To tell the truth, dinner went better than expected. The night had moved slowly, but after the stolen moment in the kitchen, Frida felt lighter, although still out of place at this reunion full of hypocrisy and double intentions.
Frida cut and ate a bite of her elaborate Beef Wellington, it was juicy and exquisite, she expected no less after having spent the entire morning absorbed in the kitchen cooking together with Alice. It was a morning that they both enjoyed, they even danced when Alice turned on her favorite radio station and laughed when Frida dropped the flour. Of all the people working under her roof, Alice was her favorite.
"My daughter is coming next November," Mr. Lamberg commented. The biggest topic of conversation during dinner was family, and considering that most of the men present were over sixty years old, the most mentioned were grandchildren. "We can't wait to see our little granddaughter. Rose insisted on going to visit them in Cuba, but our schedule is too saturated."
"Man, but family is family." Mr. Clayton, sitting right in front of Frida, gave his opinion with the glass of wine in hand.
"Absolutely. But these are important times for the country, one must fulfill one's responsibilities."
Frida let out a sigh almost unnoticed. These were difficult times in politics, the country and her life, because her life included politics and the country. If only she could lock herself in a room and not know anything about this whole mess for at least five years, she would be grateful.
The conversation continued to flow and her plate continued to empty until a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, that and the lingering feeling of being watched. Frida looked up at that point that she had been avoiding during dinner; towards Benny. He was watching her from his place at the other corner of the table, so close and so far at the same time.
Their gazes connected and she felt safe, comforted and delighted. And then, so quickly and fleetingly, he smiled at her... and she responded with another tiny, shy smile. Stress seemed distant and insignificant when life gave them moments like that, those details fed her heart that undoubtedly belonged more and more to him. Benny was the first to break eye contact, he was a good actor. They both shared a secret, no one could take that away from them, that adrenaline instead of scaring her was beginning to amuse her.
Frida took a sip of her wine. Not so bad, she thought. Curiously, Benny had not drank from his glass, she was sure that, as delicate and special as he was, he had not liked it at all.
"And what about you two, Matheus?" Mr. Berg's random question caught Frida's attention. She looked at Henry for an answer to the question as she hadn't been paying attention. "No plans to extend the family yet?"
Frida thought about how inappropriate and invasive the question was, the same question that the ladies asked her at every meeting, the question whose answer was no one's business. She prepared the most polite smile for Mr. Berg but Henry's gentle squeeze in her hand made her stop. The sparkle in his eyes warned his intentions.
"Actually," Henry began in a proud tone. Frida tensed, that was not part of the evening's programming. His words rang and echoed in her ears even before he said them because she knew exactly what he would say and it was totally unpleasant. "We are working on it. We hope to give you the good news soon."
Liar, liar, liar! Frida felt nauseated listening to him, the color left her face. They didn't reach any agreement and they weren't working on anything. Her blood boiled with rage and indignation, he had no right to use her in front of all those men in this way regarding something so delicate. Frida looked at him in shock, and Henry squeezed her hand affectionately in a gesture that clearly asked for her cooperation.
