One Summer in Spain

by Ian Wilfred

  “Well, one day a new waiter started in the hotel. He didn’t work on my breakfast shifts, but the lunch and evening ones. Our paths crossed in the hotel canteen most days and we chatted. His name was Mark, he was Scottish, gay, and in his late twenties. We started seeing each other and it was lovely. Eventually he moved in with me and obviously I talked about Dulcie to him, which was all fine at first. We planned a holiday for the four of us, myself, Mark, Dulcie and Janice, and he was looking forward to it just like the rest of us. We were going to a beautiful little Spanish village, one that was quite secluded apart from a beach and a few restaurants. That was the only time in my life I’ve flown – my first and last experience in an aeroplane, but that’s another story. Anyway, two whole weeks getting to know each other in a lovely little village like Melencia.”

  “And that’s why when we went for lunch there the other day all the memories came flooding back. I knew you weren’t quite yourself.”

  “Yes, it was all so similar, old people fishing off the sea wall and the memories all came back to me. It was weird how the thoughts of that holiday came back to me after so many years. We’d all had a laugh and got on well over the two weeks. I did ask Dulcie what she thought of Mark, but she didn’t really give me a straightforward answer and I brushed it off at the time.”

  “That was because I didn’t want to spoil the holiday, Rupert, but Mark never lifted a finger. He didn’t even carry a beach bag to help us, and you just waited on him hand and foot. If Mark wanted anything, you got it for him. If we wanted to go out to eat, it always had to be at the restaurant he chose. I kept quiet as I didn’t want to spoil the holiday.”

  “But the problems really escalated when we got back to England. Both Mark and I went back to work, although he was doing fewer shifts and not enjoying the job as there were too many late shifts and he didn’t seem to get on well with many of the other staff. That was something I found difficult to understand as I always thought they were easy to get on with and most pleasant. One evening we were both home and I’d cooked a nice meal washed down with a couple of bottles of good wine, he came straight out with it. I was shocked to say the least.

  “Mark told me to choose who I wanted in my life, him or Dulcie, and it couldn’t be both. He was obviously jealous of our friendship, but from the minute he issued me with that ultimatum, I knew I had no choice. It was always going to be Dulcie, but because I was so shocked and needed to process what he’d just come out with, I didn’t answer and went off to bed.

  “The following morning I was up early as my breakfast shift started at six o’clock, so I left Mark sleeping. I was terribly upset, and couldn’t understand why he’d act like that. Well, apart from the fact that he was jealous of my friendship with Dulcie, which I thought was rather stupid. After my shift I phoned Dulcie, which was what we did when we had a problem. We always phoned one another, listened to the other’s problems and then discussed it. That’s when Dulcie said that the reason that she’d never taken to Mark was because of the way he treated me, and that I made excuses for him. She’d gone on to say that it would have been nice if he’d done something special for me – the small things like make a coffee, buy a bunch of flowers, something like that, but no, Mark had never done any of those things, and Dulcie was quick to point that out to me.

  “That evening when he came home from work I wanted to talk it through and explain how there was no need for me to choose between them. Both were important in my life in different ways. However, I didn’t get the opportunity to discuss it properly as Mark told me to make my decision there and then. I think he was genuinely shocked when I chose Dulcie, he left the flat and that was the last I ever saw of him.

  “The whole situation was horrible. What type of person makes you choose between them and your best friend? I could understand it if I was seeing another man, or if it had been a woman cheating on her husband, but to choose between a friendship was wrong. It was an unpleasant situation and one which I never want to go through again.”

  Gemma could see that recalling the memories had upset them both. Although Mark must have been a nasty type of man to make Rupert choose like that, thankfully he did him a favour. Otherwise Mark would probably still be around now, and life wouldn’t have been nearly so happy.

  “What’s the time, please, Gemma? I’m getting rather hungry, who fancies hot chicken and chips?”

  “It’s nearly eight o’clock! Do you know we’ve been sitting here for four hours?”

  They headed up the narrow cobbled streets to the chicken restaurant, which was now starting to get busy. As usual they were welcomed with open arms and given a table outside where they could sit and watch the world go by. The chicken was delicious, and washed down with a bottle of white wine, their evening meal was as perfect as ever. However, Gemma could see that Dulcie was beginning to tire and was ready to go home.

  “Should I give Nico a call to come and pick us up, or would it be quicker if we walked and got a taxi up here? Actually, we should get one easily enough as most people are only just coming up here. The night’s young, not many of them will be wanting to go down to Graingcia.”

  Rupert and Dulcie both agreed that a little walk to the taxi rank would do them all good. To get there they’d have to cross the piazza and it would be nice to look down over the town and see the sunset. Rupert settled the bill, and they set off towards the taxi rank. As they approached the viewing platform, the sun was just about to go down merging into the most picturesque coastal view. They linked arms and smiled at each other, and as the sun finally set, a romantic dusky ambience emerged.

  They all had tears in their eyes. It had been a lovely evening marking the occasion of them now becoming residents of Graingcia, rather than just holidaymakers. More importantly, living in this beautiful Spanish village just felt right.

  Chapter 42

  The weeks following Jamie and Janice’s departure had been very quiet up at the villa. Neither Gemma nor Dulcie had been socialising, and Rupert hadn’t even been to the coffee mornings to meet up with his British friends. Gemma put it down to them all getting used to being residents now, and having quite a lot of paperwork to still sort out.

  Jamie had been emailing and phoning with regard to some of the legal aspects connected to the purchase of the villa and there were also things concerning the derelict old house which needed to be organised. They had only been out once since the champagne evening up in Roncia, and as the temperatures had risen, they’d all spent more time in the shade.

  Gemma had only caught up with Dario on the few occasions he’d taken her to the supermarket. Things were cordial between them, but tonight she’d been invited out to dinner with him, Pablo and a friend who was designing a website for their villa, and Gemma knew the atmosphere could easily change. They were going to meet in one of the restaurants mainly frequented by the Spanish locals, as it would be quiet enough to meet and discuss business. Dario didn’t want the website to go live until Gemma had given her opinion on it.

  “It’ll be nice for you to get out of the villa tonight, dear. You’ve been stuck in here with Rupert and me for weeks on end. It can’t have been much fun for you.”

  “Oh, Dulcie, it’s been dreadful! Stuck inside a multi-million Euro villa overlooking the sea in the beautiful Spanish sunshine, and with its own pool. Dreadful? I think not!”

  “You know what I mean! Also, I think even though Dario and Pablo’s friend will be there, you’ll still be able to gauge the situation between the two of you. It won’t be all work, after all. Nice food, a few drinks and a good evening out will be lovely. Now, what are you going to wear?”

  Gemma hadn’t given her clothing any thought, she’d decide on that later on. For now, she was more interested in looking at the websites of other villas to find out what worked and what didn’t. She didn’t want to be put in the position of perhaps having to negatively comment on the website Dario’s friend was designing, without being able to suggest a better option. She had a quick sea
rch for similar websites and printed a few out before cooking an evening meal for Rupert and Dulcie.

  Three hours later and Gemma had sorted out everything she needed to take with her to the meeting and restaurant meal, folded the paperwork up and put them in her handbag. She then had a quick look at the Twitter account she’d created for the villa. Dario was now using it on a daily basis and had even added some Tweets in Spanish to attract the local market, as well as photos of the town and surrounding area. She was pleased that he had thrown himself into the social media marketing, as this was to be his and Pablo’s future.

  “I’ve poured you out a glass of wine, dear. By the way, dinner was beautiful, thank you so much for that. Far better than anything you’ll get down in the town.”

  “I don’t know if I should have another drink. I’ve had one already, but then I’ve got an hour and a bit left before I meet Dario and Pablo. Go on then, it won’t take me long to walk down. Oh, and I’ve also asked my parents if they’d like to come over for a holiday, like you said. They said to thank you very much, and they’ll discuss it.”

  “That’s great. I think it would be lovely to be able to see where you live and work. We’ll be able to get to know them as well, and I promise Rupert would be on his behaviour. You will, won’t you, Rupert?”

  “Me? I’m not the problem. It’s you, Dulcie!”

  On that note. Gemma picked up her things and headed down the hill to the town. She was looking forward to the evening. Pablo was always good company, Dario gorgeous to look at, and it would be interesting to see what Dario’s friend was like. Hopefully, he’d speak English.

  The town was crowded, but it looked like the holidaymakers were content with walking along the seafront with their ice creams rather than eating in the little family restaurants. Glancing at her phone, Gemma was pleased to arrive at the restaurant on time. As she’d been there before, the staff welcomed her pleasantly, showed her to a quiet table which Dario had booked and fetched her a white wine while she waited.

  Gemma had never sat inside the restaurant before; it was spacious yet intimate with good sized tables. She knew she had to be tactful about the design of the website as she didn’t want to upset Dario’s friend. Talking of Dario, it was unlike him to be late. She’d finished her wine, and didn’t dare order another as that was already her third of the evening and she hadn’t even eaten yet. As she ordered a bottle of water, she spotted Dario walking towards her, but no sign of Pablo, and was that a woman following behind him? He hadn’t mentioned his friend being female, but perhaps it was Gemma who had just taken it for granted the website designer would be male. Actually, his friend was so stunning, she found it difficult not to stare.

  “Hi, Gemma. Sorry we’re late.”

  “No, problem. Where’s Pablo tonight?”

  Dario explained that Pablo had changed his mind so it would only be the three of them. He then introduced his friend, Maya. Gemma felt panic in her stomach. Was this Mateo’s mother? Although she had nothing to hide from Maya, she now wished she’d made a little more effort with her appearance.

  They greeted each other, the menus were passed around and another bottle of wine ordered. Gemma contemplated her options. Should she just ask Maya about Mateo or leave it be? If Maya was the mother of Dario’s son, how would she react to that? She decided not to mention it, at least for the time being. Thankfully, she knew what she wanted to eat, so didn’t have to study the menu. Maya broke the silence.

  “Gemma, you’ve been a life saver to Pablo and Dario. You’ve done a fantastic job with all the renovations and the new Twitter account. It’s so much more organised now, and the bookings are far less complicated, especially with the ongoing bookings for next year. I’ve been surprised at just how busy it is. What a brainwave! If it wasn’t for you, I’m sure they wouldn’t have any bookings at all. Hope you’re getting a cut of the profits.”

  “Oh, I didn’t do it for the money. I just wanted to help, that’s all.”

  “So it had nothing to do with Dario’s gorgeous eyes then! Sorry, Gemma, I’m only joking. Let’s order, I’m starving.”

  Gemma felt herself blushing, and Dario also looked embarrassed. Maya was an extremely confident woman, but was she also Mateo’s mother? While they waited for their dinner, Maya got her iPad out and showed Gemma her ideas for the website. At this stage it was only a rough guide, but she went through each bit in detail; the introduction to the villa, directions to get there, a gallery page with photographs on, and a calendar page with a link to an enquiry form.

  “So what do you think? Does it come up to your standards? I’m told you have final approval on it, Gemma?”

  Gemma sensed a little sarcasm in her voice, as did Dario, who tried to intervene to cover up the way Maya had put it by asking whether there was anything else they ought to include. The food could not have arrived at a more convenient moment, giving Gemma time to compose herself and think of a reply and for the situation to blow over. If she was honest, she didn’t want Maya to think that all she had done was so perfect it didn’t need anything further adding, but she was struggling to come up with an immediate answer. She tried to think about the villas she’d looked at online. What did they have that Pablo’s didn’t? All she could think of was staff, but then Pablo’s villa wasn’t in that league at all. She quickly changed the subject and asked to see the website content again.

  Dario asked about Dulcie and Rupert and the purchase of the villa, which gave Gemma a little more time to think. She had an idea, which although not perfect, might just work. Even if people didn’t respond to it, nothing would be lost. All she had to do was make it sound convincing to Maya.

  “Dario, I was thinking. It might be an idea to incorporate your taxi service into the villa bookings as an extra service. I’m sure between you and Nico, you could make it work. How about offering day trips, or even shopping trips once or twice a week? It would be an opportunity to make some more money. They could write a list and you could fetch the shopping for an extra fee. How about a cooking service too? Something like a barbecue where someone could come in and cook for them if they wanted? If not, you wouldn’t be losing out and you wouldn’t need to spend out on anything in advance.”

  Maya thought it was a good idea and said it would be quite easy to incorporate extra services to the home page. As they ate, the evening started to take on a more relaxed atmosphere. Gradually there was less and less business talk, the conversation becoming more personal. Maya asked Gemma about her life in England and about the job with Dulcie and Rupert. In return, Gemma had many questions she wouldn’t have minded asking Maya, but she knew that one thing could easily lead to another. She just wanted the evening to end really, and as Maya went to the Ladies, this was her opportunity to clear a few things up with Dario. However, she didn’t want to give out the wrong impression. If Mateo was Maya’s son, it would look as if Gemma had a problem with that, so she decided to change her approach a little.

  “Maya’s done a fantastic job with the website. She’s incredibly talented and beautiful too.”

  Gemma wished she’d had more time to think. Why had she said Maya was beautiful? It seemed such a stupid thing to say. Plates were taken away, coffee ordered and Maya returned to the table, joking whether she had Gemma’s permission to go live with the website. It was all quite awkward, but of course Gemma had to agree. Maya had done a fantastic job and they discussed linking the Twitter account to the website and agree a launch date so that both Gemma and Dario could do lots of promotional Tweeting.

  “Great! All sorted! Right, I think I’ll give my husband a call to come and pick me up. I’ll leave you two to finish off the evening without me playing gooseberry.”

  Married? Does that mean she wasn’t Mateo’s mother after all? Had Gemma made a mistake in assuming so? The evening would have been far more relaxed if she’d known that to begin with, but they said their goodbyes for now, hugged each other and wished each other well.

  “Are you alright, Gem
ma? You haven’t seemed quite yourself tonight. I know Maya can be a bit full on, but don’t you think she’s done a fabulous job with the website?”

  “Dario, Maya isn’t Mateo’s mother?”

  “Ah, so that explains it. You thought she… No, it’s a fairly common name here in Spain I have to admit. Surely you know me better than that. I’d have told you beforehand. Come on, Gemma. I’d never put you in such an uncomfortable situation, but I’m sorry for any misunderstanding.”

  “No need to apologise. It wasn’t your fault at all. It was just me being silly and reading everything wrongly.”

  Chapter 43

  What a disastrous evening! Once Dario had explained that Maya was an old friend, Gemma felt even more stupid and made an excuse to leave. Thankfully, he seemed to believe it, but it was now a whole week later and she still felt embarrassed about the whole thing.

  The website for the villa was due to go live today, and she and Dario had planned a rota of times when they would take it in turns to Tweet. In addition, Jamie was flying in for two days to finalise the purchase of Jamie and Rupert’s villa and Dulcie was very excited to see him and find out how Janice was faring back in England.

  Gemma was well prepared. She’d done the food shopping for Jamie’s visit, got his room ready and organised the evening meal. She just needed to check whether Rupert and Dulcie needed anything for the day and then she could get into her new project of the promotional launch.