Blood in the Valencian Soil (Secrets of Spain) (13 page)

11

Cuenca, España ~ septiembre de 2009

Drive all the way to Cuenca?

Who are you going with?

Are you sure you can do this on your own?

Why have you planned this for when I’m going to Cordoba?

If you marry me, then you don’t need residency in Spain…

Who randomly throws a marriage proposal at a woman over morning coffee in the kitchen? Darren James does, that’s who. As soon as Luna told him that she was off to Cuenca in the hope of tracking down her grandfather, he was full of questions. She had told him that she had received help from a woman named Sofía in Madrid.

“How can this Sofía woman help you if she’s in Madrid?”

“She called the Registro Civil in Cuenca, but there is someone else, Cayetano. He will meet me there and help me out.”

“Who is Cayetano? Do you need someone to tell you what you need to look at? Don’t you already know?”

“Darren, I’m capable of planning a trip. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”

“I don’t think you’re an idiot. You’re the boss around here.”

“Damn right I am.”

“I’m just saying, you don’t like to drive and the A3 is a high speed road, and then you would have to get off, at what – the N420? That road is winding through the mountains. Can you do that?”

“I have to learn to drive again sometime,” she shrugged.

“Lulu, this is huge. There is no shame in not wanting to drive.”

“No, I want to drive again. Who knows, now that I’m unemployed I might get a job that requires me to drive. I can’t believe I got fired.”

“
You weren’t fired, you were made redundant, just like most of your workmates. That isn’t your fault. People are losing their jobs all over Spain. You’re too good for a job that simple anyway.”

“I
liked it. I needed something simple that got me a bit of time out of the house. It helped me get over my depression.”

“Of course, but it’s time to move forward,”
Darren said and put his coffee cup down on the counter. “But don’t worry, you don’t have to get a job straight away.”

“That’s good, because I have no idea
what goes on with me half the time.”

Darren
stepped forward and wound his arms around Luna. “You have been a bit funny these last few weeks.”

“I’m fine. It’s you who is all cut up after the accident.”

“I feel much better already. It could also be the painkillers.”

“Yeah,
it’s the drugs.”

“Are you sure you can’t wait until I get back from Cordoba? I’ll come with you. All of us at the
parador there sounds fantastic. Romantic even. I don’t like the idea of you taking the kids and meeting up with some guy.”

“He isn’t some guy. It will be fine. Nothing weird is going on. I don’t make dumb choices, especially not with my boys.”

“I don’t like it. Why can’t you wait?”

I’ll tell you why,
Darren. Because I feel smothered by you. Of course she didn’t say that. But it was true. Protectiveness was a good trait in someone you love, but Darren had become very defensive at the name of another man. He didn’t even know a fraction of the story. Good thing she had never told the truth.

“Just think about what I said about getting married, Luna, I mean it.”

~~~

Wow, that was enough to sweep a woman right off her feet. Not.
Darren had left for Cordoba early that morning. The children were still in bed when they said their goodbyes. His serious words rang in Luna’s ears for the whole 200 kilometres to Cuenca. It was a hot day, and even with the air-conditioning on in the car, the boys moaned and fidgeted in their car seats. Darren had announced that he wanted to get married, the kids were loud and difficult, the drama of her grandfather and his disappearing act… and not to mention the drive, Luna’s least favourite activity, all made for a stressful day. Only when she pulled up outside the parador, the Convento de San Pablo, did she finally let the stress of the day go. Everything needed to be left behind in Valencia.

Luna stood in the cool entrance of the
parador and took off her sunglasses. The silence of the high-ceiling room didn’t stand a chance with the excited footsteps of two eager five-year-olds that jumped up and down on the black and white tiles. The monastery was beautifully restored, and even though the hotel was permanently full of tourists, its stone walls heaved with history. Who knows what the building had seen in its 400 years.

“It looks as if a star has been misplaced.”

Luna turned in an instant at the recognisable voice behind her. There stood Cayetano. Her Cayetano. The scruffy guy who walked on a black cane. The Cayetano who wore a suit of lights in the bullring also lurked. His body may have been wounded, but his eyes reminded anyone who came close of the fire that was in him. He possessed an effortless cool, and it threw Luna – her confidence was shaken by the man. Not that he knew that. “A star?” she asked as her two gentlemen companions turned to see who their mother spoke to.

“Yes, a star has fallen and has lit up this room with her presence.”

Luna rolled her eyes with a smile. “Good afternoon.”

“It wasn’t, but is now.” Cayetano wanted to step forward and kiss her, but with the boys there, maybe that wasn’t a good idea. He looked at the two redheaded cherubs that stood either side of their mother. “Hello, boys,” he said. “How are you?”

“Good,” they replied in unison.

“This,” Luna said, and pointed to her son on her right, “is Giacomo, and this,” she gestured left, “is Enzo. Take note, because they will quiz you on it later. Boys, this is my friend, Cayetano. He has come to help me with my work.”

“You will test me, will you?” The boys looked identical.

“Yeah,” Enzo said. “It’s fun. People always mix us up, even though we don’t look alike.” He flashed his sweet little smile, not shy in the slightest.

“What happened to your leg?” Giacomo asked. “You walk funny.”

“Giacomo,” Luna chastised him. “That isn’t polite.”

“No, it’s okay,” Cayetano said and leaned on his cane. “You really want to know?” He watched them nod. “Are you sure? It’s a bloody story.” He watched them nod again, vigorously this time. “Okay… there I was… in a bullring…”

“Ooh, this will be good,” Giacomo said and rubbed his hands together.

“I stood there, and a 700 kilogram black Iberian bull watched me. He was a smart one. I had my muleta out, but I could tell that he wasn’t interested in the cape. He looked right into my eyes.”

“Did he want to eat you?” Enzo said, almost nervous at the answer.

“Oh, he wanted to eat me,” Cayetano replied, and tried not to laugh. “He wanted to go down fighting. He had already got stabbed with banderillas in the back of his neck but was still strong. Out I went with my estoque de verdad, my sword, and I knew I was in for a fight. The crowd cheered for me to tease the bull and then kill him.”

“But you didn’t… did you?”

“No, I didn’t. You know why? Because a spell had been cast on me.”

“What?”
Enzo asked with wide eyes. “Really? By a witch?”

“Not a witch, but by an angel. You know, the only thing more dangerous than an angry bull is a beautiful girl.”

“How can a girl cast a spell on you?” Giacomo asked.

“I
don’t know,” Cayetano said and shook his head. “This girl, she was the most amazing creature I had ever seen. I had seen her the night before the fight, and all I could think about was her. The world had been shaken and put back together wrong. I was so tired and confused inside that the bull thought he could get me with his horn.”

“And he did?” Enzo asked.

Cayetano patted his left thigh muscle through his jeans. “He did. I lifted my arms with my sword in my hands, and he dipped his head and jerked it back up, and got me right in the leg. I fell to the ground and cried like a baby, and blood squirted everywhere.”

“Cool,” Giacomo grinned.

“What happened to the bull?” Enzo asked.

“They took him away. He got to go to the farm where he lived. I had to go and have an operation at the hospital. When I woke up again, the angel was still in my head. I can’t escape her spell.”

“So it is the angel’s fault that you hurt your leg and a bull tried to kill you,” Giacomo said.

“Yeah,” Cayetano said and glanced back up to Luna. “Girls are more dangerous than bulls. Remember that.”

“Hey!” she said and folded her arms. “Two minutes and already you are all against me?” She watched her sons look up at her and giggle. “All the moaning from you two that I have listened to about not wanting to come with me today, and I thought of doing something fun with you, but now I’m not sure you deserve it….” she taunted them.

“Boys,” Cayetano said. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out two watermelon-flavoured lollipops. “Maybe we should head around to the playground for a while before your Mamá bores us with her work.”

They both leaped forward and grabbed the lollipops with a short sharp thank you to appease their mother’s stern expression. They all headed in the direction of one of the smaller courtyards within the parador’s walls at Cayetano’s moderate pace.

“A few minutes and you think you have them all worked out, don’t you?” Luna asked Cayetano once the boys had ru
n off in front of their mother once they saw the playground across the open courtyard.

“Blood, guts, and a beautiful girl. Boys need nothing else. We are simple creatures.”

“Parenting isn’t all games and lollipops.”

“I know, boys need someone to teach them about girls.”

“Can I just make one thing clear?”

“Sure.”

Luna watched her boys climb a ladder on the playground for a moment before she decided they didn’t need her help. “Cayetano, these are my sons. You can’t buy their affections with anything, from the most simple treat in your pocket to the most extravagant gesture. They’re here with me, but they’re off limits. Don’t play games with my kids because you are interested in me.”

“You are like a tiger, and I have pulled your tail.”

“Yeah, well… even if that comment jumped to conclusions, I have to say it now before today goes any further. I know Spanish people love to spoil kids, and I don’t mind that, but you have to appreciate raising sons is not easy, and I have to make careful and considered decisions about them every day. Even bringing them here to meet you is a massive step.”

“Of course. I know I asked a lot of you. I just rang and didn’t stop to think about whether you were ready to bring the kids, or to drive that distance. I appreciate that you came.”

“I don’t mean to sound like a bitch. I wouldn’t have come at all if I didn’t trust you, and let’s just say, if you ever pull my tail, you will get bitten.”

“I look forward to it,” C
ayetano said, and gestured for her to sit down on the bench seat by the playground.

Luna sat in the sunshine and looked around. The walls of the
parador surrounded the leafy courtyard. Who knows what would have happened in this space over the years. If not for the children’s playground, it would have been easy to imagine nuns and priests out here enjoying the sunshine. She glanced at some of the other parents; they seemed to all look back at her. “Ah… Cayetano… do you get the impression all the others here are watching us?”

She watched him scan around the playground. “Maybe… but you have said that before.”

“Little did I know that the last time I said it, I was walking through Madrid with one of its most famous sons. All the mothers in this courtyard are checking you out.”

Cayetano turned and looked at Luna over his sunglasses and saw her cheeky smile. “Wow, that makes this uncomfortable. I’m sure that isn’t true.”

Luna slid a little closer to him on the seat. “Okay, now that I’m closer to you, let’s see if they scowl. That will tell us.”

“Maybe I should try the ‘stretch and reach’ move around you as well, while we’re playing silly games.”

“Maybe you should.”

Luna laughed when he slipped his arm around her, and his large hand rested on her shoulder, and pulled her into him. “Oh come on,” he said, “I am sure many men have tried that move on you.”

“They have, doesn’t mean I let them get away with it.”

Cayetano took his sunglasses off and placed them on his head. “I didn’t really say hello to you, did I?”

“Not really.”

“Buenas tardes, preciosa. ¿Como estás?”

“Estoy mejor ahora que estoy aquí.”

“Better
now that you’re here? I’m flattered.”

“You should be. How have you been? Have you tried the capsicum cream on your leg?”

“Not as yet,” Cayetano admitted. “I have no one to rub it on me.”

“
Lucky I bought some with me,” she said, and turned to face him. Their faces were only inches apart.