Love Is Pink!

Despite my anxiety, I made myself pause a moment before dashing off.

“Merci,” I said to André, which caused him to smile even wider.

The office smelled like oil, cigarettes, and tea. I grabbed the receiver and dialed Valentin’s cell number. I knew I’d be able to reach him. He always made time for me. It was one of the certainties of our extraordinary relationship and great love.

My heart thumped as I heard ringing on the other end. My call was answered quickly. Typical Valentin—a true man of action.

“Hello?”

Only, this voice did not belong to Valentin. It was a female’s.

“Yes?” I said, perplexed.

“Who’s speaking?”

“Um—” was all I could get out.

“Is that you, Ms. Kr?mer?”

Suddenly full of rage, I held the receiver in front of my face and stared at the perforated speaker as though I might see through it to the person on the other end of the phone.

“Don’t you dare hang up!” the voice said in a tone that wasn’t exactly gentle.

I pressed the receiver to my ear, took a deep breath, and said, “I would like to speak to Valentin.”

“You want to speak to my husband, Ms. Kr?mer? You have the brazenness to call here and ask me to speak to my husband?”

I started to respond, but I was interrupted again.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Ms. Kr?mer. For a long time, I’ve known that my husband’s been having an affair. An affair with you. My man isn’t very useful, and as a businessman he’s a complete zero. But he’s my husband. Do you hear me? My husband. The stress is on my!”

“But we love each other—”

“Love?” the woman laughed. “Did he fob that off on you? He’s the best at that! I’ll tell you the one thing that Valentin really loves: money. My money, Ms. Kr?mer.”

“I won’t let you ruin this,” I said. “Valentin and I—”

She laughed again, and cruelly. “You think there’s something special between you and Valentin? Sorry to disappoint you. He’s always going after some young thing. And each time he does, he spends a small fortune on her. I let him have these little escapades because when the women reach a certain age, he loses interest. But now I’m pregnant, and the fun is over! Now I need him.”

“But—”

“No buts. If you call here one more time, you’ll see another side of me. I’ll destroy you.”

Now I’d had my fill. “How do you intend to destroy me? I’m on my own two feet. I’m financially independent. I can do whatever I want.”

“Really?” Valentin’s wife paused artfully. “You naive little thing. You work as a real estate agent. Who do you think owns the company you work for?”

“My boss,” I stammered.

“She’s the manager, not the owner. That company belongs to our family. And when I say our family, I mean it belongs to me. Why else do you think you were hired there? With no qualifications whatsoever except for your sexy little ass!”

This time I was reduced to silence.

“You leave your cutely manicured claws off my husband and find someone your own age—and at your own level. This is the first and last time I’ll ever speak to you. Should we for some unexpected reason need to talk to one another again, my legal department will take over. I think we understand each other.”

The drone of a dial tone told me she’d hung up.

I don’t know how I made it out of the office. I just remember staggering through the courtyard. Tears ran down my face. Emma clung to my legs and pressed her head against my belly.

David dropped his tools. André gave me a compassionate look. The sun had just hidden itself behind a cloud, and a thick shadow covered us all. But, after a brief moment, the sun fought its way free. Its rays streamed into the courtyard, onto our faces and the varnish of our Citro?n, which glistened with a cheerful, carefree brightness.





16


I opened the car door with the clothes I’d selected in my arms. My suitcases remained on the pavement.

Before I got in, I said to David, “Leave the bag on the left where it is—I’ll need it again. You can put the other one back in the trunk. And don’t come in here until I’m finished.”

“May I ask what you’re planning?”

“No, you may not,” I said firmly. “At the very least, I need to dress myself up a bit.”

We’d driven away from André’s in the perfectly repaired Citro?n. However, it had gotten quite late already. The day was nearing its end, and darkness was creeping up from all corners. I’d begged David to look for the next Hilton Hotel, and now we were parked not even 100 meters away from it.

While David and Emma kept a lookout, I climbed in the front seat, shut the car door behind me, and transformed myself back into a woman of the world. Tight black skirt, cashmere sweater, high heels, and a camel hair coat. All by major designers.

Doing my makeup proved difficult at first since there was no light and no proper mirror. But, after a while, I got used to the rearview mirror, and even managed to artfully style my hair.