The Bookish Love Affair #4 (Free Short Story)

Daniela got on the train in a hurry to escape the downpour. When she got to her usual seat, she found the lady in the floral blouses and the bald gentleman sitting in the same seats from the day before.

“Good morning,” greeted Daniela, while shaking a few raindrops from her raincoat.

“Good morning!” replied the lady, with enthusiasm. “Yesterday we didn’t introduce ourselves. I’m Florinda and I just learned that this is Augusto,” she said, pointing at the bald gentleman.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Daniela.”

Florinda was wearing a showy blouse with red roses and red a lipstick that matched the roses in the blouse. Unlike Daniela, who preferred neutral and discreet tones, Florinda was an explosion of colors.

“We’ve been thinking,” started Florinda, pointing first to her and then to Augusto, “and it’s your turn to challenge him,” she concluded, while leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, as if she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She seemed very pleased with herself. Daniela looked at Augusto, who was smiling shyly, and realized that it had been Florinda’s idea.

“Do you still have the notebook I gave you?”

Daniela opened her purse and took out the notebook, without saying a word. She was about to hand it to Florinda, but the woman gestured for her to keep the notebook.

“Write down a quote from the book you are reading,” ordered Florinda.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

“Of course it is! Now it’s his turn to guess the title of the book you are reading!”

Daniela took the book out of her purse and stared at it. She had read it several times before, but this time she was reading it for her master’s thesis. She knew it was a cliché, but she loved that Jane Austen book. She stood still with the book in her hand, her fingers caressing the hard cover, while she decided what to do. Then she grabbed the notebook and started writing. She doubted he could guess, unless he googled it, of course. When she finished, she pulled the sheet of paper out of the notebook and held it in her lap, waiting.

“So, why do you go to Lisbon every day?” asked Florinda.

“I go to college. I’m taking a master’s degree in English Literature.”

Florinda frowned.

“I love to read, as you may have noticed,” she said, pointing to the Nicholas Sparks book on her lap, “but will you be able to get a job with a master’s degree in Literature?”

Daniela let out a nervous laugh. Florinda had touched on a sore point. Daniela had taken a degree in nursing, following in the footsteps of her parents who were both nurses. The big plan (her parents’, not hers), was to finish her degree and join them in England, where they had been working for some years. The salaries were much higher than in Portugal and she would have a guaranteed future. When she finished her degree, Daniela realized that nursing didn’t make her happy and decided to change her life completely. She decided to stay in Portugal, with her grandmother, and study literature.

There were only a few months left to finish her Masters and she still didn’t know what she was going to do next. Her dream was to work at the Faculty as an assistant, but it seemed almost impossible. There was rarely an opening, and when there was one, there were many applicants. Her parents had not approved of her decision and continued to hope that she would join them in England to work as a nurse. Daniela’s only support was her grandmother.

“When I enrolled in the Master’s I didn’t think about the career opportunities, but rather about the passion I have for literature. I can’t conceive the idea of spending a lifetime working on something that doesn’t make me happy.”

Florinda and Augusto smiled.

“Books are magic. Every time I read a book it’s like I’m transported to other universes, it’s like I’m living thousands of other lives.” Daniela’s eyes sparkled.

“I understand you,” said Florinda, holding Daniela’s hands tenderly. “I dropped out of a teacher’s course to become a florist. At the time, it was a mess at home when I told my parents. But I never regretted my decision. Many years later, when my husband left me for a younger woman, it was the flowers that put food on the table and paid for my daughters’ degrees. Today both my daughters have their own families and good jobs and they wanted me to retire, but I don’t even want to hear about retirement. I still love what I do. Flowers are my life!”

“That’s how I feel. Books are my life!”

“We are arriving at Agualva,” interrupted Augusto.

Florinda let go of Daniela’s hands and turned to the window.

“There he is!” said Florinda, waving.

The young man smiled and waved back, much to the distress of Daniela, who gripped the sheet of paper so tightly that it crumpled. Her hands were sweaty and her heart was beating fast.

“Go ahead, show him the quote,” encouraged Florinda.

Daniela hesitated, her eyes nailed to the floor. She felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest at any moment.

“Maybe you have a boyfriend and that’s why you don’t want to play this game with the young man from the other train,” said Florinda, as if she had had a revelation.

“No. That’s not it. I don’t have a boyfriend, I mean, I did, but we broke up a few weeks ago. It’s just,” Daniela hesitated, “that I’m a private person and I don’t like to expose myself.”

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” said Augusto, in a soft, fatherly tone.

Florinda grimaced when she heard what Augusto said, and he gave her a disapproving look.

“Yes, you don’t have to do this,” said Florinda, in a resigned tone.

Daniela took a deep breath. She wanted to get into the game. A game involving books was exciting and fun, but her shyness was paralyzing her.

Florinda sighed. Although she loved her job, ever since her daughters left home, her days were all the same. Monotonous and unexciting. She needed something to brighten up her days. A challenge that involved books was exciting. That exchange of messages between trains was fun, and she didn’t want it to end.

The train whistled, warning the passengers that the doors were about to close. Daniela grabbed the paper and jammed it against the window, avoiding looking at the young man on the other train. Florinda squealed with joy and Augusto laughed. The station was behind them in a few seconds.

Daniela took the paper off the window and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She didn’t know how she had the courage to do that. Florinda was ecstatic and couldn’t stop laughing.

“I don’t know if he could read the quote,” mumbled Daniela.

“I’m sure he did!” said Florinda, patting Daniela on the shoulder.

On the white sheet of paper, she had written: “but I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book.”

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This is the fourth chapter of my short story “The Bookish Love Affair” that I’m publishing here on the blog. It’s a sweet romantic comedy about two strangers on two different trains who share the love for books.