Right after breakfast he went to the office nearby which sold the opera tickets. “Sorry, it’s sold out.” “What? No, there should be some free seats. The price has no importance,” Matti insisted but didn’t get a ticket. Then he drove his car directly to the opera. But there also, it was sold out. Where could he get a ticket? Then he remembered that the bank where he worked was a sponsor and they always had free or cheap tickets for the employees. He called Mariina the secretary with whom he talked a lot during the cigarette break. “Hi Mariina, it’s Matti. How are you?... May I ask you something?... Do you know if the bank still has opera tickets?... Yes, I know… Can you say that it’s for you?... Only one ticket for the show of tonight… oh shit you’re right! The bank is closed today!... I really need a ticket for tonight… to call Ricardo? He will kill me… Well… we live only once. I will try. Thanks for your help and have a nice weekend.” He hanged up. Ricardo was responsible of the marketing department. Matti had some difficult time with him because he was asking very often for tickets, more than what he was allowed to get. He breathed deeply and called him. He explained the situation and promised that it was the last time that he asked for tickets. “If it’s the only solution to get rid of you, come to Stockmann main entrance at 2pm sharp,” Ricardo said and Matti promised to be there.
Matti entered in the opera a bit after 7. The main lobby was quite crowded. He was wearing a dark blue suit, a white shirt, a bow-tie and black shoes. He saw his reflection on a mirror and smiled. The women were wearing very elegant dresses and some of them had very complicated hats with feathers. The ticket that he got was a VIP ticket. He entered in the lounge and a woman proposed a glass of champagne. He knew that he should avoid alcohol but that evening was special. He wanted to enjoy it. In the middle of the room there was a huge buffet. Almost everybody had a plate and was eating the delicious food. He just took a little canapé with salmon mousse, few salmon eggs and capers. “See who’s here? Hautamäki.” Matti turned and saw one of his former colleagues. “Hi Tapio. Nice to see you again,” Matti said. Tapio was fifty-five years old with grey hair, glasses and a thick moustache. He was accompanied by Sanna, his personal assistant. He was married but Matti always had the impression that Tapio had an affair with Sanna. Because it was not his business, he never commented. “What are you doing here?” Tapio asked. “I went to watch an opera. You should remember that I’m addict,” Matti replied and Tapio laughed. “You came alone? Where’s your girlfriend?” “Yes, I’m alone. I’m single at the moment.” “What are you doing now? Are you working for a competitor?” “No, I’m working in an office. I’m just doing some paper work. It’s more relaxed,” Matti explained.
A quarter before 8 Matti went to his seat on the first balcony. He was quite disappointed to notice that most of the seats reserved for the companies were empty. It reminded him the Olympic Games in Turin in 2006 when they were jumping in an almost empty stadium. The sponsors booked the majority of the seats and nobody came for the competitions. There it was the same. For the public the show was sold out but around ten percent of the seats were free less than five minutes before the show started.
The opera was Il Trittico by Puccini in three parts performed in Italian with Finnish, Swedish and English subtitles on the screen on the side of the stage. The first part was the dramatic Il tabarro a cloak-and-dagger story fired by the jealousy of an upstaged husband. It was an interesting evocation of the soundscape of Paris at the turn of the 20th century. The second part was a comedy in the story of the Renaissance trickster Gianni Schicchi, who manages to con the relatives of a recently deceased rich man out of their inheritance, not to speak of smoothing the path for young love along the way. And finally the third part, Suor Angelica, was telling the story of a woman who is abandoned by her family and flees to a convent, driven to desperation by the death of her illegitimate child. Cassandra was interpreting that woman, sister Angelica, so well that Matti felt pain for her. She was so beautiful and talented. Her voice was clear like crystal. There was only her on the stage. He didn’t pay attention to the others. When she heard that her son was dead, she prepared a poison and drank it. But just before to die she saw her son running to her. But it was too late. At the end of that part, Matti took a handkerchief in his pocket and erased his tears. It was so touching and full of emotions. It was probably the best play he ever saw. The whole auditorium applauded and everybody stood up. The show was a triumph.
“You were amazing! Congratulations!” Matti exclaimed when Cassandra joined him in the main lobby where most of the people already left. “Thank you so much. I’m glad to see you here. And you look great tonight,” she complimented and he smiled. “Do you have time for a cup of tea?” he proposed. “Yes, where do you want to go?” she asked. “Well, I think that all the cafés are closed at that time. Is it okay to go to my flat?” She hesitated a bit. Matti was her patient and she was not supposed to know him personally. To go to his flat even just for a tea meant a lot. “Just a tea. Nothing else,” he insisted a little bit. “Okay if you promise.” “I promise,” he replied.
Luckily Matti cleaned his flat in the morning. He didn’t want to show how messy he could be. He also had luck that his cats didn’t play a stupid game during his absence such as tearing up the toilet paper. She was sat on his sofa with a long blue dress. She was looking at his leaving room while he was preparing the tea in the kitchen. She got up and looked at his pictures on the shelf. “Is he your brother?” she asked when he was back. “Yes, he is older than me. I’ve also a little brother,” he explained. “Where did you get that medal?” she asked while she looked at the picture on the right. “At the Olympic Games in 2006. I was a ski jumper.” “Oh really? Wow, this is really impressive.” He smiled and opened a drawer. He took a box and opened it. The medal was there. He caught it and placed it around Cassandra’s neck. “This is heavy!” she commented. “It’s the weight of all the sacrificed I made to get it. You can keep it,” he said. “Are you crazy? Matti, it’s yours. You just told me that it was the symbol of the hard work that you did. No, sorry. I can’t accept.” And she gave it back.
After have drunk her tea she decided that it was time to leave. “Thanks for the tea and see you some day. Probably at the office.” “Have a nice Sunday,” he wished before to come closer and to kiss her. “Matti, we shouldn’t and you know it,” she reminded but didn’t push him back. “I know. But feel…” He took her hand and put it on his chest. His heart was beating quite fast. “Matti, it will be a tragedy and you know it.” “I know but I will not hide my feelings. Cassandra, I love you.”
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