Memories of a Life That Never Happened

Chapter 36 - Burning Question

The sun had set under clear summer skies three times since the days started being crossed out in brand new calendars. Once again, shingle by shingle, parching beams covered the red roofs of Buriti in a crisp morning.  

Theo's disappearing act during his father's merrymaking had cost half an hour listening to his mom's scolding and a promise to be home no later than ten o'clock in the evening. Theo did not know what he found more annoying: the blistering afternoons that took forever to pass or falling under his mother's scrutiny every time he touched the front door knob.  

Still, every morning, when his alarm clock buzzed, Theo forgot all about the boring afternoons and tedious nights. He jumped out of bed, shook Alan awake and dragged his friend to the village center.  

Small as the town was, its few winding streets made sure that inhabitants and tourists walked past each other several times a day. Heat played an important part on that social interaction. Most streets had two narrow sidewalks but, depending on the time of day, a curious thing happened. While one was mercifully shaded by rooftops and swarmed with people, the other remained ridiculously deserted. Not even stray dogs would resort to it as a nice place to curl up in quietude. 

Furthermore, Buriti's compact restaurants and picturesque shops had a constant flow of people filing in and out. Going unnoticed was challenging for anyone. After a while, strangers greeted one another with a smile, as if they had been childhood friends. Unknown people began to look familiar to Theo and it was no wonder that his relationship with Mica felt primeval.  

It had not taken him half a day to find where she worked. La Bodeguita, as Theo discovered, was a popular place thanks to both its location and its food. There was always a line when Theo and Alan arrived, and it gave Theo great satisfaction to notice that Mica had made a habit of saving them a table. 

The boys went there every morning, pretending not to have had breakfast yet, which suited Alan just fine. And although the warm corn cakes were but a pretext to see Mica, they were truly the best ones Theo had ever tasted. 

The first time Mica spotted the two of them walking past the door, her throat dried up and her cheeks blushed with anticipation and embarrassment. She had wondered how many days it would take for Theo to show up. It was a tremendous sign that the answer was only one. 

No matter which table they got, Theo would always pick a seat facing the counter. This delighted Mica, for it allowed her to watch him in secret while she helped less interesting customers.  

Theo and Alan kept it simple. Day after day, they order the same things so their order quickly became the usual. For Theo, it consisted in a glass of milk and a piece of corn cake. Alan, however, needed a bit more substance to placate his hunger. He had a jar of orange juice and a basket of cheese breads.  

They worked on their meals for much longer than any other client did. In fact, it warmed Mica's heart to see how they seemed to enjoy the food and place. To her, that was another great sign. 

To Theo, it was consistency. He adopted that as a watchword after he had read about it on a psychology magazine that his mother subscribed. The article explained how the brain, after creating a memory, reacted with more spontaneity-and less caution-upon facing a second, similar event. The recognition of a familiar situation triggered feelings of security and disarmed defenses. That was what Theo was after. He wanted Mica to open up and not overthink during the time they spent together. Such was the game plan, as he explained to Alan before their first visit to La Bodeguita.  

"There is one simple rule," Theo had said. Unconsciously, he mimicked the body language his math teacher used to employ when trying to explain the logics of imaginary numbers to a class of muddled students. "We need to do everything as close to the day before as possible."