On the morning we met at school again, but this time we took a different route and we had to walk a few blocks more, to avoid being seen by her students. It turned out that the students had found out our relationship, and they were, apparently, mocking her because of it. In reality, I think it was I who clued the students in, because I had told three of my students about her (including her last name) previously. While I told them to keep it secret, I guess that they then went on telling everybody else. And that’s how her students knew about it.
At night that same day, I went to her house, due to an invitation from her parents to meet me. I was instructed to arrive there sometime between 19:30 and 20:00 “when the sun is still up”. As a gift from them I had decided to bring an ice cream cake, but I had forgotten when I was gearing up and I had to rush to Lanús Station to get it and then rush back to her house. I left my house to get the ice cream at 18:40 and arrived at her house at 20:02.
The bus to her house could only drop me a few blocks away from the place, so I had to walk the remaining distance by foot. I didn’t run, but I was certainly trotting fast. I got there and called the door. She welcomed me and let me pass. One of her dogs started barking at me loudly almost immediately, and then her mother appeared, trying to calm it. I learnt then that it was female, and that her name is “Lilo” after the character of an animated movie. The mother also welcomed me and told me her name, but I don’t remember it. They guided me through the kitchen to a dining table, where they were preparing the mass for the pizza. A giant bowl, full of mass, was lying on the table.
I sat down against a wall, at one side of the table. At the other side was her father, who introduced himself as “Juan”. The man looked old (I learnt that he is like 69, or something like it), bald, thin and tall. I couldn’t asses how tall because he was sitting down, but Andrea had told me previously that she is as tall as her father so I guess that the converse is also true. Her mother is not as tall, and much wider than him. I also noticed that his skin is very clear, where her skin is much darker. Andrea’s sister was on a test, so she wasn’t there.
As I sat down, and after introducing himself, Andrea’s father started talking. Mostly about himself and his deeds (he reminded me of a friend of my father’s), in a continuous way that barely allowed me to say some monosyllabic remarks. Her mother didn’t talk as much, though. I learnt that he likes Pavarotti and that that was kind of a running gag in the family. We talked about music, politics, the history of Buenos Aires, Andrea’s father health condition and some other topics. Andrea didn’t spoke a single word; she was barely noticeable, even while she was sitting right next to me at one of the heads of the table. As far as I remember, we didn’t touch on the topic of religion at all. They also didn’t directly ask me much, but I guess that they know me already through what Andrea had told them. Because of this, I think, they were more eager to be met by me, than to meet me directly.
Some minutes after dinner, her sister arrived. She looked very different than Andrea, with long curvy hair and a stature similar to their mother. I had been told that she is studying to be an accountant, which I pronounced, alongside advocacy, extremely boring. The woman in question is much more energetic and lively than Andrea (kind of her father) and she got me into a discussion of politics and economy. On a moment I was defending my point of view against the three of them.
Gradually, as the clock moved out of midnight, the discussion drained down. Her father told me “good night” in a language that I don’t know, and I answered in Japanese, pronouncing “oyasuminasai” which only the sister understood. I already knew that she likes anime as I do, but she was surprised that I knew actual Japanese from studying it. After that both she and the mother went to bed and Andrea and I had a few minutes alone. We couldn’t kiss properly because her mother was still prowling there. I called an UBER and went back home.
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