SHORT STORIES

THE RESTAURANT

  Laura awoke in a depressed mood. An awful sun came in by the bedroom window and made it impossible to remain lazy in bed.    Pablo was looking at her thinking that he would soon start to cheer her up with his usual tricks.
  “I'm going to have an awful day!"   Laura said, still lying in bed.
  “Don't say that, my dear. It will be a lovely and sunny day.”
  “I don't know.”
  “Look out of the window!”
   “But it will end like yesterday.   It was cloudy all day.    You know I get my headaches when it's cloudy.”
   Laura started to get up unwillingly and began to stretch her arms.    She was wearing synthetic silk pyjamas, the kind that gives you mild electric shocks. 
   Pablo usually got very excited with them.   Through the half opened bedroom door the sunlight could be seen flooding into the corridor from the living room.
   Laura went into the bathroom.    She washed slightly, stretched out her arms and went out to the corridor. There was plenty of time for a shower.
   She went to the living room with her slippers on.
Here the morning sun was fully coming in through the large naked window. Laura was mildly shocked to see a lot of unknown people in the living room. An old lady was in the armchair knitting something, while two ladies were just chatting in a couch.  
   A third was seated in another armchair reading an old newspaper.    "Good morning, madam!"    Said the woman who was reading the paper with a hint of mockery in her voice.    The other women echoed the greeting.    A pair of children were riding on the back of the couch, three more were running around the room and two more were just crawling on the carpet.    Two children had tuned into an interactive play channel in the t.v. And they were very happy shooting Martians dead.    It was a beautiful age.
   Laura's face was showing the feeling of living a nightmare.
   “Excuse me for the asking, but... who are you?”
   “Oh!    What a memory you have, madam!    We are Saint John's people.
   “What Saint John are you talking about?”
   “Saint John The Bold.”
   Laura was bewildered.
   She didn't understand a word.
   “What is that?” she asked.
   “Oh, madam.    How is your head this morning! We are the earthquake's people!”
   “The earthquake... What earthquake?”
   “Sorry, madam.    It seems you've awaken this morning with your head in the clouds.    Which quake would it be?    The Saint John's quake.    The worst one of the millennium.”
   These words came from the lady who was sitting in the armchair reading the newspaper.
   Laura felt very bad with all the sun that was coming in from the large window. And then, all these children running around the room, shouting or crying one after another, were wearing down Laura's nerves. Really, the children were not shouting so much if we were going to believe the "sonometer".    It was reading eighty five decibels with peaks of ninety two.
   This was nothing, for kids that were used to shouting loudly on the slopes of a shanty neighbourhood without sewers.    Laura did not know how lucky she was; for the children were already used to living in such a fine house.    So they were shouting less loudly, about five or seven decibels less than in open slopes.    This was because, with the strong walls of the house and the double glazed windows, most of the sound was reflected. And the children screaming rebounded and shocked their own sensitive ears.
   One of the small children went crawling to Laura's feet to play.    Laura fell clumsily on the floor.
   It had been some time since poor Laura had messed with crawling babies.    Just lying on the floor, she felt less irritated than helpless. Then Pablo was coming by the corridor. He as fresh and charming as ever. Laura, still sitting on the floor, looked at him irritated. She could not understand how this man could manage to be always so happy.
   “Who are these people?”    She asked.
   “They are the victims, dear."
   “The what?
   “The victims.”
   “Which victims?”
   “The victims of the quake.    They are good people.    They were chosen by our friend Henry so that you would not have any trouble.    Don't you remember Henry?    He is our friend that works with the social services?”
   “But how are we going to live with so many people?”
   “I thought you were already used to it.    They have been living with us for more than three months already.    And it would be better for you to realise that they will remain here until the government could provide them with a new house. We must be patient, dear, at least for a few years.
   Laura felt very strange today.    For the kids were running around in the living room.   And above all, she was mad at her stupid husband for he found every nuisance in life as if it were a natural event.   It seemed that he never was annoyed with anything and always looked as if he were immunised against all the trials and troubles of life.    So it was she that had to suffer all kind of ills, it was she who had to bear all the crosses of this world.    She felt the headache was coming on.    Today it would be a most horrible one.
   “Oh, dear, dear!” Pablo said with tenderness.
   She stood hesitant and meek at hearing his words.
   “Your expression is pitiful, darling.    Why don't you take a shower to exorcise the headache?    Afterwards, we can go to a restaurant to forget all this.”
   Laura was not in a situation to argue.    But the idea of a shower sounded good to her.    She went to the bathroom but, on arriving there, the most unpleasant odour was emanating from the half open door.
   “Sorry, madam!”    A voice said from the bathroom”    I've got loose bowels.”
She went back again to the living room.    It was still full of sun and noisy children.
   Now she was aware that the kids were running on the spacious area around the living room's furniture.   All pieces were moved to the centre by the ladies with the intention of making room for the kids to run freely around.
   So you could feel very glad watching those healthy kids running and shouting.   But Laura was insensible to this glorious sight and put her hands to her head as if trying to keep out the oncoming headache.    Pablo, seeing her attitude, put his hands around her head with his fingers spread out in a tender gesture.
   While doing this, Pablo heard a girl saying to another:    He is going to kiss her.   He is going to kiss her on the mouth.    Look!    Look, it is very exciting!
   “You look dreadful, Laura,” said Pablo.
   “Yeah?”
   “Forget the shower.    We are going to a restaurant.
   Don't worry.    With a little luck it is going to pour down and this will have the same effect as having a shower in the bathroom.”
   Laura was easily convinced by the words of her husband.    His words were nearly magic.    Pablo always won from her almost any whims he could fancy.
   Laura, still wearing her pyjamas, left the flat with Pablo. They started to go down the stairs holding hands lovingly.
   “This place is rather dark.”
   “I know, darling.    But the lift is out of order, you know.”
   “...!”
   “All this is the fault of the earthquake.”
   “...!”
   “Moreover, going on foot is a good exercise.”
   “...!”
“It can reduce the cellulite that worries you so much.”
“...!”
   “A walk will be good for you.”
   This was the way they usually chatted.  Now in the street they saw a few dark clouds in the sky.  There was going to be a shower.  But there were also breaks in the clouds which allowed the sun to shine brightly through.
   “It would be impossible to have better signs“, said Pablo looking at the sunny part of the sky.”
   “Rain and sun.  The moon is in Saturn.”
   “Good.”
   “Mars is jumping over the fence to Venus.”
   “It's a joy.”
   Laura nearly stumbled on a small hole in the floor, but Pablo took hold of her at the last second preventing her from falling.  Such was his ability that he did it in spite of being fully occupied viewing the astral positions of the day.
   “Mars is jumping over the fence to Venus.
“Yeah.”    “I think these planets are showing lewd expectations.”
   “...!”
   “Who knows?
   What would have in mind all those lewd planets?   They are so prone to loaf in the night!”
   Laura was walking with her head raised. She was holding hands with her husband and inhaling deeply the fresh air of the morning. The headache had wholly dissipated into nothingness. She was wearing her fine silk pyjamas. You know, the kind of trouser pyjamas with wide legs. The type that billowed up into the air with the slightest breeze and much more in this unsettled weather. The pyjamas wide legs were flying up this morning like a weightless and impudent skirt.
   The first drops of rain had started to fall. It was nothing. Just a few small drops of nothing.
   “My pyjamas are getting wet.”
   “Look on the bright side, Laura. It will discharge all this static electricity that you are carrying.”
   “It started to rain.
   They were falling peas-size drops but they were repelled and changed direction at the feeling of the electric charge. But the silk cloth started to loose its positive charge, became wet and stuck to her body. Laura saw herself nearly naked.
   “This was a very bad idea.”
   “Sorry?”
   “Where did you say we were going?”
   “To the restaurant.”
   “But it is not lunchtime yet!”
   “Never mind, dear.  If we arrive late, we are not going to find a table.
   Laura was now aware that there was a small crowd of people walking down the street.
   All were going in he same direction.”
   “Where are all these people going?”
   “I think they are all going to the restaurant.”
   “...!”
   “I told you this must be a very fine place.
   We must hurry up and get there early in order to get an empty table.”
   Laura thought all this was absurd.
   But her husband's words always sounded so logical that she never rejected them.
   So she went stepping on the pools of rain and splashing water like a naughty girl.
   The silk pyjamas completely soaked by the rain and sticking to her body and she realised that she was almost naked. She looked around at the other people walking on the street to see if anybody was looking at her with lustful eyes.
   But nobody was looking at her naked beauty.
   She was now afraid that she was loosing her sex appeal.
   Even her own husband, almost insatiable, was not looking at her almost naked body.
   Everybody was paying attention to their own walking.
   She felt her husband was making her to hasten her pace.   Everybody was going to the same place.
  This was disappointing to her.
   “Where are all these people going?”    “I have already told you, Laura.  They are all going to the restaurant.”
   “But look at my pyjamas! They are soaking!”
   “It is only water, Laurie.”
   “And to top all this it is raining.”
   “But look at how the sun is also shining.
   Your pyjamas will be dry in a moment.”
   “I look naked!”
   “You look beautiful naked” said Pablo patting her quietly on her bottom with his palm.
   She felt a pleasant sense with the patting.
   It was like an electric discharge in the pleasant centres of her body. She felt very comforted. A light wave of sober joy made her body vibrate. She felt better now and sensed the strong arm of her husband pressing her shoulders. She let him take her at a lively pace in spite of having her slippers soaked.
   Arriving at a crossing, they saw a stream of muddy water running along the wide street.
   “We must cross by here,” said Pablo.
   “Here? It's horrible! The street is full of water!”
   “This is only shallow water, Laurie.”
   “My slippers are going to soak!”
   “They are soaked already.  Do not worry.   Everybody is crossing by here.”
   Then, Laura had to accept her husband was right again. Everybody was crossing in spite of the water running along the street. Laura did not like to follow the fancies of the crowd. But it was clear for her now that this restaurant would be a very interesting place. There could not be any other reason for all these people that were going towards it.
   The water was running quickly above their ankle's height.
   “I am getting soaked”, said Laura.
   “It is nothing but a foot bath.  Very good for blood circulation.”
   Laura felt some frequent irritation that her husband always found everything so bearable. She was prone to rebel against all the elements and social constraints. But her husband was always sweetly pushing her to the back garden of his own meekness. He found everything right and always had logical reasons to explain the most absurd situations.
   At last they crossed the street now almost like a ravine and saw a porter wearing a smart mauve shining uniform. It was made with a substantial woollen cloth with very thick lapels. These lapels were crossed and had big brass buttons reflecting the sunlight that in this very moment was shining into a clear of the clouds; as if to show them that they were arriving at the restaurant.
   The light reflected by the buttons was a dazzling the sight. It did not hinder Pablo to look with envy at the thick silk braids of a shining green colour, hanging from the porter's shoulders, finished by very big tassels. They were like those used by old aristocratic families to call their servants. The porter was showing an unexpected dignity. His chest was held high as if looking up to a bright future and so he was showing up a very big chin. Moreover, he was able to increase his noble appearance by means of a belly of respectable size that went from his prudish part to his proud neck.
   “You can see how well fed the porter is “said Pablo”. If this were a mean restaurant there would not be much food left to feed their employees.”
   “...!”
   “If you would see this porter emaciated it would be a different story. This porter is telling us this restaurant is of much plenty and quality.”
   “...!”
   With a stretched out arm the porter was pointing to the stairs, not telling a word.   He could have precise instructions from the management to remain still for not discomposing his solemn stance.   The crowd was arriving at this very moment and they have not any need of farther explanations.  Everybody understood perfectly that they must go up by these narrow concrete stairs.  They were very steep and flexible.   So very thin that they could swing freely in the space.    As the crowd was going up the stairs were rocking softly like a ship.
   Some people felt a kind of sea-sickness.
   Laura's husband was pushing her softly to make her go up the stairs.    In several parts, the stairs had no handrail. But in other parts there was as rail a hasty contrivance made of planks in the same way as it is used in construction sites.   But this do not inspired anybody to put their hands in them, for they gave the impression that if you touch them without care the whole thing would fall down over the crowd that was coming to the place.
   Laura, Pablo and the crowd were going up the long and narrow stairs. They were rocking as I said. And the swinging was so harmonious that the thing was probably an architectural masterpiece.  It was not crazy to think that this very place could be an interesting sight for architect students from abroad. I am imaging them coming from all parts of the world to admire this work and shoot pictures. So they could be proud at home with these photos, proving they were in this very place.
   “How long does it take to arrive?” Laura said panting.
   “We must be near.”
   Pablo's words comforted Laura.  Her husband was always right; well, most of the time.  Even when Laura had any of these horrible headaches, he always did with his able fingers a kind of massage that changed the bad disposition of her body. Just a moment ago Laura was saying no and minutes later yes.
   Pablo was nearly a sorcerer. And he was very patient. He knew that some acts should be done slowly or not at all. And he never came in unless Laura was begging him to. The headaches with this treatment vanished in just a moment.
   At last Laura and Pablo came to the end of the stairs. They were finished with a bridge to the left who let them before a dark cavernous entrance. There was a small plucky woman making gestures of greeting in a Japanese manner. She was telling something that sounded as Mandarin Chinese and making gestures with her arms for the people to enter and go in by the long corridor. This was making turns and turns in right angles. Then the corridor was running down in a ramp so as they always were going down. Everybody was going very sure and nobody was worrying by the dim light of the corridor.
   At last, after many turns, there was a wall with a great placard that said "Restaurant Entrance".
   Under the placard there was a door. It was a door rather queer as it had a small size; about three foot high. Laura saw the efforts made by a blond athletic guy of big size to pass the door. By his body size and skin colour he must surely be a Yankee from Wisconsin. The Yankee shrank and twisted himself with such ability that he passed through the door easily.
   Laura thought with reason that if a Yankee of this size could pass through this door it would be much easier for her due to her much smaller size. And just in a flash she was shrinking herself to pass through the door.
   Pablo was relieved that he did not need to push or instruct her wife to pass through.
   Once they passed the door they saw themselves on a kind of Spanish patio.   At least Pablo was not an expert in architecture but had an inner conviction that it was a Spanish patio.  He could not explain the reasons.  It was like an instinct.  There was a big tropical palm growing in a huge oak barrel and the floor was covered with big basaltic tiles.  Noble Spanish basalt, certainly.
   This alone was a detail that gave a rank to the patio. In the wall an arrow was painted; it was telling the way to the restaurant.
   Then they arrived to a point where was a hedge to control the orderly access to the mess hall. This must be the place, Pablo thought.
   A man with the look of a waiter said aloud,  "Come in ten more!"
   He was wearing a not very clean shirt and you could see clearly on it some stains of red wine and olive oil.
   Moreover, by the part of the belly you could see the shirt had an uncertain grey colour.
   I said a hedge barred the pass. It was a singular hedge, only found in a restaurant like this. It was an ecological barrier. The hedge was made of real plants, with very well trimmed boxwoods, piracanthas and ivies. All this was mixed with a wild art.
   Most of the customers showed in their faces how eager they were to enter the dinning room.  Most of them were of athletic complexion and could easily jump over the hedge, as it was not high.  But Laura never was very good at gymnastics or sports and she was embarrassed with the prospect of being unable to jump.  Pablo saw a way to pass to the other side of the hedge without the risk of breaking a leg.  There was a small hole under the fence.   Crawling on the floor a little bit you could pass easily to the other side.   Pablo was able to jump but stayed beside his wife and crawled under the hedge after her. In this way Laura entered creeping and felt herself very happy. It had been a long time she did not make such an exercise. When she got to the other side she said aloud: What a pleasure, to crawl on the floor! Pablo went in crawling as she did.  They stood and walk a few yards when they found another obstacle.  A very big and plump woman was barring the way. She looked like the cook or perhaps she was a cook's assistant. I figure this because she was covered with a white overall rather soiled with oil from the frying.
   The woman seeing them with their hands empty asked them in a rude manner:
   "Hey!  You!  Where is the food?"
   They were perplexed, because they were ignorant about the subject of restaurants. They had arrived there without bringing anything to eat.  The impatient lady pushed them out saying:
“Out of here! Out! Let the way out for the customers!”
   Pablo felt he had the right to ask at least one question.
“What do you advise us, madam, to do?”
   “Go back home and bring some food.”
   Laura was very upset.
   But Pablo reasoned with a smile saying that all the fault was his.   He had not foresight to come well supplied for the trip.
   He hugged Laura with a strong arm to alleviate her of this disappointment.   She felt the strength of his arm on her shoulders and calmed down.
   “It is only natural, Laury.
   This restaurant is very important and we need to accept its norms.   If were not for the norms, the world will sink into anarchy.
   Pablo accepted the situation with intelligent resignation.  In a place with such demands one does not come with his own ideas.
   Then he went back toward the ecological barrier.
But the place was at this moment occupied by a crowd of hungry customers jumping merrily over the hedge of box.  And when they looked at the ground they saw all the lower openings full with less athletic people that were crawling eagerly to enter into the restaurant.
   Pablo decided to wait until the hedge was free of the customers fighting to enter at the dinning room. He was aware that the waiter who kept the order when they came was now absent. He was out somewhere and now all was submersed in a state of anarchy. To calm Laura's nerves Pablo was hitting her softly with his hands in her rear. She felt the light waves of pleasure expanding into her body. On the other side, her silk pyjamas were already dry and were starting to get its static charge of electricity. With this charge the silk tissue started to float and to wave in the air like something immaterial. Because of these qualities, Laura felt in her sensitive skin the light currents of air that were rising around her warm thighs. These currents were exciting her and had the effect of making her feel totally naked. This feeling was much increased in some privileged days; but she never asked about the cause of this. Laura knew that, in any moment, one of those athletic customers jumping the hedge was going to be aware of her fine thighs. To a certain degree they were hidden to the sight by the silk but at the same time they were very near to the touch for a dauntless hand. An indiscreet hand that could have the courage to lose for a moment the manners of decency.
   One of those moments that are inexplicable.
   For some seconds Laura saw a flash of lust in the eyes of a young man who was crawling under the hedge.  She thought he was looking at her with a lustful glance and this enhanced farther her excitement.
   The young man was able to control his lower instincts.  And once he stood up he went directly to the cook who was controlling the way of the customers with her huge body and large spread arms.
   The young man gave her some chops and pork sausages and went directly to the dining room.
   Everybody brought some food for the cook. Some brought beef and others chickens or rabbits. Even some brought some bottles of wine. Modest people brought just some eggs and potatoes to make an omelette. Pablo in spite of his simplicity and lack of precautions had an infinite patience and was ready to come back home again and take out back all the food needed. This time he would be able to pass to the dining room like everybody else.

Autor: Leopoldo Perdomo