Free Club of Virgins by Pet TorreS Page A

quickly at each table in the garden but did not see her.
    My hand touched the back of my neck as I was starting to get nervous. I saw my parents in the distance and went to them.
    “Have you seen Peta?”
    “No,” they answered without concern.
    I marched over to my grandfather who was still sitting in his chair, talking politely to some guests. I bowed to him and talked discretely in his ear.
    “Grandfather, have you seen Peta?”
    He looked around and saw hundreds of cheerful people in his party.
    “No, my dear.”
    Serafim realized I was tense.
    “Has something happened?”
    “No.” I held his shoulder. I did not want to worry him without a confirmed reason.  “Continue enjoying your party.”
    I pulled away from his chair and began to walk through people at the party. I entered the farm area and started screaming Peta’s name numerous times but no one answered. I stepped off the farm and went into the orange plantations. The place where we made love for the first time was empty.
    I figured she would have been there, waiting for me to repeat our time again. I despaired when I looked around and saw only darkness and thousands of orange trees laden with oranges almost ready to be picked.
    “PETA!” I shouted loudly. All I got back was just the silence of that colossal orange grove.
     

Chapter 25
     
     
    Peta
     
    Seven in the morning
     
    I opened my eyes, listening to loud banging on my house’s front door. Someone was shouting desperately. It was Natan. 
    “PETA! PETA! ARE YOU THERE?”
    Barefoot, I got out of bed and walked hurriedly toward the passage. Opening the door I saw Natanael standing before me, still wearing the same clothes he had on at Mr. Serafim’s party.
    “Why did you leave my grandfather’s party that way? I was worried about you. I looked for you around the whole farm.”
    I reached out and hugged him tightly but said nothing. I imagined that perhaps Isaac did not say anything to Natan about the Club of Virgins . He probably would not do that or his nephew would find out that he manages a prostitution business.
    Natan seemed shocked by my strange behavior. I  embraced him strongly, afraid of losing him.  
    All the strength I had I put into in that embrace. Natanael could feel how firmly I held him around his body, as I nearly crushed his ribs.
    “Peta, you still did not answer my question,” he insisted. “Why did you do that? What happened? Did my parents insult you?”
    My hair was unkempt. I had also been crying the entire night. My eyes were swollen.
    Natan’s hands slid down my nightshirt.
    “Answer me, Peta,” he insisted again.
    I began to sob, holding onto him even tighter, almost climbing his body. Natan stiffened. I could tell he was shocked by my behavior.
    “Please just hold me tightly!” I commanded him. “Just hold me! I want to stay quietly in your arms.”
    Natan’s arms started to press my body against his. For a moment I relaxed within them. The fear of losing him had weakened inside me for that instant.
    Then I raised my head and looked into his dark eyes. Natanael’s skin was flushed by the sun. My fingers gripped the side of his face and I said to him with a cowardly voice,
    “Never doubt our love, even if a wave of disappointment tries to drown it inside you.”
    Natan frowned, completely confused by my words. Slowly one side of my face touched his chest another time. I closed my eyes, feeling his warmth, his heart pounding in his chest.
    His arms tightened around me. Natan gave me the protection I lacked at that time. Even with my closed eyes, a tear slowly rolled down my face.

 
     

    Chapter 26
     
     
     
    Natanael
     
    05:00 pm
     
    I left the bathroom wrapped in a towel from the waist down. In this moment I had finished taking my bath. Before putting on my clothes, I looked on the table beside my bed and saw a yellow envelope. Someone had placed it there when I was having my bath.
    I held the envelope and realized it was meant for me, but