Room in Rome (Habitación en Roma)

- Yeah. - I know you're a good person.

So how long are you staying in Rome?

I fly back to Moscow tomorrow.

What a coincidence! So do I.

- You fly to Moscow? - Back to Spain.

- This is my hotel. - Mine is down there on the left.

- So, this is closer. - For you, yes.

- For you too. - No.

Come on. Please, just a little stop, to drink the last one.

We drank plenty in the bar.

Yes, but we only talked about Russia and Spain, not about us.

I prefer not to talk about us.

It's a deal.

- What is? - We don't talk.

We can stay without talking, you know? And even better.

See, that's my room. It's got two flags.

Must be a reason, no?

Yes, one for Europe and one for Rome.

I'm talking about what's in the middle.

- The middle flag is missing. - Exactly.

That's because of you. You have to come up and hang it there.

- And what do I hang there? - I don't know.

Your clothes, for example. You are long enough.

Come on.

I've never gone up to a woman's room.

It's just a hotel room in Rome.

If you keep pulling, you'll win and we'll end up in your hotel.

You choose.

- Drink? - Wine.

Wine.

Sorry, what was your name?

I told you twice already.

Maybe at the third time I get it.

Natasha.

Natasha. Was that the name you said before?

But you are not saying it right. It's Nata-sha.

Sha.

- Sha. - Sha.

And you are Alba, which is Spanish for dawn.

That's my big moment. You'll see.

Tonight is the first night of the summer.

Ah, yes, that's right, in Europe.

In Russia, summer has already begun, the first of June.

Really? Do you have summer in Russia?

Of course. Well, it's Russian summer.

And this is my last night in Rome.

Mine too.

You're not on your own, little Russian.

You know for sure this is the shortest night of the year,

here and in Russia, so we have to make the most of it.

I'm not...

- I'm not a... - What?

Come on, you're a woman, and... and I'm a woman

and we were drinking alone at a bar

and we exchanged looks and felt attracted to one another.

Isn't that how it works?

It's the first time in my life I look like this at a woman.

Never before a woman looked at me this way.

It's not the first time you look at a woman like this.

But every woman is different.

Would you like to see me naked?

I would love to.

Here?

Wherever you like. Do you prefer inside?

- Yes. - OK, let's go inside then.

I think it'll work better if you undress me.

It's OK.

It's OK.

It's OK.

We'll stay like this, close but not touching, while you relax.

Yes?

It's better if you're asleep.

That way we don't have to say goodbye.

You're right.

I'll say a few words.

Goodbye, Alba.

I don't want to imagine what might have happened.

This secret will stay there, sleeping with you.

Thank you, Alba.

Goodbye.

Who changed my ring tone?

What the hell happened?

- Who is it? - Natasha.

Natasha, right.

I think I've left my mobile in your room.

- Did you hear it ringing? - Yes, it woke me up, actually.

Sorry.

It must have fallen out of my bag.

I'm very tired and I want to go to my hotel.

Come in and take it. It's waiting for you under the bed.

I'd rather not coma in again.

Why? What happened?

Nothing. Nothing, actually. Nothing we have to regret.

- Why did you chew up my panties? - I didn't chew anything.

See the state you left them in.

Good evening.

Good evening.

How thoughtful, Natasha! I wasn't expecting this.

Hey, come in and leave it in the terrace.

Sorry, madam. It's for this room.

But if you want, I can come afterwards and take your order.

- Feeling hungry? - No, no.

- You heard. What's your name? - Max.

Max, we are not hungry right now but in a couple of hours we will.

You just call me. I'm free all night.

I mean I'm on duty the whole night.

It's there.

Where is your hotel?

This is Tevere...

...and you get to my hotel

this way.

This is the Roma of the Caesars.

Yes. It's a map to lose yourself.

Where should we lose ourselves? Choose.

We have... the gardens.

Tempio della Fortuna, Tempio della Ninfa.

My hotel is called "Ninfa".

- And yours? - Pompeo.

Look, it's this way.

You pass through the gardens,

and... and here we are, we are on top of the theatre.

No, we are... we are inside of Teatro di Pompeo.

History's looking at us

We are surrounded.

- Can you feel it? - How could I not?

- I think you like history. - Yes.

That's good.

Alba

This stays hers, OK? In this room.

In Rome.

Within these four walls.

But since we're here, let's have some fun, no?

All I ask is that this doesn't affect my life.

- And how do you do that? - By agreeing, the two of us.

You also have a life outside of all this

that you want to protect, don't you?

Very far from yours.

But tomorrow Rome will send each of us to an opposite end of Europe.

- What if I'm not Russian? - Coma on, you have to be Russian.

I love that.

Well, then I am.

What's great is not knowing each other's name.

But don't we?

Don't tell me you gave me your real name.

So your name isn't Natasha? I knew it.

Alba is the name I was going to call my daughter.

What happened to her?

Alba never saw the dawn.

I'm sorry.

That put an end to the worst time of my life,

when my Alba died inside of me.

My mother took me to Marbella one summer when I was 16.

She was almost broke

and what little money she had left she spent on fortune-hunting,

and she was lucky.

An Arab sheik, Hamir Osemin,

he... he bumped into us one day when we were shopping

and we spent the rest of the summer in his yacht.

That winter he invited us to Saudi Arabia.

He has a palace.

Even if I describe it to you, you could never imagine the luxury.

He bought my mother everything.

So she left there

with bracelets, necklaces and rings worth a small fortune.

She left?

- What about you? - I stayed.

Hamir persuaded my mother to leave me there

in exchange for a monthly allowance for four years.

That was the deal. I was all he was interested in.

So you accepted?

You can't imagine how easy it was for ma,

falling into that type of lifestyle.

I had everything I wanted!

Hamir bought me a purebred horse that only I was allowed to ride.

I began to love him like a child.

Everyone around me was very nice.

Also, Hamir's other wives treated me like a real princess.

And he got you pregnant?

That was at the and.

Hamir started to get annoyed with me because I didn't get pregnant.

That was when I wanted to leave. But I couldn't.

I'd married him so I was his property, like my horse.

He sold him to punish me.

Hamir got his way, because shortly afterwards he got me pregnant.

He was over the moon.

He began treating me royally again, this time like a queen.

Then I realised that as soon as my child was born...

Well, I'd be shut up with the rest of his harem.

The day the doctor told me I was expecting a girl,

an Egyptian nurse who I'd told the story to

helped me escape in a Greek ship.

I arrived in Athens at dawn so I decided to call her Alba.

How did you lose her?

I'd found out that Hamir had gone to the authorities.

There was a warrant out for my arrest in Saudi Arabia.

I knew that if I'd had Alba...

he couldn't have rested until I was caught.

I was only 18 so I got an abortion.

I sold my necklace and managed to start a new life in Spain.

What about your mother?