I took a deep breath and nodded, understanding that it affected not only Eric but his mother, who worried about him.
"It must have been hard, and I understand," I added, putting my hand over hers to keep her from spilling the ingredients. "But at least it was before the wedding. If they had gotten married, it could have been a disaster."
Lydia nodded, wiped her hands with a paper napkin, and added the alcohol to thin the thick solution.
"But as soon as he saw you, everything changed in him. I could see the sparkle in his eyes that he had lost," she said. "The same one he used to have at Christmas when he opened his presents all excited or when he won a wrestling tournament in high school."
"I didn't know Eric practiced wrestling," I said, grimacing with the corners of my lips and drawing my eyebrows together.
Lydia packaged the product, not even testing it. She sat down and took both my hands.
"He used to have so much energy when he was little, so much that he never got tired and wouldn't let me do my duties," she said, showing her teeth with a big smile. "I couldn't keep up with him, so I signed him up for as many activities as I could. Such as wrestling, baseball, and even swimming."
I immediately thought of Elliot. He was exactly the same, impossible to appease, and with so much energy that sometimes he left me exhausted from running after him in the park.
"Was he a good athlete?" I asked just to hear more about him.
"He was the best. He won all the gold medals and was offered scholarships by the university he attended."
Lydia spoke, puffing out her chest and looking lost in time as if seeing memories.
The hour flew by, and I heard new things, like how Eric was the smartest in his class, that he had graduated two years earlier and had won a math championship. Every time she mentioned something, I couldn't help but relate it to my son.
"Are you still here, ladies?" asked Eric walking into the lab, looking happy to see his mother and me having some quality time.
"The time flew by," Lydia said. "I enjoyed our talk."
She left the fragrance room with quick steps without looking at her son's face.
Eric shook his head and looked at me. "What was my mother telling you?" he asked. "Probably embarrassing things from my childhood."
I couldn't help but laugh. "A little," I replied.
"She is hopeless, let alone the fact that she loves to embarrass me," he said. "Anyway, are you busy now?"
I made a line with my lips and shrugged my shoulders.
"I'll take that as a no." he took my hand and led me to his car.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To watch a movie, there's a theater nearby," he replied.
"But I didn't put on my makeup or get dressed up."
Eric scanned me with his eyes. "You look beautiful. With or without makeup, you are a stunning woman."
I blushed and climbed into the car.
He put his hand on my thigh and drove slowly to a small mall with just two movie theaters and a few clothing stores.
"It's not the most luxurious, but the atmosphere is nice," he said.
The mall was set in a sea-themed atmosphere. Its walls were orange brick, the floor was polished granite, and there were few people.
Eric paid for the tickets and bought some pretzels, sodas, and chocolates.
"Wait," I said, stopping before entering the screening room. My cell phone was vibrating, and I pulled it out to check who it was.
