“But the Little Mermaid is nice. I like Ariel. And besides, she looks like me.”
The guy lets out an involuntary laugh. “What the hell are you talking about? You aren’t at all alike.”
“Of course we look alike. We have similar hair, kind of wavy, and the same expression in our eyes.”
“It’s a cartoon.”
“A cartoon that looks like me.”
“If you say so. Well, I don’t know any more Disney redheads. Oh wait, there’s another one: Merida.”
“Who’s she?”
“The main character from Brave. She’s a redhead too.”
“Okay, I don’t know that one. I’ll take it, but let’s just call her Brave. Poor Merida is not to blame.”
“I have to insist: it’s a cartoon.”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m sure she’s nice too.”
“Actually she is, I have to agree with you there.”
“See?”
“Okay, Brave then.”
“Okay. And her sister?”
“Let’s call them Brave One and Brave Two.”
“A bit confusing, but okay.”
“So, what were you saying about Brave Two?”
“That she’s perfect too.”
“Meh. She’s too tall. Too redheaded. And her legs are way too long. What are they doing here, by the way? Are they friends with your brother?”
“There’s no such thing as ‘way too long’ legs. And no. They probably just came to have a drink on their own.”
“But tonight’s your brother’s party.”
“Yes, but they didn’t close the place for it.”
“Fuck, it’s always the same people in here. Are there no other pubs in town, or what?”
“Actually, no, there aren’t.”
“And those guys next to the redheads? Who are they?”
“Ah, that’s the million-dollar question.”
As Priscila begins to relate the juiciest gossip about the party guests, I stare at her, observing every detail of her face, her body, her gestures and postures. She’s different now: blonder hair; her features more mature; a different look in her eyes; not as slender as she was at twenty-two.... But at the same time, she hasn’t changed at all. She’s still the same.
What did I see in her? She’s pretty, I’ll give her that, but those pompom shoes that used to make her special now look plain ridiculous. All of her is ridiculous to me now, and I don’t understand what fascinated me so much... I guess it’s just that I was a fucking kid.
The two of them keep up their bitching and I’m about to turn around and leave but the next words stop me: