Erik Pethersen - The Ball

«Okay, then I’ll go ahead with that. See you tomorrow.»

I go back to my desk, while Teresa quickly disappears behind the glass wall, and I attach the pdf files of the scans to a new e-mail, addressed to the Ciapper administration department. After doing that, I take Marco’s plain grey envelope, which appears to me to be by far the one in the best condition, and I place all the cashier’s desk inside it.

Ettore FinExtreme has already sent me the draft for the requested loan: I am delighted with his reliability and save the amortization schedule, without even opening it, in the folder of the couple, deciding to view it and examine it in detail tomorrow. I look at the time in the lower right corner: 13:07 pm. My working day at Sbandofin is over. I reach for the power button on the keypad with my index finger, but the sound of the phone interrupts my gesture.

«Yup?» I say holding the receiver to my right ear: it’s Serena.

«Sorry Lavi, are you going? Mrs Pardoli is asking for you.»

«Yes, I am about to leave, no problem anyway» I reply a little puzzled. I then add: «Who is Mrs. Pardoli anyway?»

«What do you mean, who is that? Marisa, the nymphomaniac, the one who tries to touch anyone that passes by, when she comes here!»

«Right, I see. Can’t you call people by their own name?» I retort, grinning.

I hear Serena laughing, I look up and see her down there looking at me and her amused face. «Yes, sorry, it was a too formal announcement: can you put her through to you?»

«Of course, thanks.»

«Lavi, by the way, if you are not in a hurry to get home, would you like to have lunch with me down below? We haven’t had a nice chat for quite a while.»

«Yes, fine» I reply right away. «I’ll find out what she is looking for and I’ll be right there.»

«Okay» Serena says, hanging up.

«Good morning Marisa, how are you?»

«Hi Lavinia, all is fine. Sorry, but I’m in a hurry: I was calling you because I need to buy myself a little thing, nothing much, a thousand euros. Can I drop by to see what we can do about that?»

«Of course, Marisa, whenever you want.»

«I have to open the shop at 9:30, can I come in early tomorrow morning?»

«Sure, I’ll be here at eight» I say lingering a bit. «Are you looking for the usual consumer credit, right? Paying by instalments like we did a short while ago?»

«Yes, sure, something like that. I’ll be there around eight am, before I go to the shop.»

«Okay, see you tomorrow Marisa.»

«Thanks Lavinia, see you tomorrow.»

I hang up, picturing in my mind the nymphomaniac’s busty chest decorated with a coarse pendant full of synthetic stones.

The office is almost deserted: there are only the new girls having a meal in silence at their workstations, Serena and me. The four senior men slipped out of the office a few minutes ago, shortly after Teresa.

I press the power button on the keyboard, grab the grey envelope and walk down the room towards Serena, walking close to the glass wall.

«Girls, are you eating bean sprouts today too?» I inquire as I look at the four of them munching the yellowish worms away which overflow from four identical plastic tubs. They keep staring at their monitors while nodding their heads in agreement at the same time: this must really be a unanimous yes.

I walk a little further and I get to Serena who is busy writing an e-mail while talking on the phone. I show her the grey envelope and place it next to the keyboard.

Serena looks at me for a few minutes, she smiles and goes ahead with the call. «Yes, mom, the important thing is that he is well; I’ll pick him up at five pm from your place.»

I am leaning against the first window of the many and I watch Serena’s profile, sitting with her back against the armchair. The legs are crossed: the left one is firmly on the ground with the heel, forcing the end into a rather tilted position. Her right leg is crossed over her left one and her right foot balances out her high heel shoe with her toes, swinging it.

«So, I’ll see you later, mom... Okay mom... I’m going for my lunch now... Okay... Okay, bye... Bye, bye... Yes, bye.»

Serena ends the call. «Lavi, this is the Ciapper envelope, right?» she then says in a softer voice. «Just one sec, I’ll send this e-mail.»

«Yes, Sere, that’s the envelope. Take your time: I’m done. I’m here looking at you and waiting for you.»

«You can avoid looking at me» Serena says, giggling as she speeds up her typing.

«Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you under pressure or be indiscreet. I look out the window then» I answer, turning to the glass. I look down at the street and see some people walking along the sidewalk. I think one of these is Teresa: she is crossing the street, heading towards the bank square.

«Here I am, Lavi» I hear Serena almost scream as she swoops over me from behind, hugging me by the sides.

«Are you crazy?» I say out loud.

«Sorry, it was a rush of affection» she replies, loosening her grip and moving to my left. She slides her right hand down my back until she moves completely away from my body.

«That’s Teresa» she says, looking out the window.

«Yes it’s her. She said she was late for lunch: she must be going to one of the restaurants near the bank.»

«It could be» my colleague replies, looking away from the window and staring at me. «Can I hug you again, Lavi?» I feel so loving today!»

«That’s enough: I wouldn’t want you to get in the habit of attacking me from behind.»

«Okay, then if it bothers you, I won’t do it again. You are in bad form today.»

«The four funny girls are looking at us badly» I whisper in Serena’s ear.

«Oops. Maybe we are using a tone of voice a little too loud?» she whispers in my left ear.

«Yours were certainly loud, mine was not as loud, apart from the words I said when you attacked me.»

«Attacked? It may be... And maybe we should leave the office.»

«Where do we go for lunch? I should be home by half past two.»

«I should be back to work at that time myself: I would suggest we go for a quick lunch at the bar opposite the office.»

«OK let’s go.»

«We go down for lunch, see you later girls: we leave the door open» says Serena, turning to the first two rows of desks.

The four heads nod five times.

«That’s a yes» I say softly, «it means they’ve grasped the idea.»

«Great, we can go then.»

I open the door and go to the lifts to press the call button. Serena takes her fur coat from the closet, closes the door behind her and joins me in the hall.

«What a nice fur coat you have: a little eccentric, perhaps, but it also looks very warm.»

«Yes, it’s really lovely» she replies, laughing. «Did you feel comfortable in it? Did you treat it well?»

«I think I brought it back to you the same way it was this morning» I reply. «Ah, you only had a lip balm in your pocket, right? I hope I didn’t lose anything on you without realizing it?»

Serena puts her hand in her right pocket and takes out the stick.

«Relax, Lavi, I never keep anything in my pocket, only this» she replies opening the lip balm and spreading it three times on her upper lips and the same amount of times on her lower lips. «I keep wearing it, otherwise all my lips will chap with the cold. It also tastes good, have you tried it?»

«No, I haven’t tried it. Do you think I steal your jacket and then I start using what I find inside too?»

«Look, you could have, I wouldn’t have felt offended. Do you want to try it now? Look, it’s really good.»

«No, thanks, I won’t.»