Moneypenny
Corner of Balcarce and Defensa
‘Bond is standing in front of a Bentley; the window lowers
and…. I can’t believe it, but it would seem that Bond was with Theresa May!!!! She’s no doubt in town for the G20, trying to
make a plea for her post-Brexit Britain, just one more amongst the other lost
causes of this year’s gathering of the ‘Great forces’. The window
rolls up, Bond takes a step back and the Bentley drives off.
Bonds looks up and just as I am about to cross the street to
meet him, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t run away from me again”, he says, in that
unmistakable Argentine accent. “It’s you, how did you find me? I mean what are you doing here?” I utter in
shear shock.
“I have a friend who lives near by, I was just leaving his apartment
when I saw you standing here; I told myself I couldn’t let you get away yet
again. You’ve already escaped me twice, after
La Viruta and then again after Gricel last week”, he responds with a slight
smile.
“You seemed in ‘good hands’ when you left Gricel”, I retort,
half mockingly. I turn towards where
Bond was standing only to notice that he’s disappeared. “You also seemed to be in good hands if I
recall correctly”, he responds.
“I was there with a friend”, I say in a very affirmative
voice. “Well so was I, with a friend”,
he replies. “Really, it seemed as if you
had just met her?” I continue. “Well she
was a ‘new’ friend, but enough of this friend nonsense, come home with me now!”
He says in a determined voice. And
before I can even attempt to respond, he takes my hand and we start waking up
Defensa, we turn and walk through the market, passed the coffee shops and fruit
stands to Bolivar; then up Bolivar to Plaza de Mayo; we go in complete silence,
a silence that matches the calmest of the city on that day.
Taking all precautions possible, president Macri has ordered
a complete shut down of the city during the G20 summit. All public transport is cut, people were told
to stay home, shops to keep closed, Buenos Aires is a ghost town today. Never have I experienced silence in this city
before, everything else yes, but never silence.
The streets are quiet, no colectivos rushing by, no one shouting, no
one running, no one pushing, it’s as if we had traveled to an alternate
universe.
“Come, we’ll take Avenida de Mayo and cross 9 de Julio to
take a taxi to Palermo, to my apartment”, he says as it suddenly starts to drizzle. I
love it when it rains here, especially this time of year, it gives one a break
from the scorching heat and washes away some of the filth that accumulates with
time to reveal a new, more hopeful Buenos Aires. We
walk along the grand Avenida de Mayo and the drizzle now turns into rain, but
neither of us seem to notice. We’re soaked but we keep walking in silence,
trying not to break the meditative state of the city. 20 minutes later, we arrive at his apartment,
penthouse in one of the modern buildings of Palermo. “The first thing I want to do is get you out
of those wet close”, he whispers in my ear while gently fondling my neck.
I feel hopeless, he was such power over me....and then I suddenly remember
that all my troubles seem to have started in the penthouse suite…..and not too
far off from here come to think of it……
