“Yeah? It looks good. I haven’t seen many old movies. What’s with you and old things?” She gestures around my place. “Old movies, old music?”
“It’s not as old as Spain.”
She grins. “True.”
“I like American things.” And I’m including her in that statement, whether she knows it or not.
Music plays at the beginning of the movie, and Audrey Hepburn walks down a perfect street. Kim nails the initial dialogue, but after about ten minutes, she starts sputtering. “I can’t do this! They talk too fast. Their voices are weird. They don’t sound right at all.”
“Keep trying.”
“Why is she putting on lipstick using a mirror in her mailbox? Something about not worrying … Taxi. I understood that. Taxi is the same in both languages. I don’t know. I mean, she said I don’t know. Dar mucha prisa. That means she’s in a hurry, right?” Collapsing back on the couch, she wails, “This is so hard! I’m only picking out a word every once in a while.
I kneel beside her. “Are you understanding it?”
“No. I’m getting what’s going on, though.”
“Let’s just watch it then.” She joins me on the floor. I put my arm behind her on the couch cushion, careful not to touch her.
And as the movie plays, she watches, rapt. I translate parts that she doesn’t understand. After about a half hour, she chirps, “I understood an entire sentence!”
“Bravo!” I laugh, and we look at each other. I want to kiss her, but I can’t, so I don’t.
I think she wanted me to kiss her, though.
When we get to the scene in the movie where Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard pass a day doing things they’ve never done before, like drink champagne before breakfast, go to the public library, and shoplift, Kim snuggles under my arm.
Her closeness, her smell. She’s driving me wild.
“I understand her.” She points to Audrey Hepburn.
“Holly Golightly?”
Nodding, she says, “I’m just like her. From a podunk town. I’ve never been anywhere. I’ve never experienced anything.”
My English still is far from perfect. I scratch my head. “Podunk means?”
“Hick.”
That’s no help. “Hick means?”
“Country. Small town.”
I furrow my brows. “Like here?”
“No. I mean that people all think the same. It’s not just boring, you don’t get to experience all the diversity you would in a big city with more people. Everyone knows me. I went to elementary school, high school, and college with the same people. Over here, it’s really cool because there’s no expectations as to how I’m supposed to behave. I could reinvent myself like Audrey Hepburn.”
“And that’s what you want?”
“That’s exactly what I want. That’s why I came here. I didn’t want to be stuck. I didn’t know precisely what I needed, I just knew I was missing something.” I nod along with her words, completely understanding.
And not just those about the small town.
I’d been missing something in my life, and I didn’t know what it was.
But it was her.
My face is ten centimeters from hers. “Do you want to do that?”
Her pert nose flares. “Do what?”
I bop her nose. “Do things you’ve never done before.”
Watching the joy return to her face is a pleasure unlike any I’ve felt before. The Kim I met at the airport is back. The one with spirit. “Yes,” she whispers. “Yes.” Her back straightens. She blinks rapidly and licks her lips. Then with a little clap, she squeals, “Yes! This is what I want!”
Caught up in her happiness, I laugh out, “So what’s one thing you want to do?”
Without any hesitation, she knows. “I want to eat new foods. I already am—”
“I’ll have to feed you a tortilla del Sacromonte.”
I’m going to hell for suggesting that.
She grabs my shoulder. “What’s that?”
This is a gift. I can’t help but tease her. “A delicacy.”
“I’ve seen episodes of Weird Foods. What is it?” She’s sitting on her hands, she’s so enthused.
“An omelet made from beef testicles and brains.”
I’m amused watching her react. Besides the eyes widening and neck veins popping, she makes a retching noise. “Oh my God. Maybe I’m not that brave. It’s for real?” A giggle escapes her mouth, which becomes uncontrollable.
I start chuckling. It grows and grows. I hold my sides as I keep laughing and laughing, until I howl, “Yes, es verdad. It’s a special dish from Granada.”
Her next words wheeze out as tears run down her face. “You haven’t had it. Have you had it? Oh my God, you’ve had it. That’s … disgusting. Or amazing. Or—what was it like?”
“Quite good. Shall I ask Mari Carmen to prepare it?”
The look on her face is worth all the precious metals in the royal armory. Wide eyes, shaking her head, sobering up. “Nuh-uh. I’m not ready for that. I want to try new things, but that’s like saying I want to try building something for fun, and I’m thinking model airplane while you sign me up to build a whole skyscraper.”
“It’s okay—”
“Or I want to get a pet and you send me a gray whale.”
I’m still laughing. “You don’t have to go that far. Why don’t I teach you the guitar like we talked about?”
“Yes. Please. And I want to help you harvest the olives.”
“You must.”
“And travel everywhere we can within a day trip, at least.”
The possibility of an overnight trip with Kim suddenly explodes in my head. Kissing in a gondola in Venice along a canal out of the way. Naked together before a roaring fire in a cabin in the Swiss Alps. Partying in Mykonos and then sleeping in late after—
“And get a tattoo.”
I stare at her. “For real?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I think what I want to do is dye my hair.”
I pick up a lock and let it flop on her face, then I tickle her nose with it and she laughs. “What color?”
“I don’t know. Blue or red or green or purple. Something wild. I’ve been talking to Dani about it.”
What would she look like with colored hair? She’s so classic. Adding that edge to her look might make her even more irresistible. But I know from too many fights with Mari Carmen about hairstyle not to comment. “This is your chance. No one knows you here. Do what you like. You’d look beautiful no matter what you did.”
A genuine, huge smile stretches her lips. “It’s like that Amish thingie.”
“What is Amish?”
“It’s a religious group in the United States that’s very conservative in dress and the way they live. Most of them don’t use electricity or anything modern. They have a thing called rumspringa, which is a period of time where their youth are allowed to go and explore the modern world and figure out if they want to come back. It’s like they’re allowed to be wild.”
“A gap year.”
“Yes. This is my one chance to get all of this out of my system before I settle down.”
“I don’t know if it’s your only chance. But let’s make the most of it.”
“I’ve only called my parents once since I’ve been here,” she whispers. “Although I have emailed them.”
“That’s a good start.”
We’ve been talking and disregarding the movie, which is still playing. As we settle back against the couch to watch it, she again curls up under my arm. Putting her head against me, she asks, “What about you? Is there anything you’ve never done before, Tavo? We should do it.”
I laugh. “I can think of many things I’ve never done before.”
And they all revolve around her.
When the movie finishes, I stroll with Kim back to the main house. While I don’t hold her hand, I’m as close to her as I can get without touching. I drop her off at her room to study and he
ad back through the kitchen.
Guillermo’s in there drinking Cola Cao. “I’ve been out in the huerta. I think it might be early November for harvest. They’re farther along than we thought.”
“I know. We’ll get it done.” I retrieve a glass from the cabinet.
“It’s a ton of work, Tavo. I’ll help.”
I think about pouring myself a glass of water, but instead I make it wine. “Yeah, yeah. You can help.”
For so long, I’ve been seeing him as my little brother, but he’s getting older. He’s almost as tall as me, and he’s filling out. Maybe it’s from all the “work” he does out in the orchard. We’ve scorned all his talk about taking over the farm because he’s too young, but maybe I can train him. He knows most of it, anyway. Just a few things our padre didn’t let him do.
I take another look at him. He is getting older. “What’s up with you and Sonia?” I ask.
“Nothing. I wish there was something.” Instantly, he’s on alert. A vein stands in sharp relief on his skinny neck. His hand shakes.
That’s the kind of reaction I was expecting.
“Tavo. Tell me the truth. Do you love her?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t know what I’m going to do about her. She doesn’t listen.”
“I heard you, Gustavo. I heard you fucking her.”
“I’m not gonna deny that happened—” but there’s a knock at the door. It opens. And Sonia walks in.
Joder.
She spears him with a cutting glare. His face is so impassive, you’d think he was the statue in the middle of Plaza de Colón. With nothing more than a “Ciao,” he slides out.
I don’t want to be left alone with Sonia. Especially not one looking at me with Puss in Boots eyes. Smacking her gum, she prowls over to me, wearing high heeled sandals, a shiny top, and white pants. I’d take a step back, but I’m already plastered against the counter.
“Why don’t you have time for me?” she asks. “I never see you.”
This again. “Sonia—”
“I miss you. Do you miss me?”
“Sonia—”
She cuts me off again. “I want you around so you can be more involved with my project.”
“What project?” I don’t care about her project, but it’s plain she’s not going to leave until she gets whatever she came for.
A phone materializes from the white pants. Not sure from where, since they’re so tight you can see that she’s wearing a nude-colored g-string. “You’ll be so excited.” Her fingers dash over the screen like she’s playing castanets. She pulls up an Instagram account called “Ginger Snaps.”
“Okay. Look, Sonia—”
“Are you going to ask me what Ginger Snaps is?”
I let out my breath and resist the urge to wring her neck. Speaking evenly, like I’m talking to a child, I say, “Sonia. Why does it say Ginger Snaps?”
“That’s my online name!” She squeals.
With a better look at the screen, I see picture after picture of her around her farm in revealing clothes. I knew she was attractive. But. “Joder. Two million followers?”
“I’m getting sponsors! But I want to mix up the content. You know. They want a love interest. If I had you, we’d make a gorgeous team.” She reaches up, and her lips press against mine. I pull back immediately in disgust.
“No, Sonia—” I haven’t touched her since Kim got here, and I hope to never touch her again.
“What’s wrong?” With a finger on my lip, she pouts.
I’ve had enough. I never want to hurt a woman. But there are times when I need to make things clear. “Let’s … let’s not do that—”
Fury registers on her face. “It’s that American, isn’t it?”
I wish it were.
“No. She has a boyfriend.”
Her hands ball into fists, the points of her nails pressing into the palms of her hands. “But ever since she came, you haven’t paid any attention to me.”
I barely paid any attention to her before, too. Heat flicks up my spine. I don’t want to yell at her, but—
“I’ll show you,” she announces. “I will show you how well we go together. You’ll see. It’ll be worth it.”
Shaking my head so vehemently, I see stars, I protest. “No, Sonia—”
“What’s not to like about this?” She gestures down her slim hips. “And you know what happens if we don’t?”
“Now that’s not right—”
“It’s more right than you know.” Spinning on the heel of her sandal, she flounces away. With her hand on the doorknob, she hisses, “I will see what my father thinks about this.”
“Fine. Go tell him. I will save my family some other way. I’m not marrying you. You’re seeking to chase my family off land that we have lived on for six generations. That will kill my grandfather. That will make my grandmother mourn. And you will have their blood on your hands. My siblings and me, we can find another place. And my mother can stay with us. We will take care of her. My aunts and uncles too. But the loss of the way of life. That is on you.”
With a last flounce, she goes out the door.
My stomach drops to my knees.
Did I just doom everyone?
Twelve
Kim - Peppers
I wake up with my face plastered to the pages of my open mystery novel, covered in crusty drool.
As usual. And as usual it takes me a minute to orient myself, to determine whether I’m dreaming or having a nightmare.
Neither. It’s real life. Tavo kissed Sonia in the kitchen last night. The second I saw them I spun around and headed back to my room, not needing a hot mug of Cola Cao anymore. My heart beat in my ears, and I almost hyperventilated.
As I made my way back to bed still thirsty, all those fantasies I’d been harboring evaporated, poof, into the night air.
It’s a relief, right? To let him go to his novia?
I can’t think about Tavo the way I have been—all tall and lean and smelling so good. The way it’s so easy to talk to him. The way I want to know everything about him. The way I can’t stop staring at his beauty.
Whatever I’m feeling about Tavo, it’s been lost in translation. Like that professor said, he’s thinking things are estupendo, when he really means not bad. I’ve been misinterpreting. He’s not looking at me and feeling the way I feel about him.
He’s fucking her, not me.
He’s kissing her, not me.
And not only is he attached to another woman, I’m still stewing because Shane hasn’t responded to my email.
I message him on Skype again.
Are you around to talk?
As I wait for him to respond, I flip through my phone looking at the pictures I’ve taken this week. Pictures of school, of beautiful plazas filled with fountains and benches and flowers. Gorgeous views of the Alhambra. I’ve posted so many new things on my Instagram—not just the sights, but the sumptuous food—and a few selfies.
I don’t ever want to go back home. I love Spain, and I want to stay here. Selecting a few photos, I send some to my parents and to Maggie.
Maggie texts back asking how I am and about school, and I call her immediately on Skype.
“Maggie! How is it out there?”
“So pretty. It’s getting cool here in Yosemite, and the leaves are starting to turn. Court and I are chopping wood for winter.” Her voice sounds cheery and warm.
“That sounds … homey.” And I start to cry.
“Kim. What’s wrong?”
“Everything. I broke up with Shane.”
“Honey.”
“Well, I sort of did. I couldn’t get ahold of him, so I sent him an email. It wasn’t the way I wanted to do it, but he didn’t email me back. He hasn’t messaged me.” My voice lowers and gets shaky. “I hope I didn’t hurt him.”
“Breakups are hard, Kim.”
“I know. But we’re supposed to be together. Kim and Shane. It’s like peanut butter and jelly.”
; “More like peanut butter and pickles.”
I laugh and snort up my snotty tears. “What?”
“You two didn’t have a lot of chemistry. It felt like you were going through the motions.”
“You thought that?”
“Yeah,” she whispers.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it’s not my business to step in where your heart is concerned. It’s your heart. No one else’s.”
No one else’s. “It’s not just that, it’s everything. School is hard. I don’t understand Spanish very well. I want to be a good student, and I’m just not.”
“Well, that’s fixable. Just keep practicing.”
I want to bring up my sexy practice partner, but he’s painful, too. Better just to leave that distraction back in his orchard and make friends with my bullet.
When I’m done talking to her, I call Shane. But of course he doesn’t answer. I don’t leave a message, though. I’ve said all I want to say.
I have one more place I can try. I call my parents. My dad answers the phone, and he’s finally figured out how to make the camera so I can see him.
“Hi, Dad!”
“Hey, pumpkin! How are classes?
“They’re really hard, but I can tell that once I get the hang of this, I’m going to be able to do it forever.”
He grins. “That’s my girl.”
“Where’s Mom?”
“At the office late. She’ll be home soon. How’s life on the farm?”
“Really pretty.” I pause. I want to tell him about the people here, but that runs into thin ice. So I settle on telling him about the history of the Alhambra and some of the other things I’ve seen in Granada. When I’m done, I ask, “Have you heard from Shane?”
“No, I haven’t seen him or his parents. He might be out of town.”
Shane never goes out of town.
“Okay. He just hasn’t answered my emails in a while.”
“I’ll see what his mom says.”
If Shane could make this easier on me, it would be good, m’kay?
“Corta la zanahoria.”
This afternoon I slice carrots into coins on a cutting board. Tavo’s mom and I work in the expansive kitchen making paella, which is a saffron rice dish made with different meat or seafood. We’re using rabbit, chicken, and shrimp. I’ve never had rabbit before, but I’m willing to try. She and I are also making zanahoria al-andaluz, a marinated carrot dish that has garlic and cumin.
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