Like every April 23, Felipe made his second coffee in the morning, opened the notebook with the list, took off his red pilot’s hood and sat down in a chair in the kitchen. He took a sip of coffee, picked up his cell phone, and started the conversation. … round of calls: «Lucas? Hello Lucas! I’m Felipe, do I get you right? Hey nothing, first: how are you? Glad to hear it. So the hernia thing, already forgotten, right? Wow. At these ages we are all already leaking. Is Martha okay? Of course, of course, going back to work will have been good for him, I’m sure. Is your daughter still in those worlds? Whoa, Edinburgh! She’s not coming back! No, it’s a joke. We well yes. Raquel with her father, you know. But that’s what it has to do, right? And the boy finishing ADE, yes, in Madrid. Hey, Lucas, a little something, that I left you last year, the night you came home for dinner, do you remember? a novel by Vargas Llosa, I dedicate my silence to you, yes that one. Hey, would you mind if you leave it somewhere convenient for me, or leave it with the office janitor? Or well if you give it to me in my hand and we have a wine and see each other that way, then even better. It’s just that I have to write a little article, you know, for the University magazine and… Yes, now, now, it usually happens with moving, that you put the books in the boxes and then, who knows what box? . Well, if it shows up, you give me a shout, okay? You look to see. A hug also for you and Marta. With the pilot he crossed out the title I dedicate my silence to you and took another sip of the coffee. «Patri? I’m Felipe. What soooooo? How long! I think since the holidays before the pandemic. In Sancti Petri. Pay attention! I’m here to tell Puri: we have to call Patri and Fredy to meet. Hey, I won’t take anything away from you for a second, well, everything’s fine, right? Wow…, we didn’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing, Fredy is strong. What was I going to tell you: that I left you the book by Javier Marías Berta Isla in Sancti Petri, do you remember? Well, if you could, look, I have to… No, no, yes, yes, it’s mine. You will see that inside it is written my name in pen, I always do it, and a date. It happens to me too, there are so many books, that sometimes I don’t know which ones are mine and which ones… Now, who have you left it to? Well, if you can ask him, tell me. Yes, yes, when Fredy leaves the Hospital, of course. Hugs, Patri. And Berta Isla crossed out. Thoughtfully, she finished her cup of coffee. “Andrew? Andrés, I’m Felipe, from the Gym, we spent two years on the stationary bike, yes first thing in the morning; Felipe, the teacher, you called me. Yes, yes, time has passed. Oh, you don’t live here anymore? In Brussels? Ahhh, well, so no… No, no, nothing’s wrong! That… I was redoing my phone book, they hacked it and your name appeared, I remembered and said damn, Andrés!, so many early mornings pedaling hard there. Well, nothing, a hug Andrés, I confirm your number, to keep in touch, right? And he crossed out Fine Rain, by Landero, and Vicissitudes, by Luis Mateo Díez. «Virgil? Man, Virgil! I’m Felipe. Where are you? Boy, you just don’t stop, huh? So? That you were going to call me. What a coincidence, man. Well look, I got ahead of myself. Are you OK? Has Lola’s early retirement been resolved? Oh, no idea you weren’t together anymore. I’m sorry. Well, but I’m sorry. You’ll tell us. Hey, what were you going to tell me? No, no, Virgilio, I left Muñoz Molina’s to you; Come on, I’m completely sure, look inside my signature, you’ll see… Ah, you can’t find it… No, then it’s not that I have it, but that you’ve lost it. I left your steps on the stairs to you, one day when you asked me because I had seen Muñoz Molina on TV, in an interview. I remember perfectly. And you were so interested that I left it to you even if I still read it!, that I had to buy another copy…. Virgil?…. Virgil?». And he crossed out Lucas, Patri, Andrés and Virgilio. He poured another coffee, and made one last call: “Bernardo…?”
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