Some years ago, when I was still married to Nicole, I decided to buy a dog. We didn’t have time for thinking about having kids, but since we had a really big house, with a nice garden, I decided to get ourselves a dog to give us some company. Something was missing, you know? But I still had to convince my wife.
Unexpectedly, she took to the idea very easily, and so I went and bought a really beautiful German shepherd. He was very small when I took him home, just a puppy, but in a few months he had grown almost to his full size. He played around in the garden, was obedient, and went out to fetch things we sometimes threw into the garden when Nicole and I argued. Once he had to fetch my mobile…
It didn’t take long for Nicole to grow affectionate with him, and sometimes I got home just to find them both playing in the garden. Sometimes it looked as if we were fighting for his attention. By the way, the shepherd‘s name is Tim.
Some months after that, I returned home a little bit earlier than usual, and parked the car on the street because I had planned to go to the store right after going to the toilet. Nicole had taken a week off from work, and we were planning to spend a few days by the sea.
When I entered the house I heard some moans from the room upstairs. I stood quiet for some seconds, hearing my heartbeat, as the floor turned to rubber beneath my feet. It was Nicole, I was already sure! She was acting strangely for some time. My blood froze! Mechanically, although I really didn’t want to, my legs took me upstairs and my arms made me open the bedroom door. And then I saw it! And it’s still hard for me to believe it happened! Nicole was lying on the bed, naked, legs wide open, and Tim was… God! There’s no need to say anything else. I’m sure you got the idea, and I still want to preserve some dignity. It took a while before she noticed me though, and I got to see her expression of delight.
Of course our relationship deteriorated from there. We stopped talking to each other, unless it was really necessary, began sleeping in separate rooms and eating meals separately. In a few months we were getting a divorce. It was all very hard to cope with, but the worst was still to come, although I was far from imagining it.
During the divorce process we had to sell the house and divide our goods, and since I was the one who bought Tim, I got to keep him… I’ve totally forgot about that detail! And to top it all, Nicole got the right to take him with her at weekends! From that day on, since I don’t have the courage to give him to her – mostly because I don’t want to give her anything – I have to live my life with a dog in my own house whose expression on Sunday nights, whenever he returns from Nicole’s, keep telling me: “Your wife? Been there, done that!” I’m almost certain I’ve seen him smiling!
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"Enquanto Fausto esteve longe, expandindo-se para além do alcance de Margarida, o «pequeno mundo» de que a arrancara – aquele mundo de «ordem e completa satisfação» que achara tão doce – desabou sobre ela. Assim que a notícia correu, os seus antigos amigos e vizinhos caíram sobre Margarida com bárbara crueldade e fúria vingativa. (…) Margarida leva o seu lamento para a igreja, na esperança de aí encontrar conforto. (…) Tormento e aflição é tudo quanto o seu mundo lhe pode oferecer: os sinos que salvaram a vida do seu amante dobram agora pela sua condenação. (…) Os acontecimentos precipitam-se: o filho de Margarida morre, ela é metida na cadeia, julgada como assassina e condenada à morte. (…) Fausto adoece de culpa e remorso. Num campo desolado, num dia sombrio, enfrenta Mefistófeles e queixa-se do seu destino. (…) O crescimento humano tem custos humanos; quem quer que o deseje tem de pagar o preço, e o preço é altíssimo. (…) Claramente, não há possibilidade de diálogo entre um homem aberto e um mundo fechado".
