On Tuesday night Hélène and me had dinner at the Belga Queen. The restaurant is located in the center from Brussels, not far from Place de la Monnaie. The building used to be a postal administration center and has been completely redone to come up with an amazingly fresh setting for a restaurant. I enjoyed being there.
After we had been seated and ordered some drinks - we both ordered a glass of white wine - Ellen looked me in the eyes and smiled. 'So? How are you? How's life treating you?', she asked enthusiastically.
'Life is good!', I stated laughingly. 'Life at the Belga Queen is good'. We both smiled. There was jazz music on the background. I recognized a Miles Davis tune, his trumpet. I enjoyed Hélène's company. Since we met there had always been a direct connection between us, we could be completely open with each other. 'But let's start with you... Tell me, how are you doing?', I asked. Hélène took a sip from her glass. 'Fine.' 'And...', I asked. 'Dominique has been very busy the past months, but he told me last week that he would be free in February for a skiing trip'.
The food was simple but good. Belgian classics. I had 'boulettes in tomato sauce with fries'.
When we were finishing our plates, Hélène suddenly said: 'Anna, there is something.' I looked at her and saw hesitation in her eyes. Since the beginning of the evening I had felt that Ellen was not completely relaxed, my stomach had told me so, but I had dismissed it. 'I think Dominique is having an affair, again'. I was surprised and I could not hide it. I knew Dominique hadn't been the perfect husband and that he had had something with someone some 3 years ago - Hélène had told me - but tonight's 'status report' made it appear that their relationship was working, functioning. Reading my facial expression, Hélène started explaining: 'You're surprised. Yes, I know. I was also suprised. I don't even have any real proof'.
