Falling in love by letter in Tinder times is something that sounds utopian, but it is not impossible. This is what happens to Lord Peregrine Fox, a decadent English aristocrat also known as Pip, and the Cádiz-born translator Rocío Medina, both protagonists of Ultimate Love (Chalk Circle), the latest novel by Dolores Payás (Manresa, 1955).
He lives in the English countryside. She, in Cádiz. Both have surpassed the boardwalk of the sixties and come from very different cribs but they have something in common: they want to fall in love. And since no one around them convinces them to embark on this new adventure, they turn to the Internet. Specifically to the Silver Elites platform, which requires a certain age, income and culture to enter.
“These types of applications have a series of advantages and disadvantages. The positive thing is that they allow you to meet people and return to them whenever you want without having to leave your house. Something that you have less and less desire as you get older. But, on the other hand, they have a humiliating side that makes you feel like you’re on a supermarket shelf. They can discard you for a photo or for a phrase you have said. This is only a small sample of the society in which we live, where abuse is widespread”, says Payás.
Although neither Pip nor Rocío are regulars on these applications, they decide to give them a try. When they are about to back down, they meet and live what the author calls a “literary love. Where these two madmen meet is in the love of words. They fall in love by correspondence, in this case by email, which is more immediate. With the words they cheer each other on and get to know each other until they end up falling in love with each other ”, she advances.
And it is that, he claims, “loving passionately from a certain age is not only possible but it is very common. What happens is that society insists on hiding it, I don’t really know why. It seems that we are no longer interested. And I must say one thing, the most pleasant passions are had at this age since it is at this stage when wits are sharpened. We ladies sometimes have what I call hydraulic problems, fluid problems, and gentlemen mechanical engineering. We are more sensible and if we have this problem we seek help. Instead, they get cranky. But those who overcome this and understand that the time has come to explore, to make leisurely love and to fully dedicate themselves to pleasure in different ways, become the best lovers. It is a simple matter of attitude and accepting the changes in the body as normal, adapting and enjoying life”.
In this love novel there is also space to talk about the recent separation of the United Kingdom from Europe. “England is a country completely absorbed in itself, for better and for worse. And Brexit has only accentuated this. It is true that this entrapment has given rise to great artistic currents, but it is not very intelligent not to look beyond the borders. And they don’t. Proof of this is that, as a general rule, they do not speak any language other than theirs”.
The author also takes the opportunity to make some social complaints, such as that foreigners, “particularly the Spanish and Italians”, are seen by the English as “good lovers but not as someone with whom to have a stable relationship”. A reality that Payás strives to deny without losing his smile: “it is evident that they are wrong but they are missing it. Prejudices would disappear if they knew us better. But that is easier to do in person than on the Internet.”
