Bend, not break

Part 14 - I didn't expect this

Fina shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her hands repeatedly stroking her own hair, which she had tied back in a ponytail. It seemed to take an eternity before she heard a noise, saw a shadow behind the spyhole,heard the key turning in the lock and finally saw Esther's red head appear in the slightly open door.

'Fina!'

'Esther! Surprise!' Fina spread her arms a little exaggeratedly.

'Oh, wow, I didn't expect that. To ever see you here at my door... Come in!'

Marta now took a step forward and thus came into Esther's field of vision for the first time. She greeted Esther almost shyly: 'Hola, Esther!'.

Esther just looked at her with wide eyes. The silence lasted for a moment and was already beginning to become uncomfortable.

Marta cleared her throat and was about to say something apologetic. Perhaps it would be better to let Fina and Esther talk to each other first and take a walk herself. Then Esther finally found her voice again.

'I never expected this,' she said, her head shaking. She gave herself a little push and opened the door further.

'But come in first. I'm more than curious to know what brings you both here to Paris. Although... I might have a slight idea.

Fina and Marta entered Esther's apartment one after the other. It was – no surprise – tastefully decorated, which was already evident in the hallway. The walls were full of photographs, mostly of women. Most of them were taken in Paris, that was obvious, but apparently also in other places. There were also a few pictures of Esther herself. The black and white photos, all carefully framed, were aesthetically appealing.

Esther led them into a living room that was the perfect size. It wasn't small, but it definitely wasn't too big either. The stylish furniture looked inviting and there were also some appealing photos on the walls here.

All in all, the apartment seemed much warmer than Esther had seemed to Marta. But she had to admit that she hardly knew Esther, except for the lecture the young lady had given her in her own office. It had been an unpleasant moment, Marta had had to pull herself together not to be too snippy. At the same time, there was a little bit of the self-confidence that she also knew from Fina. It had had a similar effect on her like with Fina, Marta was impressed, outraged and ready to flee or counterattack. But the feeling of attraction had not existed between them.

But there had to be more than this common ground for Fina to have given her heart to Esther. She therefore trusted Fina's taste and decided not only to remain open, but also to forget the first meeting in her office, and the uncertainty she had felt at the time, as much as possible.

'Are you visiting or on the run?'

At least Esther was not one to beat around the bush.

'We tried to reach you in advance, please excuse the intrusion,' said Fina, without initially addressing the question.

'Oh, yes, I only returned from Italy yesterday. Some business and a few days' holiday. When do you ever get to go to Rome, right?' She gestured for the two women to sit down. "But let's cut the small talk. Or at least postpone it until later. What brings you to me? To me, of all people, I should probably ask. I don't have the feeling that this is just a friendly visit." She glanced briefly at Marta in particular.

'Esther, we want to live here together. In Paris.' Fina had simply and briefly stated the sentence as if it were nothing. Almost as if it were a self-evident fact, something completely normal. Until then, she had been sitting on the couch with her hands folded, presumably sending little prayers to heaven in between. But now she took Marta's hand in hers.