“Jail? Oh no, I don’t think you’ll be going to jail. But you’ll have to buy new tickets. And get on the proper train, of course. I think we will let you off the visit to jail. This time,” the guard replied, grinning at his partner who had arrived to help handle the situation.
“We’re Americans, you know? On vacation. We haven’t been here long. I’m very sorry, sir. Could you point us in the right direction for Portugal?” Mary asked.
“Ah, Americana? Yes, that makes sense. Follow me please, ladies,” the guard said as he nodded and smiled to his colleague, escorting Mary and Lillian off the train. “This train will be going to Seville. A wonderful city. Most beautiful. But not where you want to be going.”
Mary and Lillian followed obediently behind the guard as he escorted them to the platform where they would find their train back to Portugal. With a flourish he printed off two tickets.
“Americana Ladies, the next train will be yours. Stay awake and alert, please. The tickets this time are free, a gift from the wonderful country of Spain. But please, do not do this again, or it may be the Spanish jail. Enjoy your vacation,” the guard said, tipping his head and leaving them on the platform.
“Oh good grief! What on earth have we done?” Lillian gasped as she took a seat on a platform bench.
Mary shrugged. “We fell asleep and missed our stop. I’m sure plenty of people do it all the time. It was very kind of him to sort our tickets though. What a delightful man.”
“You’d best call Ben. Let him know what happened and that we aren’t in some jail cell rotting somewhere,” Lillian replied with a tired sigh as she closed her eyes.
Ben was sat out in his courtyard, gazing at his laptop screen and pondering. He had written a good article that contrasted the wonders of wild flamingos in the nature reserve and the excitement of paragliding over the pristine waters of the sea. Readers liked that sort of thing. The excitement mixed with the calm. It covered a lot of bases. Those that wanted to spend hours looking at wildlife and water could still feel they were in an exciting place, and those full of adventure and drama could tell their mothers about the wind in their hair as they went paragliding. Something for everyone in there, Ben thought, as his phone vibrated on the table.
He reached down to pick up the phone didn’t recognise the number. Mary, of course. They would be in Livramento waiting for him. He answered the phone.
“Ben? Is that you, Ben? It’s Mary.” Her panicked tone set him on edge immediately.
“Hello. I guess you’re waiting for me to pick you up?” He hoped, but her tone warned him something was wrong.
“No, well not just yet.”
“I thought you’d be back by now?”
“Yes, yes we should have. But we seem to be in Spain. You know, that country next door?” She sounded rather sheepish and he had to smother a chuckle.
“Yes, I know Spain. For some reason, I am not in the least bit surprised. Let me know when you get to Livramento and I’ll be right there.” This time he let the chuckle come through, it sounded like she needed some reassuring.
“Thank you, Ben. I knew you’d understand. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ben laid the phone down on the table and smiled. Then he laughed. He closed his laptop and laughed some more as he went in to make himself a mug of tea. No sense in rushing. They would be at least another hour. Time enough to water the plants he’d missed earlier. Only those two could go out for a simple trip into town and end up in Spain. Chaos did seem to follow them at times. He felt some of the tiredness seeping from his body as he thought about Mary and couldn’t wait to pick her up from the train. There was going to be one kicker of a story coming his way.
Chapter Nine
It was almost noon the next day when Ben made his way to the barn to see how his two American neighbours were bearing up. He hadn’t heard a peep from them all morning and was beginning to worry.
“Is anyone alive?” Ben called as he opened the wooden gate.
“We’re in the garden, come on through,” Mary called back.
Ben made his way into the garden and found them both stretched out on sun loungers.
“Well, look at you two! Going for the fastest tan record. I brought you lunch,” Ben said, smiling as he lay down a large tray on the table.
“Lunch?” Lillian said as she sat up looking across to Ben. “Someone mention lunch?”
“Well it’s mojito’s and some olives, cheese and bread. Just a light lunch,” Ben replied, taking a seat at the garden table.
Mary and Lillian made their way to the table, covering themselves in the new colourful wraps they’d bought the day before in Faro.
“So are we recovered?” Ben asked, smiling at them both.
“Recovered but having a “Safe” day.” Mary smiled back.
“Safe? What on earth is a safe day?” Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.
“One where we don’t get into any mischief or trouble. One where we stay home and do our best not to break anything, whether it’s a glass or a law. Just lie here in the sun and be no bother,” Lillian piped up, testing the mojito. “Though I have to say, these cocktails are damned fine, thank you, Ben.”
Ben laughed as he pushed the plate of food towards them.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about your train trip. You did well. I’ll bet half the holidaymakers that come here make that mistake once in a while. And you’re back safe and sound so no problem right? Now you can tell everyone you’ve been to Spain as well as Portugal.”
“Well, putting it like that, I guess yes, we can say we’ve been to Spain,” Mary said, laughing. “It was pretty terrifying at the time, though, I can tell you. Lucky the guy spoke English. I don’t have Spanish on my translator.”
Between them, they told Ben all about their journey into the unknown on a train. The two women had been so exhausted and looked so sheepish when he picked them up he’d brought them straight home, both chattering away, and insisted they go relax in the air conditioner. They’d left him gratefully and disappeared into the barn. The lights hadn’t stayed on long. They told him about the wine tasting festival and of their impressions of Spain. Both animated as they chattered, Ben made no attempt to stop them even though they’d gone through the whole story the night before as he’d driven them home.
“Should I get us some more mojitos?” Ben asked as he collected the empty glasses from the table.
“Oh yes please, they’re delicious. You’re a man of many talents it seems,” Mary replied passing him her empty glass. She gave him a look full of meaning before he walked away, his body tightening as she looked at him.
Ben made his way next door as the two women settled back on their loungers laughing and chattering.
“So?” Lillian asked as soon as Ben was out of earshot.
“So what?” Mary replied, knowing the question and blushing as she held her mother’s gaze.
“So, are you going to make a move or are you waiting for him to make one? He is quite a catch. Sooo well-spoken and smart. Nothing like that trashy waste of air you were going to get hitched to,” Lillian replied.
“Mom, I hardly know the guy. Yes, he seems wonderful and all but, I don’t know. He’s English. There’s a reason they always put an Englishman as the bad guy in movies, right? Maybe there’s more to him than we know, hiding out here in the middle of nowhere. Let’s see, shall we?” Mary blurted out her thoughts, trying to talk sense into herself.
“The way I see it, the guy can take care of himself and is handsome as hell. So was your daddy of course, years ago, but he’s let himself go a bit. Well a lot, but Ben knows how to take care of himself and knows stuff. He even speaks Portuguese. And he makes one hell of a mojito,” Lillian replied, smiling. She turned her head to the gate as she finished to acknowledge Ben returning with a tray of fresh drinks.
“Here you go, ladies. One more and I’ll let you get back to your sun worshipping. I have a bit more work to get done today after this,” Ben said as he placed
the drinks on the garden table.
“Oh?” Mary exclaimed somewhat disappointed. “Well how about later? Maybe we could cook some more on the grill? We seem to have loaded that freezer with meat and you’re such a good cook I’d almost think you were American.”
“Sure, I’ll come back round later to see how you’re all doing, but I really do have to get this work finished today. It pays for the mojitos right?” Ben replied, smiling. “Not sure about the American bit but sure, I’ll be glad to do the cooking.”
As the sun warmed the patio they sat and enjoyed the beauty of the surrounding garden in silence, broken only by the singing of birds and the occasional buzz of a passing scooter heading along the lane.
Lillian looked up into the large old carob tree that hung over a secluded arch that led onto the lawn. She jumped up with a start.
“That is one giant rat!” she exclaimed, pointing up to the tree.
“A rat? Where?” Mary squealed, jumping up too.
She followed Lillian’s pointing finger up into the tree to see two large furry rats chomping on the carob fruits.
“Oh dear god! Why did nobody mention the huge rats here?” Mary exclaimed.
“Relax, relax. They’re just fruit rats. They certainly won’t bother you. They just eat the fruits on the trees,” Ben said.
“Well I sure don’t like the idea of rats near the house. They don’t look like they’re worried about us looking at them,” Lillian said.
“Luckily for us, the snake will probably hunt them down later, so you won’t have to worry about them at all,” Ben replied, looking very casual.
“SNAKE! Did you just say “snake”? Oh dear lord, I hate snakes. Where is it? Tell me you’re joking about the damn snake, Ben. If you are, it isn’t funny! You said there weren’t any the other night. Oh my God, snakes.” Mary wrapped her hands around her upper arms and shuddered.
“Well, I might have left out old Henry. He lives way up at the top of the garden. A large black snake. Totally and utterly harmless, but he’ll be seeking out those rats tonight I’ll bet you,” Ben replied with a chastened grin.
“Big? Just how big is big?” Lillian asked.
“About six foot or so. He shed his skin down here a few weeks ago and that was easily five foot. So I guess he’s grown a bit since then,” Ben continued. “Look, honestly, neither the rats nor the snake will come anywhere near you. Don’t worry over it,” Ben answered before sitting back in his chair and taking a long drink of his mojito.
“We’re not big lovers of snakes, Ben. Lots of nasty ones where we live. But if you say it’s fine then we’ll know who to blame if we get bit, right?” Lillian remarked as she too took a drink of her mojito and reclined back in the lounger.
“As I said, don’t let them worry you. Now enjoy your sun lounging and I’m off back to work for a while. I’ll be back later to cook up some BBQ, okay? Around six?” Ben said, standing up to leave.
“Six will be great. We’ll see you then. Don’t work too hard, honey,” Mary said waving to him from her lounger.
Ben had left before Lillian turned around to Mary.
“Snakes indeed. He’s just trying to wind us up,” she said, trying to convince herself as much as Mary.
“Well I won’t worry until I see one, and to be honest, those rats don’t look like the nasty things we get back home,” Mary replied.
“No they look more like squirrels. Still. We won’t let it ruin our day. Shame Ben went,” Lillian replied.
“Why? He’ll be back later.”
“Because I have no idea how he makes these mojitos. They’re delicious and I didn’t want to sound like some mountain hick and admit I’d never tasted one before.” Lillian laughed.
Mary laughed too as she finished her glass and placed it in the table.
“Good point and no I had no idea what one was either. I’ll get him to show me how he makes them. If we go home with nothing else, it’ll be at least how to make a fancy cocktail.”
True to his word, Ben reappeared at six o’clock to cook on the charcoal grill. Lillian hadn’t attempted to get it lit this time, hoping Ben would sort it all. Apart from waving hello he went straight to the grill to get it going without a word.
“Everything okay, Ben, honey?” Lillian asked as she arrived at the table with a pile of chicken legs and pork chops.
“Everything’s great thanks, Lillian. Just glad to get my work finished and then realised how starving I was. How about spicy chicken tonight? I brought a bottle of piri-piri sauce with me to liven up the chicken,” Ben answered, looking at the charcoals he was nursing into life.
“Hot and spicy sounds great, just not too hot. Unless of course you’re going to make some of those mojito’s again to help cool it down.” Lillian chuckled.
“Ah, I see you’ve got a taste for them. I didn’t know if you’d like them or ever had them before. No problem. I’ll get this grill going and make some in a few minutes,” Ben replied.
“Can I come with you, Ben? I’ve never seen a proper one made before and I’d love to see where you live,” Mary asked.
“Oh crikey, of course! All this time you’ve been here and I never once invited you to see my little bachelor pad,” Ben replied, laughing.
“This should be good to cook on in fifteen minutes or so. Come on, let’s go make us a mojito,” Ben said straightening up from the grill.
Leaving Lillian to guard the fire, Ben led Mary back to his apartment. They stepped into the cool, airy kitchen and lounge that made up the ground floor and Ben headed for the fridge, taking out a large and smaller jug.
“I made this up before. I can’t stand that horrible cola stuff you Americans drink,” he said, laughing.
“So what’s in the jugs?” Mary asked as she sniffed at each, ignoring his dig. As if the British didn’t have equally offensive stuff to drink, she’d seen the stuff in the British section of the Super Mercado. What the hell was Tango? It looked radioactive.
“Well the big one is just a syrup I made, with sugar, mint and water. The other one is lime juice. That plastic bottle stuff just doesn’t do it for me so I squeeze plenty for when I need it,” Ben replied as he lined up three glasses.
Mary stepped back and watched carefully as Ben broke mint into each glass and crushed it with a wooden spoon.
“Could you pass me that bottle of rum?” Ben asked pointing to the bottle beside Mary. She passed it over and Ben continued to mix up the cocktails and return the jugs to the fridge.
“Now just a splash of club soda and voila. A real Cuban mojito,” Ben said smiling. “Grab your drink I’ll show you upstairs if you like.”
Mary took her drink and followed Ben up a steep staircase to the top floor.
The thick walls and screened windows kept the whole apartment cool. Mary understood why nobody bothered with air conditioning in Portugal. The houses were made for the weather. She loved the quaint nooks and shelves built into the walls. Ben had filled the spaces with bits and pieces from his obviously well-travelled journeying.
Stood at the entrance to the bedroom, Ben waved her inside, noting how tense she was all of a sudden.
“Please, enter my domain. This is where I bring all the good looking visitors,” he said, laughing.
Mary stared at him, her tongue darting out to wet suddenly dry lips.
“Seriously?” she asked nervously, staring at him longer.
“Well no, actually. We never really get attractive visitors until you arrived. Nobody has ever been in here,” he replied, smiling and guiding her out back to the stairs, conspicuously leaving out the guest bedroom. “You, of course, are different. I usually crash on the couch downstairs watching a movie or something.”
“And that room?” she asked, pointing at the only closed door.
He swallowed before answering. “Just the guest room, nothing in there that’s interesting. Let’s get those drinks to your mum, eh?”
“Ben, I…” She caught his attention by touching his arm and B
en looked down at where her fingers rested before looking back at her. Her eyes gave away her fear, the nervousness she felt, and he wanted nothing more than to take her into his bedroom and take all of it away. He’d fuck every last doubt she had about whether he wanted her or not right out of her mind. If her mother wasn’t waiting for them, that is.
Instead of taking her into his room and giving her the best of fuck of her life, Ben patted her hand and tried to play it all off. He just hoped she didn’t take it the wrong way.
“Later, alright?” He waited for her to smile before he took her hand in his again and led her to the stairs.
They went back downstairs and out of the cool, fresh apartment into bright sunlight. The brightness made their eyes water.
“And this of course is where I spend the rest of my time when I’m not working. That mint came from here for the drinks and the limes were from the tree in the garden in front of your place. Wonderful isn’t it?” Ben said, patting the mimosa tree at the centre of the courtyard with affection.
“You sure love your plants. It’s really beautiful. Everything is. You too,” Mary replied, feeling a thrill of coyness as she said the last.
“Ah, but nothing like you, sweet Mary.” He moved closed to her, her body heat radiating out to tempt him even closer. His finger went under her chin, tilting her head up to his. He wanted to kiss her, her eyes begged him for it. Both of them were breathing heavily, their mouths slightly open, ready to taste each other. But it wasn’t the time. “Let’s go rescue your mother shall we?”
Carrying their drinks, they returned to Lillian, both wondering if they should have lingered just a little bit longer.
“So how did you find Ben’s man cave?” Lillian asked as she gratefully took the drink Ben offered her.
“It’s adorable, Mom. That and now I know his secret to making these,” Mary replied waving her glass at Lillian.
“Now isn’t that something worth taking home?” Lillian laughed. “I’m guessing those coals are ready to roll Ben, I’ve got everything else ready just as soon as you are.”
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