We sat outside on his lawn-chairs. By outside I have to make it clear; on his roof. We sat on his roof and watched that beautiful yellow disc sink lower in the sky, painting an image no painter can really capture. The beer tasted better than it ever had; this was my fourth. I usually didn't drink much but somehow being around Matthias had activated the alcoholic in me. Ha ha.
"So you have a farm?" He asked me. His gaze was penetrating. That blue...
"Yes. We have quite a big farm. Animals we only have horses but we have quite a large array of vegetables."
"Do you eat the horses?" He asked. At first I thought he was joking then I realized he was being serious.
"You're serious?"
"Yes. I don't mean that you keep them for meat, but if they die you eat them right? Horse salami doesn't taste bad at all." The fact that he'd eaten horse salami made him all the more german. I almost smiled.
"No we don't but our neighbor has sheep and we eat those. He doesn't have that many vegetables, so we trade."
"Okay. Good. If you hadn't had any meat I wouldn't come along."
"Really?"
"Yeah." He laughed and put his beer down, popping the cap off another one a second later. "You seem like a good man, Mack. I think I'll come with, but we're taking my car and I'm taking my tools."
"Sure. That sounds great." I agreed happily. I can't say that I didn't think of Joline; when I looked at the sunset I had too, but it was alright. It was beautiful, like she was, and maybe this was the last picture she was painting for me.
"We'll leave around lunch. I'll pack the car in the morning." He said.
"Sure. Sounds great to me."
"Do you want to have some fun?" He asked me with raised eyebrows. I wasn't sure if I did - wathcing the sunset had meant sitting up high on the roof while drinking a fuck-ton of beer. What was having fun then?
"Do I?" I asked him. He laughed and nodded.
"If you like women, you'll want to say yes."
"I'm not really into uh..."
"I'm not talking about prostitues. I'm not even talking about sex even though I will admit to having slept with some of them."
"Some of who?"
"There's a group of women - and some men actually. They were a tango dance class and they still meet up every night to dance. I fixed them up a radio, like mine, and they were grateful for it. So one of the girls taught me to tango. I'm not a professional but I'm getting the hang of it. Do you want to come tango with me?" Because of his odd but comftorably chill sense of humor I couldn't tell if he meant that I wanted to dance with him. I agreed.
Less than a half hour later we'd taken a spaziergang across the block to an old building. From the streets one could hear nothing, but when we entered I could start to hear the music. We took two flights of stairs downwards; the tango studio was in the basement.
Matthias opened the door in an almost chivlarous manner and we burst into a scene that could be somewhere in Buenos Aires in the 1950s. Men and women were dragging each other across the dance-floor, lowering their partners down so they're backs almost touched the floor, spinning - spinning - spinning. One of the girls, a beautiful latina with long black hair saw Matthias and immediatly let go of her partner to rush over.
"You came!" She said and hugged him around the neck. From the way she held him I could tell that they'd had something physical, maybe even romantic.
"I was here yesterday, I almost always come." He said in a quite bashful but also happy way. She pinched his cheeks and kissed him right on the mouth.
"Yes but every time you come you make me happy!" Her spanish accent was strong. "And you brought company." She proceeded to hug me too, then began to chatter. Matthias smiled at me and held out his hand.
"Should I show you the tango. Adora, watch, then you can see how great you've taught me." He said. She jumped in happiness. Matthias held his hand out. I took it and he twirled me onto the floor. I almost lost my balance but he caught me. I felt his strenght for the first time. This man was one you badly wanted on your side if it came to a fight. Adora laughed in delight as Matthias tangoed with me. "Not bad for an accountant." He said and spun me away, pulling Adora close. You could see the way she just melted when he held her to his chest. They'd very obviously been in a relationship or maybe they still were. I wandered off to the side and watched. They were caught up in the moment; swept up in the love as romance authors like to write. My first girlfriend was a lover of romace, everything from novels to mangas to telenovelas. I'd put up with it, but never cared much for it. But watching actual tango right in front of me, with two people who were in love, that made me smile and tear up. Oh Joline.
"Hey you..." I heard a feminine voice from the side. Another dark-haired Latina was looking my way. "Want to dance?"
"I don't know how." I admit. She shrugged cheerfully and said she'd teach me.
I danced for one and a half hours and by the end of it, I wasn't half-bad. I don't mean that I'd mastered the Art of tango, but I had been able to stop stepping on feet and know when she'd spin me where. I could even hold her as she draped herself over my arm.
Finally Matthias came over, Adora clinging to his arm. "We should get going, Mack." He said. I agreed and said good-bye to the cute latina I'd danced with. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, I thanked her.
"Don't forget what I taught you!" She said. I promised I wouldn't. "And come by again if you have time." She blue me a kiss and sped off.
Adora accompanied Matthias and I outside. They'd refueled their romance. "I have to tell you something, Adora." Matthias said rather heavily. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
"Leaving why? And where?" She asked. Her eyes had grown big in shock. The make-up made it look like they were almost popping out of her head.
"Mack told me about this farm he has. The food here is going to go out eventually, a farm is the best place to be."
"Alright then I'm coming with you if you're going!"
"But you have a dance-school-."
"They can manage without me, I cannot manage without you. I'll go tell them I'm leaving. Pick me up here tomorrow, what time do you want to go? Just tell me when you'll be here and I'll be waiting. I won't even take to much I promise!" She said as Matthias opened his mouth to say something. "I know it's gonna be hard but don't worry, I'll be okay. If you can learn how to tango I can learn how to farm!" She spoke faster than anyone I'd ever met. It was hard to follow.
"Alright, we'll pick you up." He said and kissed her on the cheek. She beamed in joy.
"Okay, goodnight Mack and goodnight mi amor!" She blew him a kiss and ran down the stairs. Matthias smiled and looked at me. He shrugged, then we turned around and made our way back. It was all bittersweet to me; but I realized something. Joline should have been like that when I said I was leaving.
Matthias' house had a spare bedroom. I stayed in it. The bed was springy but comftorable. My view was the wall of a neighboring house, but that was fine by me. It didn't scare me unlike the view at my uncles place.
And then I realized something. Joline wasn't twenty, she was tired, she was older, she wasn't a young woman who tangoed with hot german mechanics. She had to put out with men she didn't find remotly attractive. I was the one who should have begged her to go; forced her to. I was sure she would have agreed.
Anyway. Good night you motherfuckers.