Unhappy Christmas

  ‘Come with me. I know where we can eat something and while we’re at it, get you some shoes.’

  Natalia smiled. It was just what she needed, someone to protect her and take decisions for her whilst she mended her broken heart and gathered her thoughts, which were all over the place with so much going on.

  Jacob and Natalia got up from their improvised bed and started walking. They soon reached Plaza Mayor, which was not far away. In the centre of the square there were numerous huts selling all kinds of objects related to Christmas. A feverish crowd was buying figures for Nativity scenes, tinsel, silly wigs...

  Around the edge of the square there were also a lot of people having coffee or something stronger on the heated terraces, oblivious to what was going on just a few metres away, under the arches of the square, where the real residents of Plaza Mayor lived.

  When Jacob arrived with Natalia, they all greeted him warmly by his name. Jacob introduced her and she smiled shyly at the group that was sitting by one of the walls of the covered walkway. It was a group of five bearded tramps who looked like something out of a fairytale or mediaeval fantasy, so bushy were their beards and eyebrows, so plump and rosy were their cheeks and noses and so shiny their lively eyes. They were sitting on the ground, on cardboard boxes, wrapped in blankets, holding cartons of wine and boxes of sweets and cakes in their gloved hands.

  Natalia, whilst receiving greetings from this sociable group, felt a shadow of doubt, fear and a little disgust. Was she going mad? What was she doing there, with a group of tramps in an archway in the Plaza Mayor? Wasn’t it time she went home and faced Miguel? Wasn’t that better than what was in front of her?

  But her eyes strayed to the boxes of sweets, her stomach rumbling again. Then she looked at Jacob and his generous, honest look made her rethink. She’d grab a bite with Jacob's friends and then she'd decide what to do.

  ‘Bon appétit, gents,’ said Jacob.

  The street dwellers were making short work of the sweets and cartons of wine, laughing in high spirits.

  ‘Thanks, Jacob. Come here, sit yourselves down. We’ve got coffee that the volunteers have given us as well,’ they said, pointing to a flask, which it seems they had been given by some members of an organisation that looked after the homeless.

  ‘Thank you very much, kind sirs,’ replied Jacob. ‘But first of all, have you got a pair of shoes that might do for Natalia?’

  ‘I think so,’ said one of them, blonder than the others and with a slight foreign accent, and set to looking through the bags by his side.

  ‘Robbie's always got everything,’ said another of the beggars with a guffaw that turned into a coughing fit.

  ‘Here they are,’ said Robbie, pulling out a pair of worn women’s trainers. ‘I think they're about your size.’

  Robbie got up and compared the trainers against Natalia's feet, wrapped in her wool socks, already dirty and slightly worn from running round Madrid. They were a bit too big, but better than nothing, so Natalia thanked the tramp and put them on, truly grateful that she didn’t have to go around barefoot any longer.

  ‘Now sit here with us and we’ll have afternoon tea,’ said another of the beggars with a husky voice.

  Jacob and Natalia made themselves as comfortable as they could among the blankets and bags that made up the sophisticated universe of those tramps and shared their food and drink.

  ‘Jacob’s friends are friends of ours,’ one said to Natalia, winking.

  ‘Some friend you've made, you sly fox,’ another shouted to Jacob snidely.

  ‘She’s just a friend, don’t go making anything of it,’ said Jacob among peals of laughter, looking at Natalia with an expression that was meant to relax her and not make her think that he had ulterior motives.

  Natalia returned his gaze: he didn’t have to worry. Until that moment, she hadn’t had any other feelings for that man who had adopted and protected her during her hours of helplessness out on the street, apart from gratitude and affection. But she lingered for a moment looking into his eyes, those dark, penetrating eyes that were the first thing she had noticed about him and asked herself if gratitude was really all she felt or whether this innocent feeling was becoming tainted with something more intense and disturbing.

  Jacob caught her gaze and held it, trying to understand the change in Natalia's demeanour. Right now she wasn’t seeing the tramp that she had shared a strange adventure with, but just a man - a kind-hearted, attractive man.

  Natalia shook her head, averted her eyes and brushed her thoughts aside, something she had been getting used to doing as the day went on. She took the plastic cup full of milky coffee that the tramps offered her and, holding it in both hands, sipped at it whilst letting out a long sigh.

  That really was a relaxing cup of café con leche in the Plaza Mayor, not like the coffee on the terraces. For the first time all day she felt a hint, just a hint, of happiness.

  Chapter 13

  A dinner invite

  The coffee and sweets gave Natalia her strength and common sense back. Not only did she feel better, comforted and warm, but she was also starting to recover a little clarity in her mind after the emotional hurricanes that had been raging in her head throughout that long day.

  The afternoon was relentlessly heading towards evening, Christmas Eve, and Natalia was having afternoon tea with some tramps under the arches of Plaza Mayor. She laughed to herself: Who would have thought it this morning when she was flying first class with her luxury presents?

  The time had come to make a decision once more. Her house keys were in her pocket. She could go before dinner, face Miguel and see what was going on or wait until night-time, sneak into the house like a burglar taking advantage of the fact that her husband was bound to be at his parents’, having their Christmas Eve dinner, and wait for him in the comfort of her home or simply grab a shower, get dressed, get some cash, pack her cases and look for a hotel. Her options for Christmas Eve were so pathetic that she didn’t know which of the two was less heartbreaking.

  Just then, Jacob woke her from her daydream.

  ‘Well, Natalia, I have to get going. You can stay if you want.’

  ‘No, no. Thank you all, but I'd better be off too.’

  ‘Stay and spend Christmas Eve with us!’ shouted the good-natured, tipsy tramps.

  ‘No, really, I’ve got to get going. Thanks for the afternoon tea.’

  Natalia, moved by the street dwellers’ generosity, bent down to kiss them all on their rosy cheeks and wiry beards.

  ‘Lovely to meet you gentlemen.’

  ‘Less of the protocol love. If you need us, you know where to find us.’

  And with great affection and kindness, the friendly tramps said goodbye to Natalia and Jacob, who set off through one of the arches of Plaza Mayor, heading off down Calle Toledo.

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

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to talk to Miguel, I’m not ready for that yet.’

  ‘Have you got anyone to have dinner with?’

  Natalia hesitated. Maybe she should just do what was expected of her and, even though she was hurt, angry and with a broken marriage, she should go have dinner with Miguel’s family as planned. But she cast that idea aside as soon as it came into her head.

  ‘No, I’ll have dinner alone.’

  ‘You can have dinner with me if you want.’

  Natalia stopped in the middle of the street and looked Jacob in the eye once more. Why was he being so kind to her? Where had this man come from, so good, so honest and how was she lucky enough to have met him at the worst time of her life? This much kindness was overwhelming. That’s why a part of her told her that she shouldn’t trust him. He couldn’t be that good, he must be hiding something.

  ‘I’m going to pick up my dinner to take home. I think there’ll be enough food for one more.’

  ‘Thanks, thank you for taking the trouble, really, but...’

  ‘It’s no trouble. If it we
re, I wouldn’t be here with you now. Now you need help and I can give it to you. Why wouldn’t I? I live on people’s help. It’d be really selfish of me not to help people when they need it and I can, don’t you think? You helped me yourself earlier, with your banknote. In fact, I spent it on this meal. It’d be unfair not to invite you, if you want to come, of course.’

  Natalia looked at him, like a helpless child.

  ‘Don’t be scared. We’ll be having dinner with my family.’

  ‘You have family?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I don't want to intrude.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. If I’ve invited you, it’s because I want to, not just to look good. If I thought you were going to be a nuisance, I wouldn’t do it.’

  Jacob held out his rough, tanned hand to Natalia. Natalia accepted it and was comforted by the warmth of Jacob’s skin, welcoming like a mother’s breast. Her hand was resting in a rugged, dirty nest but she couldn’t think of anywhere safer or more comfortable than that right now. Maybe what she was about to do was total madness, but this option was better than emptiness and nothing.

  ‘I’ll have dinner with you. Thanks, Jacob.’

  ‘You know how the saying goes... Beggars can’t be choosers.’

  Natalia and Jacob laughed heartily. When they stopped laughing, Natalia stayed silent, studying Jacob’s face again, with interest, intrigued.

  ‘Who are you, Jacob? Where did you come from?’

  ‘You mean, how did I end up on the street? It’s a long story. I might tell you later. But now, let’s go, I've got to pick up the dinner before they close. I’ve already paid for it.’

  Jacob and Natalia set off running along Calle Toledo, then turned into a side street in El Rastro and reached a small bar-restaurant run by a woman in her sixties, grim-faced, overweight and wearing a dirty apron tied just under her chest.

  ‘Jacob, about time too! The rest of us have got to go for dinner too you know,’ the woman scolded him affectionately.

  Jacob gave as good as he got, whilst the landlady handed him a couple of enormous, battered saucepans, nestled in plastic bags and tied with string so the lids couldn’t fall off.

  ‘Well, there you go! I hope you enjoy your meal, my dears. Happy Christmas,’ said the woman, much friendlier this time.

  Natalia and Jacob went out into the street once more. It was already almost time for dinner and there were less and less people in the street. They were all getting ready at home or with relatives, almost all at the same time. It was starting to freeze. The sky was clear, dotted with stars. Jacob started walking down the street.

  ‘Are we walking?’

  ‘Yes. My house isn’t far.’

  Natalia obeyed. She let herself be led by Jacob’s warm hand. Reason told Natalia not to do what she was doing, but this wasn’t the time for reason. She didn’t have any other choice. She was walking hand in hand with an unknown tramp to who knows where, but Natalia wasn’t scared. Jacob inspired tranquillity. He was the only person who had shown concern for her for a long time and with no ulterior motive. She decided to run the risk of making a mistake, although she had the gut feeling that she wasn’t making a mistake.

  At that moment, that Christmas Eve that was just starting, only one thing was clear in her mind; he was the one she wanted to be with. Holding his hand, walking through the cold, half-deserted streets of Madrid, Natalia looked out of the corner of her eye at the tanned man who was protecting her and looking after her and she felt like the luckiest woman on earth.

  End of part one.

  PART TWO

  Chapter 1

  Jacob's family

  Everyone seemed to be tucked away snug in their houses that night. Natalia and Jacob walked slowly in silence through the empty streets of a ghostly, arctic Madrid. It seemed that there were no other souls in the world apart from the white vapour of their breath. Natalia noticed that Jacob’s features, which had previously seemed surly to her, had strangely softened.

  Before she knew it, they had arrived at a street close to Calle Embajadores, where there was a seemingly abandoned house, among other completely normal houses with lights in their windows. The house that Jacob stopped in front of was different: its windows were boarded up and there was an estate agent’s sign stuck to the façade, announcing its imminent demolition due to dilapidation and upcoming construction of luxury dwellings.

  ‘Do you live here?’ asked Natalia.

  ‘Yes, but don’t be scared. The bit about it being unsafe is a lie made up by the owners. This house belongs to some very well-off people who inherited it from some relatives. They plan to knock it down even though it’s in perfect condition, so they can build a newer one and make even more money. They deserve to own this house just as much as I do. If they don’t need it and I do, until they demolish it I’m staying. What do you reckon?’

  ‘Great,’ smiled Natalia.

  The door to the building was sealed with iron bars that seemed impossible to budge, but just to one side, on the ground floor, were the remains of what seemed to have been a shop. One of the metal shutters was sealed with bars as well, but a small door had been cut into the shutter. Somebody had put a padlock on the small door. Jacob took some keys from his pockets and opened it.

  ‘Welcome,’ he said, inviting her in.

  Natalia thanked him and went through the door with a smile on her face. Jacob followed and locked the door behind them. Natalia was submerged in total darkness. Jacob quickly felt his way along the wall and something lit up the room. Natalia turned and saw Jacob holding a candle that he had just skilfully lit in the dark. They were inside an old shop where all she could see was a dusty counter, empty shelves and abandoned cardboard boxes. The air smelt of damp.

  ‘This is just the entrance, don’t worry. Come on, my house is this way.’

  Jacob led the way holding up the candle. They went through the back door of the shop and entered a long, dark corridor. Natalia was a little wary, more because of the setting than the fact that she was entering a beggar’s squat. She trusted Jacob entirely, but the feeling of cold, darkness and decay took over her.

  In no time they reached a wooden staircase that creaked under the weight of their steps as they started their way up. After climbing a couple of floors they reached a landing with two doors. Jacob lit one of them up with the candle and unlocked another padlock.

  Natalia went in after Jacob, entering a dark hallway where there weren’t many signs of home life. As soon as Jacob slammed the door closed and padlocked it once more, the distant shout of a child broke the silence of the night.

  A girl came running down the corridor shouting and launched herself at Jacob. She buried her dark head of hair in the beggar’s belly, who stroked her dark curls with hands like crusts of bread. Then the humble father knelt down and hugged the girl. He kissed her face and lifted her up, sitting her in his arms. Smiling, he showered her with words of affection.

  Natalia’s heart melted. She must have let out a sincere, happy laugh, as the girl looked up from her father’s chest and looked at Natalia.

  ‘Jacob, who have you come with?’

  ‘I've brought a guest to dinner,’ smiled Jacob. ‘Her name’s Natalia. Natalia, this is Fatima.’

  Jacob put Fatima down, who then approached Natalia with dainty steps and asked her to bend down. Natalia was happy to oblige. Fatima stretched out her tiny fingers towards her face. She slowly started to stroke each feature, each hill and valley of her face. Natalia realised that the girl’s black eyes were completely empty. They were like some kind of limbo, empty and useless, but as beautiful as the night, etched in the girl’s lively, Arab face.

  ‘You’re so pretty!’

  ‘Thank you, Fatima. You’re very pretty, too.’

  ‘I’ve never met anyone with a face as lovely as yours. It’s so soft.’

  ‘I’m sure your mummy’s face is just as soft.’

  Little Fatima didn’t reply. The shadow in her eyes grew dark
er.

  ‘Jacob has hair on his face, really tough hair that prickles. But sometimes he has a shave and then his face is as soft as yours.’ The girl smiled again. ‘Come with me.’

  Fatima took Natalia’s hand and started to walk down the corridor. Just a few steps from the entrance they went through a door that was nothing but an old blanket hanging from the doorframe. Fatima adeptly moved it aside, holding it open for Natalia to pass.

  The three of them continued along the corridor. From what she could see by the light of the candles, it was an old flat with smooth, dark walls, covered in marks left by pictures and mirrors that were no longer there. The ceilings were high and the air was icy cold. Doorways led off to each side of the corridor, all covered with blankets to protect them from the cold Natalia assumed. At the end of the corridor, they went through another blanket and entered an enormous room which at one time must have been a luxurious living room.

  It was a vast room, but much warmer than the rest of the house. Ceilings decorated with coving, large windows with wooden frames and the ghosts of pictures and wall lamps that were no longer there, but had left their mark on the walls. In a corner of the room there was a small cupboard with a gas stove on top. In the rest of the room there was no other furniture than an old table surrounded by mismatched chairs and a dilapidated sofa. The furniture, judging by the different styles, had clearly been picked up off the street at different times. The main focal point of the room was a fireplace where there was a fire blazing that reminded Natalia of a fairytale because of the subtle heat it was giving off and the way it lit up the room with its coppery glimmer.

  ‘You can’t imagine the job I had getting the fireplace to work. I almost killed myself climbing on the roof,’ Jacob whispered.

  Jacob approached the fireplace. Natalia followed him and when she got nearer to the sofa she could see someone sitting there; an old woman dozed under her blankets, her aged face full of wrinkles lit up by the orange glow of the fire.