The Bookish Love Affair #7 (Free Short Story)

“Look, today the young man from the other train is not in his seat either!” Florinda pointed out, when the train stopped at Agualva station.

Daniela had taken the day off to accompany her grandmother to the hospital. She was going to have a gall bladder operation. It was a simple operation, but Daniela was nervous, because her grandmother was already eighty years old.

“It’s almost as if they had an arrangement,” Florinda remarked, as she prepared to read the last chapters of the third volume of E. L. James’ trilogy.

“Good morning!” said a man’s deep voice.

Florinda raised her head to see who was greeting them and she was in shock.

“Good morning,” she greeted in a whisper.

“I have very little time, so I’ll speak quickly.”

The young man in front of her was tall and well built. He had beautiful hazel eyes, framed by an attractive face, with a short beard, Florinda noticed. From a distance she had never realized how beautiful his eyes were, but now, standing there in front of her, she could see them clearly.

“My name is Pedro and today is the last day I will travel on the train. I have been working on a project in Sintra, but it ends today. Please tell the young lady who usually sits with you that I would very much like to meet her on Saturday, by the Bertrand Bookstore in Chiado, at 4 p.m.

“Daniela, her name is Daniela,” said Augusto.

Florinda was still in shock, her lips ajar, and couldn’t articulate a word.

“Daniela,” Pedro repeated the name, smiling. It was a very pretty name, he thought.

“Tell Daniela I’ll wait for her on Saturday.”

The train whistled and Pedro was startled. He had to get out of the carriage before the doors closed. He handed Augusto a piece of paper.

“That’s my number. If she can’t meet me on Saturday, tell her to please call me and we’ll arrange for another day.”

“Don’t worry!”

Pedro turned and started running to the nearest door. He could hear the typical clicks that announced the train departure and knew that it was a matter of seconds until the doors closed.

Florinda stood up and clasped her hands tightly together, as if this would help him get out before the doors closed.

Pedro was already standing right by the door when he turned around.

“Sorry, I didn’t even ask your names,” he said, stepping outside at the same time the doors closed.

“I’m Florinda and this is Augusto!” shouted Florinda, recovered from the initial shock.

Florinda sat down again. Augusto smiled at her and held out the piece of paper where Pedro had written his phone number.

“I think you should be the one to give this to Daniela.”

Florinda grabbed the piece of paper with both hands and observed the handwriting. Then she put it away in her purse, very carefully. She was sure that Daniela would be very happy.

“Sometimes I miss being young and living life with such enthusiasm,” she said, in a venting tone.

In truth, what she missed was loving a man, what she missed was having a man who would be willing to do anything to win her over. But she didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

Augusto smiled and scratched his bald head. He had brought a gift for Florinda, which he had kept in his brown briefcase. Now, it seemed like a bad idea.

Florinda resumed her reading and they didn’t speak again until they reached Lisbon. Every now and then Augusto glanced at Florinda, but he didn’t have the courage to talk to her. During the whole trip he thought about giving her the gift, but always gave up.

“I finished!” declared Florinda, just as the train was reaching the final station.

She closed the book and put it in her bag. Augusto took a deep breath and opened his brown briefcase. From the shape of the package it was easy to tell that it was a book. Florinda looked at the package intrigued.

“Who is it for?”

Augusto seemed at loss for words. Florinda was curious. Could it be that he had bought a gift for a friend or a new girlfriend and wanted her opinion? Augusto scratched his bald head and smiled, shily.

“It’s for you,” he said, holding out the gift.

“For me? A gift for me?” she repeated, to make sure she had heard it right.

“Yes, it’s for you, Florinda,” he said, holding out the package to her. “Since you were about to finish the last book of the E. L. James trilogy, I thought should offer you a classic novel.”

Florinda took the parcel and stared at it, admiring the beautiful wrapping paper.

“Open it,” asked Augusto, gently.

Florinda smiled. Many years had passed since she had received a gift from a man. She opened the wrapping paper carefully and revealed the cover of the book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

“If you read it already, you can exchange it for another book.”

Florinda couldn’t stop smiling as she flipped through the pages with pleasure. She felt like a teenage girl receiving her first gift from a boy.

“I have never read it. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

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This is the seventh 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.