Cinema T(error) - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
‘Would you like to go to the cinema tonight’ I said to Bianca. She didn’t hear me. She was busy with her phone. ‘I don’t know how it’s possible to spend so much time with that little machine’ I said to her. Again she stayed silent.
It wasn’t the first time this had happened in our two-year relationship. When I met her she was like this. It used to bother me allot but luckily for me (and I like to think for her as well) not enough to not fall in love with her.
The first time I saw her was in the Central Station of Rotterdam. She was late. I had already waited for over 30 minutes. I should have left but I did not. I wanted to meet this girl I had spoken to on the internet. We had so much in common.
She had send me a message on a dating app called Plenty of Fish four months before I saw her. She had simply said ‘You look good in a breaded shirt’. I had replied: ‘You look beautiful.’
That was the last time we had engaged into anything remotely sexual online. Yes, I was an amateur. Not the most skilled at talking smooth to the ladies. So I was happy to talk just about live in Brazil and the Netherlands. We started talking every day.
When she came walking through those doors at the Central Station, I recognized her instantly. I knew that beautiful brown hair, that touched her back with every step, from pictures I had seen before. She was a little shorter than I expected but my god she walked with grace. I think she recognized me as well. How could she not? With my 2 meters I do tend to stand out.
When she came close I saw her big beautiful brown eyes looking up towards me. Her smile lit up the station. She had not even spoken yet and I was already lost.
We went to the city of Utrecht that day. It was our first real date. She was much more comfortable than I. We walked around the whole city and we had dinner near the canal. At night we walked to the Dom tower. It was lit up from underneath with different colors of light. There she asked me if I wanted to kiss her. I wanted. It was the second time we engaged into anything remotely sexual. I was so happy with the kiss I don’t think I slept the whole night.
A couple months later we went from dating to being in a relationship.
She came to the Netherlands as an au pair. She worked for a family in Rotterdam. She had a visa for a year. I don’t like to think about it too much, but eventually the day came she had to go back. My god was it painful. I tried to get her a partner visa but the people at immigration said it would be impossible. I applied anyway.
The stress was unbearable. We were extremely sad every day. I couldn’t believe I finally found somebody and now she had to go.
The letter from immigration arrived two weeks before she had to go. This was it. I opened the letter alone. In it was stated that after careful consideration the people from immigration had decided that she could stay as long as she would not make use of government benefits.
I sat numb in my chair for over 10 minutes. I must have read the letter 15 times before I started to realized what had happened to us. When I regained the use of my limbs I rushed upstairs. She just came out of the shower.
I said ‘you can stay!’, ‘you can stay!’. She thought that it must have been an error so she made me call immigration the next day. They confirmed it.
She had to leave for Brazil for personal reasons for 3 months and I went with her for the first two weeks. It was fun. I got to know her friends and family and see her country. Learned a bit of Portuguese too.
Now 5 months since she’s back and I’m asking her if she wants to go to the cinema and she is not responding.
I don’t get upset about it anymore. In fact, I’m happy about it. Dating someone who is a phone ‘addict’ is upsetting, because you crave her attention. Being in a relationship with someone that can entertain herself (with a phone or any other hobby) is a godsend. You realize it gives you time to do the things you like as well.
Still, I need an answer to my question so I lean towards her. It’s enough to get her attention. The big brown eyes are staring at me.
“Você quer visitar o cinema comigo esse noite?’’ I said in my best Portuguese.
She said: ‘Yes’!
I go online on my phone and start looking at newly released movies that are playing in our local cinema.
The date is 9/11 2016....