Chapter 24 Mirror

• She had been checking the clock constantly since eight o'clock, the time Simon was supposed to return from work. He hadn't called to say he wouldn't be coming home, so she had to wait for him, as her mother had told her: "Unless he was sure he wouldn't be coming back, she had to be ready to receive any orders." But it was past ten o'clock, and the wait was making her anxious and nervous. She was sure he was with one of his "friends." Couldn't he call and let her know not to wait for him? At least the parade of women had decreased in the last few weeks, she reflected, checking the time again. It was almost eleven.
• She sighed, tired of having nothing to do but sit and stare at the door waiting for the ungrateful man, lamenting the food that was getting cold. Reheated food wouldn't taste the same.
• Looking at the details of the door, she mused about her day. In the morning, she had visited Tábata. Guilherme had returned, but Paulina - who had difficulty making friends - continued to go and talk to Tábata for a few hours. Guilherme and Simon, who drove her there every morning, had quarreled again. Tábata found it absurdly funny, as Simon never even got out of the car and yet still argued, always sporting a smug smile that she found seductive. She declared that Salvatore was very attractive and that in other times, when she wasn't as round as a ball, she would flirt with him. Guilherme warned that Simon was a cheap seducer, extending the warning to Paulina, even though it wasn't necessary.