Skylight Read Online Free Page B

not touched on in the presence of a young woman. She had been brought up with the idea that parents and children should respect each other, and she still clung to that. She therefore pretended not to have heard her daughter’s question and left the room.
    Once she was alone again, Maria Cláudia smiled. Standing in front of the mirror, she unbuttoned her housecoat and her nightdress and looked at her breasts. A shiver ran through her and she flushed slightly. Then she smiled again, feeling vaguely nervous, but pleased too, something like a frisson of pleasure tinged with guilt. Then she buttoned up her housecoat, took one last glance at herself in the mirror and left the room.
    In the kitchen, she went over to her mother, who was making some toast, and kissed her on the cheek. Rosália could not deny that the kiss pleased her, and while she did not reciprocate, her heart beat faster with contentment.
    â€œGo and have a wash, dear, the toast is nearly ready.”
    Maria Cláudia shut herself in the bathroom. She returned looking fresh and cool, her skin glossy and clean, her now unpainted lips slightly stiff from the cold water. Her mother’s eyes shone when she saw her. Cláudia sat down at the table and began eagerly devouring the toast.
    â€œIt is nice to stay home sometimes, isn’t it?” Rosália said.
    The girl giggled:
    â€œYou see, I was right, wasn’t I?”
    Rosália felt she had gone too far and tried to backtrack a little:
    â€œYes, up to a point, but you mustn’t make a habit of it.”
    â€œThe people at work won’t mind.”
    â€œThey might, and you need to keep that job. Your father doesn’t earn very much, you know.”
    â€œDon’t worry, I can handle it.”
    Rosália would like to have asked her what she meant by this, but chose not to. They finished their breakfast in silence, then Maria Cláudia got up and said:
    â€œI’m going to ask Dona Lídia if I can use her phone.”
    Her mother opened her mouth to object, but said nothing. Her daughter had already disappeared down the corridor.
    â€œThere’s no need to close the door if you’re not going to be gone very long.”
    Rosália heard the front door close, but preferred not to think that her daughter had done this on purpose in order to go against her wishes. She filled the sink and started washing the breakfast things.
    Maria Cláudia did not share her mother’s scruples about their downstairs neighbor; on the contrary, she really liked Dona Lídia. Before ringing the doorbell, she straightened the collar of her housecoat and smoothed her hair. She regretted not having applied a touch of color to her lips.
    The bell rang out stridently and echoed down the stairwell. Maria Cláudia felt a slight noise behind her and was sure that Justina was peering through the spyhole in the door opposite. She was just about to turn and look when Dona Lídia’s door opened.
    â€œGood morning, Dona Lídia.”
    â€œGood morning, Claudinha. What brings you here? Won’t you come in?”
    â€œIf I may . . .”
    In the dark corridor, Maria Cláudia felt the warm, perfumed air wrap about her.
    â€œSo what can I do for you?”
    â€œI’m sorry to bother you again, Dona Lídia.”
    â€œYou’re not bothering me at all. You know how much I enjoy your visits.”
    â€œThank you. I wondered if I could phone the office to tell them I won’t be coming in today.”
    â€œOf course, feel free, Claudinha.”
    She gently ushered her toward the bedroom, a room that Maria Cláudia could not enter without feeling slightly troubled, for the atmosphere made her positively dizzy. She had never seen such lovely furnishings; there were mirrors and curtains, a red sofa and a soft rug on the floor, bottles of perfume on the dressing table, the smell of expensive cigarettes, but none of those things alone could explain