Order of appearance of sentences, words and chapters may vary and change in the final draft. All written in the following chapter is registered and protected by international copyright by © Natascia Da Prato * SGAE Member
Dr. Vladimir loved Thursday afternoons when the clock hit 6:00 sharp. That was the exact time when his last patient left. He liked to stay at his office a little longer and watch the sunset from his big windows, twenty stores above. He took out his cigar, cut the tip off, and smelled it with great pleasure. His mind wandered through the wilderness of his memories twenty years ago in the woods.
He saw a beautiful woman with a yellow dress running behind a brown-haired boy. They laughed as he watched. He loved sitting there in the middle of the trees right in front his Summer-house. ‘Daddy, don’t smoke!’ his ten-year-old boy yelled from the river ‘come swim with us!’
Birds echoed with his wife’s laugher and Vladimir knew how lucky he was to be right there, right then. ‘You go swim rybka. Daddy will come after he finishes his cigar’. When Dr. Vladimir woke up hours later in the woods, he didn’t remember falling asleep. Dead silence surrounded him: no birds singing, no wind blowing and no more laugher.
Now he sat there in his office surrounded by the same smell that reminded him of that exact moment. “I am so sorry rybka. I am so sorry” he said aloud.
Suddenly the door opened startling him “Oh dear. You are talking alone now doc?” Jacqueline slammed the door behind her and sat down in the chair in front of him letting her skirt go higher than it should have. Her perfect manicured hands played with a bundle of bright red hair. “So, what’s up? You don’t return my calls anymore? And what the hell are you doing smoking a cigar in a closed office?” She started moving her hands dramatically so the smoke would disappear.
“What on earth are you doing here?” he put the cigar out “Are you out of your mind? Did anyone see you come in here? “ he snapped.
“Oh relax, Vlad. I am not that stupid. I know you sit here in your pity party alone on Thursdays.” She stood up. “So, why are you not returning my calls?” she stood up and approached him seductively.
“You call me when you shouldn’t. Have some better damn timing Jacqueline.” He couldn’t stop staring at her long legs, his breath getting heavy.
“This was not the deal Vlad.” She sat on the table putting her sky-high stilettos on his lap. Dr. Vladimir remained silent. “We have been working for this a very long time doc.”
Dr. Vladimir stood up letting Jacqueline’s feet fall to the ground abruptly. “I need more time.”
“More time? I’ll give you more time. But my real concern is what happens then?” Jacqueline was getting irritated “You think after all of this is done, the three of us will live happily ever after?” she laughed “What do you suggest doc?”
“I suggest Jacqueline you get the hell out of my office and go do your part of the deal.” He opened the door for her to exit “Then we will take care of what happens next.”
Jacqueline stood up and fixed her skirt. She smiled and approached the door. Before exiting she got close to Dr. Vladimir’s face almost touching his lips “Don’t even think for a second that if I go down you will benefit from of all this. This was all your idea and if I go down, you will go down with me”.
Dr. Vladimir slammed the door and kissed Jacqueline passionately, almost as trying to make all of this go away. She pulled her skirt up as quickly and he pulled his pant down. Dr. Vladimir took Jacqueline on his lap and bumped her against the wall making a diploma fall on the floor shattering it’s glass in a million pieces. While he held her he thought how his soul had gotten as unfixable as the glass on the ground.
© Natascia Da Prato
thegoldenlimoncello.wordpress.com 