Violeta, trying to contain the tears that suddenly threaten to overflow from her eyes.

"I don't want you to go either, Violeta," she whispers, caressing her again, aware that it was a mistake not to talk about this earlier.

"But my life is there," Violeta says it because it's a fact, but to her, it feels like a sentence, and she starts to feeloverwhelmed to the point where her breathing becomes irregular.

"I know," Olga doesn't know what to say; just thinking about not seeing her again in a few hours makes her heart stop.

"I don't want to go," Violeta's sudden sob catches Olga off guard as she hugs her, crying. "Everything I want is in Alquézar," she babbles between hiccups.

Olga holds her tightly, almost melting into her, still paralyzed, not knowing how to comfort her because she can't and doesn't want to influence Violeta's decisions.

"Calm down, honey," she whispers as tears run down her own cheeks.

Violeta mumbles things against her chest that Olga can't understand, so she focuses on calming her and wiping away her own tears when she hears a couple of soft knocks on the door. Violeta's crying stops abruptly, but she doesn't answer, so Olga does.

"Yes?"

"It's me," Maite says without opening the door. "I just wanted to know if I should prepare breakfast for you two as well."

Olga's head is about to explode, and Violeta is crying again, so, considering the matter important enough, she asks Maite to come in, since they both put on pajamas to avoid freezing after their heated encounter.

"What's wrong?" Maite asks, worried, as soon as she raises the blinds.

Olga looks at her, defeated, unable to express the drama they both feel at that moment. Violeta's mother sits on one side of the bed and tries to get her daughter to separate from Olga to look at her face.

"I don't want to go, Mom," her daughter sobs again, this time hugging her.

Maite embraces her and looks at Olga with a scared face, but doesn't have time to say anything because Violeta continues babbling.

"I hate my job," she confesses, making both of them look at each other, surprised by the news. "They don't value me there, and I feel useless. The only place where I feel good is here."

Maite comforts her and lets her cry until she's tired. Meanwhile, Olga remains motionless beside her, her heart racing and emotions running high. They look at each other questioningly, and Olga shakes her head because she knows that Maite, not her, should take the lead in this case.

"Let's see, Violeta," her mother says when her daughter stops crying.

Violeta sits right next to Olga, both with their backs against the headboard of the bed.

"Are you sure about what you feel for Olga?"

They both look at Maite in surprise, Violeta because her heart is bursting at that moment, Olga because she doesn't understand the reason for the question, as Violeta hasn't mentioned her at all.

"Because if you're clear about it," Maite continues without waiting for an answer, "you've always had aguaranteed position at the bakery, and you know it. There's nothing that makes me happier than having my only daughter close, but I don't want you to make a mistake and make a hasty decision," she says, looking at Olga too. "I had no idea you were unhappy at work, you hadn't told me anything, but in any case, my opinion is that you need to go back to Madrid and think carefully about what you want. Making decisions in the heat of the moment is never good."

"I agree," Olga interjects after taking a deep breath and calming down a bit. "Your mother is right, Violeta. You should go back to your life. When you get back into your routine, maybe you won't see everything so bleakly."