One Summer in Spain

by Ian Wilfred

  After about a twenty minute walk and with the main part of the town behind them, the beach on the right hand side was beginning to get slightly less crowded, and there were a few more rocks to sit between.

  Blanket down, Linda made herself comfortable with her book and Gemma and Brian headed to the sea for a swim. It was just what they needed to cool themselves down.

  “Dad, Pablo’s jumping the gun a bit. You know you don’t need to diet for a wedding as there isn’t going to be one. I don’t think I’m ready to be a stepmother. I’m having such a lovely time here working with Rupert and Dulcie, and that kind of a relationship with Dario would just mess everything up. All my life I’ve been looking for something, always chopping and changing jobs and pulling out of university, but I’m happy now and I want things to stay like this.”

  “If that’s what you want, darling, you know we’re more than happy for you, but we’d also be happy if you wanted a life with Dario. All we want is for you to be content and settled, but if Dario didn’t have a son would you feel quite the same way, I wonder? I don’t think Mateo should come into the equation at all. He’d be spending most of his time with his mother, after all. But hey, what do I know? Come on, it’s pastry time now, let’s get out of the water.”

  Her father’s words played on her mind all afternoon. If Dario wasn’t a father, there wouldn’t be anything to consider. She wouldn’t need to give it any thought. The answer would be a resounding yes, but the truth was that she just wasn’t sold on the idea of having a child in her life just yet. If anything, the last two weeks had shown her that parents are special. She’d spent precious time with her mum and dad, and it had given her time to think over her life.

  They spent the afternoon reminiscing about happy family times, teasing each other, being silly, and enjoying each other’s company. Gemma had given her parents many years of turmoil in not knowing what she wanted in life. Now those times were in the past, the big question mark was whether she wanted Dario in her life.

  It was nearly time to leave the beach, and for the first time Gemma had felt like a holiday maker. They had a couple of hours left before they needed to be at the restaurant, so Gemma suggested they go for a drink in a little hotel in the town, they could use the facilities there to change into the clothes they’d brought with them for the evening. Linda and Brian thought that was rather cheeky, but Gemma assured them it would be fine as long as they bought a few drinks.

  They whiled away the next few hours at the hotel bar. Gemma checking her phone for Pablo’s villa Twitter account. The family staying there had posted some photographs which Dario had retweeted. They were perfect, casual fun photos of the pool, barbecue and karaoke, and just the type of photos which should be on their website. She would mention it to Dario because they looked just like holiday brochure photos.

  While she had her phone with her, she scrolled through Facebook. She wasn’t in the habit of posting anything, but just used it as a means of catching up with certain friends. Something caught her attention. Craig had updated his profile picture with a snap taken at the villa, and he looked great. His status now said single and as she scrolled through his posts, she couldn’t help noticing how positive they were. It seemed as though he’d been out socialising more. A meal here, off to the cinema, even a couple of days away at the coast. Perhaps when her parents had gone back, she’d give him a call.

  “Right, you two, how do we all look? I think we ought to be making a move now. We don’t want to be late and miss all the entertainment.”

  “Entertainment, Gemma? And why the big smile?”

  “Rupert’s grand entrance of course. What do you think he’ll be wearing tonight? Shall we take a guess? What did he wear last time he was here? White, I think. Well, he’s overdone that a bit, so I’ll go for peach, although come to think of it, I’ve not seen him in the sky blue outfit for a while.”

  “You’re so cruel, Gemma. He’s your boss, don’t forget!”

  “Mum, he’d be more upset if we didn’t discuss it! Come on, we don’t want to miss this.”

  Gemma was wrong. Rupert was dressed in canary yellow, and as he waited for them to sit down, he did his usual performance. Instead of walking from the door to the table in a straight line, he toured the whole restaurant acknowledging everyone in the restaurant. They couldn’t help but laugh, as did Dulcie. Once they were seated, Dulcie explained that Dario had dropped them off outside and gone to park the car. Rupert was on good form tonight and the staff were all over him. As if on cue, just as he ordered the wine, the restaurant door opened.

  Gemma’s heart fluttered and her stomach turned over with the butterflies within it. She could feel herself blushing, and finally when she was able to take her gaze away from Dario, she was aware of both her mother and Dulcie watching her reaction. The first thing that crossed Gemma’s mind was about whether Dario would be in her life if he didn’t have a son. It made all the difference.

  Rupert had moved everyone around on the table to the positions he wanted them to sit at. In one way this was good as Dario was placed next to Gemma, meaning that they weren’t looking at each other across the table, but it did enable their arms and legs to touch. Gemma could feel the electricity between them and she was enjoying that feeling. The evening ticked along nicely. Dulcie and Rupert were the perfect double act and Linda and Brian were encouraging them. Dario chatted about the following week when Maya and Mateo would be staying. Gemma was sure everything would be okay with Maya and convinced him it wouldn’t be a problem. However, it crossed her mind that perhaps her worry wasn’t Maya, but Mateo. How do you converse with a child who doesn’t speak English? Why hadn’t they thought of that before and had Dario picked up on it?

  It was now getting late. Gemma didn’t want to be a party pooper, but she just wanted to go home and get into bed. Unfortunately, it seemed Rupert was in no hurry. He hadn’t even ordered dessert or coffee yet, but as Gemma made an excuse to visit the Ladies, Dulcie got up to go too.

  “It’s been such a lovely evening, Dulcie. I can’t thank you enough, not just for tonight but for the special holiday you’ve given my parents. They’ve had a wonderful time, and it’s brought us all a lot closer to one another.”

  “You’re more than welcome, dear. We’ve loved having them to stay, but you know how we love entertaining and having visitors. We’re more than happy to have people come and stay as long as we have a day or two to recover. Talking of visitors though, I wanted to tell you before Rupert spilt the beans, but Craig phoned me earlier. He’s asked if he can come over and bring his new girlfriend. Of course, we’ve agreed.”

  Chapter 47

  Craig! Girlfriend! Those were two words Gemma didn’t want to hear, especially at the end of a special day with her parents, but after having slept on it she was annoyed at herself for being upset over it. It didn’t make sense to her. Why did she feel like this? She’d spent hours telling Craig there would be nothing more than friendship between them, so why had she been so upset at the thought of him at the villa loved up with his new girlfriend and Rupert and Dulcie so happy for him?

  This was her parents’ last day in Graingcia and time to get up. Gemma was thankful that Dulcie had mentioned Craig’s visit before Rupert blurted it out over dinner. Dario would have noticed a change in her expression and her mother would have picked up on that too. Rupert’s chat about having fun entered her mind. She’d turned down Craig, and then Jamie, and as for Dario – well, while that was fun, it would involve acting as a stepmother to a child who she couldn’t converse with easily. This wasn’t getting her anywhere. Time to force a smile and enjoy the last day of her parents’ holiday.

  “You two are up early, and after such a late night too.”

  “Morning, darling. Yes, we’ve got a couple of things to do.”

  “Dad meant that we don’t want to waste the last day of our holiday. We thought we’d skip breakfast this morning if that’s alright with you. We’ve already had a couple of coffees, and we�
�ll grab something to eat in town.”

  “I thought we were having a day here by the pool?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Gemma, you don’t mind, do you? It’s just that your mum…”

  Linda interrupted him, and with that they both went to get ready. Gemma had no idea of what all that was about. They hadn’t mentioned going into town today, perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing. At least she didn’t need to lay the big table for breakfast, and no doubt Rupert and Dulcie would only want toast.

  She had a quick chat to Maria while they were getting ready, and as she walked back up from the swimming pool, her parents waved her goodbye. What was strange was that they didn’t have their beach bag with them, neither were they dressed for the beach!

  “Morning, dear. Did you enjoy yourself last night? Oh, did I hear someone just going out of the gate?”

  “Yes, Dulcie. Mum and Dad are having a day out. Don’t ask me what they’re up to, it all seems a bit of a secret, but let me make your coffee.”

  “Now, Gemma, you are sure you’re okay about Craig and his girlfriend visiting? It’s not going to cause a problem, is it?”

  Gemma did feel like saying that it would be uncomfortable and she’d sooner not be there, but she knew she couldn’t. It was her job to look after Dulcie and Rupert, as well as their guests. Instead she had to say what Dulcie wanted to hear. It would be lovely, she was happy for Craig and it would be fun. Deep down she was beginning to hate the word ‘fun’. It didn’t seem like it at all, but perhaps she had done enough to convince Dulcie. However, before even thinking about Craig’s visit, she had Maya and Mateo’s arrival to contend with.

  By the time she had made Dulcie’s coffee, Rupert was up and about. Before he even said good morning to Gemma he asked if last night’s canary yellow outfit was okay.

  “It was perfect, Rupert, and thanks again for a lovely evening. We all really enjoyed it and before you ask… Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound abrupt, but I don’t have a problem with Craig and his girlfriend staying. It will be nice.”

  Gemma wasn’t totally sure she’d convinced Rupert, but changed the subject and told him about her parents’ trip out for the day and that they’d be back for their final meal at the villa later tonight. Rupert then mentioned that he had invited Pablo and Dario over for dinner. That was something else she wasn’t overjoyed about, but she decided to keep busy to stop herself from overthinking everything. She had the office room to make up as a bedroom for Mateo and a lot of laundry to sort out, but first she wanted to investigate Craig’s Facebook page to see if there were any photos or hints as to who his new girlfriend was.

  There were lots of status updates describing where he’d been and how happy he was, but no clues as to his girlfriend or photos of her, which was a bit of a shame as Gemma would have liked to have been more prepared for her arrival, but first things first, she really needed to get stuck into preparing the office room for Mateo. Dario had said there was no need to get any food in for him, or toys, as he would bring everything from Madrid, but the room did need a tidy up.

  “Gemma, dear, do you have a minute? Jamie’s on the phone and he wants a quick word with you, if that’s alright.”

  “Two seconds, Dulcie.”

  That was an interesting conversation. Jamie wanted her to walk to the old house behind the villa and see if there was an electrical box on the outside. He wanted to know whether the house had a separate electricity supply or whether it was connected to the villa. Perhaps he’d decided it best to renovate the property, but why?

  Gemma explained to Rupert and Dulcie all that Jamie had asked to do and Rupert offered to come with her as he hadn’t even seen the house attached to his land yet. Gemma advised him to wear long trousers, proper shoes and although it was hot, it might be a good idea to cover his arms.

  “Anyone would think we were off to the jungle, Gemma.”

  “Oh, we are, Rupert! We most definitely are.”

  Dulcie laughed and said there was no way she would take part in their adventure, but she would appreciate some photos. Twenty minutes later they emerged ready to go and dressed for winter. Gemma had also given Rupert a stick to balance himself as the walk through brambles, bushes and overgrown weeds was not an easy one.

  As he walked through the gate at the far end of the villa, he was taken aback to see the little house in front of him. He’d seen the plans on paper, but it was such a shock to see it all. The first thing he mentioned was that they didn’t just own it, they had to maintain it, and whilst no one would really care about it, they had to be seen to be doing something with it. Gemma explained that the walk would become more difficult as it was a bit of an incline and the path was so overgrown. Soon the derelict old house came into view.

  “It’s so sweet, Gemma, and not a bit like I imagined it. Jamie was right, it does look so sturdy. So how far is it from the front door to the fence? It’s quite close to the path we were on, but a straight one would make it so much quicker. I’m impressed! This is so exciting, I can’t wait to go in.”

  As they walked to the rear of the house, Gemma noticed the electricity box which Jamie had asked about. They didn’t fully understand the system, but at least they could tell Jamie that the house did have its own electricity supply. They didn’t stay in the old house for long. It was a shell, and not much there to see, but Rupert had a good look at the outside and the little path that led down from the top. Now he understood why it was impossible for a vehicle to come down to the house from that direction, it was all making sense.

  Gemma started to lead the way back to the villa, but Rupert called her back to the front of the house as he wanted to ask her something.

  “So if you removed all the overgrown bushes and trees, what would you see?”

  “You mean looking down that way, Rupert? Well, if all that was cleared away, I’d see the fence before you go into the villa.”

  “Yes and what if the fence wasn’t there? What would you be looking at?”

  “The sea.”

  Rupert explained his thoughts. It was possible for the house to fit nicely into the landscaped grounds of the villa without looking out of the place if the fence was behind the house instead of in front of it. Gemma wasn’t entirely sure about that, but she took lots of photos to show Dulcie. Hopefully it would give the pair of them something to talk about, although it did seem like a waste of money. It would hardly get used, and as Jamie’s life and career was in England, it would be empty apart from holidays and the odd weekend. He loved spending time with his gran, so Gemma could hardly see him preferring to stay in the house alone.

  Back at the villa, Gemma transferred all the photos to Rupert’s iPad and left him and Dulcie to discuss it while she set about organising dinner. She’d also had a text message from Craig asking her if she was happy with himself and Jodie coming to stay. So that was her name, Jodie! She could now try to see if Jodie had commented on or liked any of his Facebook posts, but what should she text back? If she was honest, it would be, ‘No, don’t come, I’m not happy with it at all.’ But she couldn’t, although she was happy for Craig.

  Everything was ready for dinner, although there was no sign of Linda or Brian. It was nearly six o’clock, and time for Rupert and Dulcie’s gin.

  “There you go, two gin and tonics. I’m off for a shower now. Not sure what time my mum and dad will be back.”

  “Before you go, Gemma, dear, can we ask you about your thoughts on the old house? Be honest, because we’re not really sure what to think of it ourselves yet.”

  Gemma explained how she could see how the house would look on the plot, and how it would be good to move the fence and get rid of the waste land. She also thought that it would be a shame for it to lie empty for so many months of the year, and was surprised when Rupert and Dulcie agreed with her.

  Showered and ready to enjoy her parents’ last night in Graingcia, Rupert was in good form playing the part of the host. Dario and Pablo had arrived, Brian and Linda were in their
room, and she could see Rupert chatting to Dario. No doubt it was about the barbecue, which they all loved.

  “Hello, darling. We aren’t late, are we? Dad’s nearly ready.”

  “No, plenty of time. What have you been up to today?”

  “Oh look. I’d best go and say hello to everyone. See you in a bit, Gemma.”

  What was all that about? All very secretive and an abrupt change of topic. Gemma really couldn’t understand what they were hiding, although experience told her that once her father had had a few drinks, he’d soon spill the beans.

  “Hi, Gemma, so it’s your mum and dad’s last night here. Hasn’t it flown by? Maybe Maya and Mateo’s holiday will fly by too. I know that sounds wrong as I’m looking forward to my son staying, but you know what I mean.”

  Gemma had a lot to think about. She didn’t want her parents to leave, neither did she want Craig, Jodie, Maya and Mateo to visit. She did want to kiss Dario though, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, so instead she got into organisation mode for the evening. By now Dario was used to the barbecue cooking, and she was just showing him where she’d put all the meats in the fridge, when Brian came through from the bedroom. This was her opportunity to find out what they had been up to, yet it seemed as if Linda had instructed him not to say a word.

  Dario fired up the barbecue and Gemma carried everything out to him. Rupert filled the glasses and Pablo was chatting to Linda and Brian about the history of Graingcia. Gemma could see her father asking him so many questions. Eventually they all got stuck into the delicious barbecue food. Brian thanked Dulcie for suggesting lamb steaks as they were his favourite.

  Dario helped Gemma to carry everything back to the kitchen, and the others made their way to the top terrace to see the sunset. Dario followed her into the utility room, and they both knew where this was leading. They kissed as if their lives depended on it, but tonight was neither the right time nor the right place.