After that, she let me into her life a bit more. She told me a secret and, seeing that I was a good listener, she shared some more. She smiled at me more. She cooked more often the things I liked. She let me hug her more often. And I thought that, maybe, after all, I did stand a chance. I just needed to do it the right way. Wait for the right occasion.
Of course. Her coming of age! Her birthday was just a few days away; I needed to act quick.
I didn't sleep much, had to promise a lot and reach really, really deep inside my pocket, but in the end, I prepared the most amazing surprise night out.
The morning of the D-day, I got up at sunset to make sure everything would be perfect. As I got back in the middle of the afternoon, I found Eva napping on the table, her hair bathing in the untouched supper.
She almost jumped as I woke her up, then ran around, panicking. It turned out she got up only a few minutes after I'd left so she could do all the chores and tasks our boss had given her. Apparently, she wasn't even halfway finished. I suggested we should go out that night anyway. She just sighed and said that, by then, she'd be ready to drop.
I didn't want to give up just like that. So, after lots of insisting, I convinced her to have a rest while I took care of everything. I did. Well, later I found out that I'd sent the urgent memo to the Spanish embassy rather than the Portuguese one (the languages sounded the same to me), that nylon didn't necessarily need to be ironed (I bought her another swimsuit… and another iron) and that "the one that looks like mud" wasn't an appropriate term when buying tea, but it's the intention that counts!
Eva was perfectly right - when I finished, I was done up. Despite that, I had a quick shower, got dressed and went to pick up the birthday girl. Who just told me she was far more comfy on the couch than anywhere else in the whole wide world. I was way too tired to insist. And, all in all, it was her day. So I gave up and we just lied side by side, chatting until it was time to go to bed.
Having paid for the party, I had no money left to buy a gift. Still, there was something I could and wanted to give her.
As I got back from Britain and rummaged through the ruins of what used to be our house, I found her old linden leaf brooch. The one I got her the day she turned ten. It was unbelievable! Not only she still had it; she had also taken perfect care of it. She understood metal the way I understood wood. But the day she was kidnapped, she had to leave it behind. Such antiquity was now worth a fortune, so she probably didn't even dream about finding it again.
I remembered the day I gave it to her for the first time - a thousand years ago! The day I chided her for kissing me on the mouth. This time, I wasn't going to chide her...
Mostly because there was nothing to chide her for.
Eva squeaked in pure joy as she opened the jewel box, sat down in front of her mirror and tried to put it on. I reached out to help her, my wrists brushing lightly against her velvety skin. I nuzzled her hair (she smelt so heavenly!) and my racing heart was all I could hear. She turned around and I closed my eyes, ready to receive… a peck on the cheek?!
"Thank you so much! I really had a lovely time. See you tomorrow, sleep well."
Wait, what the hell just happened?! I wondered on the way back to my room. Then, suddenly, I figured it out. She just followed what I'd thought her when she was younger - that kisses on the mouth are unacceptable between siblings. Except for the marriage sealing, but that was a country thing. I'd drilled that into her head, given her a mental block. Right then, I hated past me so very much.
I went to bed, but sleep didn't come. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't believe it was that simple. How can she still see me as her sibling? I marvelled. She's old enough to understand things are more intricate now. That if a grown man marries a grown woman, they are supposed to be a couple. What is her problem?!
She was no fool. And, being a girl, she also had that mysterious sixth sense. She knew, I was positive she knew.
Are you playing hard to get? Or it might be you just don't understand how to do things properly. No problem, sweetheart. I'll teach you.
In my head, I repeated over and over the words I was going to say to her. Eva, we're husband and wife now. Do you know what a wife is supposed to do? She's supposed to cherish her husband. Respect him. And please him.
Maybe she wouldn't want at first, I realized. But it didn't matter. I'd kiss her in the most tender way, tease every bit of her body until she begged me to touch her properly. By the end of the night, I would have rocked her world in so many ways that it wouldn't even cross her mind to see me as a brother.
I gave her door a quick, light knock and entered.
-END OF CHAPTER 52-
