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He hated her house. Always had. It was devoid of life; all marble and glass, expensive ceramics and priceless artworks but no love. No laughter. Nothing that made a house a home. And yet, here he was drawn by some force that he hadn’t expected.
When the text had come through announcing that lockdown would come into effect in twelve hours, he’d been on his own at home, he'd put shoes on and grabbed his car keys without thinking. He’d thought he was going to Nadia’s place. He loved her and the world felt like it was ending, so they should be together. And yet, every turn he’d taken, every empty road he’d driven down had taken him further and further away from Nadia to the other side of town. To Lucrecia’s house.
Lu, I’m outside. Open the gates.
He sent the voicenote and waited. He’d known the gate code once. Wouldn’t have had to call her like a peasant, but that was then. Now he waited. Waited for the ticks to turn blue. The gates opened as the ticks turned blue.
He parked in his usual spot under the imported Ash tree her father was obsessed with. She was already at the door as he walked towards her. In black cotton jogging bottoms, a grey silk camisole and a black cardigan, her hair pulled back in a loose braid she looked casual, but he knew that that outfit cost more than most people’s monthly rent. As she’d once told him, it takes a lot of money to look like you don’t care.
“Well, this is unexpected.” Was how Lu greeted him.
He shrugged walking closer towards her.
“What have you done?”
“You assume I’ve done something?” He feigned hurt but his smirk gave him away.
“You forgot I know you, Guzman,” Lu smirked right back at him, raising one eyebrow, “and based on recent history assuming something has gone wrong is a good starting point.”
He met her at the door and kissed her on both cheeks. Her expression didn’t change. Even as Guzman pulled back to grab his phone out of his pocket holding it up so she could see the government text.
“Yes, I got one too.” Lu answered her expression shuttering to one of superior boredom, one that Guzman knew how to see past.
“Well? If the world is ending…” Guzman began softly, leaning on the doorframe next to Lu.
She sighed and he counted to four in his head before she responded, “I’d only want two things.”
“Yeah?” He grinned despite himself.
“Yeah. If the world is ending I’d want good Champagne,” Lu paused,
“And?”
“And you.” She answered eventually.
He smiled softly, the smile he thought of as hers. The one from years ago when they had been two kids heady with their first love, the one he didn’t think he could reproduce with anyone else.
“If the world was ending…?” Lu prompted.
“I’d only want two things,” He said, reaching out and taking hold of her cashmere clad wrist, “good whisky…”
He paused, leaning forward teasingly. But this wasn’t the Lucrecia of two years ago, she didn’t lean forward to meet him. She didn’t beg for his answer. Instead she pulled her arm away and took a step back. The silence stretched before she filled it.
“I happen to know that the Nunier Osuna cellar has some excellent spirits.” Her perfectly sculpted brow was was raised in challenge and hand was back on the door taunting him to return home to step back from her again.
“But it doesn’t have you.” He said honestly, he was gifted with a true smile one she didn't share with anyone else. She stepped back to let him inside as he told her, “If the world is ending I want good whisky and you.”