Translation of Love - By Alice Montalvo-Tribue Page 0,40
could drop off my car and then we went out for breakfast. Afterwards, I made him take me to the bookstore so that I could pick up a copy of his book. He protested, telling me that I shouldn’t waste my money on it, but in the end I got my book (which now sits proudly on my coffee table) but he paid for it. We had lunch at my house and then he had to go back home to New York, promising that he would call me when he got there.
Victor kept his promise and called me as soon as he got settled, and he has called me everyday since. He usually calls me first thing in the morning when he knows I’m driving to work and at night when he takes a break from recording. Now it’s Wednesday evening and I didn’t get his usual morning phone call. I hate to admit it to myself, but that one missed call set the tone for my entire day. I was miserable and I hate the fact that his lack of communication is having such a negative effect on me. I’ve struggled so long to be in control of my life and it scares me that I may be giving Victor too much power over me.
I decide to throw on my most comfortable sweats, pop a frozen pizza in the oven and lounge in front of the television, but as I sit here my mind goes to Victor and the possible reasons why I haven’t heard from him today. Maybe he doesn’t want to see me anymore? We didn’t make any plans before he left. He didn’t ask to see me again, he just said he’d call. I have his number, it’s not like I can’t pick up the phone and call him but I’m just not at the point where I feel comfortable doing that. Plus if I did call and he didn’t pick up, I’m not sure how I’d feel.
The sound of the doorbell ringing brings me back to reality. Besides Jordan, no one ever stops by my house unannounced so I’m startled. I’m stunned when I open the door to see Victor standing there with a bottle of wine in one hand and a DVD in the other. The butterflies in my stomach take flight at the sight of him, his eyes are partially covered by a baseball cap but the smile on his face is enough to make the stress of the last few days evaporate.
“Victor, what are you doing here?” I sound as surprised as I look.
“I was in the neighborhood. You gonna invite me in?”
I smile at his sarcastic answer. “Of course, smart ass, come in.” He comes in and puts the bottle of wine and DVD down on the coffee table. “What are you really doing here?” I ask.
He takes a step forward so that he’s in my space, wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. I breathe in at the feel of him surrounding me, his cologne smells of woods and musk. I’ve come to love that scent. I return his hug, deepening our embrace as he speaks softly. “I missed you, Ellie.” I know his words shouldn’t affect me but they make me happy.
“Are you okay?” I ask, bringing my hands up to circle around his neck.
“I am. I’m just tired.” He releases me from our hug but, still holding onto my hand, leads me to the couch. We sit down, he leans over and places a soft kiss on my lips. “I’m sorry that I didn’t call you today. I spent the entire night in the recording studio. By the time I made it home, I knew you would already be at work so I crashed. I woke up this afternoon and decided to take tonight off. I asked Rob to drive me here because I just wanted to see your face.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Victor, but you look exhausted.”
He nods in agreement. “Can I stay with you? My plan was to come here, watch a movie with you, then go to the hotel but, Babe, I’m really fucking exhausted.”
“Of course, you can stay.” Just the thought of him in my home excites me, even if all he does is sleep, having him here makes me happy. This is bad, the kind of emotions I’m experiencing are the kind that eventually lead to heartbreak but I’m powerless to stop them.