Love
Carla lowers her head onto the steering wheel and cries softly. After having a couple of days that were very tiresome and frustrating, a suicidal feeling has taken a hold of her and she hardly has the strength to go up to her apartment.
A few minutes pass before Carla takes her handbag and gets out of the car. She slams the car door shut and locks it. Walking to the building door, she takes a deep breath and enters.
“Were you crying, sweetie?” The clerk asks.
Carla ignores her and continues to the elevator. After she pushed the button, the elevator comes rushing down and opens its doors to its newest passenger.
Within five minutes, the woman exits the metal box and starts taking out her apartment keys just as the sound of someone singing, along with a vacuum cleaner’s noise, reaches her ears.
“What?!”
Carla walks past all of the upset neighbors and opens the door to her apartment. Upon entering, she freezes and stares at the scene.
Her boyfriend, Sebastian, is using the vacuum cleaner while holding the TV remote as if it is a microphone.
“Seven years and seven nights of thunder! Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah and I’m slipping under! I think I fell in love with the eight world wonder! YEEEEEEEAAAAAH! Seven weeks and seven nights of thunder! La-La-La-La-La and I’m falling under! I think I fell love with the eight world wonder!” He is a little off-key, but Carla still smiles at his theatrics.
“I think I fell in love with the... Oh! Hi, darling!”
Sebastian turns off the vacuum cleaner with his foot, and walks over to the radio and pauses the music.
“What can I help you with?” He notices her red eyes and his mood immediately changes to one of concern. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“Fine...I just had a couple of hard days.”
Sebastian looks at her with hurt written in his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You know me. I don’t tell just everybody about my problems.”
Carla smiles softly as Sebastian embraces her and holds her tightly.
“But I am not everybody.” He whispers in her ear.
“I know.” Her smothered reply makes him smile.
“I have an idea. What if we cheer you up with a little guessing game. If you win, then I will make you hot chocolate and we can watch your favorite movie. How does that sound?”
“Why not?”
“Great! I am thinking of a word. It is composed of four letters, and the first letter is L. What is the word?”
“Uhm, love?”
“Okay. Why are you cheating?”
“You are embarrassing.” Carla chuckles.
“And that, my dear, is why you love me.”
Sebastian pulls her closer and plants a kiss on her forehead.
“Right, I have to go and make some hot chocolate. So, if you will excuse me, Milady.”
He walks into the kitchen area and Carla falls onto the sofa.
“What are you doing in my apartment anyway?”
“I was bored and I was missing you, so I came over and started to clean while I wait for you.”
“You are abusing your right of owning a set of my keys, Mister.” Carla frowns and pulls out a slipper from under her back. “Why are my slippers on the couch?”
Sebastian just smiles as Carla pulls out her other slipper.
“Do you want marshmallows in the hot chocolate?” He glances up at her.
“No! I am fat! I cannot under any circumstances have a sweet thing.”
“Oh, okay.”
Clara throws her slippers onto the ground before addressing Sebastian again.
“You do know that you murdered the song and scattered its pieces on the battlefield of songs, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” Sebastian replies.
He brings the two mugs and places them on the coffee table. Carla looks at the mugs in horror.
“Why did you put in marshmallows?! I told you that I am fat!”
“You are not fat, you are beautiful.” He hands her her hot chocolate. “And don’t go telling yourself anything else. Cheers.”
Carla watches in disbelief as he gulps down the mug’s contents.
“Ahhh! Delicious. If I do say so myself.”
The girl giggles at him before taking a small sip of her own mug.
“So, you think I am beautiful?”
“Yes.”
“And why do you think that?”
Sebastian leans closer and whispers in her ear.
“I think I fell in love with the eight world wonder.”