Martha

Chapter 25 I Love Her

Chapter 25
I Love Her

She tapped her feet on a puddle by the edge of the pool, making a splashy sound. Her arms crossed and the sternness on her face told me she wasn't for a joke there... but she was there! Why! Was it a good sign? It had to be a good sign, she had come to school to see me!

Baffled, I held myself to the pool's ridges. Still processing the unexpected visit, I didn't move an inch, didn't say a word... my fingertips urging to reach her toes to feel she was real.

"Are you planning to stay there the whole afternoon only staring at me? I need to talk to you Antonio!" Martha's question was a direct command and I obeyed. Without delay, I jumped out of the pool. Instinctively, the blonde stepped back as I stood in front of her, soaking all the floor, her sandals and feet.

I crooked a smile, eyebrows arching, to see where Martha's eyes were posing on. I kinda felt proud of myself. She scanned me from head to toes and I knew she was enjoying what she had in front of hers... I knew.

"Excuse me, I need to get the towel." I cleared my throat and modulated my voice to sound appealing to her. I was confident I was already appealing to her, still I wanted to push it a little more.

I strutted my way to get the towel, doing some muscle thing there with my biceps, pecs and abs. Squaring my shoulders up, I padded the towel precisely on those parts I wanted Martha to focus on. And it worked. Martha never took her eyes off me.  She owed me that one! While I was acting up the some sort of foolish/tempting ritual, I never stopped asking myself 'what was this woman doing there.

"You might be thinking, what I'm doing here?" She gave a few steps forward.

Talking about witches...

"Yes... What are you doing here? Well, let me rephrase that question because I want no more misunderstandings between us. It is not that I'm not happy to see you, because I am... unless you want to smack me. Wait! Do you want to smack me?" I covered my face with the towel in case she in fact wanted to slap my face.

Giggling, she dropped her arms and neared a bit more. "Look, Antonio... I... I just... want to say...-" only a few inches separated us.

"Antonio! I thought you had left...-" in that precise moment, Paula arrived to the natatorium, interrupting whatever Martha was going to say.
The three of us stared at each other. None of them pleasant looks I must admit. The librarian sashayed her way towards us, her demeanors defiant. "What is this woman doing here? Haven't she left the town?" Paula's tone was harsh, impolite.

"Paula, please, not again." I told her, feeling like running out of air.

Can lightnings really hit the same spot twice?

"Now that you ask, Miss Carvahlo, I don't know what I am doing here either and I think it's better for me, for us, I guess, for me to leave. I'm only playing a fool here." Martha's cheeks flushed, face dropped with a mix of shame and anger.

"Martha. No. Please." I grabbed her hand and begged.

"I'm so sorry... I... I was so mistaken for coming here. I must go."

"Wait, Martha! Please, don't go. What were you going to tell me? Please, tell me. Look, we can go somewhere else to talk." It was more like a plea than a question.

"It doesn't matter anymore", she said, shaking her hand off. Darting first at Paula with sternness, she then turned around and walked away without looking back at me.

"Martha!" I grabbed her arm.

"Please, let me go." She said, her eyes staring at me with severity.

I let her go.

It was like a stab to my heart. I could do nothing else than watching her go. My eyes watered, burning with the sourness of impotency. What had just happened? Why again? I had it so close. I had her so close! She'd come after me, to talk to me and then... Paula came and screwed it up again.

Paula... Paula. I didn't want to look at her but I had to. She was still there, looking at me with sympathy. "Why didn't you run after her?", she asked.

The question puzzled me. "What?"

"Didn't you want to stop her?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what? It's more than clear to me that she's the woman you love, or not?"

The question rumbled in my ears, squeezed into my brain and reverberated in my head. 'Did I love her? Do I love Martha?' "Yes", the so honest monosyllabic was uttered without hesitation. The word met no friction in my conscience or in my heart. I was totally certain about that. I was in love with Martha.

"And what are you waiting for Antonio? Go after her before it is too late! You must tell her!", Paula encouraged me. There was the same urgency in her voice than it was in my mind.

"Paula... I...-"

"You don't need to explain anything to me. I've seen enough to understand that you two are meant for each other. You love that woman, and I'm pretty sure she loves you too. If not, why else has she come here?"

Paula's argument sounded so logical. It had to.

"Oh my God! You are right!" I gathered my clothes and tossed them wet in the bag in a hurry. "I must tell her! Thank you Paula!" I kissed her forehead and cupped her pretty face. I was thankful, nonetheless, I felt bad for her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be", her voice broke. "Go now."

I nodded, smiling at her. Halfway dressed and barefooted, I hustled out the pool area, slipping here and there. I had to make it that way across the school yard to the front parking lot, but I didn't care. Only Martha mattered to me in that moment. All gossip and murmuring could go to hell while I only hoped I could make it on time to make the woman I loved to stay.