‘So what do you think of Portugal?’
‘I’ve only seen a very small part of it, but I think it’s gorgeous. I’m rather taken with it actually.’
‘Where are you from?’
‘I live in London.’
‘London … I was at university in London. St Mary’s. It was a good time for me. Now I am back home in Portugal.’
‘Do you ever go back to London?’
‘Yes, I stay with friends whenever I can.’ He leaned forward and touched the camera. ’May I?’ he asked.
‘Yes of course. Don’t know if they’re any good. I’ve just been snapping away.’
He began to click through the images. ‘This first one is very good of you,’ he said, seriously. ‘The photographer is very talented.’
Alice laughed.
‘So, can I see any of your prints here?’
‘Well, I have just sold some of my mounted photos to a couple of shops in Cascais.’
‘These are excellent. I can see why.’
Alice watched him as he concentrated, his dark curly hair pushed back behind his ears, sunglasses perched on top of his head. He looked up and their eyes met briefly.
‘Are you here alone?’ he asked, smiling.
‘It’s my birthday. I am treating myself to a morning in Lisbon.’
‘Your birthday? I hope you have a lovely day.’
He gave the camera back to Alice and leaned back in his chair.
‘So, Sebastian, what did you study at University?’
‘Chemistry.’
‘And is that what you do now?’
‘Oh, no, of course not. I came home and work in the family business. We own some bookshops and I help manage them. I wanted to strike out and do ground-breaking chemical research, but I took the easy route.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Alice said.
‘So, why did you come to Portugal?’
‘I lost my job and I needed a break.’
‘When are you going back?’
‘Now that’s a good question. I don’t know!’
‘And that is a good answer.’ He leaned forward and smiled at her. ‘And where is Mr Alice?’
‘My boyfriend is at work in Estoril. I think.’
Sebastian closed his eyes and put his hand to his chest dramatically. ‘I am stricken,’ he said. ‘There is a man in your life already.’
Alice giggled like a schoolgirl. ‘Don’t tell me there is no woman in your life.’
‘Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I am fickle.’
Alice sipped her coffee, glancing at the tourists looking for the best spot to take the perfect photograph of Lisbon.
‘It’s a beautiful place,’ Sebastian said. ‘And you suit it perfectly.’
Alice smiled, then glanced at her watch. ‘Ah, I’ve got to go – I’m due in Cascais in a couple of hours.’
Sebastian stood and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘Goodbye, Alice and thank you for your company.’
‘Bye, Sebastian. And thank you for yours.’
She hurried along the pavement, navigating the narrow streets towards Cais do Sodre to catch the train back to Cascais. It felt like she was floating above the cold hard cobbles with tiny wings on her back carrying her softly home. She smiled at everybody, and everybody smiled back. This is where I’m meant to be, she thought as a warm glow enveloped her body from somewhere inside. ‘I belong here.’
Then her phone buzzed with a text.
Going to be a bit late. House stuff. Could be positive! Will be there by 7.45. Luis xx
Alice walked down the hill to the square, as the sky over the bay rippled with delicate pink clouds and the boats glowing in the last light of the day. The stalls along the seafront were full of people browsing and chatting, the multi-coloured trousers, dresses and skirts billowing in the breeze. One man was trying on a straw hat, laughing with the stall-holder, his wife fussing around, picking up different kinds for him and a child was pulling her mother towards a stall selling beach toys, focused on an inflatable unicorn. Alice moved through them all, enjoying being part of the early evening ritual, looking back over the day and anticipating with pleasure the evening to come, with Luis, Kathy and Stephano and her new friends in the town. She had managed to push the worries about the house, her job and Adam right to the back of her mind. Turning into the square, she smiled – three dogs lay at the foot of the statue, a man was juggling on a tricycle outside a shop, and the tables of the restaurants and cafes were brimming with people eating, chatting and laughing. She sighed with pleasure, found a table next to the wall of Carlos’s restaurant and sat down.
‘Alice, you look beautiful today!’ Carlos took her hand slowly and kissed it.
‘Thank you. I thought I’d dress up for my birthday.’
‘Your birthday! Feliz anniversario! Happy Birthday!’
‘Thank you.’
‘The blue of the dress suits you perfectly. So – a drink on the house from me.’
‘Lovely. Glass of wine please.’
‘You are not spending your birthday alone, are you?’
‘No. I’m waiting for Kathy and Stephano. And Luis. But he’s going to be a bit late. Actually, can I have some bread and olives to keep me going?’
‘Of course.’
‘Kathy should be here any minute.’
‘Just sit back and relax.’
‘I will.’ Alice checked her phone. No new messages. Looking through her purse she realised she’d forgotten to get any cash. ‘Actually, Carlos. I’ve got to nip around the corner for a minute. Could you keep the table for me?
He placed a reserved mark on it. ‘It’s yours for the night, Alice.’
She smiled at him and stood up. ‘Thanks. I won’t take long.’
Weaving through the tables towards the road Alice rushed to the cashpoint and impatiently waited for the money. Putting her card back into her purse she felt someone standing too close behind her, a strong smell of aftershave hanging in the air around them. She tensed and stared intently at the screen.
‘Ahh, Alice. I was hoping I’d bump into you. Veronique is having a one-to-one yoga session so I thought I’d have a bit of a wander before dinner. That’s a lovely dress – it looks like its cost you quite a bit of money.’ Adam leaned in closer. ‘Are you checking your bank account? Your money must be getting less and less every day. I mean, how are you supporting yourself?’
She looked up at him and forced a smile. ‘None of your business really, is it?’ She tried to sound calm, but her heart was beating angrily.
He put his hands gently on her shoulders. ‘You know I’ll get what I want in the end.’
Alice removed his hands and began to walk away. Go away, Adam. Just go away, she thought as he followed closely behind.
Sitting down at her table, she picked up the wine Carlos had brought and took a gulp as Adam pulled up a chair. Alice said nothing.
‘I know it may surprise you, but I come in peace. It’s your birthday and I wanted to say hello and wish you well,’ he said.
Carlos appeared behind Alice. ‘Is everything okay here?’ he asked.
‘Yes. It is. Thank you,’ said Alice.
‘Can I have a beer?’ asked Adam.
Carlos glanced at Alice. She nodded reluctantly. There was no point in causing a scene. Especially not on her birthday.
‘Coming right up.’
‘Amazing. The service here has been incredibly bad. Veronique and I have been three times to various cafes in this square and have sat waiting for ages to be served. We gave up. She was getting quite upset actually. She’s very emotional. It’s her creative side, you know.’
‘I find the service excellent,’ said Alice, remembering the conversation she’d had with Carlos a few days earlier.
‘So where is everybody? Surely this isn’t your birthday celebration?’
‘I’m waiting for Kathy. And Luis.’
‘Luis? A gentleman friend?’ he said, almost sneering.
&nbs
p; ‘That’s right,’ said Alice, smiling hard and taking another gulp of wine.
Adam pretended not to hear. ‘I’d check on Kathy if I were you. I saw her yesterday and she looked distinctly queasy. No doubt that aggressive hairy chap Stephano bundled her home. I thought they were divorced years ago.’
Alice picked up an olive and shoved it in her mouth to stop herself from saying anything. She was not going to rise to anything he said. Not today. Let me have today, she thought. Let me have today.
Carlos banged the beer onto the table and glared at Adam.
‘Why haven’t you been replying to my messages or calls?’ he asked casually, taking a gulp.
‘Because I blocked your number. I block and unblock it when I feel like it.’
Adam looked up at her, surprised. ‘That’s not like you. You were always so … so … doing the right thing.’
‘Yes, I know. Things change.’
He glanced at his watch. ‘Quarter to eight. You’ve been sitting here a long time on your lonesome? Are you sure they’re coming?’
Alice popped another olive into her mouth and smiled.
‘Look.’ He leaned forward. ‘Let’s be civil. Once upon a time we loved each other a lot. We can remember that and not get nasty.’
‘I’m not getting nasty, Adam.’
‘You’ve changed. I can’t quite put my finger on how.’
‘You haven’t seen me for over two years. Of course, I’ve changed.’
They sat in silence for a while. Adam tapped his foot irritably whilst Alice scanned the square for nothing in particular.
‘The house,’ he said eventually.
‘The house?’
‘It’s half mine.’
Alice sighed visibly and smiled at him again. ‘You’re like a broken record.’
‘Legally. It’s mine.’
‘If not morally.’
‘One has to do one’s best to secure one’s future.’
‘Does one?’
‘Alice!’ Ignacio weaved through the tables towards them, followed by his nephews and his sister. ‘You look beautiful today,’ he said. ‘Is everything all right here?’ he continued, glancing at Adam.
‘It’s okay, thank you.’
‘Good,’ he said, pulling out a chair at the table in front of them and sitting down, along with his family. ‘These are my nephews,’ he said, ‘you have met them already, and this is my sister Cristiane.’ They all waved at Alice and smiled. Then the nephews ran to the other side of the square to see some friends.
‘Thanks for coming,’ she said. ‘What would you all like to drink?’
‘This is totally out of character for you,’ said Adam leaning back, his voice beginning to sound aggressive.
Ignacio glanced at Carlos and beckoned him over.
‘What is?’ said Alice.
‘Coming here. Being adventurous. Taking a leap of faith …’
Carlos stood next to the table and began to clear some space. ‘The usual for you all?’ he said to Ignacio.
‘Not sure what you mean —’ Alice smiled at Adam again.
‘—not being obsessed with decorating that bloody house,’ he interrupted.
‘I wasn’t obsessed with it. I was redeveloping it.’
‘But you didn’t do anything else.’
‘I did actually. But someone had to be the grown up. Once you stopped paying towards it I had to pay the bills and stay in my proper, sensible, well-paid job.’
‘Don’t blame me for that. You chose to do it.’
‘Because you chose to fart about freelancing and never stuck to anything.’
‘You got boring.’
Alice turned to him and smiled widely. ‘So did you.’
‘Me?’ Adam looked astonished.
‘You’re not as interesting as you think.’
‘I’m enjoying this,’ said Ignacio to his sister. ‘We are all very fond of Alice.’
‘If you had let the bloody house go before this we could have travelled together,’ hissed Adam. ‘I wanted us to. You know I did. So we may have lost a bit of money, but we would have had experiences. Why do you think I left?’
Alice stared into her drink. ‘You just lose interest in things. Pick them up, put them down,’ she said eventually.
‘You’re so stubborn, Alice.’
Carlos reappeared with a tray of drinks and began to place them on the table, glaring at Adam.
‘You don’t know what it’s like to be thrown out of your own home with nowhere to go,’ she said slowly. She took another drink, trying not to throw it over him.
‘No I don’t. But you were so obsessed with it you didn’t give me any time. Didn’t nurture me. Didn’t understand. Is it any wonder I looked for excitement in other people?’ He stood up. ‘I’m going to get half of the house Alice. You might as well give in. It will save a lot of time and money.’ He threw some money on the table for his drink. ‘I have to get back to Veronique. We are going to source some suppliers in Portugal for the shop in Cheam so have to plan. It’s our big leap into the unknown.’ He stood up. ‘Happy Birthday, Alice.’
As he walked away Alice saw some of the diners at nearby tables staring at them, whilst others were concentrating very hard on eating. She wanted to run after him and tell him he was a liar and a bully. She knew he’d deliberately tried to upset her on her birthday. She bit her lip. Where was Luis? Where was Kathy?
Ignacio moved his chair towards her. ‘He has very feminine hands. I do not like him.’
Alice smiled thinly. ‘Nope. Neither do I,’ she said quietly. Leave me alone Adam, leave me alone, please leave me alone, cried the voice in her head. Just one day without worrying about the future. That’s all she’d wanted, but it was closing in on her no matter how much she tried to ignore it. Another text arrived. Delayed. Be there as soon as I can. Luis x. Alice sighed with relief. He was on his way – he would put his arms around her and it would all go away, just for a while.
The flowers and the busker arrived out of nowhere, like someone had rubbed a lamp secretly and wished them up for Alice, and there they were in a kind of puff of smoke. The someone turned out to be Carlos and the smoke was the fuddle in Alice’s brain left behind by Adam’s verbal assault. She’d looked down again for a second to check her phone for messages. There were none.
When she looked up a young man with a guitar stood next to her smiling, a dozen red roses scattered decoratively on the table. Carlos, Ignacio, his nephews and sister stood around her, smiling. The busker began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and Ignacio turned and waved at the hubbub of people in the square. The musician played another chord, and Ignacio conducted the throng to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Alice as Kathy and Stephano walked around the corner.
Alice beamed happily as a cheer erupted from a multitude of people she didn’t know in a place that suddenly felt like home. Standing up, she hugged her two knights in shining armour and the busker. ‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘I’m Felipe. What would you like me to sing?’ he asked. ‘I am all yours for the evening. I am your birthday present.’
‘My own busker?’ Alice laughed. ‘Thank you! How about “Daydream Believer”?’ she asked. ‘Yes. “Daydream Believer” please. And I’ll leave the rest to you.’
‘Sit,’ Carlos instructed. ‘Stay here for the evening. Why would you want to be anywhere else?’
‘I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’ She smiled as Kathy and Stephano arrived next to her. ‘Come on. Party time!’
‘I’m so sorry we’re late,’ gasped Kathy sinking down into a chair. ‘You did get my text, didn’t you? It’s just you normally reply and you didn’t.’
Alice checked her phone again. ‘Nope, nada, ninguem, nothing.’
Stephano popped a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. ‘None for you my darling,’ he said, kissing Kathy. ‘It’s all for us!’
‘I had a bit of a turn.’ Kathy sighed. ‘And I just sort of fainted. Again.’
Carlos set down the glasses. ‘Today is a good day. Look around you. And then look up’.
The sky was shot through with spirals of red and pink clouds, as the sun began to set.
‘It’s getting dark already?’ sighed Alice. ‘Where did the time go?’
‘Where is Luis?’ Kathy scanned the tables.
‘Not here. Late. I got a text a while ago.’
‘Well, I’m sure he’ll be here soon. And if you didn’t get my text either perhaps there’s something wrong with your signal. Speaking of which.’ Kathy pulled an iPad out of her bag and switched it on.
‘What ...?’ Alice was pulled up from her seat and twirled away by Ignacio’s cousin who had decided to dance to a reggae version of ‘In The Summertime.’ Suddenly the square was a spontaneous mass of dancers and diners, with smiling waiters dodging uncertainly around the tables. Alice laughed. It erupted unbidden and cascaded out unstoppably, as if someone had pressed a button in her back that pushed it out of her body. She had no control over it as it bubbled joyfully into the crowd, mingling with the shouts and shrieks and tuneless singing surrounding her. As she danced, she almost forced herself to be happy. Adam could wait. The house could wait. Live in the moment, she thought. She was like two people – the dancing, happy birthday girl, and the one who was hurt and terrified of what was going to happen tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.
‘Alice … Alice!’ Kathy shouted as the song finished. ‘Look here!’
Bursting out of the mass she almost fell onto the table.
‘Happy Birthday, darling,’ said her mum.
‘Mum? Where are you? I can’t see you?’
‘Focus dear. I’m on Skype. Look at the screen.’
‘Mum!’ Alice shouted at the iPad.
‘We’re all here, look!’ Alice’s stepfather, sister, brother-in-law and her nephew and niece all crowded into the frame. ‘Happy Birthday!’ they all shouted.
‘Can you sit down Alice? I can only see your stomach at the moment not your face,’ said her mum.
‘Is this better?’ Alice asked, pulling a chair close, wanting to reach into the screen and hug her.
‘You look lovely,’ said her mum. ‘You look so well. Portugal suits you.’
‘Does it?’
‘Yes. Well, I haven’t seen you for weeks. And what with your internet lockdown caused by He Who Shall Not Be Named we haven’t even done this, have we?’
The House That Alice Built Page 24