Chapter 4 Between drinks and operas

4. Between drinks and operas

Nina stared at the cell phone screen, catatonic until Kara took it from her hands and switched from voice call to video call.

When David Nichols' face appeared on the screen, Nina's friends were stunned. It was really him! Nina didn't know what to say, she just stared wide-eyed at his image.

David's smile brightened when he saw her. She looked the same as when they first met at the disco. A strange person!

Then Kara reacted by taking the phone and hung up, interrupting the video call.

- Now I believe it. It really seemed to be you. I accept the date," Kara wrote.

David found this whole Nina schism strange, but at the same time, it made him realize that she didn't care who he was, after all. Anyone else in her position would be hysterical, but she only cared about the fear that she was visiting one of the cities in Italy that, for her, was one of the best known by the organized mafia. So he wrote down the address and the time of the meeting. Kara confirmed that she would go, but made a lot of demands. To her own surprise, he accepted.

At six o'clock in the evening, Nina was already in a cab going to the place David had booked. She convinced the taxi driver to take note of that ride, gave him money and instructions to call her an hour after dropping her off, and if anything sounded strange, to call her friends and the authorities.

Nina arrived at the meeting place: a resort of sorts. She reminded the driver of what they had arranged, then got out of the cab, her legs trembling, one thought ruminating in her mind, "What am I doing here?"

Entering the resort, she made her way to the reception desk, greeted the attendant, and asked if anyone was waiting for her. The receptionist checked a clipboard and then asked her to accompany him inside the establishment.

Nina was breaking into a cold sweat. The inside of the resort was gigantic, with intimidatingly well-dressed people. The receptionist guided her to a wooded area, with leather couches scattered throughout and a waterfall in the background. Nina sat down on one of the couches, maintaining an elegant posture: legs crossed, hands clasped over her knees, and her spine so straight it hurt.

When Nina heard some footsteps coming from behind her, her heart began to beat fast, her hands trembled more than her legs, and her mouth suddenly went dry. David Nichols appeared in front of her.

- Buonasera! - he greeted.

And she replied in Portuguese:

- Good evening.

Then he sat down. Nina stared at her hands, not knowing what to say to him. This time she didn't have the excuse of being under the influence of alcoholic beverages to be so brave with words, as she did at the disco party. Fortunately, David started the conversation:

- How was your day?

- Fine," Nina replied, monosyllabic.

- Are you hungry? Would you like something to drink?

- No.

- Nina. Are you feeling uncomfortable?

She didn't answer.

- Was it something I did? - David asked. - You don't like me, do you? I mean ... something to do with the tabloids? Maybe something you read or watched, something that makes you behave that way towards me?

- Not at all! - replied Nina. - I don't know anything about you or anything you've done. That's just not what we agreed. I... I said no fancy dinner. I don't want to eat in front of a stranger, and even less food that I certainly don't know about.

David looked at Nina carefully. From the tense shoulders, the forced posture, and the trembling voice, she must have been terrified.

- You don't have to be nervous, Nina," he said. - I'm just a normal person like anyone else. Would you like a drink?

Nina nodded.

- As long as it's not blue.

David gestured to a passing waitress. Nina ordered the drink sex on the beach and David ordered the same.

- I'm on vacation," he said, "resting in a spa, forbidden to do anything that has to do with work. Actually, I shouldn't even mention that word.

David Nichols had a thick timbre to his voice. He spoke slowly as if he was in no hurry to go anywhere. He talked about the amazing places Nina could visit during her stay in Rome; he talked about his career, about his food preferences, his hobbies, places he dreamed of visiting one day, and Nina just shook her head and answered "Unhum", pretending not to have a super attention deficit. After a while, David started throwing around random questions in an attempt to relax her:

- Do you like dogs?

- I like all animals, but I prefer cats.

- Of course," he said, smiling.

Nina couldn't hide a smile that broke out without her being able to stop it. David felt that the mood was becoming a little lighter after all.

- Tell me more about yourself," he asked.

- I don't have much to tell you," Nina said. - Ask and I'll answer.

- All right, let's play a casual game. Let's play a game of relaxation. A kind of "I never". To see if you can get rid of that beak.

Nina nodded with a smile.

- If I ask you something and you don't answer, you drink. If you are rude, you drink. That goes for both of us. How about that? - said, David.

- Okay, I'll accept the first condition," said Nina. - But not that if you're rude you have to drink... that's not how the game is played.

Nina knew that if she had to drink every time she was rude, she wouldn't be able to walk away.

David cracked a smile of irony and left it there, stamped on his face from one corner of his ear to the other, then called the waitress again and ordered a tray of shots.

The fun began. David asked about Nina's work and wanted to know all the details. He asked the name of the hospital, in which sector she worked, what she did there, what her co-workers were like... He even asked about her workload.

Nina answered the questions in a serious tone, but with a smile hidden on her face. She knew that David only wanted to irritate her with those questions.

David looked her right in the eye, letting it show in his body language that now she was going to lose. He approached her at the table and, staring at her, asked how much she earned per month.

Nina rolled her eyes, twisted her mouth, and said firmly how much she earned, without blinking.

- Drink up! - she ordered. - You're the one who lost this one!

And suddenly both of them were stubbornly laughing, talking at the same time, and calling each other a cheater. He was explaining that those weren't the rules, and she was cursing him as a bad loser. It was then that he said that she was the bad loser because she only answered so she wouldn't have to drink. And he kept talking:

- Nobody answers that kind of thing, woman...

- And nobody asks that kind of question on a first date," she added.

Nina turned over two shots, one after the other, "Who's the bad loser?"

David looked at her fascinated. "She has to be Aryan," he thought and turned over two shots as well.

- You're such a bad loser that you responded so you wouldn't lose, and you drank so you wouldn't have to admit it," he teased.

- Ditto. I'll say the same for you," answered Nina.

And the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds until they couldn't stand it and started laughing.

David said that now it was her turn to ask. Nina was already holding another shot.

- I'll pass! - she said, and then drank.

- But the rule is to drink if you don't answer, don't drink if you don't ask," David protested, and then turned another shot.

They both laughed because in reality the game didn't work and they just wanted an excuse to drink.

a shot goes, a shot comes, and the two were already quite relaxed. After a few good laughs on silly subjects, Nina was already more relaxed and less suspicious. David was watching her with an air of satisfaction, after all, this was the plan all along.

They talked about the places she liked to go in Norway: bars, pubs, and what kind of entertainment there was. She answered in rich detail, her voice full of excitement. He continued with his long list of questions about her life, taking advantage of the opportunity that she answered everything without objection and with great clarity.

He asked about the Latin culture, about her country of origin, about her family, her parents. He asked about practically everything in her life, and she answered so frankly that sometimes he couldn't believe his ears. Nina was so transparent, so direct that she could shock people with her honesty.

David was delighted. She was the opposite of him and of all the women he knew.

- You didn't ask me anything. You just answered," he complained. Then out of the blue Nina let one out:

- Why would a man, of such renown as yours, have made an anonymous profile on a dating app?

David laughed. He replied that maybe out of curiosity, or for fun, or to pass the time. He reminded Nina that she also had a profile on the same application, and she blamed her friends.

- You were the strange one in the messages, weren't you? The faceless profile?

- Yes? - replied David.

- Well, you were talking to Lyon and Kara. The only thing I wrote before I went to that party was the last sentence about the dress, so I deleted it all at once.

- You also wrote that you would be the prettiest at the party! - reminded David.

Nina wanted to stick her head on the resort floor, such was the shame she felt at that moment. Of course, she didn't let David see it.

What was he implying? That she wasn't the prettiest? The thoughts purred, "Of course I'm not, I know that. Look at the thousands of models and actresses this man must be used to, my God!" Still, she asked him:

- And I wasn't?

- Yes, you were," he answered, staring at her.

"That's why I couldn't find her," thought David, "She had deleted her profile. I couldn't compare the photos, but I knew it was her down there."

- Still, trying to win the game?

Nina stood up and started to talk:

- Oh, come on! This canoe has been dribbled out for a long time. This game was already won before it even started. I knew there wasn't a question in the world I couldn't answer about myself. No one is so important that I can't tell you who I really am. No one! I wouldn't lie to anyone! You know, only when I want to go to the bathroom, and I'm a little dizzy, but I don't want to admit it, and then I can say I'm going to powder my nose, but I'm actually going to pee, it's called politeness, not lying!

Nina babbled on and on while trying to stand up, and David promptly held her and tried to help her.

- Do you need to powder your nose now? - he said, referring to the fact that he knew she wanted to go to the bathroom.

- Yes, stranger.

He formally gave her his arm to hold and followed her. Nina could only think of one thing as they took short steps to the bathroom: "It smells good! It smells like new stuff." She let out a sigh that made him look at her in a corner.

The two of them went to the toilette and met back at the sink. They washed their hands, looked at each other, and he rinsed water on her. Nina turned on the faucet again and splashed even more water on him. Then they started laughing.

David enjoyed hearing the sound of that relaxed laughter. He stood in the doorway watching Nina smile as she dried herself with a towel. Nina became serious again. She apologized again, but then said it was his fault. He agreed.

They both dried themselves off and returned to the table. She could not hide a sarcastic smile on her face.

- What is it? - asked David.

- Nothing," answered Nina.

- Weren't you the one who said there's nothing you can't answer?

She looked at him, this time without smiling, and asked:

- What's with you and the bathrooms. That's what I was thinking. Satisfied?

- Yes," David smiled. - I had frankly never cared about the bathrooms until that Friday night at the club. I had never been on a date in a place like that.

- It wasn't a date, you know.

- But it would have been if you hadn't runoff. By the way...

- Why did I leave? That's just the way I am. People say I'm weird and withdrawn and suspicious. I've traveled a lot around the world. To tell you the truth, since I was in the military at the age of 18. I've seen it all. I've had contact with many different cultures, where men treat women as if they were objects, and everything is trivialized in the end.

- Have you created a kind of shield? Are you afraid that something like this will happen to you?

- I think so. I also read a lot and what I see is that the idea that it is romantic for a man to have everything, money, physical strength, arrogance, beauty and jealousy, and the woman to depend on him for everything, even to be happy, while she has nothing, is very much appreciated by thousands of people... that's scary!

And they continued talking about the most varied subjects they could talk about that night... They both paid attention to every move they made, every word that was said, every charm that was thrown...

The taxi driver called. Then Nina's friends called too. Nina talked to them in Portuguese, and made them promise to keep everything that had happened in Rome a secret since they had set foot in the city; that they would keep David a secret, and also the meeting as a secret.

David was trying to listen very carefully to the conversation. He could speak a little Italian and Spanish. So when Nina hung up the phone, he didn't hesitate to ask:

- Really? The taxi driver? - She just grimaced and shrugged, as if to say: So what? Then he asked: - Can't your friends talk about me? Oh, I get it, right.

- Yes, you got it. They have given their word of honor that they will never talk about this trip.

David changed the subject:

- It's still early, it's eight o'clock at night. Do you want to walk? To see the resort? They have horses.

- I don't think so. If it was during the day... maybe.

- Ah, come on! Stop making excuses. Stop being... - David hesitated to finish the sentence.

- Boring? - Nina smiled broadly, looking into his eyes.

- You don't have to be boring today. Just go! Just today?

- Okay, then. I won't be boring. Then I'll do something unexpected, just to confuse you. I'll only go if you bring a bottle of sweet wine and two glasses," she offered. - I don't want to sober up with you.

- Why not? - David asked.

- Because I'm not ready to face what's happening right now! I prefer to think it's the effect of alcohol, a hallucination! David Nichols on a Sunday night walking with me in a resort, carrying a bottle of wine between the stables? That's to cliché! Even I can't swallow that one!

- We are on vacation... - reminded David. - And you know the saying: on vacation you can do anything! - she concluded.

Even he laughed at the things she said. And the more nervous and drunk she got, the more she talked.

After a while of walking slowly from one end to the other, talking and stopping now and then to drink wine, they reached the horses.

Nina got rid of her thin shoes and entered the stables. David put the bottle of wine down in a corner while telling her the right way to approach a horse, but by the time he turned around, Nina was already leaning on the gate, grooming one of them.

- Careful, careful! - warned David. - They might spook and hurt you.

David was behind her. Every time he came bodily close to Nina, every cell inside her went into a process of ecstasy. Her heart was beating so fast that she was nervous and afraid that she might do something foolish. She knew she was messed up with men.

Nina turned, looked at him serenely, and saw his concern for those little animals.

- Horses don't hurt, they are docile! They are extremely sentimental and remember everyone who treats them with affection, you know? - he smiled and nodded. He knew a lot about horses and it was funny to hear her teaching him about them.

After Nina revealed the various curiosities about horses, they walked back to the resort hotel.

- There. You are delivered, safe, and sound! - exclaimed Nina.

David said that he was feeling like the good guy left early at the door, then tried to convince Nina to stay:

- Come on, come on! You're not going to run off again. No more of this "It's late" stuff.

Nina smiled and said that she was embarrassed for people to see her without shoes, and didn't want to put them on with filthy feet.

- Not to mention the pain in my feet," she added.

- No, you don't give a damn what people will think of your feet," David said.

David came around her and led her to the hotel elevator.

- Sunday, 10 p.m. Do you want to find something to do in the street? This is Italy, after all, you must have a thousand things to do. Do you want to go out? Tell me anything that comes to your mind," David proposed.

- Anything at all? - inquired Nina.

- Yes.

- I really want to go to an amusement park. Really, I do. I want to see the opera. I want so much! I want to see all the squares that display monuments and giant statues from the Roman era, but I don't want to be seen with you.

- What did you say? - David was startled. - What do you mean, Nina?

- I'm sorry. I misspoke. What I mean is: what are the chances that we can go out in the street without security guards or a crowd following you? What are the chances that we can stand in line at an opera without all the people recognizing you and ruining our evening?

- Is this a problem for you?

- Yes, David. It is a problem for me to cause problems for you. I still remember what happened in the disco when you came to me. Everything becomes an uproar in a matter of seconds, and there's nothing you can do about it. Suddenly your security guards surround you and take you away.

- But do you want to go?

- I do!

- Then finish washing your feet and let's go.

While Nina was trying to touch up her makeup and pull herself together, David talked on the phone. He put on a black tuxedo with a bow tie while listening to Nina deconstruct the bathroom. After a while, she came out.

- No. This is not fair! I'm not going out in this basic little dress to an opera with you dressed like this to kill!

Nina took off his tie and his tuxedo. - You can go with this dress shirt, these pants, and these shoes. The suit only if it's open. Or else I won't go. - David couldn't believe his ears.

- You are bossy, huh!

- Me? No, I'm not, David.

- But are you worried about how people will look at you at the opera?

- No. I'm not. Or I wouldn't be if I were with my friends, being me in my own world. - She thought better of it - It's not the people at the opera that I'm worried about.

- The fashion tabloids? - David guessed.

- What tabloids? We're not going to be in any tabloids, are we? I don't want to be seen, I don't want to be photographed, I don't want to be insulted by your fans, I don't want to be a laughingstock, I don't want any of that in my life. I'd much rather stay here in the hotel, just you and me. We can play games, watch movies, dance, or sleep. That's right, sleep.

David laughed.

- Do you always talk too much like that when you get desperate?

- I don't get desperate, okay? I just... I just don't have an outfit that fits your outfit. And I don't care what the others at the opera think. They don't know me and will never see me again.

- Hmm," David grunted.

He was enjoying disarming her. Challenging her. Watching all that armor slowly opening up.

- And you know what? - Nina continued. - I don't care about my clothes or your clothes either. I just don't want to go!

While Nina chattered on, David finished getting ready in front of the mirror. He listened to the most unusual explanations she was trying to give to convince him not to leave the hotel with her.

- The limousine will be here in 15 minutes.

Nina turned pale. She took a few steps towards him and stood still. She had to look up to meet his eyes, because of the height difference between them.

- David. Now I am serious. I know that maybe you're finding all this fun on your vacation, maybe I'm somehow entertaining you, I don't know, maybe you think I'm your Cinderella project, but I'm serious. No games. I don't want the spotlight. I don't want to arrive at an opera in a limousine and draw people's attention when we get there. I swear to God it's better if we stay here in the hotel. I'm sorry.

David smiled and held out his arm, waiting for her to leave.

- I believe you," he said. - You've convinced me. But I have a plan. How do you think famous artists live? How do they leave their homes? We have security teams set up.

- What do you mean? - Nina asked.

- There is always a basement, a private gate, a secret back entrance in all these public places. Relax, Nina! I promise you that nobody will see us.

- You promise?

- I promise.

David held out an arm for Nina and they walked together to the back of the resort, where they were picked up by a limousine.

Nina was very excited inside. She looked around the limousine equipped with stereos, lights, and lots of booze. Her smile was exultant. But although she looked like this, she didn't say a word about it.

- Are you enjoying this, stranger? - asked David.

- Unhun.

- Is this your first time in a limousine?

- No. I've rented a few on other trips with my friends, at a bachelorette party in Bergen, and on other occasions.

- But not with me," David pointed out.

- But not with you," she agreed.

They looked at each other and laughed. She was still holding his arm from the hotel room. He never let go.

- Is this your first time at an opera?

- No, "Lord first time." You won't have many first times with me. I'm a big girl, in case you haven't noticed.

- But it will be your first time with me, no matter what we do," said David.

- True. I have to agree with you there.

- Finally.

On the way to the municipal theater, Nina was telling us about her artistic adventures. Nina was a lover of melodies, song lyrics, a lover of books, theaters, and operas.

She used to go to the José de Alencar theater in her hometown. As she was a teenager at the time, and could not afford to go to the big ballets and recitals, she would go to the free concerts that were offered on Sundays very early in the morning.

At the concerts, Nina would sit in the back, in a discreet corner, where she would weep to the sound of the violins. Her dream at the time was to see the Swan Lake ballet with her own eyes, but she had not yet managed to fulfill this dream.

- Ah, but I saw the Nutcracker ballet! Right in the middle of downtown Bergen on the Ole Bull stage. I cried! It was really fabulous!

When they arrived at the opera they entered through the back. There was a seat reserved for them inside. David commented that they were right on time.

When everyone was seated and the lights were off, David asked her if she had been to the opera before. Nina said yes. La Traviata was very well known and had traveled all over the world. When she started talking about the Bergen and Grieghallen operas, the show started and she fell silent.

Nina was thrilled with the opera from beginning to end, and they had to leave a few minutes before all the lights came on.

On the way back to the hotel, Nina fell asleep for a moment in the car, clinging to David's arm. He watched her, lost in all her facial features. Maybe that was what he missed. The women he had dated all his life were not simple like Nina. They were either from the artistic world - actresses, directors, filmmakers, stuntmen, etc. - or they had to be famous because of their wealth. This was the only way people had access to it.

How could a mere mortal have the power to approach him? He was never living a normal social life. How could he meet anyone? The little time he had he enjoyed with his family or was forced to rest. Not to mention that he was too afraid of being involved in controversies.

While Nina slept, he thought about these things on the way. He had already openly stated on the Internet about the difficulty he had in relating to someone due to the pace of his life. He had said that relationships couldn't thrive because of his lack of time. David had even said that the person he was going to be with could not be as busy as he was, or they would not be able to get along, not to mention that all the women that had ever passed through his life had been harassed by the media...

He had a very important image to uphold. He had thousands of fans, men, women, and children alike, and for this reason, he chose to keep his profile discreet on social networks, avoiding being caught at parties with alcoholic drinks, women, or cigarettes.

David had learned to be careful. Still, over the years several rumors arose here and there about his love life. Speculation about important roles in his career, and even about the simple fact that he had been photographed in a gay nightclub in Rio de Janeiro, for example. As if the fact that a person frequents an LGBT nightclub could indicate something about his sexual orientation.

The fact is that no matter what he did, everything could be exploited, distorted, and in the blink of an eye turn into a snowball. An example of this was the exposure that his girlfriends suffered instantaneously in the media for appearing in public with him. He himself had stated that it was too high a price to pay!

Now, together with Nina, David felt like a normal person, like never before.