Unhappy Christmas

  ‘You’ve ruined my coat!’ shouted Natalia, furious.

  ‘I’m sick and tired of you whores trying to act like ladies!’ yelled the old crone who’d knocked over the bottle.

  ‘Listen, we don’t want any problems here,’ the barman intervened, looking at Natalia and the creature from the deep.

  ‘Calm down, calm down. Let's go, Natalia,’ a prudent Jacob grabbed Natalia by the arm and rushed her out into the street.

  Just as they got outside, a mobile rang on the table at the back of the bar. A guy dressed in designer sports clothes answered the call.

  ‘What’s up, man, what do you want? It’s the fifth time you’ve called... Who the hell are you?’

  At the other end of the line, Miguel was stunned at the sound of a man’s voice answering Natalia's mobile.

  Chapter 10

  A tête-à-tête between brothers

  ‘What do you mean who am I?’ howled Miguel. ‘Who the hell are you?’

  ‘Look, you knob, don’t call again.’

  Miguel was gob-smacked, motionless, listening to the repetitive beeping at the other end of the line. They’d insulted him and hung up on him. Sitting on a wooden chair in a modern, open-plan detached house with a high ceiling which seemed to be crushing him with the weight of its emptiness, Miguel's image was one of a small vulnerable man. As he didn’t say anything, just sat there listening to the beeping mobile, his brother clapped his hands in front of his face.

  ‘Hey, Miguel, wakey-wakey! Who were you talking to?’

  ‘I haven’t got a clue,’ Miguel was dumbfounded. ‘It was some guy who told me not to call again. Natalia’s with another man! For fuck’s sake!’

  Miguel stood up, hysterical.

  ‘Hey, hey, calm down. Don’t talk rubbish.’

  ‘She’s gone off with another man!’

  ‘I doubt it, but if she had, you’d more than deserve it.’

  Miguel looked at his brother, holding back his rage. His little brother, physically a lot like him with the same good boy looks, but taller and slimmer with darker hair and glasses, dressed in just tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, stood looking at him sternly with his hands on his hips.

  ‘Yes. Don’t look at me like that. You come to my house, no warning, dressed like an exhibitionist, wailing like a child and you tell me that Natalia came home by surprise and caught you in bed with some floozy.’

  ‘She's not a floozy...’ Miguel chimed in, saddened.

  ‘Well, that’s the least of it. She caught you two-timing her and legged it, with you close behind. You followed her all over the city until you ended up with dog shit on your hand.’

  ‘One of Natalia's shoes...’

  ‘Whatever. And meanwhile you've called her about a hundred times, each time with no answer, until a strange guy picked up.’

  ‘Who could it be?’ Miguel put his hands to his head, desperate.

  ‘Natalia’s mobile's been stolen,’ said Alfonso, after thinking for a while.

  ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘It happened to a friend of mine and the thieving git answered his calls too. You've no idea what trouble he caused.’

  ‘Thanks. That’s reassuring at least.’

  ‘I’m sure that's what it is. And you thought it was a lover... What an idiot. Poor Natalia must be a wreck, who knows where, running around the city to avoid you because even I can’t look at you right now, do you get me? Because you've behaved like a total dick and now to top it all they’ve stolen her mobile.’

  ‘I’ve got to go look for her!’ Miguel staggered towards the door.

  ‘Yeah, off you go and run around Madrid like a headless chicken again.’ Alfonso stopped him and made him sit back down. ‘Let's see, Miguel, let’s just think for a while, OK?’

  ‘That's what I came to see you for, Alfonso. I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Well, for a start, you should have kept your dick in your pants, lover boy’

  ‘Oh yes, says the king of sexual abstinence.’

  ‘I’m single!’

  ‘It’s not as simple as it looks. I love Natalia. I don’t want to lose her.’

  ‘Well, you’re certainly going about it the right way!’

  ‘When she told me she was going away to work as a correspondent I thought it was good for her, but I didn’t realise how destructive it was going to be for our marriage. Have you any idea how lonely I feel?’

  ‘I can imagine.’

  ‘I’m finding it really hard, after living with Natalia for so many years, suddenly being alone and seeing how the months pass and she’s still so far away... I don’t know how to explain it, but I've had a hard time of it, I’ve never stopped missing her and it's only got worse with the passing of time.’

  ‘And you haven’t spoken to her about it, have you?’

  ‘I don’t want to worry her. We were seeing each other less and less and the days we were together I didn’t want to spoil the moment by bringing it up. I kept putting it off for later when it was a good time and so the trip came to an end and we hadn’t talked.’

  ‘Why did you never tell me any of this?’

  ‘I don’t know, I didn’t want anyone to know that I was having a hard time of it.’

  ‘Yeah... And don’t tell me, a woman appeared who wanted to console you. Some of them are like sharks catching a whiff of blood.’

  ‘Don’t be such a misogynist. We're both adults, we both made the same mistake - she’s married too. I was selfish, I let myself get carried away, I took advantage of the situation. The truth is I don't feel anything for her, but I couldn’t stop.’

  ‘The typical affair that isn’t going anywhere but you can’t walk away from... You don’t need to explain it to me. But I insist, why didn’t you come talk to me?’

  ‘And tell you that I was cheating on Natalia? That my life wasn’t as fantastic as everybody thinks? That I was lonely, lost and scared to death without Natalia here? Would you have liked to have that load on your shoulders?’

  ‘I’m your brother, man,’ Alfonso held Miguel’s gaze, very serious, sincere. Miguel couldn’t speak for about three seconds. He looked at his little brother and felt emotional, although he didn’t want to get carried away by his sentimentality. So he continued.

  ‘I knew I had to end the affair, that I had to talk to Natalia and try to save our marriage. I wanted to tell her everything, but I was so ashamed... I thought about talking to her this Christmas, seriously, to tell her that we had to make a decision and get everything back on track, find a way to be together again.’

  ‘Of course, and you had no better idea than to jump in the sack with your bit on the side on the day that Natalia was coming back.’

  ‘She was supposed to be arriving later. I arranged to meet the other woman to tell her that we had to end it but one thing led to another and we ended up... I wasn’t planning to!’

  ‘So she raped you, poor you. Don’t go making excuses!’

  ‘Excuses?! Like the ones you make so you don’t have to come out of the closet? Or are you going to tell mum and dad at the Christmas meal this evening?’

  ‘That was below the belt. Leave me in peace. Don't get me involved in your mess!’ Alfonso shouted, infuriated. ‘You haven’t even washed after screwing that floozy, you come here crying over Natalia and to top it all you start to dump on me.’

  ‘I came here hoping for your support, but I can see I was expecting too much of you. I’m off.’

  Miguel got up from his chair offended and angry and walked towards the front door doing up his coat.

  ‘Will I see you at dinner tonight?’ asked Alfonso, suddenly calm again.

  ‘I don’t know. I have to find Natalia. I’m worried about her.’

  ‘We’ll talk later and I’ll do what I can.’

  Miguel turned round and looked his brother in the eye.

  ‘Listen, sorry for what I just said to you, I ...’

  ‘Shut up,’ Alfonso cut him off. ‘Get a shower, kick that wo
man out of your house if she’s still there, find Natalia and leave my closet in peace, OK? Give us a kiss.’

  Miguel kissed his brother on the cheek and left his house, dizzy with all the contradictory emotions flying round in his head and weighing on his chest.

  Chapter 11

  Causing a scene

  Natalia walked out into the street offended, furious and soaked in cheap whisky. Jacob took her by the arm with a gesture aimed at protecting her from the beings of the underworld in that bar and also from herself.

  ‘I can’t believe it! He drenched my coat! What am I going to do now?’ Natalia was drunk and beside herself.

  ‘Relax, Natalia, calm down. Let’s go,’ Jacob gave Natalia a nudge to get her walking, away from the bar.

  ‘Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down? This coat is all I had left!’

  Natalia took off her designer coat, soaked in whisky and looked at it sadly. Jacob took off one of his coats and put it over her shoulders.

  ‘Here, you're going to get cold.’

  Natalia couldn’t help but feel a hint of disgust at the touch of the tramp’s coat. But then she felt Jacob’s warmth in the coat and her gratitude for that gesture dispelled all of her reservations.

  ‘Are you sure? You’re not going to be cold?’

  ‘Don’t be silly, that’s why I’m wearing all these coats. There’s always someone who might need one.’

  Natalia put her hands inside the sleeves on Jacob’s coat and felt his warmth, his humanity. She felt comforted for the first time all day. She still held her expensive whisky-drenched coat. As she folded it so she could carry it more comfortably, her house keys fell out of the pocket, the same ones that she had put there this morning so as not to wake Miguel. She picked them up and put them back in her pocket - at least now she could get in the house without having to depend on Miguel. That idea reassured her a little.

  They talked as they walked down the street, among the people that still crowded the streets shopping non-stop to make themselves feel good. Suddenly a shrine to tackiness appeared before them, a golden calf designed to reel children in to the world of consumerism, a monstrosity of garish colours, supposedly charming children’s figures, instead grotesque and horrifying, dwarves, gnomes, fairies, fantasy creatures with kind expressions that said: come in, shop, spend.... Plastic statues with leering faces spattered with glitter, terrifying robots moving mechanically while booming music aimed to make believe that those 3D nightmares were singing.

  Natalia and Jacob were standing in front of a monstrosity, a monument to bad taste, adored by numerous groups of families with children that seemed to be fascinated by the Dantesque show covering the façade of a department store. Natalia was dumbstruck contemplating that monument to Christmas cash, that temple dedicated to poor taste.

  ‘Xmas Kingdom...’ She muttered to herself.

  ‘What do you think?’ Asked Jacob, taking advantage of the stop to roll himself a cigarette.

  ‘It’s horrible!’ protested Natalia.

  ‘Yes,’ laughed Jacob, ‘it’s horrible.’

  Natalia was indignant. She hated that day, hated Christmas with all her heart. Hated the masses of happy people shopping non-stop, going about their little mediocre, conventional lives and worshipping that monument to bad taste. Hated the falseness of a Christmas that was all about money. Right now she was drunk, confused and full of indignation. She looked at the faces of the Xmas Kingdom puppets, hating each and every one of them. Letting out all her rage, she wrung her expensive coat in her hands until it was just a ball of fur and alcohol. She looked at Jacob out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was lighting the cigarette he had just rolled.

  It was a fit of rage, a spark of momentary madness that took hold of her. She snatched Jacob’s lighter out of his hands, set her alcohol-drenched designer coat on fire, and threw it with all her strength like a cannonball at the horrific dolls belting out a Christmas carol at the top of their voices. It was so sudden that nobody could see where the meteorite had come from, the Xmas Kingdom plastic going up in flames in a split second.

  ‘What have you done?! Are you mad?!’ Jacob looked at Natalia, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. Natalia didn’t react, she was half spellbound by her attack and half scared at the consequences it might have. The people around her had seen her and were looking at her stupefied, indignant and wary.

  Children started shouting and crying while the horrendous Xmas Kingdom dolls deformed in their flaming shrouds, still singing carols even though their eyes were popping out of their sockets and their plastic mouths were melting, turning them into grotesque demons. The parents started to run, getting their children away from there, creating chaos in the small square.

  Jacob, seeing that some security guards were watching them, maybe identifying them as the culprits of the disaster, took a firm hold of Natalia and started to run among the crowd that was fleeing from the stinking smoke and Dantesque display.

  ‘Come on, run!’ he said, pushing Natalia into the bewildered crowd.

  The security guards saw them running and started after them. Fortunately for them, there was a lot of chaos and confusion and families with children running everywhere and Jacob knew the area really well, so they were soon able to shake them off.

  They reached a square not far from the one they had just left, where there were some raised structures that had originally been designed to house plants but now served as bedrooms for homeless people like Jacob. Where the flowers and lawn should have been, there was nothing but blankets and cardboard boxes. At night they were beds, but in the daytime they remained empty in their improvised bedrooms, whilst their owners swarmed around the city looking for their daily sustenance. Jacob ran with Natalia to one of the platforms, lifted some blankets and signalled for her to hide under them.

  This time, Natalia didn’t hesitate. She was scared at what she had done, confused by just how far her own lack of control had gone. The shouts of the people running and talking about the fire could be heard in snippets, as if different radio stations were being tuned in. Natalia was trembling. She suddenly realised that she was in Jacob’s arms, protected by the warmth of his body.

  ‘Relax, we’ll be OK here,’ whispered Jacob, ‘it’s a friend’s spot.’

  Natalia held on tightly to the beggar, the only anchor stopping her from sinking completely. The world outside of those blankets was one of utter chaos - the security guards were looking for them, the black smoke of Xmas Kingdom was filling every nook and cranny with an infernal stench and sirens could be heard - but under those ragged blankets Natalia felt safe and protected in Jacob’s arms.

  Natalia looked up to see her saviour’s face. She could just about make out his face, as a little daylight still filtered through the blankets from the day that refused to die. Jacob noticed her looking at him.

  ‘What have you gone and done?! Why ever did you do it?’ He whispered in a tone of mixed amusement and fatherly reproach.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Natalia choked back a sob, which turned into a kind of giggle. ‘Right now I don’t know why I do anything. I don’t even know what I’m going to do when we get out from under this blanket.’

  ‘Shh,’ hissed Jacob, stroking Natalia’s black hair with his tanned hands. ‘There’s no rush. You can think about that later.’

  Natalia let herself be consoled and comforted by his begging hands, leaning against his chest that was so full of tenderness, embracing the man who had become her guardian angel on that terrible day.

  Jacob’s heart beat strongly but calmly and Natalia’s grief-stricken, erratic heartbeat eventually slowed to match that of the tramp, Natalia sobbing softly until she finally stopped and there was nothing but the serenity of their two bodies entwined under a blanket.

  Chapter 12

  A relaxing cup of coffee in Plaza Mayor

  Natalia woke up confused. She didn’t know where she was, just that she wasn’t in her house in Madrid or her Washington ap
artment, but suddenly it all came back to her: she was under a blanket in a square in the centre of Madrid, clinging to a beggar.

  She was scared: maybe her adventure running away from Miguel had gone too far. But another voice inside her head shouted “To hell with Miguel!” Going back to his side right now would be a defeat. Maybe Miguel was going to crawl back and beg forgiveness, which she didn’t feel like granting him, or maybe he was going to tell her he was in love with another woman and they had to divorce, which she didn’t really fancy either at that moment in time. Talking to Miguel wasn’t an option. What's more, Jacob’s chest was warm and loving. Natalia had found the man hidden behind the tramp’s façade.

  Just then, a growling noise dissolved the magic of the moment: Natalia’s stomach.

  ‘Maybe we should’ve eaten something, eh?’ said Jacob.

  ‘Yes...’ Natalia agreed, feeling a bit embarrassed. ‘I haven’t eaten anything all day.’

  Natalia lifted her head a little and looked around: there was no longer any light coming through the blankets, night had fallen over Madrid.

  ‘I think the danger’s passed. In the midst of all the chaos, we’ve had a nap and everything,’ laughed Jacob.

  Natalia threw off the blanket and looked at the square around them. There were still people finishing their last-minute shopping. Up on the planters, as well as Jacob and Natalia, there were other street dwellers now settled under their respective blankets. The recently-lit street lights gave it all a fantastic, unreal appearance, like a witches’ coven in a Goya painting. Several shiny wrappers flew around the square, carried by the freezing wind.

  Natalia looked at Jacob, who was watching her calmly.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked her.

  Natalia shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what she was going to do in the next few hours and she was in no state to make a decision.