The Capital / Chapter 8

8

Sooner rather than later, Lauren could finally call it a done job. She couldn’t complain, since the spaces and decorations of apartment 23 were much more than what she expected. It was composed of a wide living/dining room area, a kitchen with all appliances included (included a bar-looking table and stool), a common-looking bathroom, a bedroom that had a walking closet, and even a small balcony with enough space to put up a chair and read. What she brought to the table wasn’t much. Some pictures, clothes and decorations. Werner had also left an envelope with money for groceries, since the cupboards were empty. Thankfully, she had brought part of the breakfast leftovers to survive until the next morning, because stores were closed, the weather conditions worsening by the second, and she was too lazy to make it earlier. But that wasn’t the only change around. She had traded the pants and sweater for a purple dress and a matching flower band. She didn’t know why, but ever since her encounter with Enrique, she was blushed and couldn’t wait any longer to see him. Thankfully for the two of them, around 9 PM the doorbell rang. She slowly walked up and peeped down through the keyhole. When she recognized who was on the other side, Lauren smiled and opened the door. Enrique stood calmly by the threshold, a box in one hand and a bottle of wine under the other arm. The tie was gone, and the few top buttons of his light green shirt were open, making it a perfect contrast against the light gray pant he wore.
“Hi” Lauren said, her voice sounding as if her breath had been taken away.
“Good evening, neighbor. Thought I’d drop by to see if everything was working. May I?” Santa Maria asks.
“Sure. Come in” Lauren replies, moving away from the door to allow entry. Enrique heads for the kitchen counter and leaves the two elements he had brought earlier there.
“I had a bottle of wine at my place, and that is chocolate cake leftovers in the box. From a colleague’s birthday party I held not so long ago” he explains. Casenave suddenly felt as blushed as a teenager.
“You didn’t have to, since you’ve already done more than enough for me today. I have some money to, uh…buy groceries”
“I think it’s a little late for that, so you’ll have to wait until morning. Plus, I think we agreed to order take-out”
“Right. I let that minor detail slip by”
“This place is nice” he points out while looking around at the simple decoration.
“Thanks. Do you want to sit down or…?” Lauren offers, making Enrique chuckle. With that, her cheeks reached a whole new shade of red.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re not a very good host, Lauren. You’re acting a little stiff, so I would suggest we sit down in the living room and talk. Simply relax” he encourages her while leading Casenave by the waist. They both sit down across a red fabric futon.
“So…what can we talk about?” she starts, just to break the ice.
“Getting to know ourselves is a good starting point. Do you want to go first?”
“I’d much rather ask the questions for the time being”
“Okay, I’ll be your open book so you can be mine later. Go ahead. Ask” Enrique says in a confident tone. He couldn’t stop looking at her, as if this really was meant to happen. Even though they had met that same day, he felt like he had known her all his life, and it was implied in the air that by the end of the night they would start getting closer.
“You don’t look American” she points out.
“Well…I am. A legal one, just for the record. But I wasn’t born here”
“Where were you born?”
“Madrid, Spain. It’s a beautiful city, if you ever get the chance to visit it. When I was 18, I took my chances and played my luck by coming here to live and study by myself. I ended up liking it, so I followed all the steps to apply for a citizenship. So now I have a nice apartment, a good job and I pay my taxes like any other person. Can’t complain, since I already set roots here” he calmly explains.
“What did you study?”
“Journalism at GWU”
“There’s the first thing we have in common: Our profession. Where do you work at?”
“I really don’t want to brag about it. Don’t want you to think I’m arrogant or something”
“Enrique, you said you were an open book” Lauren playfully confronts him, like good reporters did. Santa Maria chuckled at her stubbornness.
“I like your style…Okay, but don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. I’m a White House Correspondent for The Post, and also correspondent and columnist for ‘El País’, a big newspaper back home” he said. She was surprised at the amount of experience he had being so young.
“Aren’t you a little…young?”
“I’m only 30, ma cherie”
“Well…young, smart AND handsome. I’m sure women are all over you”
“Not exactly. But for now, what do you say I bring you a glass of wine and order dinner? At least I’m getting hungry” Enrique says and stands up to find a phone, but not before giving a frowning Lauren a look.
“You’re trying to get away from my interrogation” she protests.
“No, ma cherie. We’re just taking a break. Then remember it’s my turn to ask the questions” Santa Maria says and smirks at her. He wanted to hold and kiss her so badly, but knew it was better to let some time pass.
“Fair enough”
“What would you like to eat tonight? Chinese, maybe?”
“Surprise me, Santa Maria” she playfully challenges him, feeling the same way he did, but still afraid to make a move. With her smile as incentive, Enrique went to another room where the phone was fixed to a wall and came back just in time to pour two glasses of white wine.
“Here you are, ma cherie. The surprise should be here in 30 minutes. Now…where were we?”
“Do you have a girlfriend? Since so many women are after you”
“Believe it or not, I don’t. And I’m not gay, either…as some have presumed. What happens is that I’ve had relationships, but I haven’t found what I’m looking for: the perfect companion” he tells Lauren, fully aware of the fact that the quest could be over.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that. To be honest, I thought you would be in a long, steady relationship with a gorgeous girl that was your match” Casenave comments.
“Sometimes things can be unexpected. More wine?”
“No, thanks. I’m a very responsible professional who has to work tomorrow” Lauren excuses herself.
“Good point. Is there anything else you would like to know about me?”
“Hmm…about your family and if you have any more talents. The rest will be a secret for you to find later on”
“My family is spread in different locations all over Spain. I’m the youngest of two brothers. My dad owns a financial business, and is constantly travelling across the country. My mother, Anna, lives in Barcelona. She’s a university professor. And my brother, who lives in Madrid, is more into the audiovisual arts”
“Now for the other part of my question”
“I’m a great chef. One of these days I shall invite you to my place and cook a nice paella. I also paint on my spare time and read a lot of books. Does that satisfy your inquires, lady reporter?” he asks. Before Lauren could muster her response, the doorbell rang.
“You’re lucky. Food’s here” Enrique announces.
“Here, let me go get money to pay half of it”
“Hush, darling. It’s on me” he says, but before Santa Maria could take out his wallet, Lauren was giving the delivery boy a few bills.
“You’re quick. I like it” he tells her while carrying the bags over to the kitchen counter.
“There’s so much you don’t know about me” Lauren says, her voice clearly inviting to mystery. Santa Maria left the bags and felt like a magnet drawn to her. And she didn’t seem to reject him, either.
“Well, I hope I do in the course of this dinner. Shall we? I DID order Chinese, after all”
“Sure. I’ll be at the living room, setting up the table” she says and takes a handful of cutlery to put on each side. As she did that, he takes all the boxes and leaves it on the middle of the table.
“I still don’t know you so well, so just attack whatever you like. Plus, with a full stomach I can have a better questioning” he says, kneeling down next to her and attacking the duck.
“I had asked you whether you had enough information about me”
“Does it for me. So that means…?”
“My turn to ask the questions. Oh, and just for the record…I really like how you look tonight”
“Thanks” she replies, taking over the spring rolls.
“Hey! I want those too. You’re owning them!”
“Sorry. Just ask, will you?”
“Okay…why don’t you start talking about your family?” he politely asks. Lauren was a little caught off-guard with a topic she didn’t like to discuss with strangers. But if he wanted an answer, she would give him an honest one.
“Enrique, to be sincere…I’d much rather discuss that subject when we get to know each other better. It’s not as perfect as yours, so I’ll tell you that family is for me my best friend, Colette, and my editor, Pete. I hope you respect this” she explains. Enrique immediately understood that he was walking on thin ice, asking something he shouldn’t.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, I didn’t know. But I understand”
“It’s okay. After all, you had no way of knowing it. But I’d much rather handle another type of questions” she asks, trying some of the tangerine chicken with rice.
“Okay. Got a boyfriend?”
“No. The loner stand works better on me”
“I would’ve expected things to be the other way around”
“If that was the case, he would be here”
“Touché. So that makes us two single journalists. Where do you work at?”
“Oh, there he goes again. I feel like a spy on these situations” Lauren thought to herself. Earlier, when her alter-ego was a simple experiment, Pete had helped her to create a story that was credible and didn’t give room to the overwhelming amount of coincidences.
“Well, I work on the political section of the Beltway Gazette. You know…I’m young, so they hang me out to dry already. But I love what I do. And I’m also part of their investigative team”
“I know that paper. Lauren Caffrey writes there, right?”
“Yes. At work they call me ‘Lola’ to differentiate us. I’ve never seen her, though”
“I’ve heard that too. Nobody has”
“Hon, if only you knew that she’s right in front of you” Lauren wickedly thought to herself. That was part of the benefits: Everyone imagined the character to be very different.
“Well, I don’t ever miss her columns on Sundays. They’re quite entertaining!” Enrique comments, and she took the praise in silence.
“What else do you want to know about me?”
“Whether you like chocolate cake. It’s dessert time” he says, both cleaning the paper cups. He served the cake and she took out the trash.
“Wow…this looks really delicious. Thanks for bringing it”
“My pleasure. It’s much better than eating it solo…I would like to know what you like and dislike. Just a few basic notions, because looks like it’s gonna be a long work”
“It will be. Let’s see. I love music, but I never learnt to play an instrument. Unlike you, my cooking skills are non-existing. I’m not only a journalist, because I’m currently taking courses on political science and law. Always eager to learn and travel. And I love swimming and jogging as a way to relieve stress. Enough basic pointers for you?”
“And you have a nice style. But yes, that satisfies my curiosity…for now…Oh, it’s really late! And I take it we both have to work” Santa Maria points out, with a dash of worry. After adjusting her flower band, Lauren turned around to peek at the wall clock and realize her companion was right.
“I could’ve sworn it was earlier! But I guess that happens when you’re having fun”
“I know I did. And I’m sure as well would like to do it again. Why don’t you give me your number and we’ll arrange a lunch date in the middle of our schedules”
“Here you go” Lauren says, handing Enrique a slip of paper with her number on it. He, in turn, recorded it on his iPhone and then pointed it at her.
“Smile” he shouted just as he caught her by surprise by taking a picture. He seemed pleased with the result, so Enrique put it back in his pant pocket.
“Hey!”
“Don’t be like all women. I know some basics of photography, thanks to Emilio” he says, referring to his brother.
“It’s that…you should’ve told me, that’s all. And answering your previous question…I’d love to see you again” she says, standing up to escort Enrique to the entrance.
“You can keep the food. After all, you don’t have any until tomorrow” Santa Maria points out as they reach the door. Now there was more proximity between them: They held hands and little by little all barriers were destroyed as they look at each other deep into the eyes and moved closer. For a long moment they stayed there until Enrique Santa Maria decided to make the first move and gave her a peck on the lips first, then a kiss on the forehead.
“Good night, Lauren” he whispered in between giggles.
“Good night, Enrique. Thanks for coming” she replied and embraced him for a moment. With dreamy eyes she saw him walk back to his apartment. When he was out of her field of vision, she closed the door and went to clean the last remains of the dinner. When those traces were gone, she headed into the bedroom, traded the dress for her pajamas and fell asleep, that way wrapping up a special day.