Marcelo Birmajer’s new story: Exercise

Lugur waited for the coffee to cool; strictly speaking, he preferred to clarify his wife’s expression before drinking it. Adela’s face revealed a certain unease: as if some behavior of Lugur, unknown to him, had irritated her. There would be no choice but to speak or listen to her.

But I didn’t want to spoil the first sip of coffee of the day. He even preferred to throw the cold contents of that cup into the grate of the kitchen sink, and turn into another when the discussion had subsided.

In more than twenty years of marriage and two children, Lugur had learned that there were arguments; but a badly drunk coffee would ruin your day.

“I have to tell you something,” Adela announced.

Lugur’s stomach muscles contracted.

Rocío, the youngest, 19, suddenly walked into the kitchen and both Lugur and Adela imposed a certain normality, or lack of intention, into their appearance.

The girl greeted them with a good morning, and as soon as she fixed her eyes on her own cup of coffee, Adela motioned for Lugur to leave. In the back yard, they could talk without being overheard. Lugur lit a cigarette to justify his position in the house. He never smoked in the morning. But that morning perhaps it was necessary just do it.

“The time has come to tell you the truth,” Adela began.

Lugur couldn’t even imagine what that personal news would be.

Of course, all the puzzles were pitiful. But none matched any previous suspicions.

– All these years – Adela detailed, paused and unlocked – have been a theatrical exercise.

Lugur stubbed out his cigarette. Of all the possible disasters – the predictable, the terrifying, the pathetic, a Greek tragedy or an Italian tragicomedy – this revelation had not been cataloged. It was such an unexpected raid that it even relieved him somewhat.. His question was not original: -How a theatrical exercise?

– At the age of twenty, when we met, I was part of the Vital Theater group.

Adela was looking for an invisible point in the calm sky, neither gray nor blue, in an indeterminate climate.

– If I want to be totally honest – he continued -, I was part of the Vital Theater group, and that’s why we met.

“I’ve never heard of any Vital Theater,” stammered Lugur, bewildered. We met in Professor Ervind’s geography class; You asked if history and geography …

“Yes, yes,” Adela admitted. We’ve said it a million times. But I had already selected you. I have already participated in the Vital Theater. You had to choose a partner, a boyfriend, a husband. Someone to make life with.

“I don’t understand,” Lugur lied.

He understood, it was difficult for him to accept.

– Our courtship, our marriage, this life … were part of a theatrical exercise.

– Sons? Lugur asked in a low voice. Dew? Nacho?

Adele nodded silently. Lugur thought her face would contract, that he would confess through tears. But she just repeated, impassive: “A theatrical exercise.”

place he burst out laughing which surprised him.

– How’s it going now? he asked her, as if the outburst had unblocked his throat.

“Now I’ll do my job,” Adela stressed. This is my calling. I will be an actress. I’m ready.

20 years of life passed through Lugur’s memory. Each situation had been a fiction. The pain of childbirth, the taste of food, the tranquility of a solo trip along the river. The moment he thought he was king. All a farce.

– But … What does it concern us? -Lugur insisted and clarified: -I mean Nacho, Rocío, me.

“I don’t know,” Adela reported. Everyone will have to make their own decisions. I am going to Finland. There I will interpret the classics of the Scandinavian sagas: it is the work of our master. There is a whole cast.

– Men too? Lugur asked feeling stupid.

“Sure,” Adele confirmed.

– Hey guys? Lugur infantilized them, trying to reach the mother’s heart.

“Tell them the truth,” Adela replied. You can tell him, I can tell him. But I think I don’t see them anymore. For the next ten years, she probably won’t come back here. The theatrical part is very demanding.

“They might come and see you,” Lugur murmured.

“At your own risk,” Adela challenged. Biologically, they are my children. But my real relationship with them is like that of any actress with the characters that make up her family in a series. Think about it: like we’re the Ingalls family, but off the set.

“I can’t think about it,” Lugur admitted, and gave a low, sad laugh. I will need another twenty years to assimilate it.

“It’s not that long,” Adela relativized. We are young. And now more: because I start my life.

“The boys …” Lugur murmured.

“They are already big,” Adela rejected. They must also have their own things. I don’t think he cares much.

Lugur put a hand to his face. He took his jaw. He decided at full speed.

– When do you leave?

– I can’t stay another hour -she said-. It’s part of the exercise.

“Come with me to the kitchen,” Lugur declared, “we woke Nacho. You repeat everything you just told me and you go.

Adele agreed.

Lugur lit his second cigarette. This morning was for smoking, after all.

wd