Mrs. Santangel, who was used to seeing Albina being polite in front of him, was furious at these words:
-How dare you speak to me like that!
Albina slowly returned to her seat:
-I used to respect you because of Umberto, but now that Umberto and I are divorced, you are a stranger to me at best.
Mrs. Santangel is exasperated at his indifference:
-Since you know you and Umberto are divorced, why are you bothering him and asking him to take you home! My son’s fiance is now Yolanda, and your mother would be ashamed of you if she knew you were so shameless in flirting with married men.
If Mrs. Santangel had only insulted her, Albina would not have been so angry, but when she referred to her mother and used the ugly words, she became furious.
-You’d better watch your words,” Albina slammed her fist on the table. If you heard that Umberto took me home last night, you should have heard the whole story, he asked me to take me home, I didn’t bother him. Besides, I’m afraid Yolanda has more experience in seducing married men.
-What are you talking about? When has Yolanda ever seduced a married man?
-When Umberto and I were not divorced and Yolanda was already in our house and she came to tell me that Umberto liked her, isn’t that seducing a married man?
-No, it’s that…
-I haven’t done anything and you come to scold me, she has done everything and you defend her.
Mrs. Santangel choked at Albina’s words, with her eyes wild and her chest full of anger.
-Forget it, I won’t talk to you so much,” said Mrs. Santangel, sitting down like a thunderbolt on the chair in front of her. Tell me, how much do you want to leave my son?
Albina stopped with the pen in her hand, she did not expect this kind of drama to happen to her, this line only appeared in novels and on television.
-Albina, don’t pretend, you have done everything possible to appear in front of my son because you want to go back to our family and what we have! Just tell me, how much do you want?
The lady looked self-assured, as if she had guessed Albina’s mind.
-Are you really going to give me money, check or bank card?
Mrs. Santangel was surprised at her shamelessness, he had never expected her to agree so easily. She looked at Albina with distrust, thinking there was a conspiracy.
-Why are you looking at me like that, now you don’t want to give me money? Well, I’ll call Umberto later and ask him to come and pick me up. You were saying that you didn’t like this house and that I’ll live in the Santangel family.
-You really want to come into our house.
-Yes, after all, your son loves me very much, and it’s hard for me to live in such a miserable house and make a living! Why should I work so much when Umberto is here?
-How much do you want, you fill it in,” Mrs. Santangel rummaged in her purse, took out a check and put it in front of her.
-You are very generous,” Albina took it, took a pen and filled it in, then handed it to her. What do you think of this amount?
Mrs. Santangel took the check carelessly and when she saw the amount on it, all the contempt and arrogance disappeared from his face, and he looked at her with gritted teeth:
-Albina, don’t overdo it!
-Mrs. Santangel, if it weren’t for the restrictions of the check, I’d want more. Umberto is worth much more than that.
Seeing the twisted face of that lady, Albina continued:
-Does Mrs. Santangel seem to think I’m wrong? Do you think your son is not worth this number?
-Albina, you’re kidding me.
-You were the one who was teasing me in the first place. You’ve been scolding me ever since you walked in the door. And now you’re humiliating me with money, even though I’ve filled out the check, you’re still angry.
Albina threw the pen on the floor and added:
-It seems that today we can’t come to an agreement, the door is there, let you go. If you still want to humiliate and abuse me in my house, I will call the police immediately. If they handcuff you and put you in a police car in front of so many people, you will not only lose your face, but also the Santangel family’s face.
Mrs. Santangel was furious, her fingers were trembling and she pointed at Albina, ready to speak.
Albina picked up her cell phone, which had already been inserted into the 911.
-As soon as you speak, I’ll hit the dial button, if you don’t believe me, you can try.
She was calm, without the shyness of three years before, and Mrs. Santangel felt as if she no longer knew her, how had Albina become like this? In the end, Mrs. Santangel left, not quite sure of Albina’s attitude, feeling that she was not just talking for the sake of talking, but would actually call the police.
Albina watched her leave and was no longer in the mood to draw her designs, her eyes were cold. Mrs. Santangel did not understand that the reason she had put up with the sarcasm for three years was not because she was a coward, but because Albina loved Umberto, and because of that affection, she tolerated her mother’s domination over her.
Albina picked up her phone, erased the three-digit 911 and redialed a number she knew by heart, even though it had been a long time since she had dialed it.
Umberto was working on a file when his phone rang, he casually looked at it and saw an unfamiliar number. For some reason, he had a strong feeling that it was Albina’s phone.
-Albina! -At the second ring, Umberto picked up, in a voice of expectation.
-Last night you asked me if I would give you a chance, and now I’m answering. No!
Albina hung up the phone immediately after saying that. With her mother around, even if Umberto was nice to her, she didn’t want to go back to her family to face that one all day and endure such humiliation.
The phone rang and Umberto held it with a confused expression.
After a moment, he finally came to his senses. Last night it was clear that Albina’s attitude had been much better, why would she suddenly give him that answer, without giving him the slightest chance to speak. And there was anger in her voice, as if she had just been through something.
With a cold stare, Umberto put Albina’s number away and redialed it, only to hear an artificial answering voice:
-The number you have dialed is on hold.
Several times in a row, it was the same thing, and Umberto’s face darkened as if he had been blocked by Albina.