Edward Hopper, Automat

Cristina is 32 years old and she works in a bank. She has been married for three years but she divorced her husband one week ago. They used to go to this coffee-shop every Wednesday night. Today is a Wednesday and she is sitting in the café - alone - and thinking about the wonderful time they used to have there. Once, it was their anniversary and her husband hadn't mentioned the occasion so she was pretty upset. But then they went to the café and he had arranged a romantic dinner with flowers .... She is missing those days right now. She takes a sip of her coffee - deep in thoght and trying to remember why it didn't work out. She loved him, and maybe she still does, but he was too selfish ... about his career, the money. It was all his and he was the one who decided about how to spend it - and especially how not to spend it most of the time. He was no longer the same person when they were arguing about money, nothing reminded her of the sweet guy who had bought her flowers and said that he loved her. Another sip of coffee - this past week hasn't been easy, the divorce was a difficult affair and of course her husband was complaining about the money for the lawyers' fees and the legal expenses. But she doesn't care. She just wants to leave it all behind, start a new life, even though she can't imagine waking up alone every day from now on. The past week before has been horrible in that respect. She's not a loner, and yet here she is, as lonely as anyone can be.....

(T.L., K12)