When they ask me about my husband and jokingly I say "With the other one" and they say: So you already found out 😲 I was holding my daughter in arms as I checked tomatoes, trying to find the ones that didn’t seem to have lived a difficult life, when the post lady — the one who knows everyone and knows everything about everyone — asked me with her ever-lasting smile:
**— And your husband didn't come today? **
Me, without thinking, dropped my favorite response ever:
**— With the other one i guess. 😂**
The lady looked at me. He stopped accommodating the chilies. He cleaned his hands in the apron. And with a face that mixed pity, scandal and something I can only describe as *gossip satisfaction *, he said to me:
**— Oh, I'm coming... then you already know. 😲**
Time stood still.
My daughter looked at me.
I looked at her.
The tomatoes were staring at us all.
---
I usually would have laughed, cleared up the misunderstanding and moved on with my life. But something on that lady’s face — that mixture of genuine pity and poorly kept gossip — stuck to me like gum in my shoe.
*What does she know that I don't know? *
I paid for the groceries, needless to say. I hooked my baby girl up in the car seat. And instead of grabbing for the house, I grabbed for my husband's work.
*Just to see. Just passing by. Drama free. *
---
Saw it from the parking lot.
I was outside, recharged on the wall, coffee in hand and that smile. That smile that I know very well. The one who pulls out when she wants to like someone. The one that used to take me out earlier.
And next to him, his coworker. Laughing at something that was clearly *very* funny.
I went cold.
My daughter just babbled something from the backseat like *"mom, breathe". *
Respiré.
And then I thought of something.
---
Months ago I was offered to return to my old job. The problem was that my boss was my ex. I had rejected it without thinking twice, because I'm a serious and mature person who makes responsible decisions.
But oh well. Times they are a changin.
I pulled off the phone. Marked.
**— Hello. Is the work thing still standing? **
**— Of course I do! When Can You Start ? **
**— Can I carry the baby while I get a babysitter?. **
**— There's plenty of space here. **
I smiled for the first time in the last hour.
**— On Monday. 😊**
---
Arrived at the safe home. Serene. I put the child in her moses. Got my dinner warmed up .
When he arrived, I greeted him with the best face ever.
**— how did it go ? **
**— Well well well. And you ? What did you do? **
I served him his plate. I sat across from him. I looked him in the eyes with all the peace in the universe and said:
**— Oh, so I went to the supermarket, bought vegetables... and I went back to work with Rodrigo. **
The fork got suspended in thin air.
**— ¿Con... Rodrigo? ¿Who ex jefe? **
**— Mmhm. She said yes without thinking twice. Very nice he is. 😊**
Silence.
A silence so heavy that even the baby felt it and decided not to make noise.
His face went through about seven different emotions in four seconds. I counted them. I was very entertained.
**— But you said you wouldn't--**
**— I was not going to what baby. **
Another break.
**— And.... why the change of mind? **
I looked at it. I smiled. I took a sip of water.
**— Do you know what? I don't know. Today got me thinking that sometimes you have to open yourself up to new opportunities. Don't you think so? **
His face at that moment was priceless.
Face of someone who just understood that the world is round and what you do comes back around.
Face of who will be coming home on time for the next few months.
Face of who didn't sleep well that night.
😂😂😂
---
I didn't say anything else I picked up the dishes. Feeding the baby. And I went to sleep with a clear conscience and a smile that I couldn't take off all night.
The vegetable lady doesn't know what she did for me.
Me, without thinking, dropped my favorite response ever:
**— With the other one i guess. 😂**
The lady looked at me. He stopped accommodating the chilies. He cleaned his hands in the apron. And with a face that mixed pity, scandal and something I can only describe as *gossip satisfaction *, he said to me:
**— Oh, I'm coming... then you already know. 😲**
Time stood still.
My daughter looked at me.
I looked at her.
The tomatoes were staring at us all.
---
I usually would have laughed, cleared up the misunderstanding and moved on with my life. But something on that lady’s face — that mixture of genuine pity and poorly kept gossip — stuck to me like gum in my shoe.
*What does she know that I don't know? *
I paid for the groceries, needless to say. I hooked my baby girl up in the car seat. And instead of grabbing for the house, I grabbed for my husband's work.
*Just to see. Just passing by. Drama free. *
---
Saw it from the parking lot.
I was outside, recharged on the wall, coffee in hand and that smile. That smile that I know very well. The one who pulls out when she wants to like someone. The one that used to take me out earlier.
And next to him, his coworker. Laughing at something that was clearly *very* funny.
I went cold.
My daughter just babbled something from the backseat like *"mom, breathe". *
Respiré.
And then I thought of something.
---
Months ago I was offered to return to my old job. The problem was that my boss was my ex. I had rejected it without thinking twice, because I'm a serious and mature person who makes responsible decisions.
But oh well. Times they are a changin.
I pulled off the phone. Marked.
**— Hello. Is the work thing still standing? **
**— Of course I do! When Can You Start ? **
**— Can I carry the baby while I get a babysitter?. **
**— There's plenty of space here. **
I smiled for the first time in the last hour.
**— On Monday. 😊**
---
Arrived at the safe home. Serene. I put the child in her moses. Got my dinner warmed up .
When he arrived, I greeted him with the best face ever.
**— how did it go ? **
**— Well well well. And you ? What did you do? **
I served him his plate. I sat across from him. I looked him in the eyes with all the peace in the universe and said:
**— Oh, so I went to the supermarket, bought vegetables... and I went back to work with Rodrigo. **
The fork got suspended in thin air.
**— ¿Con... Rodrigo? ¿Who ex jefe? **
**— Mmhm. She said yes without thinking twice. Very nice he is. 😊**
Silence.
A silence so heavy that even the baby felt it and decided not to make noise.
His face went through about seven different emotions in four seconds. I counted them. I was very entertained.
**— But you said you wouldn't--**
**— I was not going to what baby. **
Another break.
**— And.... why the change of mind? **
I looked at it. I smiled. I took a sip of water.
**— Do you know what? I don't know. Today got me thinking that sometimes you have to open yourself up to new opportunities. Don't you think so? **
His face at that moment was priceless.
Face of someone who just understood that the world is round and what you do comes back around.
Face of who will be coming home on time for the next few months.
Face of who didn't sleep well that night.
😂😂😂
---
I didn't say anything else I picked up the dishes. Feeding the baby. And I went to sleep with a clear conscience and a smile that I couldn't take off all night.
The vegetable lady doesn't know what she did for me.
