Danny había planificado este momento con bastante anticipación. Y ahora estaba muy emocionado —y asustado; ¿o nervioso?—
Conocía a Susan desde hacía unos catorce meses, y desde que llegó a entender mejor su forma de pensar y actuar –hasta en las cosas más sencillas–, se había enamorado como loco. Se conocieron en una junta de condominio; una tarde donde discutían entre los vecinos cuánto había que aportar para pagarle al conserje.
Aquel día ella estaba de visita en el apartamento de sus tíos y para no morir de pereza y encerrada, los acompañó aquella tarde a la junta. Rápidamente conectaron y empezaron a conocerse.
Al cabo de un tiempo Danny le propuso iniciar una relación. Desde aquel "sí" sus ilusiones no hacían mas que crecer. El disfrutaba de un negocio propio con dificultades comunes, pero estable.
Susan era estudiante de Contabilidad y deseaba consolidarse como la mejor en su área. Danny había pensado en que, con su ayuda, el negocio personal podía estabilizarse más aún. Pero el día que le comentó aquella ocurrencia, notó el desacuerdo en su rostro.
Aunque evitaba dar muchos detalles, Susan pensaba ofrecer sus servicios a una gran empresa, quizás una inmobiliaria, automotriz o tal vez algún negocio turístico. Se podría decir que pensaba en grande. En el fondo, no creía mucho en el futuro del negocio de alquiler de lavadoras de su novio.
Por lo general, cuando hablaban de expectativas, Danny sentía que de algún modo Susan sólo pensaba en sí misma, y eso lo decepcionaba profundamente, aunque sin confesarlo. Supuso que la solución tal vez pasaba por aclararle más firmemente sus intenciones. Quizás ella comenzaría a verlo como parte de su vida de un modo más personal.
Danny hizo un enorme sacrificio por conseguir aquel anillo tan bonito para proponerle matrimonio. Era de plata, con una piedra de zafiro incrustada sobre detalles en relieves finísimos. De no haber sido por la deuda con el préstamo del banco que solicitó para el negocio, sin dudarlo habría comprado uno más costoso y más hermoso.
—Espero que entienda y aprecie el gesto —pensó.
Evaluaba en su imaginación las mil maneras de ofrecerle aquel anillo que no dejaba de acariciar en el bolsillo del pantalón, mientras iba de camino a acompañarla ese viernes, como de costumbre, al salir del instituto donde ella estudiaba.
En una intersección, antes de cruzar se detuvo a observar un edificio de apartamentos que le hizo pensar en el sacrificio del suyo propio en una zona residencial de Nueva Esperanza —donde la conoció— y que le daba la tranquilidad de tener qué ofrecer.
Pero la voz de una mujer que a un costado de la acera regateaba precios con un dependiente se le hizo tan parecida a la voz de la señora Dina —su vecina—; que esa misma mañana le había confesado oler en Susan cierto espíritu materialista.
—Es una chica demasiado plástica— le había confesado sin rodeos— Soy una mujer vieja pero no soy tonta. Y sé leer debajo de las costuras. Esa chica no te conviene hijo.
La señora Dina le había cogido especial cariño a Danny pues le recordaba a su hijo menor, que había muerto varios años antes en un accidente.
Aún desorientado por ese recuerdo justo en aquel instante, vio venir a lo lejos a Susan que ya abandonaba el edificio del Instituto.
Después de caminar un rato y haberle obsequiado un tentempié que compró a un vendedor ambulante, la tomó de la mano —al tiempo que ella no paraba de hablar de las ganancias por los intereses sobre las hipotecas mientras mordisqueaba el bocado—, y ambos se detuvieron frente a una cafetería.
Sin demora, Danny se armó de valor y enfrentó lo que tenía que pasar.
—Tengo que decirte algo importante —le confesó con voz temblorosa.
Metió la mano en el bolsillo, tomó la cajita y como si se tratase de un ritual, la sacó, suspiró hondo y se la mostró.
Ella ni se inmutó.
Danny abrió suavemente el cofrecito dejando al descubierto el hermoso anillo de plata adornado con una piedra de zafiro sobre relieves finísimos.
—¿Quieres casarte conmigo?— soltó de una vez.
Susan observó por un momento el anillo y, tragando el bocado que aún masticaba suavemente, se limitó a decir:
—¿Es eso un anillo de oro?
Danny vaciló. No estaba preparado para aquella pregunta. De nuevo recordó las palabras directas de la señora Dina —la vecina—, pero esta vez cayeron en su cabeza como un plomo.
—N... no —titubeó contrariado—. Pero es el mejor que pude comprarte para demostrarte que quiero que seas parte de mi vida —agregó como excusándose.
—Si no es un anillo de oro, entonces no— respondió Susan.
Y arrojando la servilleta en un bote de basura cercano, se marchó.
Sosteniendo el cofrecito hacia la nada, de pie frente a la cafetería y mirando al vacío, entonces entendió por qué escuchaba la voz de la vieja señora Dina — que tanto cariño le tenía—, retumbando en su cabeza y repitiendo una y otra vez:
—Esa chica no te conviene hijo—.
Danny had been planning this moment well in advance. And now he was very excited—and scared; or was he nervous?—
He had known Susan for about fourteen months, and ever since he’d come to better understand her way of thinking and acting—even in the simplest of things—he had fallen madly in love with her. They met at a condo meeting; one afternoon when the neighbors were discussing how much each person should contribute to pay the building superintendent.
That day she was visiting her aunt and uncle’s apartment, and to keep from dying of boredom and feeling cooped up, she accompanied them to the meeting that afternoon. They hit it off right away and began getting to know each other.
After a while, Danny asked her to start a relationship. Ever since she said “yes,” his hopes had only grown. He ran his own business, which faced the usual challenges but was stable.
Susan was an accounting student and wanted to establish herself as the best in her field. Danny had thought that, with her help, his business could become even more stable. But the day he mentioned that idea to her, he noticed the disapproval on her face.
Although she avoided giving many details, Susan was thinking of offering her services to a large company—perhaps a real estate firm, an automotive company, or maybe a tourism business. You could say she was thinking big. Deep down, she didn’t have much faith in the future of her boyfriend’s washing machine rental business.
Generally, when they talked about expectations, Danny felt that, in some way, Susan was only thinking of herself, and that disappointed him deeply, though he didn’t admit it. He figured the solution might lie in making his intentions clearer to her. Perhaps she would begin to see him as part of her life in a more personal way.
Danny made a huge sacrifice to get that beautiful ring to propose to her. It was made of silver, with a sapphire stone set against the finest engraved details. Had it not been for the debt from the bank loan he’d taken out for the business, he would have bought a more expensive and more beautiful one without hesitation.
“I hope she understands and appreciates the gesture,” he thought.
In his mind, he was weighing the thousand ways to offer her that ring—which he couldn’t stop caressing in his pants pocket—as he made his way to pick her up that Friday, as usual, after school at the high school where she studied.
At an intersection, before crossing, he stopped to look at an apartment building that reminded him of the sacrifice he’d made by selling his own home in a residential area of Nueva Esperanza—where he’d met her—and that gave him the peace of mind of knowing he had something to offer.
But the voice of a woman standing on the side of the sidewalk haggling over prices with a shop clerk sounded so much like that of Mrs. Dina—his neighbor—that just that morning he had confessed to her that he sensed a certain materialistic streak in Susan.
“She’s too fickle,” he had told her bluntly. “I may be an old woman, but I’m not a fool. And I can read between the lines. That girl isn’t right for you, son.”
Mrs. Dina had grown particularly fond of Danny because he reminded her of her youngest son, who had died several years earlier in an accident.
Still dazed by that memory at that very moment, he saw Susan approaching in the distance as she was leaving the high school building.
After walking for a while and treating her to a snack he’d bought from a street vendor—all the while she kept talking about mortgage interest earnings as she nibbled on her snack—he took Susan by the hand, and the two of them stopped in front of a coffee shop.
Without delay, Danny gathered his courage and faced what had to happen.
“I have to tell you something important,” he confessed in a trembling voice.
He reached into his pocket, took out the little box, and, as if performing a ritual, pulled it out, took a deep breath, and showed it to her.
She didn’t bat an eye.
Danny gently opened the little box, revealing the beautiful silver ring adorned with a sapphire set against the finest engravings.
“Will you marry me?” he blurted out.
Susan looked at the ring for a moment and, swallowing the bite of food she was still chewing gently, simply said:
“Is that a gold ring?”
Danny hesitated. He wasn’t prepared for that question. Once again, he recalled the blunt words of Mrs. Dina—the neighbor—but this time they hit him like a ton of bricks.
“N… no,” he stammered, flustered. “But it’s the best I could buy you to show you that I want you to be part of my life,” he added, as if apologizing.
“If it’s not a gold ring, then no,” Susan replied.
And tossing her napkin into a nearby trash can, she walked away.
Holding the little box out into the void, standing in front of the café and staring into space, he finally understood why he could hear the voice of old Mrs. Dina—who had loved him so dearly—echoing in his head and repeating over and over:
“That girl isn’t right for you, son.”
