The Waitress Who Cured My Heartbreak That Night

Mateo used to say that being cheated on itched less when you found someone to scratch it with. Lorena, on the other hand, had tried to cure a broken heart by climbing into another man’s bed. This is the story of how, in the end, each of them ended up paying their own tab.

Lorena walked into the restaurant her husband had run for more than a decade with the firm stride of someone who knew she owned the place. She was used to the fact that, as soon as she crossed the door, one or two waiters would come to greet her and escort her to Mateo’s office or to a reserved table. That afternoon, however, a new waitress approached her, a dark-haired woman smiling with an odd calm.

—Do you have a reserved table? —she asked.

Lorena hesitated. She didn’t know her; she must have been there only a short time. She had to identify herself and only then, still smiling, chose the usual table herself. She ordered them to tell her husband. The waitress tried to lead her there and Lorena brushed her off with a sharp gesture.

—I’m in my house —she said.

She took a few steps in that direction and her expression darkened at once. Mateo was seated at that table with a woman who wore no makeup, her hair badly done, staring straight ahead with calculated coldness, the expression of someone who had come to destroy someone. Lorena approached slowly.

—Hello. —She smiled at her husband and put a hand on his shoulder, without leaning in for a kiss. Her eyes demanded an explanation—. I see you’re in company.

—Hello, Lorena. —Mateo stammered, nervous, but after clearing his throat he pulled himself together—. This is Patricia. And look what a coincidence: Patricia is Andrés’s wife. Yes, that Andrés you’ve been cheating on me with for months.

For a few seconds Lorena’s head darted from one to the other, so fast it looked as if her neck were about to snap.

—What? —was all she managed to say.

—You see, darling. —Mateo forced a smile—. Patricia and I were deciding whether to sleep together before or after the divorce. What do you think? I say after, so your lawyer can’t say I was unfaithful too.

—Mateo, no…

He stood up to face the situation better.

—Ah, and during the trial you’ll be able to watch the lovely video my cousin Raúl recorded. He caught you in his house bathroom, during his son’s first communion, kneeling in front of Andrés. The look on your face, you must have been having a lovely time.

He wasn’t smiling. His gaze was a pure blade.

—My cousin was decent enough to send me a copy. I don’t know what you did to him, but he was delighted to screw you over. From there I set about gathering evidence. I don’t have photos of you in bed with Andrés, that’s true, but I do have dates, hotels, three whole months. Trips out of town that matched his, always the same hotel, the same room. —He widened his eyes, pretending to realize something—. Don’t tell me it was to save money. Anyway. We’ll see what the judge thinks.

Lorena remained frozen, blushing, unable to react. Mateo ordered her to go home, pack her things and leave within the hour, or he would call the police. He didn’t know whether he had the right to do it, but the bluff worked. Lorena left without saying another word.

Patricia then looked at him with stone-cold seriousness.

—I’m not going to touch you with a ten-foot pole —she said—, but I’ll admit you’ve surprised me. I thought the way you treated that… woman was good. I still don’t know how I’m going to handle Andrés. The house is half-and-half. We’ll see.

—None of my business. If you want, I can introduce you to my lawyer.

Patricia left a few minutes later. Like every night, Mateo stayed in the restaurant until closing. The cooks and waiters left at the usual time. Or so he thought.

***

He was in the small office, with the day’s accounts open on the computer screen. He couldn’t make sense of them. They were nothing but smudges. His mind kept drifting back to Lorena’s eyes. How much I loved her. How great her betrayal was. Between one thought and the next, he had time to fear that, when he got home, she might have changed the locks.

The office door was ajar and, even so, someone knocked on the wood.

—Hey, Mateo! Can I come in?

It was Vera, the new waitress. A dark-haired woman of nearly forty, with strong arms and skin covered in tattoos that spoke of faraway places and strange rituals. Among the staff there was gossip that you could name any corner of the world and she would tell you exactly what to do there to have the time of your life, because she had already been there.

—Vera, it’s very late. What are you doing here?

—The same as you —she said, closing the door behind her—. Licking my wounds.

She came closer without hurrying. With that same slowness she undid the buttons of her uniform shirt and then took off her T-shirt, revealing a light-colored bra. The skirt fell to the floor. In her underwear, she came up to the chair where Mateo was still sitting, lowered the zipper of his trousers and slid her hand inside with such natural ease that it left him breathless.

—Let’s see what we’ve got here —she murmured.

Mateo, half surprised and half aroused, made no move to stop her. He didn’t want to stop her.

He felt her mouth close around him and let his head fall back against the chair. Vera’s tongue worked slowly, pausing right where she felt him tense, and Mateo found himself digging his fingers into the edge of the seat. When she rose and took off her panties, he had already forgotten the accounts, Lorena, and the fear of the locks.

Vera straddled him. His trousers got tangled in his shoes, but neither of them cared. She lowered herself slowly, setting the rhythm, and rested her hands on his shoulders.

—Like that, Mateo —she said, bringing her breasts close to his mouth—. Forget the world exists. Just this. Feel, that’s all.

Whether he forgot the world or felt it all at once, it made no difference. Mateo clung to her hips and followed her. He heard her breathing harder, felt her tighten around him, and when she finished, with a long tremor running through her back, he followed close behind.

They stayed still, she on top, his hands on her waist, both of them catching their breath. Vera took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, a kiss that went on until they had to pull apart to breathe.

—That was nice —she murmured—. And you, how was it?

—Good —he said, still voiceless—. Very good.

—I can tell you still want more. —She smiled—. Want to go again?

—Yes.

—Okay. I’ll suck you off again to…

Mateo grabbed her wrist.

—No need. Let me take care of you for a while.

He brought his mouth to her breasts and took his time. Vera threw her head back.

—Well, I thought this was just the appetizer. —She held his hands with hers—. Softer, don’t squeeze so hard. —He loosened his grip, searching with his tongue—. There. That’s it.

They went on between kisses and caresses until he was ready again. The second time was slower, more in sync, both their hips finding the same rhythm. They finished almost together, she biting his shoulder so she wouldn’t make a sound.

—You know how to move —Vera said afterward, still wrapped around him—. You know how to treat a woman.

—A whole woman.

They stayed like that a few minutes more, until she pulled away and started getting dressed.

—All right, boss. Not a word of this to anyone. Okay? Because there are people who slap a label on you the second you let your guard down.

—The coworkers? —Mateo asked.

—No. The coworkers. Those. A woman already carries a few labels around.

—I understand. You don’t want them to tag you as the one who was with me.

—That one —she replied without hesitation— would do more damage to you than to me.

Mateo didn’t know whether to thank her. He asked:

—And what’s this about licking wounds?

—The usual. I like a guy and, just when I think things are getting serious, he comes at me saying he wants to try his luck with someone else. —She shrugged—. Cheating with details, but cheating.

They dressed quickly and there was nothing else that night.

***

The days passed.

There was a divorce. Lorena cried, with stage tears or maybe real ones, because she had a lot to lose: Andrés wasn’t even close to Mateo’s level. Patricia put on her own spectacle of sobs and accusations that moved no one in the courtroom, which was only interested in the facts and the papers. The bad thing about the video, the lawyers said, was that Lorena’s face could be seen; nothing else identified anyone.

Mateo’s lawyer submitted the necessary paperwork to keep what was fair. The restaurant, the fruit of years of work, stayed his. The house, which came from a family inheritance, did too.

Lorena went back to her parents’ house, who had no choice but to take her in, embarrassed. Andrés lived in a boarding house until he found a flat suited to his salary, because Patricia made sure to squeeze him for every last cent.

Vera, for her part, started seeing a man her own age who picked her up on a motorcycle that drew attention. She looked happy.

Meanwhile, Mateo kept on alone. From home to work and from work to home, living up to that saying that if you leave sex alone for a month, it leaves you alone for two.

***

One afternoon, Vera peered into the kitchen from the dining room and, with a gesture, caught Mateo’s attention, while he was talking to the cook. He answered her with another gesture: wait.

Fifteen minutes later, she came over to tell him she was leaving the restaurant. Smiling, she added:

—I’m off to take another trip around the world.

—All right. No problem. I suppose you know about the two-week notice to find a replacement.

Vera nodded.

—That’s exactly what I need for my passport and vaccines.

And, as if it were part of the farewell, that night, with the restaurant already closed, Vera went back to the office. She was wearing her shirt open and, while she undid her bra, she asked:

—Boss, I came to get some relief for an itch.

Mateo smiled and began to undress.

—Wow. And where does it itch?

Her breasts itched, so he caressed them and trailed over them with his mouth.

—Nobody sucks my nipples like you, you bastard —she murmured.

It also itched between her legs, and he took care of that first with his tongue and then with the rest.

—You handle your mouth well —panted Vera—, but there’s nothing like feeling you inside. Yes.

And something else must have itched, because a little while later she lay down on the desk, lifted her legs and held them by the knees.

—Come here. Like this, without a condom. All men are filthy.

Mateo entered her slowly, first where she was already ready, and when he felt her relax he changed places. He went in from behind without much ceremony, and felt how that ring of muscle closed and loosened around him, squeezing him in a way that drove him crazy.

—Harder! —she asked—. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Yes, sir!

Holding her legs to push with more force, Mateo came with a strength that left him empty. Vera was breathing in ragged gasps, smiling against the wood of the desk.

—Like that, like that —she murmured—. Oof.

Afterward, Vera wiped herself with several tissues, got dressed and stayed there looking at him with a smile.

—Boss, if you keep treating me this well, I’m going to have to rethink leaving.

—Do whatever you want. —Mateo adjusted his sweater and asked—: Hey, do you really like it like that, from behind?

—Of course! —she laughed—. Besides, I wanted to end the day with that little hole well taken care of, since the front was already well served. —She was fastening her bra—. Today I said goodbye to a few friends.

On the list she named Tomás, the market delivery guy; Iván, the clerk at the shirt shop next door, and Pili, the one from the pastry shop across the street.

Mateo was left speechless.

The next day, Vera handed in her resignation in writing. To anyone who asked her if the trip was real, she showed them a photo of an old military truck converted into a motorhome.

Vera left two weeks later. Daniela replaced her, a woman in her thirties who arrived to turn Mateo’s life upside down, the way someone undresses him just to dress him back up from scratch. But that’s another story.