Rum rented a car. I thought it was a great idea. First train home was at late afternoon, and i wanted to be away as soon as possible.
He was serious and silent. His mobile didnt stop buzzing but he didnt even care to check it. He asked me if I minded his smoking in the car and I said go ahead, so he opened his window and drove in silence, and after the long night, I dont know when but I fell asleep.
I woke up when he stopped the car in a gas station. I was not hungry but we decided to sit in the bar, and asked for the hamburgers of the menu.
When the waitress went away, Rum bent over the table.
'DD, I want to know what happened'.
'Your mom doesnt like me, she came and told me', I said quickly.
'Thats all, its ok, Im so sorry for the drama, can we please forget about it?'
'I want to know everything'.
'Rum, really, I... we rather forget about it. Please'.
He looked at me in silence and I began crying. Damn, he looked so... different. He never acted that way before.
After some minutes he said I should eat the hamburger, but i couldnt. He didnt touch his either, just said, ok, lets go, and paid the bill.
I dozed a bit more but was awake when we stopped in a motel in the middle of nowhere. It was getting dark, and the neon missed the M.
The clerk told us the bar would close in twenty minutes, so we went there. I knew I was not able to eat a simple chip. I felt a horrible load in my chest, and just felt like crying. What a disaster.
We sat and the waiter said they only had chicken sandwiches, and Rum said it was ok.
The place was empty. Rum said, 'DD', and when I looked at him he said without smiling,
'DD, I know you are upset and I understand it, but please, I want to know exactly what happened'.
He was not going to give up, and my silence seemed to make him angry, so I told him what her mom said.
I was there for the money. I was there to sell info about the Van der Kerk family to the journals. I had no morals and Anna Maria had caught us making love in a semipublic place. Lets make the story short, I dont like you DD, you are not the girl I want for my son. Period.
The sandwiches looked horrible. Neither of us had touched them.
'Can we go to the room, please? I am not hungry and Im very tired', I said, and Rum called the waiter.
(to be continued)
