Obsession (Year of Fire) by Florencia Bonelli

box full of provisions.
    The apartment had two bedrooms at opposite ends of a long hall that also led to the bathroom and a room Enriqueta used as her atelier. It opened onto the living room, kitchen and laundry room. Ezequiel, with the box of provisions in his arms, stopped in the vestibule and whistled.
    “Your aunt must do very well with her paintings, Mat, because I guarantee you this place is worth a fortune.” He put the box on the kitchen table. “Heating won’t be a problem, there are radiators all over the place.”
    “They’re warm,” Juana informed them. “We’ll stay here, Eze. Thanks for bringing us food!” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
    “Thank Jean-Paul. It was his idea.”
    Matilde flopped down on an armchair in the living room and rested her head back, her eyes staring at the flat white ceiling with plaster moldings. She heard Juana singing a song by Marta Sánchez in the kitchen. “Forlorn…our love was an emerald stolen by a thief, oh so very, very forlorn…”
    Ezequiel snuggled up next to Matilde and she rested her head on his chest.
    “She’s always had terrible taste in music.”
    Matilde laughed before admitting, “So do I. I missed you so much, Eze.”
    “I missed you more.” He kissed her on the temple. “I love holding you; it fills me with peace. You always bring me serenity, Mat.”
    Ezequiel Blahetter and Matilde were the same age, had been at school together and loved each other like siblings. With Juana, they had formed a trio that everyone else called “the three musketeers.” Ezequiel didn’t confide in anyone the way he did with Matilde. When he was sixteen, he had revealed his huge secret to her—that he was homosexual—and had cried in her arms because he knew that his grandfather Guillermo was going to disown him.
    “I don’t have much serenity to offer these days. I fought with your brother at Ezeiza. Before I forget, he sent you a letter. I have it in my shika.”
    “I have many reasons to hate my brother. The main ones are what he did to you and that he told my grandfather that I was gay. The old man called me a few weeks ago and called me every ugly name under the sun, starting with pervert.”
    “Roy told me that your grandfather only called him to confirm his suspicions. He forced him to swear on your life that you weren’t gay. Obviously, Roy couldn’t and admitted the truth.”
    “Then it must have been my cousin Guillermo. He does everything he can to cause a rift between us and our grandfather. He wants to run the Blahetter empire.”
    “Let him have it. You’re happy here. You’ve built an impressive career for yourself.”
    When he was eighteen, right after he finished high school, Ezequiel, against his grandfather’s wishes, had gone to Buenos Aires to start work as a model in advertising. When he was twenty-two, he met Jean-Paul Trégart, the head of the most prominent agency in Europe, who showed him the challenges that still lay ahead of him. He had moved to Paris and worked extremely hard to get where he was. Like Celia, or Céline, Ezequiel Blahetter was one of the top five, a member of the elite.
    “Yes, my career is at its zenith, but sometimes I need you and Juana. Do you remember when we went to your country house, Arroyo Seco ?And went horseback riding? I miss our time at the Argüello Academy. I miss you, Mat. A lot. I always have.”
    “You’ll be sick of me in a few months.”
    “I’d never get sick of you. Did you go to the doctor before coming?” Matilde nodded. “Is everything okay?” Matilde nodded again. “Thank God.”
    The trip and the time difference were starting to sap Juana’s and Matilde’s energy. Juana wasn’t singing anymore, and Matilde was struggling to keep her eyes open.
    “I’ll let you rest. I’m pretty busy with runway shows and photo shoots over the next few days, but I’ll make time to see you girls. Here are my numbers and my address.”
    He handed them a