Dani’s shrug ended up bigger than she’d planned.
‘Hmm.’ He frowned and sipped his beer.
She leant forwards and wiped the froth from Carlos’s upper lip, his stubble prickling her fingers. He held her hand, their eyes connected and the world melted away. Sliding her fingers down his palm, she wrapped them around his wrist and pulled him towards her.
‘Let’s go to our room,’ she whispered.
* * *
Dani held her hand over her eyes to protect them from the dipping sun as they sped down the highway, Carlos at the wheel of the hired car. He swung to the left and up the driveway of Bodega Luigi Bosca, a vineyard tucked in Luján de Cuyo’s rural sector. In the car park, he slammed on the brakes at the last second before the car’s bumper kissed the barrier. Dani opened the door and staggered into a dusty cloud.
‘Jesus, do you always drive like this?’
‘It has been a long time since I have done the driving. It is my bad leg—I do not feel much in it any more.’
‘Yet you insist on driving like a Juan Fangio.’
‘Yes,’ he said with a boyish grin.
Wiping the grit from her eyes, she took a look at the whitewashed Dutch architecture of the homestead. Her heart sank. It didn’t look anything like the images Dani had remembered on her mother’s corkboard.
Carlos squeezed her hand. ‘Is this it?’
‘No.’ The word stuck in her throat. This was the last winery on their list of possibilities. None of the owners or employees she’d spoken to had seen Iris Kennedy or anyone who looked remotely like her. ‘We’ve wasted so much time.’
‘I would not say it is wasted. How would you feel if you had not looked for her?’
She shrugged, not sure how to answer the question. ‘I didn’t think I’d be this disappointed.’
Carlos wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her in and gently kissed her on the forehead.
‘Thanks, Carlos, I don’t know what I’d do without your help.’
‘Bah!’ He waved a hand in the air. ‘You would do fine but I like that you think you need my help.’
‘It appeals to your whole Latino macho thing, doesn’t it?’ she asked, grinning.
‘Maybe. Are you ready to finish for the day?’
She shook her head. ‘No, not yet.’ She wandered to the other side of the dusty driveway and stared at the Andes towering above, the sky swirling with hues of blue and pink. Carlos remained a short distance away, giving her the space she needed.
Turning, she said, ‘The mountains and vineyard are familiar, but the building is all wrong.’
‘Daniela, it was a long time ago you saw this picture, yes? Perhaps the vineyard no longer exists or maybe it has been renovated. The things, they change.’
‘They do, but ... I can’t explain it. It’s like an invisible umbilical cord has pulled me to this region and all I have to do is follow it to find her.’
‘You do not give up easily, do you?’
‘Nope. Come on, we’re here, we might as well ask.’
Gravel crunched beneath their shoes as they hurried to the main building and pushed through the double doors. With no one around, they wandered the rooms and came across concrete 3D murals. The relief work that depicted the history of the settlers that began winemaking in this region entranced her. A plaque explained they’d been made by local artist, Hugo Leytes.
‘May I help you?’
Lost in the art, Dani hadn’t heard anyone approach. Turning, she found a woman in her twenties wearing a freshly pressed white linen suit and a cobalt blue sash wrapped around her waist.
‘Yes, I’m hoping you can.’ Dani pulled out the photo Carlos had given her. It was one of the last pictures he’d taken before Iris disappeared. ‘Have you seen this woman?’
‘La Gringa Magnifica?’ The woman’s eyes widened and she stared at Dani. ‘You want to know if she has visited this winery?’
‘Yes. Or if you’ve seen her around Luján de Cuyo. Or Mendoza. Or anywhere, for that matter. I need to find her, it’s urgent.’
‘Ah, but she is retired, no? No one knows where she is.’
‘You’re right, but it’s important I find her. Perhaps she’s changed her hair.’ Dani pointed to Iris’s long, dark tresses that made her look more Argentine than Anglo-Saxon.
‘There is a woman who looks a little like La Gringa Magnifica but with the short hair, rubia—blonde. She lives in a small vineyard near Tupungato, an hour south from here.’
‘Do you think it could be her?’ Dani asked, failing to quell her rising hopes.
‘It is the eyes. Look.’ She pointed to the photo then studied Dani. ‘They are the same as yours.’ After a brief pause, she asked, ‘You are a relation, yes? You also have the same ...’ She pointed to her nose.
This question was bound to surface but Dani still wasn’t sure how to answer.
The woman held up her hand, closed her eyes for a brief moment and said, ‘It is not my business. Please, follow me.’
They were led through a series of doors and rooms that grew smaller until they arrived at a tiny office, barely large enough for the desk and chair. Dani and Carlos waited in the hallway while the woman fussed around with a map and pen, frowning and scribbling at the same time. She folded the paper and handed it to Dani with a hopeful smile.
‘Maybe this is the woman you seek. She does not have an accent when she speaks the Spanish, she sounds Argentine. I imagine La Gringa Magnifica would have an accent, but who am I to know?’ The woman wrapped her hands around Dani’s. ‘I wish you much luck.’
‘Thank you.’ Dani bid the young woman farewell and followed Carlos out to the car. Flopping onto the passenger seat, she blew her fringe off her forehead and took a swig from a water bottle.
‘What do you think?’ she asked.
‘I think we should go now. It is only an hour away.’ Carlos started the car and turned to face her.
‘But it’s getting dark—’
‘And you won’t sleep if you do not go. I may not have known you long, Daniela, but I understand you cannot relax if something is on your mind.’
‘But—’
‘But nothing. You are making the excuses. We go.’ Carlos clunked the car into reverse and the engine screamed under his lead foot. Putting it into first gear, he sped off, leaving the winery behind as they zipped off into an unknown future.
* * *
From the moment they left the bodega in Luján de Cuyo, Dani and Carlos fell into silence. She clenched her jaw as he negotiated the hairpin turns with reckless abandon.
Darkness fell and it grew harder to read the road signs and, with the jiggling from Carlos’s manic driving, Dani found it difficult to know where they were.
‘Carlos! Slow down!’
‘But we are close.’
‘Yes, I know, which is why we need to slow so we don’t miss the turnoff.’ Or careen into a tree.
The car slowed and Dani concentrated on the large map. The size made it difficult to get her bearings and she turned it around so she could understand where they were headed.
A smirk crossed Carlos’s gorgeous lips. ‘Why do the women do this?’
‘What? Turn the map around to face the direction we’re going?’
He nodded.
‘Because it makes total sense. Why don’t men stop and ask for directions?’
‘It is nonsense, this asking for directions.’
‘Why?’
He shrugged.
Dani rolled her eyes then turned her attention to the map. ‘Shit.’
‘What?’
She looked up, and pointed to a tiny road on the left. ‘There! There! Stop!’
Carlos slammed on the brakes, overshooting the turnoff. He checked for cars behind, reversed, then turned onto the gravel road. She cracked open the window and enjoyed the fresh mountain air, smiling as crickets chirped a serenade. The car bumped along, its headlights barely cutting through the darkness.
Dani sensed a change in Carlos’s demeanour as he pulled over, stopped the engine and turned to her. ‘Maybe we should not continue.’
‘What? You’re the one who said I needed to do this tonight!’ Narrowing her eyes, she asked, ‘Don’t you want to see Iris?’
‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’ His voice conveyed the same confusion she’d been tussling with.
Dani leant over and gave Carlos a long, sweet kiss. In a low voice she said, ‘I’m not sure why the cosmos has thrown us together but here we are. Come on, start the engine, Fangio, let’s do it.’
* * *
The gravel road narrowed the higher up the mountain they climbed and Carlos slowed to a reasonable speed. By the time they neared the top, the road wasn’t really wide enough for the car. Dani was thankful for the darkness so she didn’t have to look at the long drop into oblivion should Carlos miscalculate.
A heavy silence surrounded them and Dani felt an unbreakable connection to her companion. His strength bolstered hers to the point where she finally felt confident in dealing with a reunion with Iris.
Carlos rounded another corner and stopped the car. They gazed ahead at the tiny white house with dark trim. Rows of vines surrounded the residence, which was highlighted by the brilliant moon shining brightly on the pristine peaks towering behind. In the front room, a snippet of light shone through the crack in the curtains.
Carlos turned to face her, the leather seat creaking under his weight.
‘Is this it?’ he asked.
Dani stared at the scene before her, waiting for familiarity to strike. Nothing.
‘I don’t think so. Maybe my memory’s distorted. It can happen.’
His fingers trailed her jawline. ‘There is only one way to find out, sí?’
Dani nodded, gripped by fear and relief that the journey could be over if this woman was Iris.
Carlos rubbed her shoulder. ‘Do you want me to stay in the car?’
‘Yes, please. She’d probably have heart failure if we both rocked up on her doorstep.’ Dani had to do this alone but it was comforting to know Carlos was only a yelp away.
‘I will be here, waiting. You will signal if you need me, yes?’
‘Yes.’ They embraced, and as much as she wanted to stay in his safe arms, she had to make her move. Pulling away slightly, she gave Carlos a lingering kiss, trying to borrow his energy.
Dani exited the car and travelled the brick path, breathing in the scent of dewy roses. Taking the last step onto the veranda, she froze, unable to raise her hand to knock. Her eyes turned to the heavens and she exhaled slowly before rapping on the door. She waited. Then waited some more.
‘I guess no one’s home,’ she said, beginning to turn but then faced the battered wooden door again. Puffing out her cheeks, she knocked harder and within moments, footsteps fell lightly across a wooden floor.
The door cracked open but a chain prevented it from opening all the way.
‘Quién es?’
An almond-shaped eye peered through the gap. Dani opened her mouth but nothing came out. She’d spent so long working out how to find her mother she hadn’t thought about the all-important first line. Perhaps she hadn’t really thought it would happen but this dream—or nightmare—had just become a reality.
‘It’s me,’ Dani said in English.
‘Who is me?’ The words had the distinctive Latin twang of someone speaking English as a second language. Could Iris have lost her Aussie accent? Or maybe—oh god, no—maybe Dani had the wrong person.
‘Who is me?’ the woman asked again, her tone drenched with annoyance.
‘Dani.’
‘Dani?’
The door slammed shut, followed by a gasp on the other side. Dani stood on the veranda, unsure what to do. She waited for what seemed an eternity but the door never opened. Her fear of rejection came rushing back as she remembered her grandma’s warning: ‘If you see Iris, you’ll only end up more hurt than you already are.’ Dani leant against the doorframe, hoping it would keep her wobbly legs from collapsing. She hadn’t known how Iris would react but closing the door in her daughter’s face had not been on Dani’s list of expectations.
Footsteps approached from behind and soon Carlos stood beside her, his brow creased with worry.
‘Daniela.’ He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Maybe this is someone else?’
‘No, it was her all right.’ Anger surged through Dani, spurring her on. ‘You know what? She doesn’t get to do this. No one gets to desert their daughter and not face the fallout.’ Dani turned and banged on the door, her fist hurting with each bash against the wood. ‘Open up! I know it’s you, Iris Kennedy! I am your daughter! Open up now!’
Silence.
She stopped the bashing and leant her forehead against the door. ‘Please, open the door. I’ve come a long way to see you. Just let me in, I want to talk.’
Dani could sense Iris on the other side. Carlos rubbed Dani’s upper back and she turned around, falling into his arms. She rested her head against his strong chest and let his heartbeat soothe her.
‘She’s not going to talk to us, is she?’ she asked, her voice hoarse.
‘I do not think so.’
A click signalled the door opening and Dani spun to find Iris standing in the doorway, her blue eyes glistening in the moonlight. Without saying a word, Iris turned, motioning for them to follow, and they travelled down a dark passageway towards the rear of the house. The place smelled musty and the plaster on the walls had come away in large patches, exposing rotten beams. They turned a corner and bright light poured from the kitchen. Dani halted her march, needing a moment for her eyes to adjust to the glare. When she focused, she took in shiny blue tiles framing the cement sink, potted herbs lining the windowsill and a fire burning in a pot-belly stove, offering homey warmth from the cold outside.
Iris gestured for Dani and Carlos to take a seat at the battered wooden table. She set about filling the kettle and placing it on the stove. Every movement was graceful, even when she put teabags in the cups and placed the sugar bowl on the table.
‘Iris—’ Carlos started.
With her back to them, she put her hand up to halt conversation. Dani couldn’t work out if Iris’s behaviour was from rudeness or shock. After all, having two people from her past lob on her doorstep at an ungodly hour would freak out most people.
Dani studied the woman who was her biological mother. Her short blonde hair was different to all the photos Dani had seen. Iris had barely aged, her skin still smooth and unblemished, with a beautiful olive hue. Her bare feet showed off shiny hot-pink toenails and the mauve shirt she wore overpowered her petite frame. Her black linen pants were too baggy but somehow she pulled off the outfit with ease.
Carlos caught Dani’s eye and he held out his hands in a questioning manner. Dani shrugged.
Iris took the milk from the fridge and poured boiling water into the cups, setting them on the table. She took a seat, closed her eyes for a brief moment, then levelled a gaze on them.
‘Now we talk.’
CHAPTER
20
Dani’s shaking hands could barely hold the mug. She tentatively brought it to her mouth and let the steam float across her face. She hadn’t expected either party to dissolve into tears and hugs and cries of ‘I’ve missed you’, although it might have helped this current situation. The coldness oozing from Iris certainly didn’t make Dani want to divulge her deepest, heartfelt emotions.
Carlos’s eyes travelled from Dani to Iris and back again. Dani could sense his unease, not only for her, but also for himself. It couldn’t be easy sitting here with the woman who had been like a second mother to him and his ex-fiancée. And now he showed up with her daughter and they were—what? Things had gone so fast they hadn’t stopped to figure it out.
‘Iris, it’s been a while. You are looking beautiful, as always,’ Carlos said, his warm tone attempting to melt the frosty atmosphere.
Iris blinked and shook her head
, as if breaking out of a trance. She lit a cigarette and the acrid smoke wafted to the ceiling.
‘Yes, it has been a long time.’ She shifted her gaze from Carlos to Dani. ‘Is God playing a joke?’
‘No jokes here, Iris,’ Dani said, well aware using her mother’s first name may offend.
‘Tell me, to what do I owe this honour?’ Iris took a long drag and exhaled a thick smoke cloud that acted like a screen between her and the visitors on the other side of the table.
Incredulity swept through Dani. ‘Aren’t you surprised to see us?’
Iris gave a small shrug and tapped her cigarette on the ashtray.
‘If you must know, I hadn’t originally planned on finding you but it appears the universe has other idea.’ Nothing like laying it all on the table.
‘That’s charming.’
‘Sorry, but I’m not going to lie.’
‘You always were a bad liar. Does your eye still twitch when you tell untruths?’ Iris flipped the cigarette packet between her thumb and forefinger.
Carlos stifled a laugh, slicing the tension in the room.
‘Believe it or not, I am happy to see you.’ It was impossible to tell if Iris’s crooked smile was genuine or not.
Carlos patted Dani’s leg under the table. ‘Iris, I am thinking you and Daniela have a lot to talk about. Perhaps I will retire to the car and leave so you two may have the discussions.’ Carlos stood and reached for his cane.
Dani’s eyes met his, pleading for him not to go. He shook his head and she knew it was a lost cause, because if he had to, he would duct tape the women to their chairs to ensure they dealt with their issues.
‘Perhaps it would be better if you returned in the morning? Everyone would be refreshed then.’ Hope clung to Iris’s words.
‘No,’ Dani and Carlos said in unison. They looked at each other and smiled.
‘We’re here now,’ said Dani. ‘Surely you have a spare room where Carlos could crash? He’s been driving all day and needs some shut-eye.’
‘I do not have a problem with the car,’ he said gallantly.
‘No, Carlos. You won’t get any rest in the car. Iris?’ Dani turned to face her mother’s stony expression.
Luna Tango Page 19
