Before you read this blogspot, I suggest you read part 1, that you can find here.
She took another
sip from the wine he had given her. It was
probably a very nice wine, considering she was in Spain and considering how rich his family
must be, living in a presumably big house behind the high stone wall she was
leaning towards. When he had given
her the glass of wine, he had asked her to wait just a little while, so he could
prepare his family for another guest.
So here she was,
outside of the garden where the party was taking place, sipping on a glass of
wine all alone. She was starting to feel silly. What was she doing here,
standing outside of a house where there was a party going on, a party to which she did not seem to be welcome?
They had had fun tonight, she and the boy with the
longest, darkest eye lashes she had ever seen. Much more pronounced than hers,
even when she used "super volumizing mascara". It was not just
the eye lashes of course. It was his shy smile, the jet black hair and the
wonderful paintings he had done in art class. All of them illustrating animals
of one kind or another. They had had so much fun together that it had seemed like a
good idea to come along to this party. But now she had her doubts. He had asked
her to wait just a few minutes.
Now, she had been in Madrid long enough to know
that "a few minutes" in Spain meant something different than a few minutes in
Sweden, but still. She had waited quite some time already. If he would not come back within ten minutes she would leave.
"Have you
gone insane? Do you want to ruin your big brother's graduation party?"
They are in the kitchen,
he and his mother. She holds her slim arm across the chest, the other hand
holding a wine glass.
"You know how
difficult this is for him. All these people. It only works because he knows
them all very well and everyone knows how to treat him. And you want to bring
in a new person, some foreign girl we have never seen?"
He looks at his
mother, searching for words to say even though he knows he will not find the
right ones.
"There are
already more than twenty guests here. One more or less is not going to make a
difference", he says weakly, Too weakly.
His mother puts
down her wine glass on the counter.
"Don't
pretend you do not know your brother, you know how strangers can upset
him!"
He knows very
well. He knows his brother's condition is the reason they live like they do, now
that they can afford it. Away from the busy part of Madrid, behind a high wall,
with access to a garden where the family has a lot of space just for
themselves. No unexpected noises, no strangers coming in unannounced. A
predictable world for his intelligent but socially handicapped brother. His very
own Rainman. He was about to agree with his mother when she said something that
really hurt.
"That you
even think about this only shows that you do not really care about your
brother."
His wounded look
makes her step back.
"I love my brother more than you will ever understand! I know him a lot better than you and
father do. But you, you only care about him, about his condition. That you have a healthy son that also has needs is something you
don't care at all about!"
He grabs a wine
bottle from the kitchen counter and storms out of the kitchen, out of the
house, into the garden where groups of people are sitting around the pool, eating
the tapas the catering firm has brought. All talking loudly while drinking wine and other drinks.
His
big brother stands on the other side of the pool, in a suit that is tailor-made
for him but still looks like it belongs to someone else. When he spots his kid
brother his eyes light up and he walks towards him, smiling. When he gets
closer he slows down. Wants to show his affection and happiness, but wants to
avoid physical touches. Not that he needs to worry, his kid brother knows very
well. He just lifts his hand in their brother to brother -type of wave they
have used since they were both little.
When he has
congratulated his big brother he rushes to the gate, while he wonders how he will
explain to his queen of light that he really wants to be with her, but that he
cannot invite her in. With the wine bottle still in his hand he nods to the
guard who unlocks the gate. When he looks out his heart falls down to his stomach.
The only thing
waiting for him is an almost empty wine glass standing next to the wall.
Background:
I was inspired to this story when I encountered this wine glass outside a big garden with a stone wall during one of my morning dog walks.
The real story about this lonely wine glass? I don't know, so I made up my own.
What story would you make up?
Read part three of this story here.
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