“I know that. But from now on, we find a better way of getting babies. We need to discuss that with Adán.”
“I hate that doctor. When we’re finished with him, can I kill him? At the rate we’re going, you’ll be too soft to kill him.”
“I can assure you, I feel like giving someone a bullet right now.” You.
“I almost punched the priest when he said 50,000 pesetas. Give me my share.”
“Come on,” José said, not ready to share out the wad of cash under his jacket. They moved through the quiet, narrow streets, not slowing the pace until the came out at Plaza del Ángel, a small run-down triangular space.
There were others out on the streets by the time they reached Calle de Reloj Viejo, where José lived. They stepped though the archway door into the bottom of the building, and José checked to see if they were alone. He couldn’t see anyone on the dark winding staircase that led up to the apartments throughout the four-storey building. Silence. He pulled out the bag of money hidden under his blood-stained coat. “How do we split this?”
“I guess we need to pay the doctor,” Fermín said. The disdain for sharing was obvious. “He didn’t do much.”
“He delivered a baby in a whore-house, and signed off the death certificates. Let’s say 20,000 for him…”
“No fucking way.”
“This time he can have a significant slice. We owe him. In the future, he will have less involvement, and we will need to pay him 10,000.”
“No, 10,000 this time and every time. If we are making 50,000 per baby, then he isn’t getting more while we are keeping his ass out of prison.”
“Fine, 10,000. But, you know, he could align himself with someone else. We could lose him.”
“He is a self-righteous anarchist. He can’t line himself up with anyone else. It’s 10,000 pesetas, or I get use of one of his daughters. The little one, with some luck.”
José shuddered yet again; she must have been about ten years old. “I will give him the 10,000 after I get some sleep. We are on duty again at 18:00. I will see him before then.”
“I hope I can trust you,” Fermín said. His face resembled that of a greedy cat while he watched his partner count out 20,000 pesetas. “So, into bed with Consuela now? You lucky dog,” Fermín smirked while he tucked the money into his jacket.
“I just want this day to be finished and forgotten.” José turned and started up the stairs. “Go back to the barracks, Fermín.”
“This day won’t ever be over; it’s the first day of our new business. Ten babies and we can buy an apartment each.”
José didn’t reply and carried on up the stairs. By the time he reached the top, he looked down, but already knew Fermín had left. His uniform stank of the blood of a prostitute. With luck, the sight of his wife and baby girl would ease the pain of his conscience.
The apartment was still in darkness. José stripped off his clothes and dumped them in the bin, filling the meagre bag. He felt happy to sacrifice it and wear his spare. He could afford a whole new one. The station may give him a new uniform since that one got ruined in the line of duty.
He crept into his bedroom and there lay his wife, sound asleep on the bed. She had kicked the sheet off, and it lay on the floor in the doorway. Inés lay asleep on her tiny single mattress in the corner against the window. He crept onto the bed and put his arms around his beautiful wife and felt her stir. José kissed her cheek and closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt like he didn’t belong there. Maybe he wasn’t decent enough for them. He was right.
19
Valencia, España ~ Mayo de 2010
The buzz of Valencia was alive in the sunshine; the vibe of confidence and comfort filled the air. Luna could never feel at home unless enveloped in the soul of Spain’s most passionate city.
Giacomo and Enzo went off to school to start their final term before the long summer holidays. That left Luna and Cayetano free to go for a run through the Turia. Cayetano didn’t feel pleased that his diminutive fiancé out-ran him in the park and had to push him to keep up with her. Maybe those snide comments about him gaining weight during his off-season were somewhat true.
“What would you do if you didn’t have me to keep you fit?” Luna joked through laboured breaths as they stood in the park, near her apartment building.
“I was letting you win, you know,” Cayetano wisecracked as he glanced at his watch. “I didn’t want you to feel bad.”
“Oh, I see,” she teased as she began her warm-down exercises. “I’m so grateful!” Luna glanced over Cayetano’s shoulder. “Look out behind you.”
Cayetano turned, expecting to see nothing more than the enormous Reina Sofía opera house, with its millions of shining white tiles surrounding its almond-shaped body. Instead, two young women stood there, both dressed in running gear.
“Excuse me,” one said with a giggle. “Are you that bullfighter from the underwear billboards?”
“Yes, yes I am,” he replied, and heard Luna snort behind him.
“Cayetano Beltrán Morales, right?” the other asked.
“At your service, ladies.”
“My friend here,” the blonde said, and pointed to her brunette counterpart, “she is a big fan of yours.”
“No, she is a bigger fan,” the other girl replied.
“We are both, big, big… big fans.”
Luna tried not to laugh as she watched Cayetano try to respond to the pair. She knew he felt self-conscious about his near-naked billboards for a large underwear company, but he had agreed to the job, so it was his cross to bear.
“Thank you, ladies,” Cayetano stumbled. “Please excuse me, I have to continue with my training. I have another performance on Thursday.”
“Hasta luego,” they replied in unison and carried on along the wide cobbled path.
“We are both, big, big… big fans,” Luna mimicked a high-pitched breathless tone once the women were out of earshot. “Oh, Cayetano, we love you so much. We know nothing about you, but have made up a whole fantasy based on one photograph,” she continued. They headed up the path out of the park and up to street level as she teased him.
“Very funny,” Cayetano said and put his sweaty arms around her while they waited to cross the street. “That promotion came with a huge pay-day.”
“I don’t take off my clothes, but I can still earn money!”
Cayetano threw her a cheeky look as they walked over the pedestrian crossing. The noise of the large roundabout halted the conversation until they stood at the self-opening doors of the pristine white apartment building. Luna waved to a few of the stylists whose salon as on the ground floor before they went indoors.
“You would ever take your clothes off for any reason?” Cayetano probed while they waited for the elevator.
“Why would I need to do that?”
They stepped inside the elevator, and Cayetano watched Luna press the button for the top floor. “Maybe there would be a good reason.”
“Name one good reason why I should be photographed naked.”
Cayetano shrugged. “Someone asked me to be on the cover of a certain magazine just this morning. I got an email about it.”
“Will you be naked?”
“No, I get pants this time.”
“Will they Photoshop those scars off your chest again?”
“No. They also want you in the photos. You and me together, wrapped in one of my red capes.” Cayetano stepped out into the dark hallway and held the door for Luna.
Luna frowned as she fumbled for her house key in her pocket and unlocked the front door. “Why?”
“They want an interview with me. Standard stuff. Plus we’re getting married, so they thought us on the cover would look marvellous.”
“What’s the catch?”
“We would both be topless.”
“What?” Luna spluttered. “No way!”
“What they suggested was you and me together, you against me, and I would be holding the cape around us both.”<
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“Then why do I need to be topless underneath the cape?”
“They want to be able to see me and my scars.”
“You mean use your smoking-hot body to sell magazines.”
“I’ll take the compliment,” Cayetano teased and pulled off his damp shirt. “It’s art.”
“It’s flesh to sell magazines. They exist to body shame the readers.”
“My rough scars against your, smooth, curvy and perfect…”
“Don’t think flattery will change my mind.”
“I think it would look great.”
Luna sighed and pulled her long hair from its ponytail. “The children would see it; we could hide it from them now, but one day, they will see a photo of their mother, topless on the cover of a magazine. How do I explain it? How do I teach them to be gentlemen respectful of women, and pose naked for the entertainment of others?”
“That’s looking a long way forward just to get out of the interview.”
“It’s called long-term planning, and parents need to be aware that their actions cast a shadow on their children.”
“We could explain to Giacomo and Enzo all about the context of the photos and article, if and when they ask. We would impose restrictions on how much skin is shown, so you feel comfortable. If we explain it to the photographers, the way you just explained it to me, then they should be prepared to help. I think, if you said you couldn’t appear topless on a magazine cover for the future opinion of your children, they would love to print it. There isn’t a woman alive more qualified to raise boys.”
“Like I said - flattery won’t change my mind.”
“Will you think about it?”
Luna growled. “Okay, when do they want to shoot it?”
“Next Monday.”
“Where?”
“Rebelión.”
“No! No, that won’t work. Weekends or nothing. My kids can’t miss any more school while bouncing back and forward for you and your needs. I’m sorry. I’m on my own with two boys, and I can’t just go to Madrid on a whim.”
“Okay, I will tell them to do it on the weekend, and then you will consider the shoot? Come on, they want a real woman on the cover, not a model-like thing who has never eaten in her life.”
“All women are real women. Stop judging women on their appearance.”
“You had twins just six years ago and you’re stunningly beautiful. Women will want to read the article. Plus, it puts all these negative stories about you and Fabrizio to one side. You’re not a woman who hid a drug user, you are with me. You are with me, and you have nothing to hide, literally and figuratively.”
“Cheesy.”
“I’m rather proud of it. Come on, let’s have a shower.”
“That won’t get us clean!”
“I know, that’s the best part!”
Luna started to giggle as he crept towards her and broke into laughter as he ran his hands around her waist and began to tickle her. “No,” she laughed but couldn’t get out of his embrace. “I was going to visit Escondrijo today, but if we end up in bed all morning, I’ll run out of time.”
“No, no, no, you have it all wrong, la chispa. I have to go back to Madrid tonight, and I won’t see you for a week. We aren’t going anywhere today.”
“Oh, if you insist,” she muttered with wistful indulgence. A slow and impassioned kiss stopped the jokes as they stumbled down the hallway in their lip-locked pose.
Luna’s phone vibrated in her pocket, and she tried to reach it, but Cayetano stopped her. “Don’t ruin the fun of the morning,” he uttered through their fierce kiss.
“Just hold that thought for one moment,” she said and answered the call. “Hola,” she sang down the phone as Cayetano kissed her neck. “Hey, Darren,” she giggled. “Can I call you back?”
Cayetano watched her try to speak as he ran his large hands over her body and began to pull down her shorts. “You and Tomás?... Sure, you can come over anytime… Me? I’m just… um…”
Cayetano stopped and took the phone. “Darren. What do you want?... To come here? Give us an hour, at least…. Why? You have a girlfriend now, you figure it out.” He hung up the call and tossed the phone on the dresser against the wall. “Problem solved.”
“Caya, I’m going to get my job back!”
“Okay, that’s great, blah, blah, blah. Can we enjoy the last day of your suspension by having lots of sex first?”
“Hell yes, we can.”
One of the best things about being in love with Cayetano was that Luna felt so uninhibited with him. She stood there, under the hot water of the shower, but didn’t notice the drops on her skin. They stood pressed so hard against one another that even the water couldn’t get between them. The way he kissed held such a sense of urgency, a desire to soak himself inside her, to gnaw at the love he knew she held for him. Cayetano was a strong man, but Luna was his weakness. The fun job of soaping one another got forgotten, because encased lust overruled any practical aspect of standing in the large shower. New love had such a sense of lust that waited for nothing, and every kiss, very touch, every titillation came with such a sense of hurry. Sexual thirsts had to be quenched before yearning overwhelmed them both as Cayetano pinned Luna against the tiled wall. Being wet made the game more fun, and when Cayetano slipped himself inside her, Luna groaned, the compulsion to have all of him satisfied. She managed to look Cayetano in the eye for a moment as he nudged the pair of them to their limits. Luna felt awestruck by the combination of love and lust she had at the same time. With no need to be quiet, their cries of fulfilment echoed around the bathroom, followed by silence, the air filled with the sound of running water and laboured breathing.
“I’m dizzy,” Luna commented through her deep breaths.
“I aim to please,” Cayetano replied and gave her a full kiss.
Luna laughed as Cayetano let her go, and put her long hair under the hot water. As she closed her eyes, she felt his hands run over her body and his lips on her shoulder. “I’m so in love with you, it’s ridiculous,” she said, and opened her eyes.
“What’s the point of living unless we feel that happy?”
Cayetano sat on the end of the bed and watched Luna comb her blow-dried hair. “With that body, you should be on the cover of magazines,” he said.
“Oh ha-ha.” Luna looked at him in the mirror on the dresser. “I said I would think about it, didn’t I?”
The doorbell rang, and Cayetano sighed. “Yay. Work time.”
“Exactly. I want my job.”
“You could be my housewife,” Cayetano said as they went down the hallway. “We can afford that. Stay at home and be with the kids more. You must want that.”
“I do, but life hasn’t been that kind to me.”
“Let me be kind to you.” They stopped in the entrance way and Luna reached for the door handle. “Preciosa, I mean it. You don’t need this job.”
Luna said nothing and opened the door, to see Darren and their team manager, Tomás. “Hey, guys,” she said, and each gave Luna a kiss on each cheek. “Right on time.”
Tomás shook Cayetano’s hand, but Darren just gave him a nod of hello. “Thanks for seeing me. I know things have been awkward,” Tomás said.
“That’s an understatement,” Cayetano remarked. “Being suspended from a job you love for no wrong-doing isn’t fair.”
“Come in,” Luna said and ushered them all into the living room. “I’m sure we can work all this out.”
They settled themselves around the room, but Cayetano remained standing, his arms folded over his broad chest. Luna glanced up at him as he stood next to her seat, but said nothing. It was sweet that he wanted to be protective, if not touch chauvinistic, as if she couldn’t look after herself.
Tomás brought his hands together. “I come bearing terrific news. Marco has decided that Darren should get back into full-time training for the Tour in July. And no future Tour winner can race or train without his own mechanic.”
&n
bsp; “I’m back in the team?” Luna cried. “That’s fantastic!”
“Tell me about it,” Darren said with a wide smile. “I’ve been training as usual, waiting for this day to come. The heat has died down, and we can go back to preparation for the Tour.”
“I’m pleased you have faith in me, Tomás,” Luna said. “I don’t condone drug use in riders.”
“I knew that, and I always did,” he replied. “Like all of these scandals that come up, they heat up and die away after a few weeks. We can get on with business. There are teams running with past drug users as riders and retired doped riders working as team managers. It’s going to take time to weed all of these people out, even if they’re clean now. We need to be seen as the team who won’t harbour anyone who ever committed an offense. I’m sorry I had to suspend you at all, Luna.”
“I understand; it’s about sponsors and money. It hurt, but I get it.”
“So, just like that, it’s all finished and forgotten? All the trouble and finger-pointing will stop?” Cayetano asked.
“No one was pointing the finger at Luna, just Fabrizio,” Darren explained. “There will be another flare-up with Irene Lupus’ book in a few months. Her husband has filed a court injunction against her, so maybe it won’t be released at all. Fabrizio’s secrets are safe.”
“They wouldn’t need to be safe if they never existed,” Cayetano said with a frown.
“I have nothing to hide, and neither did Fabrizio,” Luna said with a smile. After everything, she still didn’t want to admit anything out loud.
“Fabrizio and I would sit together in those hotel rooms in France, after each Tour stage and talk,” Darren said. His gaze trailed off into the distance as he reminisced. “We knew he would win the Tour that year. Every day, his lead increased, and he wore the yellow jersey all through that final week.”
“It was one hell of a week. Some of race’s biggest climbs, Col de la Madeleine, Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez,” Luna commented. She turned to Cayetano. “The guys would race all day, and then after they had finished, Fabrizio would take Giacomo and Enzo. They were six months old, and Fabrizio watched them while I worked on the bikes in the team truck. I would come back after midnight, and find the three of them, all curled up together fast asleep, all from exhaustion.” She spoke with such a wide smile.
Secrets of Spain Trilogy Page 59