The Camino Club

by Kevin Craig

  I have to agree with her. I want to ask her to get Diego out of his funk so we can walk a little faster, but I can tell he’s fragile today. I don’t really feel like rocking the boat.

  “I’m sorry, guys,” Diego says. “It’s my fault we’re lagging behind.” It’s pretty much the first thing he said since we left Fonfría, unless of course you count the times he tried to defend his pace.

  “It’s no biggie, Diego,” I say. He’s practically dragging his feet. “We all meet up at the end of the day anyway.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “No. Don’t do that, Diego. Come on,” Shania says as she grabs his hand. “It’s okay. Come on, let’s go.”

  I feel so bad for him. I’m usually so good at talking to people, but I’m not sure how to handle this one. Poor Diego. It’s like he’s lost a second person. He hangs so much on Bastien for helping him deal with his grandmother.

  I take Kei’s hand, and we make our way out of town. Maybe Bastien will walk with Kei’s sisters. Maybe, just maybe, he will somehow stay with us the rest of the way to Santiago.

  * * *

  It’s still early afternoon when we decide to part ways. Actually, it’s Kei who makes the decision. We’ve travelled through a number of small towns, mostly in silence. The terrain has been a mix of everything from the side of a highway to a forest to fields, pretty much the way it was before the O Cebreiro to Fonfría mountain climb. It’s downhill as well as uphill, so nothing too hard.

  With three or four miles left to go, Kei finally can’t take the pace any longer. He turns to me and says, “Let’s just go already.”

  We’re both tired of dragging our feet to keep back with Shania and Diego.

  “Just wait,” I say. I stop and, thankfully, he stops with me. “Hey, guys. We’re gonna carry on ahead if that’s okay with you. We’re almost there anyway. Do you mind?”

  I look first to Diego, but he doesn’t make eye contact. When I look to Shania, she shrugs. She’s defeated. She’s not having a good day.

  “Go ahead, guys. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Thanks.” I wave and turn back to Kei. “Let’s go, then. Before I change my mind.”

  I can’t help but feel guilty. Like I’m abandoning them.

  “Bye, guys. We’ll see you there.” Kei waves. “You okay, Diego?”

  “Sure, Kei,” he says. “See you when we get there.”

  I hope to God Bastien finds his way to our albergue tonight. Diego was keeping it together so well. Looks like he’s going to crash without his savior. I don’t mean that in a mean way at all. Bastien is everything.

  Kei perks up almost immediately as we pick up the pace and leave the two of them behind. Soon, they’re nowhere in sight.

  In no time, we come upon a little creek running alongside the path. Kei consults his guidebook map to see if he can figure out what it is.

  “I think it’s Rio Sarria,” He says, pointing to a river on the map with a long skinny finger.

  “Really? That doesn’t sound right. We’re not going to Sarria until tomorrow.”

  “Well, look.” We stop dead in the path. The sound of the gently flowing water makes me realize just how hot I feel. And sweaty. Kei’s finger traces the river on the map and, sure enough, it passes through Samos. It looks like it follows the path all the way into town.

  “Huh,” I say. “Who knew?”

  “Well, for starters, probably the cartographers who made this map.”

  “You’re very funny.” I smack his hand and make him drop his guidebook. Before he has a chance to pick it up, I grab his shirt and pull him close. “And cute. Very, very cute. Anybody ever tell you that?”

  He laughs, forgets the map. “Sure. All the time.”

  “They better not.” I feel brave, so I pull him even closer and kiss him. “Wanna stop for a few minutes?”

  “Sure,” he says. He pushes me away and picks up his book. After he slips it back into the side of his backpack, he turns from the path and says, “Let’s go down by the river.”

  “But someone may see us.”

  “Live a little, Troy. Besides, what were you planning on doing?”

  The blood rushes to my cheeks, and I die. Then I shrug. So embarrassed.

  “Ha,” Kei says. “You’re way too easily embarrassed. It’s really cute.” He takes the short grassy embankment down to the river, and I follow close behind. We’re both already taking off our backpacks.

  We land in a heap at the bottom and drop our packs beside us. Before I know what’s happening I’m flat on my back feeling the weight of his body on top of me. He gives me a few deep kisses that leave me breathless.

  Kei rolls off to my side, and I look up into the cover of trees above us and the cloudless blue sky beyond. It’s a perfect day. I don’t care if we’re tired from last night and I don’t care that we just walked for hours in misery. We’re together.

  The closer we get to Compostela, the more I panic about what comes after. Lying here in the grass next to Kei, I don’t have to think about things like that. I can just be beside him.

  I put one arm behind my head and slip the other under Kei’s neck. He shimmies closer and snuggles against my chest. We sit in silence and listen to the trickle and roar of the flowing river as it makes its way into Samos.

  “I could live here,” Kei says. And I know he doesn’t mean here, just outside Samos in the Spanish countryside. I know he means with me, just the two of us, in this moment.

  “Yeah,” I say as I close my eyes against the sparkle of the sun filtering between the gently shifting leaves. “Me too, Kei.”

  With my eyes still closed, I turn my head, lift his mess of jet-black hair, and kiss his forehead. And we fall asleep to the sound of water, the perfection of a gentle breeze, and the smells of the most perfect summer day of my life. A smell I’m sure I’ll remember forever.

  Chapter 31 — Diego Nelson

  As we round the corner onto the side street where our albergue is, Gilbert and Meagan step outside its door onto the cobbled sidewalk out front.

  “Wow,” Gil says, “Took you two long enough.”

  I smile apologetically, because I know today is totally my fault. I’m acting like a spoiled little kid. Might as well stamp my feet or kick and scream. Total temper tantrum. I did not see this funk coming. I hadn’t realized how much I had come to lean on Bastien since my grandmother died.

  “Sorry,” I say. “My fault.”

  “He’s just kidding, Diego. You’re the first to arrive,” Meagan says, beaming. “Did you see the gorgeous monastery on your way in? I say we go back and check it out while we’re waiting for all the slowpokes to get here. It was one of the highlights of my first Camino. You guys’ll love it.”

  “What? Seriously?” Shania says. She ignores Meagan’s comments about the monastery. “I thought Claire, Greg, and Manny walked here with you guys?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Meagan says. “I meant besides Manny. He’s with us. He’s upstairs having a shower. Claire and Greg stopped for a rest back in… where was that, Gil?”

  “Lusío,” Gil says. “Yeah, they were having a rather heavy conversation, wanted to stop at a café. Manny almost stayed back with them, but changed his mind last minute. So here we are. Waiting for everyone else.”

  Gil glances at his wrist, pretends to look at a nonexistent watch, and shakes his head. I offer him a weak smile.

  “How long have you guys been here?” Shania asks.

  “Oh, almost an hour now. We had a beer at the little pub on the corner.” He points behind us, and we turn and look back. There’s a bar patio with tables, chairs, and umbrellas set up at the bottom of the street across from the corner we just passed.

  “We’re just going to go dump off our stuff and go see Manny. We’ll be right back.” Shania slips out of her backp
ack and carries it to the albergue door.

  “Front desk is just inside,” Meagan tells her. “Let them know you’re with us. They’ll give you a key. Have showers too. No hurry. We’ll wait here. Tell Manny to come with you. We’ll walk to the monastery together.”

  “Sure thing,” I reply. I follow Shania inside.

  I’m not worried about Kei and Troy. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what they’re doing. They’re probably making out somewhere.

  It’s Claire I’m worried about. Troy told me all about her plan to take off. Even if she did say she changed her mind, it doesn’t mean she really did. I hope he did the right thing, trusting her enough to not tell Gil.

  Shania gets the key, and we climb the narrow stairway to the top of the albergue, two flights up. Another dorm room with eight beds. We’ll all be sleeping together again tonight. I hope there’s a single here for Bastien. He said he would call ahead. I hope he did.

  Manny’s sprawled on his bed with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He’s holding his phone an inch from his face and talking into it.

  “Yeah, dork. You can use it. It’s not a problem. Just don’t go snooping around in any of my drawers or stuff. Don’t make me hit you.”

  I hear this ridiculous giggling on the other end. Manny waves to us as we enter the room and raises a finger to let us know he’ll just be a minute.

  Shania heads straight for the bathroom at the back of the room. En suite. Bonus.

  “Tav. You being good for Mama, right?”

  “Yessssss, Man,” a little kid voice responds, all exaggerated, with a drawn-out moan on the end.

  “Can you get her for me, little dude?”

  “Okay, okay. Coming up.” I can hear a bunch of movement on the other end, like the kid is running with the phone. “Mama. Mama. Manny’s on the phone for you.”

  “Tav. Tav? Hey, Tavish?” Manny says. He looks at me and shakes his head as if to say little brothers are such a pain in the ass. “Tavish!”

  There’s clatter on the other end and then silence. Manny turns the phone screen toward me as I plunk my pack on the bed right next to his and sit on the mattress. The screen is filled with the cutest little face I’ve ever seen. It’s a miniature version of Manny’s, only with a much bigger afro. And the kid’s wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

  He turns the screen back to himself and says, “I love you, Tav. Okay. You watch our room. I’ll be back in a few days, bro. Put Mama on now, ‘kay.”

  “Sure thing, man. I’m on it. Love you, too. Bring me sumpin’, ‘kay?”

  “You bet, little man.” Manny jumps off the bed, cinches his towel tighter and heads for the door. Just as he steps outside into the hall and begins to close the door, I hear him say, “Hey, Momma.”

  As I hear the shower start, I lie down and try not to think about the fact that Bastien didn’t walk with us today. And I try not to think about the fact Claire might be out there causing Greg a world of pain. I hope she didn’t bolt. Those two were just starting to get along. I believed it when Troy told me she changed her mind about taking off. I hope he was right.

  * * *

  Shania tosses a pillow at my face and it wakes me from a deep sleep where I dreamed my gran had come to meet us back in Fonfría. It was so real. I could see her sitting at that long banana-shaped table last night and watching everyone dance. Her face was full of laughter, but as I tried to make my way over to her, the conga line kept getting in my way. I was clawing my way through it, getting angry at everyone, when the pillow hit my face.

  I jump up and toss the pillow to the floor with an angry, “Awwww.”

  “Whoa, maniac,” Shania says. She’s in a towel, fresh out of the shower. “Chill. It’s just a pillow.”

  “Sorry.” I let out a sigh of relief. “Dream.”

  “I left the room for five minutes tops. How could you possibly be dreaming?”

  I smile apologetically.

  “Freak. Get ready. You can jump in the shower when I get back. They’re waiting for us downstairs,” Shania says. She grabs her backpack and returns to the bathroom.

  Manny steps back into the room. He tosses his phone onto his bed and lets his towel drop to the floor as he reaches for a change of clothes.

  “Dude,” I say. “I don’t want to see your junk. Put it away.”

  “Yeah. Sure you don’t. Then stop looking, my man.” He pulls his boxers on, but it’s too late.

  “Dude.”

  Manny just laughs and finishes getting dressed.

  * * *

  When I step into the street, it’s just the four of them waiting for me. I had hoped to at least see Troy and Kei. I knew it was too much to hope for Bastien.

  I feel so much better after my shower. Like a person.

  “Ready to see the Mosteiro de Samos?” Meagan asks. “It’s one of my favorite places on the whole Camino.”

  She’s excited. I can tell by the way she’s practically on the balls of her feet.

  “Show me the way.” I can feel myself clawing up out of today’s funk. Shania takes my hand, and we head down the street.

  The monastery is just around the corner. It’s humongous, the first thing we saw as we approached the town. It’s a great big sprawling fortress, a compound of buildings with a garden right in the middle of it. Pretty much looks like a little village all by itself.

  Along the way, Meagan fills us in on what we’re about to see, and how we can walk the balcony all the way around the circumference of the inner courtyard. She gets even more excited as she tries to describe the paintings on the balcony.

  We head directly for the courtyard and spend a little time walking around the gardens before climbing the stairs to the balcony.

  Meagan was right, the paintings are phenomenal. What I didn’t realize was that she meant murals. The actual outside walls are covered with angels, monks, nuns, demons, horses, battles, mountains, and stuff. I snap a million pictures because I know this is something Moms would love to see. It makes me sad because my abuelita would have gone mad for this. It’s like a Catholic Mecca or something.

  “Holy shitballs, Diego,” Shania says, breaking the silence we’ve all fallen into. She yanks at my hand until I come to a stop just past the next doorway. “Look.”

  She points to the next mural, where a guy is sitting on a cement ledge. A demon sits in the background. The guy’s all muscle, in shorts and a ripped top. His hair is windblown, and he’s pointing off to the side. He looks terrified. The old lady behind him looks to where he points. She’s just as scared. Same with the whole crowd behind her. Even the creepy little dog-like thing wrapped around the guy’s foot is looking off in fear.

  “Holy shit. That’s you.”

  “Shania,” Gill says. “Words. Please. Really?”

  “Oops. Sorry. But look.”

  “Wow,” Gill says, first inspecting the guy in the painting and then turning back to look at me. “Your doppelgänger, Diego.”

  “His what, now?” Manny says as he runs over to see what the fuss is about.

  “Twin stranger,” Gil says. “It’s German. Your lookalike is your doppelgänger.”

  “Dude, I know what a doppelgänger is. I’m a freaking genius. And maybe if Diego was buff like me, he’d look like this dude. Scrawny D just doesn’t measure up to that guy.”

  “Very funny,” I reply. He’s right, the guy’s got muscles I’ll never have. But his face? Whoa.

  We all gather around the painting. It’s bizarre how much it looks like me. I follow the guy’s pointing finger and it leads to another ripped dude. But this one’s not only terrified. Clearly, he’s in pain. Like he’s dying. Some angel is either yanking him away to his death or trying to save him. Can’t tell which.

  Shania makes me stand in front of my doppelgänger as she takes a bunch of pics. She wants one
where the guy’s pointing finger is pointing at me, so it looks like I’m the one he’s terrified of, so I humor her and everyone laughs.

  “Your mother’s gonna shit herself when she sees this one.”

  “Shania. Words.”

  “Sorry, Gil.” She walks away, leaving Gil to shake his head with the regret of a disappointed parent. He looks at me as if to ask, where did I go wrong? I shrug and smile. He’ll just have to learn to live with her or go crazy trying to change her.

  I run to catch up with Shania, who’s already checking out other murals farther along the balcony.

  When we’ve done the loop, we walk down the big stone staircase and assemble at the bottom.

  “Well,” Meagan says. She pulls out her phone and looks at the screen. “It’s almost supper time. We should start to head back to the albergue. Hopefully the others will be there by now.”

  She glances at Gilbert, and you’d have to be slow not to see the uneasy expression on her face.

  “Okay, gang,” Gil says. “You heard the lady. Let’s go. We’ll do the rest of the tour when we’re all back together. Let’s move out, shall we.”

  Chapter 32 — Shania Reynolds

  Saturday, July 6th – Day 8 – Bastien Comes Home & Troy & Claire & Greg

  I swear, my journal is becoming more about everybody else than it is about me.

  I think time is different out here on the Camino. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. When Bastien finally made it to our albergue just before supper, it was almost dark. I thought Diego was going to explode. It was like his long-lost father had come home from the war.

  The weird thing is, we all felt the same way. We all missed him. It really does feel like he’s a part of our lives. You know someone for a few days here, and it’s the same as a lifetime on the outside.

  Diego almost cried. And I almost cried seeing how happy he was to see Bastien. I swear, I was gonna go out there and drag Bastien here myself if he didn’t show up. Even Kei’s sisters arrived before him.

  Kei and Troy were walking past when we came out of the monastery. Troy went bright red when he tried to explain how it was we were able to get to Samos before him. In the end, we just shamed and humiliated him like the good friends we are. We knew he and Kei had found somewhere to hang out alone. Together. And their guilty expressions told us everything. That, and they both actually looked dishevelled, like they’d been messing around.