~~~
In the shadow of the Arts and Sciences complex, in the park across the street of Luna’s apartment, sat a small playground. It had become home to shrieking and excitement on a warm spring day as it creaked under the strain of so many kids playing. Luna and Darren sat nearby on the grass on a picnic blanket, and watched Giacomo and Enzo run around together, under the watchful eyes of their grandparents.
“I have a secret,” Darren said without looking away from the kids.
“Oh goody.”
“No, this isn’t a bad one. Well, I don’t think so. You might, you might think it… you know… I’m not sure…”
“Just spit it out.”
Darren pushed his sunglasses against his face and smiled. “I… I’m seeing someone.”
“A woman?”
“Of course a woman!”
“So why is it a secret?”
Darren shrugged. “I don’t know; it’s not been a good time to chat about things these last few weeks.”
“You told me when you slept with Lucía, the babysitter, and when you had a month long sex fest with Lia in Aussie…”
“Yes…”
Luna gasped. “This new woman isn’t a sex partner! You like her!”
Darren tried to suppress a smile. “Maybe.”
“I can’t remember how long it’s been since you liked a woman.”
“Being in love with you did curb the possibility.” He watched Luna cringe. “Don’t worry, I’m not making this awkward. Yes, I like this woman. I like her very, very much.”
“Come on, tell me about her. When? Where? How?”
“She lives in Madrid. We met when I went there about a month ago, at a dinner party with friends.”
“And?”
“She’s fun, and bright, and happy.” Darren’s face lit up. “Shit, I’m too old for this.”
“You’re 35, not a grandfather. How old is she?”
“She’s 36.”
“Name?”
“Sofía.”
“The same as Cayetano’s sister.”
“I tell you, Lulu, now I understand what you said about meeting Cayetano and how it changes you. Having someone new in your life changes your perspective.”
“It does. Really does. I’m not the only one who has had a rough few years. I’m glad you’ve met someone.”
“She is the most beautiful woman,” he gushed. “I don’t know why she likes me.”
“Your accent,” Luna joked. “Tall, blonde, reasonably famous Aussie. You’re a catch.”
“Sofía is a catch. It’s been a month since we met, but she wants me to meet her family.”
“Then why aren’t you in Madrid right now? If you leave now, you could have dinner with them.”
“No, no, things are a little complicated with her family. It’s a long story.”
“Go and see Sofía, you silly man!”
“Maybe I should.”
Giacomo and Enzo came running over, and they jumped on the pair, causing their tired mother and godfather to groan as they got squished by their boys.
Cayetano looked across the park, scanning the place for his family. The boys were easy to spot with flaming red hair. He had come to Valencia determined to have more than mumbling one word conversations, like on the phone all week. He couldn’t even be sure why Luna was mad; perhaps it was just stress. But Luna wasn’t even home when he arrived, but the park was always an obvious choice, especially on a day when everyone flowed into the Turia in the spring sunshine. He found them in their usual picnic spot but didn’t like the sight. Luna sat with Enzo on her lap, Darren with Giacomo on his lap, and an older couple he could assume were the Merlini’s. Fabrizio was dead and still got in the way. Shit, that’s mean. Or is it? Sure, Fabrizio didn’t mean to die and hurt his family, but the rest, the drugs, the lies, the affair, that was all intentional. Fabrizio knew what it would do his wife and did it anyway. Now, Luna sat with the man’s parents, who no doubt told Luna that her sons looked like their father, and praised the man as if he was a saint. The Merlini’s were no doubt as in denial about the allegations as Luna. They wouldn’t help her attitude, and the woman already knew how to hold a grudge. Cayetano made one insinuation to his family that Fabrizio was guilty of the alleged crimes, and Luna had given him the cold shoulder all week. She could have been at Rebelión with him with the kids off school for the holidays, and she chose to be in Valencia instead.
Cayetano turned and walked back in the direction of his car. He didn’t belong here. This wasn’t his family. Maybe he wouldn’t ever quite fit into Luna’s Valencian life.
~~~
As Luna filled her stupid little front-loading laundry machine, she heard the doorbell ring. Before she had a chance to flick the machine on, she saw Paulina walk through the kitchen and out into the entrance way. Luna glanced at Fabrizio’s watch on her wrist; 8pm. Giacomo and Enzo were already asleep, and she didn’t feel like entertaining anyone. She heard a muffled voice at the door, and that deep, full-bodied tone was unmistakable. That wasn’t how Paulina and Cayetano should meet.
Luna rushed through the kitchen and to the front door but Paulina had already welcomed Cayetano into the apartment. Everyone seemed awkward. Terrific.
“This lovely man has introduced himself,” Paulina said. “Of course, a handsome man like this can’t be mistaken for anyone else. Cayetano, we were rather hoping we would be able to meet you before the wedding.”
“I invited them to the wedding,” Luna said to Cayetano, who nodded. “I hope that is okay.”
“Of course, you’re very welcome to join us in Madrid.” Luna watched him wring his big hands.
“My boy,” Paulina said, and steered him in the direction of the living room, “you seem nervous.”
“I don’t want to intrude.” Cayetano glanced over his shoulder at Luna, eager to have a moment to speak to her in private, but that seemed unlikely. “I saw you at the park this afternoon, but…”
“Why didn’t you speak to us? You just left?” Luna asked.
“Max,” Paulina interrupted as the man looked up from his book. “Look who has arrived at last.”
“Cayetano Beltrán.” Max extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Hello, Signor Merlini.” Cayetano felt relieved Max and Paulina spoke English. He had never even bothered to ask that.
“Please, Max.”
They all sat down, and a long pause sat in the air. “Poor Cayetano thought he couldn’t join us in the park today,” Paulina told her husband.
“Well, you had Darren,” Cayetano added.
“Darren just came to say hello,” Paulina said. “And he left in quite a hurry.”
“Darren has a new girlfriend, and he left for Madrid to visit her,” Luna said with a smile. “That explains the speed in which he ran away!”
Everyone chuckled. “Madrid must be a city of love,” Paulina said. “After all, isn’t that where you met Luna, Cayetano?”
“Sure was,” Cayetano said. “Luckiest day of my life.”
“That’s what our Fabrizio said when he met Luna, too. Where was that? Adelaide?” Max asked.
Luna nodded. “A beautiful little city.”
“You met Darren there as well, that day?” Paulina asked.
“Yes, I’ve had a few lucky days.” Luna didn’t look up from her hands on her lap.
“Cayetano,” Max said with a gentle voice. “I understand how difficult this must be for you. Please know that you have our blessing to marry Luna, not that you need it, of course. We do have mixed feelings. But please, don’t think it is about you.”
“We lost our son, and now we face losing our grandchildren as well,” Paulina said.
“I won’t replace anyone,” Cayetano said. “I can offer Luna a family, but not replace your son. That would be impossible. Fabrizio Merlini casts a big shadow.”
“Cayetano, you must be sure not to be caught in the shadow. Luna has been for years, when she fought the court case for his
killer to be jailed. Last Christmas, Luna came to visit, and I’m sure you know she was miserable without you. As much as it hurts to have lost our son, we can’t wish Luna go on living on her own and out of love.”
Luna burst into tears, despite her best attempt to stop herself. Paulina jumped over and put her arms around her, and Cayetano felt helpless. “I’m just trying to keep everyone happy,” Luna mumbled.
“Mia cara figlia, my dear daughter, you can’t do that all the time. You are not at fault for anything that has happened,” Paulina said.
“That is what I said!” Cayetano added.
“You can’t help that Fabrizio is gone, and you can’t help that you fell in love with someone else,” Paulina said. “It’s okay. I would feel worse if I thought that all these nasty lies about Fabrizio might hurt you and Cayetano. Neither of you did anything wrong.”
“If that bloody doctor would tell the truth about which cyclists he doped and transfused, then we could all get on with our lives,” Max sighed. “One dodgy doctor has ruined so many lives. So many people are suspected of using drugs, but there is no actual proof.”
“Fabrizio is dead, and it’s up to me to defend him, if not for him, for Giacomo and Enzo,” Luna said. “But it’s hard.”
“Now that Cayetano is here, why don’t we stay here with the boys, and you two can go out, as couples do. You need to let people help you, Luna.”
“Where can we go on Easter Sunday?”
“I know the perfect place, we just might need a few supplies,” Cayetano said. “A few hours away might help everyone.”
16
Valencia, España ~ Abril de 2010
A night drive to Escondrijo provided the first opportunity to navigate the roads of the Sierra Calderona in the dark. Streetlights left Luna and Cayetano after driving through the town of Serra and silence took over against the cliffs of the mountain range. The dirt road up to the house seemed unusually bumpy. Isolation greeted them when they pulled up outside the masía, which sat in total darkness and seclusion. Not long ago, the light of Alejandro living in the old house would have lit up the place.
Luna flicked her torch on before Cayetano turned off the Mercedes. The pair got out and caught the chill of the tranquil Rebalsadors mountain. Not a breath of wind blew through the pines that surrounded the house. The only sound that echoed came from their shoes on the stones between the whips of grass underfoot.
“Shit, it’s blacker than the inside of a cow,” Luna remarked.
Cayetano snorted. “I guess that’s a kiwi expression.”
“The creepiest thing is that I feel as if I’m being watched.”
“Don’t say that! There are bodies everywhere.”
“Wow, that helped.”
Beyond the light of the torch, the place may as well have not existed; it would be all too easy to wander around and fall straight off the limestone cliff near the house. Cayetano flicked on his own torch and went back in the direction of the car to fetch the bag he had brought with them.
“What is your plan here?” Luna called over her shoulder.
“You wanted this place so you could escape the world.” Cayetano slammed the door of the car closed and picked his bag up off the ground. “Now is the best time to escape. Nothing will bother us here.”
“I wish I had problems I could leave at home.”
“We all wish that. I’m not stupid, Luna. I’m aware you are still mad as hell at me for not backing you up last week in Madrid. Out here, you have no choice but to forgive me.”
“Because?”
“Because if you don’t, I will take the torches and drive home without you.”
“Abandon me. Nice one. Like you did when José tried to rip me a new asshole?”
Cayetano sunk to his knees in front of her but was still tall enough to wrap his arms around Luna’s waist. “I didn’t mean to side with them, I was just being honest!”
“I don’t want anyone to be honest!” she cried. “Is that not obvious?”
“Then what do you want?”
The light waved around at random as Luna threw her hands in the air in frustration. “What I can’t have!”
“Why can’t you have it?”
“I want what I believe to be true. I want to believe that Fabrizio was a righteous man, and a faithful husband, father, cyclist and friend. But he wasn’t, was he?”
Cayetano stood up and ignored the dust on the knees of his jeans. “If you believe that all these allegations are lies, then that is up to you. Luna, you understood him best.”
“Clearly I didn’t! I want to blame Piero Lupus for pushing riders so hard and his whore of a wife, or blame Doctor Ferra and his fucking blood doping…”
“I don’t even understand blood doping.”
“Red blood cells make you faster on the bike. So, when you are fit and well, you remove blood and store it. Before a big race, you re-inject your own blood to boost your red blood-cell count.”
“So, no drugs are used?”
“No, but it’s illegal, or cyclists would be pumping blood at every race. It’s dangerous. What if the wrong blood went into the rider? Sometimes blood went bad, and the doctor put it back in cyclists anyway! I saw it, so I’m as guilty as Fabrizio and all the riders! I worked on the team, and people were using quick shots of EPO, or blood doping. Fabrizio was aware, and Darren, too. Some guys used so much that their blood would thicken in their veins, and they had to get up in the night and pedal. If they didn’t, their blood would thicken enough to give them heart attacks. It takes just two hours of sitting to clog the arteries. Some of the guys would go to take a piss, and it would be black from all the shit Doctor Ferra gave them. Piero Lupus expected riders to use drugs, and handed them out like free candy. All the teams did it. We lied to the fans and media outlets about what was going on because we were happy and successful. But Fabrizio told me that he didn’t want to end up like the others. He said he had no need to punish himself with blood or drugs. Riding was enough punishment for his body! He swore, on Giacomo and Enzo’s lives that he didn’t do drugs or blood-boosting.”
“Then it’s no surprise that you believe Fabrizio so much.”
Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, which caused Cayetano to take a step back. She threw her torch to the ground, and Cayetano saw her wave her little fists in the dim light around her. “Of course he was using drugs!” she cried. “There is no way he would beat the others if they were using. The level of advantage is massive and worth the risks. My husband was a drug user. I’m so fucking stupid!”
Cayetano wasn’t sure what to say. The evidence was too strong to ignore. “Preciosa…”
“Liar!” Luna screamed out into the dark. “You fucking liar! I hate you!” Her voice hurt her throat, but the nastiness had to come out. She took another deep breath. “I trusted you! I defended you! I loved you! It was all for nothing!”
Cayetano pulled her into his arms, and she burst into angry tears. She wound her arms inside his jacket and held on tight while she sobbed on his shoulder in the dark. He stroked her hair while she cried it all out. “I’m sorry,” she muttered against his neck.
“Why?”
“Because I was last to figure out that Fabrizio was an asshole.”
“It’s not that simple, my darling. What you suffer from is different to everyone else on earth.”
“This is not your problem. You don’t need to be embarrassed because of all this. It’s not your fault I was stupid.”
Cayetano watched Luna look up at him, and he wiped the tears off her face. “When I’m your husband, I hope you defend me as you defended Fabrizio. You’re an remarkable woman. You’re not stupid. You did what you thought was right at the time.”
“I’m not sure what to do now. Thank God the boys are still young and won’t understand what their parents did to win the Tour de France.”
Cayetano turned and picked up the torches. “Come with me.” He guided her back in the direction of the bag he had left on the
ground. “I’ve got a plan.”
Luna stood with her torch and watched him pull his bag open for the thick and soft picnic blanket she had used earlier in the day. “Bit late for a picnic,” she sniffed.
“Should I spread it out or should we go inside the old house?”
“I like it out here, even if it’s cold. It will be freezing inside.”
Cayetano laid out the blanket and put the two torches either side, and gestured for her to sit down with him. She sat and watched him pull out a blanket and she smiled.
“That’s better,” Cayetano said as he wrapped it around her and himself.
“Now what?”
“How about nothing? How about for a change, we have nothing to deal with or to solve?”
Luna rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “That would make a pleasant change. These are dangerous times.”
“Because?”
“Because when things turn to shit, it’s easy to make rash decisions that would be all too easy to regret.”
“Like what?”
“Like marrying you and having you adopt the boys, in an attempt to pretend Fabrizio never existed. My anger can’t influence any choices right now.”
“Would that life be all bad?” Cayetano joked.
“Don’t you worry; I will marry you, for you and me, and the boys.”
“And for Cayetano Ortega, Luna Beltrán, Scarlett Montgomery, Sofía Pérez, Alejandro Beltrán and Paco, of course. They are all counting on us.”
“We solved their mystery.”
“And now we need to live happily ever after, it’s our duty.”
“Will we?”
“I hope so.”
They sat huddled together under the heavy blanket in the dark, accompanied by the silence. Far off in the distance, below the mountains lay Valencia city, lit up like a sea of twinkling diamonds. The full moon gave everything a smoky silhouette. Luna felt ready to fall asleep.
“I spoke to Papí José today,” Cayetano said to break the silence.
“Oh no,” Luna mumbled.
“No, I tried something new. I asked for his advice. I figured if he thought I was listening to him, I might figure out an angle that would work to shut him up.”
Secrets of Spain Trilogy Page 56