Pina Colada

Chapter Two - Newspaper

------------

Theo came home on a Friday evening, as per usual one hour before his wife would arrive, with a bag of Chinese takeout in his left arm, briefcase squeezed under the right and the newspaper, that he liked to pick up on his way home along with the food, squeezed over the case.

He was an avid morning paper reader of course, so the one he bought on Friday evening was a special one, which he liked to enjoy throughout the weekend.

It contained a good mix between serious political issues and fun or exiting articles about the happenings of strange everyday people and the curios life people tried hard, or in these instances, not so hard, to hide behind closed doors. In short, it contained the type of stories that made one feel more normal for understanding that that pretended normalities might not exist at all. Yes, of course it was a scandalous newspaper, and that was probably why Theo relished it, as we perhaps all secretly do when it comes to gossip.

On the one hand, he was a man accustomed to the clockwork routine of his life and age, but underneath all that, not clear when exactly or certainly, lay a secret part of him that yearned for adventure and excitement, childlike enthusiasm, that longed to be fascinated by the world around him, and explore this spontaneity of life in its simplest form. Almost like a caged bird that desperately tried to get out, but wouldnt admit that to himself, because god forbid who was he to have such infantile longings.

Sometimes it was hard to tell if the limitations of a regulated life were the blessed structures that held it together (a blessing), or in the contrary - bars of steel that held one prison. (Human beings are strange, they need the exist in the right amount of stability and flexibility, and to much off one ore the other either creates a prison or chaos)

By the time Mona arrived ( precisely at 19:00) at home that same Friday evening, Theo would have already showered, put on his beloved home outfit with the soft worn coat on top, made himself a cup of black tea with lemon, and skipped through the more serious parts of that very special newspaper mentioned above, which he would after some time contently lay aside, saving the scandalous part of it for after they would have had dinner and he would immediately go straight up and make himself comfortable to enjoy the main part, as he liked to call it (of the paper).

(But before that) Dinner would usually be nice and pleasant, talking about the hilariously incompetent politicians of their country, or the one that gave everyone a headache in their absurdity, the neighbours, their little front garden, if and what plant needed more care or more watering, or occasionally a rant about a collegue or boss from work.

I can assure you, if one wouldnt know better, and would only be given an audio recording of the conversation between this two, one would surely assume that the talking parties where close friends, but nothing more certainly.

(For a few months now Mona, unbeknownst to her husband, in the silence of the living room that followed Friday dinner and Theos vanishing upstairs)

Quiet contemplation followed on her part. She liked to think that their love had been a beautiful fire in one of those cosy fireplaces, ingulfing the two of them its warmth. But as it sometimes happens through the evening, the fire unnoticeably became smaller, as it sometimes tends to do does when left forgaotten and thus untended, and they had both sat on the couch in front, so comfortable, forgetting about it to busy with their own lives until it suddenly became colder and colder, but by the time they started to notice - the fire was almost quenched leaving some glowing coal here and there, indicating that there once was something else.)

It had happened so slowly, and that was probably why the hadnt noticed until it was to late.

And Mona felt so cold inside these days as if permanent frost had ingulfed her heart, freezing all those deep feelings, creating a white and still landscape within. She was in the winter of her life.

Those grim thoughts surrounded Mona that very evening again, because with time theyd taken up more and more space in her consciousness until inevitably theyd become a realization. For all the comfort and stability, shed felt, there was something missing. Something big, something that could not be replaced with food, friendship, or another shopping trip for things she should buy in the first place. A thing called love, perhaps?

After an hour or two Mona usually joined Theo upstairs. Shed change into her pyjamas, would brush her teeth, and take off her make up or even take a shower in the connecting bathroom to the bedroom, while Theo stayed completely engrossed in his reading. Then Mona would climb on the bed, grab a book from the nightstand by her left. Since they were quite traditional in that way, that as the woman she slept furthest from the door, in this case on the left side of the bed.

Then theyd both read side by side, cocooned under the silky duvet of their bed, which for the past few years hadnt experienced anything but bedtime reading and pious sleeping. After 30 minutes Mona would sigh, close her book with finality, make a practised turn with the upper body and exact calculation to put the lecture back to its original place and switch off the little lamp next to her night stand, sometimes followed by a kiss on her spouses cheek ,or when in a less affectionate mood the temple, and the shed turn her back to him, shielding herself from the identical little nightstand lamp by Theos side, and was usually asleep within 5 minutes.

A quarter of an hour later, he let out a long yawn, and decided that he too was feeling tired enough to venture to the land of dreams.

But this very evening, just as he was about to close the paper something caught his eye.

On first glance it looked like any other add placed in the social insert page, where people wrote the most ridiculous request and inquiries in search for love ,sex, underpaid nannies mixed housecleaning and dog walking duties.

But this add had the most unusual title - Pina Colada- and from time to time Theo had very much enjoyed said drink on the few beach holidays hed been to in his life. Thus he was suddenly awakened by curiosity he brought the page with the add closer to his nose and started to read.

His first thought was that someone might be planning a party involving or selling the beverage, but as time went on and his eyes travel trough the words further down, a puzzlement settled expression in them. Then his eyebrows quirked with astonishment and slowly but surely something between a slow smile and a smirk settled on his face.

He must have sat there and stared at that add for what felt like iternety, when he suddenly lowered the paper, gaping into the semi darkness of the bedroom, his wife snoring gently next to him.

As if hit by a sudden realization he turned to looked at her, a guilty glimmer flashing through his eyes, but hardly noticeable, because it was replaced by barely hidden excitement the very next second( in an instant).

As quietly as possible he went through a manoeuvre, which involved him trying to roll out of bed, without waking Mona, and then sneaking over the wodden floorbooards out of the room and down the stairs, without making any of them squeak, which they were so proud of being the owners of a beautiful sweet rustical cottage, but nevertheless quiet unpractical construction for a situation like this Theo thought to himself.

Like a child sneeking aroud after bedtimes hours into the kitchen trying not to get caught by parents while stuffing as many sweets as possible under its pijyma to then carry back to hide under ones bed, Theo likewise snuck out a paper blank

---------------

Updating in progress - but, fewh-it's a loooong way to go.

Hope you enjoyed the second chapter!