We were going for a walk on a Spring afternoon that felt like an early summer, and he told me about his father. He’s such a smiling, carefree person, but as he talked, I saw the sadness in his eyes. He had a happy childhood and early teens. When he was about 17, his father abruptly decided he wanted to divorce his mother. For years he had been having an affair with his personal assistant, and apparently, …
Tag: marriage
Every time she looks at the pink lipstick, stuck in a drawer together with the others, she remembers how special it is, because of its story. It was given to her by her husband, in the final weeks of their marriage. They had come to a point when the uneasiness between them was something tangible, palpable. They were coming to the end of their journey together, she knew it. All it took was the courage to take a …
She’s driving on an autumn sunny day, and on her Spotify playlist James Blunt’s nostalgic voice sings “You’re beautiful”. She remembers driving another car, years ago, while listening to that same song on the way to meet him. At the time they were working together on a project, there was nothing between them, or maybe only a feeling of growing trust, the beginning of a friendship, of shared ideas; somehow there was a taste of something good to come. And …
Dear Uncle The other day I was revising the first chapters of my book and came up with a scene where the main character, Teresa, has a long talk with her Uncle Jorge, who is so much like you that he can only be one of my favourites. I’ll never forget those talks. In addition to your being great company, with a sense of humour I enjoyed so much, you always had wise words of advice to …
She turns it again and again inside her head and for the thousandth time she is unable to reach a conclusion. Rather, she feels unable to decide. Her life hangs in the balance and she has no clue about what she will do next. She knows what she wants to do, what she would like to do, but then she thinks of the unsurmountable obstacles and she falters. She cannot do it. But how can she not do it, and …
She looks out of the window. It’s raining outside, as it is raining in her heart. She remembers an old song by Leo Sayer “It’s raining in my heart”, but then it meant nothing to her, as her life was full of sunshine, no heavy clouds on the horizon. Unfortunately, it now seems so appropriate. Forty years Forty years, she thinks. Forty years of love with a man, youthful years shared, then a life built together, the happiness of …
Life is seldom simple, and neither are mother-daughter relationships; as much as we may love our mothers, and they love us, it always seems complicated. At least in our family. For many years you fail to understand why it is so. You try, you try hard. And then one day, suddenly it all becomes so clear, and you finally grasp it, and it becomes so much easier to understand – and forgive. Old times Take Granny, for instance. …
Today, like so many times before, I pass by our wedding place, that wonderful, old manor house that stands in the midst of the Sintra mountain, surrounded by the dark green of centennial trees. Again, I see the whitewashed walls and the imposing gates and at the bottom the small chapel where we were married. We were among the last couples to be married there, remember, as soon afterwards the Church decided all marriages had to be celebrated in the …
Just the other day I was thinking about 1979 and how it was a year of major changes in my life, when I realized it was forty years ago. I simply couldn’t believe it! A decisive year First of all, it was a year of learning. I learned about love but also about disappointment and grief. New people came into my life that were very important for quite some years: I gained a new love, who would mean …
It is inevitable. Any wedding brings back the memories of my own, of that long ago day when I was as happy as you are now, as much in love and trusting in the future. Believing that love would last forever. Three decades and many disappointments later I am still a romantic at heart and as such I believe you and your bridegroom will be happy. A happy DNA After all you come from a family of happy marriages …