Another Love Story 2

The experiment took much longer than expected but J was glad that it had taken her almost all the brain cells she possessed, to finish it. Like a small holiday. I should start meditating again. Finding the office had been easy and the lady sitting behind the desk was quite nice. All in all, it had been an interesting experience even though she had not liked the part where she had to wash the greasy stuff out of her hair, in a sink too small for the task. At least there was not much hair to wash.

The library was still open when she arrived to retrieve not one but three books she had ordered. It was not like her to forget something like that, but her work had been put aside for a few days to avoid exploding at some innocent people. She exited the building and started walking in a street full of tourists. Mostly Italian and Chinese people. They were everywhere. She remembered the day she moved to the city a few years back, when she was trying to be polite and stop every time someone would take a picture in the middle of the street. Now she ignored them trying not to get too upset and wishing to be able to show them out of the way, when she remembered the 20€ she just got and headed for the bookstore.

It was one of those old buildings with wooden stairs with books in every corner. The smell of paper was relaxing, made her feel at home. There was a big section of international best sellers in front of the entrance, travel on her right but she headed to the English book section trying to find something in the original language. She liked to read the books as they were meant to, not as sloppy translation of some guy with no interest for the topic. And there they were. The paperbacks. She was a little disappointed; she was trying to get some hardcovers for her collection. It was easier to order some online, but the atmosphere of the shop was very compelling, and she had just finished another book. Time for something new. Two guys were standing right before the classic section, so she decided to stand beside them and look at the fiction section while waiting for her turn. The tall black-haired guy with curls was studying the assortment while the short guy with short black hair was telling him about the books. It seemed like he had read all of them already.

Maybe she was doing it wrong, maybe she would find the right guy in a bookstore while browsing for a new story to devour. But they were too busy to notice her. They finally moved giving her the opportunity to look at the volumes. Many of them were on her wish list but sadly there were not many hardcovers available. She chose a small volume of “Far from the madding crowd” and “Shakespeare’s love poems”. Both in a pale blue color with golden edges. The guys were still arguing about different stories making her more curious about them. She did not want to leave yet. She headed to the first floor. A new space to explore, but the range of history books was very poorly chosen. As if history consisted of ancient times and the world wars. Nothing in-between. It made sense for her to study the middle ages. A period that had always fascinated her. A period full of magic and things left to discover. But it was also the sadness of having forgotten so many things already discovered in ancient Greece and Rome that was appealing to her. A little step back for humanity where the sense of freedom was still in the air. She shook her head blowing away the anger and headed back downstairs only to see the two guys kiss. Of course, she thought.

It was not easy being single at 29. The good guys were already married with kids, leaving a poor selection of creepy guys free to take. Flashes from the weekend came back to her. The birthday party of her friend had been ok. She was in no mood of seeing people, but she did not want to lose the few friends she had left. So, she had been there, played games, making a serious attempt at having fun. Not that it had been an easy task. She had gotten many looks in the club, mostly from 22-year-old people, but she never understood what the saw in her. They all seemed to miss the obvious lack of connection between them. Where they so blind or had she standards too high to be realistic? There was no point in settling down with someone just to feel wanted. And besides, she had never been the girl with a house and a dog and kids, even though she really liked the idea of finding the love of her life. The one who would want to marry her, her Romeo. She sighed again, paid for the books, and walked through the door.