A waitress approaches them right away with a friendly smile.
Martina orders a latte and toast with tomato and olive oil. Rebeca orders the same, though she adds a fresh-squeezed orange juice.
“Two slices of toast with tomato, please,” Martina corrects her with a smile. “And bring some extra-virgin olive oil, if you don’t mind.”
As the waitress walks away, Martina rests her hands on the table. Her long, elegant fingers interlock before she looks at Rebeca.
“I think we need to talk,” she says.
Rebeca nods slowly, feeling her pulse quicken and her blood boil in her veins.
“Yeah… the other day I…”
“I’m going to file for divorce.”
The words come with such direct clarity that Rebeca’s sentence hangs in the air, and she stares at Martina, speechless.
Martina holds her gaze. She doesn’t seem to hesitate. Her blue eyes don’t look away for a single second.
“I don’t want to continue with a marriage that feels like a lie,” she continues, and Martina’s tone begins to take on a vulnerability that Rebeca rarely remembers seeing in her. “And, above all, I don’t want to keep hurting you. Not you, and not Julia. This isn’t fair to anyone.”
She pauses briefly, as if she needs to catch her breath.
“Every time I see you… every time we pass each other in the hallway, I have this crazy urge to kiss you. To touch you. To forget everything else. And it’s so unfair to put you in this situation, Rebeca. I don’t want you to be the other woman. I don’t want either of us to have to hide.”
Rebeca presses her lips together. Her heart is pounding so hard she’s afraid it will burst out of her chest.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” she murmurs. “I thought that after what happened at the beach you were going to… I don’t know, and besides… the other day…”
The waitress arrives just then with the coffees, juice, and toast. They thank her with a smile, though neither of them takes their eyes off each other.
When they’re alone again, Martina continues speaking.
“Every time I see you, I forget everything I’m supposed to do. I just think about how you tasted that night, how your skin tingled under my fingers. And then I go home and feel… empty. As if I were living a life that no longer belongs to me. Maybe it never did, as bad as that sounds.”
Martina’s fingers tighten slightly around the cup, searching for something to hold onto.
“I’ll do it after my birthday party,” she adds decisively. “It’s this Saturday. I don’t want to ruin the party Julia’s planning, but I don’t want to keep putting this off either.”
Rebeca blinks, processing the words Martina has just spoken.
Martina’s gaze softens, and a smile appears again.
“I don’t know if you’ll want to come. I know it’s complicated, but… I’d really love for you to be there. Even if it’s just to see you for a little while among the crowd.”
Rebeca watches her for a few seconds. She knows that what’s happening is dangerous. She knows that many things are still unresolved, but she also knows that there’s something inside her that doesn’t want to be away from Martina for even a second. Something that’s been dormant for years and is now burning more intensely than ever.
She sighs and reaches out her hand across the table, almost touching her fingers.
“I’d love that too,” Rebeca admits, now more relaxed. “Even though I know it’s crazy.”
Martina smiles, and the gesture completely lights up her eyes. Rebeca looks down at her coffee, stirring the sugar with the spoon even though it’s already dissolved.
“I feel like what we’re doing is crazy…” she murmurs. “That we’re going to hurt each other again.”
Martina tilts her head slightly, looking at her tenderly, with a sincerity that leaves no room for doubt.
“But it’s a madness we can avoid, isn’t it?” she asks Rebeca, even though she already knows the answer.
