“Why?” He heard the doorbell ring again.
“It has capsaicin in it. It’s an ingredient that gives the muscles the sensation of being hot. The muscle heats up, and the nerves shut down. It will reduce the pain and loosen up your leg. Cyclists use it.”
Cayetano heard a knock on his front door, and turned and started down the hallway. “I haven’t heard of that. You are full of secrets.”
“Not really, I just married a man who was sore a lot. Capsicum cream is your answer.”
“You think about my legs?”
“In the interest of health,” she teased.
“I’m sure. I would expect no less from a lady.” More banging. “I’m sorry, there is someone really rude at my door.”
“I’m sorry. I have taken up your time since breakfast.”
“I’m grateful for it. I will call you tomorrow.”
10
Madrid, España ~ septiembre de 2009
Cayetano looked at the phone in his hand. He wasn’t sure how successful that call had been. Luna seemed genuinely appreciative of his help. She was his girlfriend. He hadn’t even thought of that before it spilled out of his mouth. It sounded so juvenile. Maybe it was good that the call suddenly had to end, because she had time to think about that. He wouldn’t bother to pretend he would help her as a friend. Life was too short to be coy.
He hobbled to the front door, and he peered through the peephole, to see María there. Fuck. Nothing like an ex-wife to ruin a good day. They had separated eight months ago, and María hadn’t come back to their home in all that time. Whatever she wanted, Cayetano wasn’t interested. With a sigh, he pulled the heavy door open. The scowl on his face wouldn’t confuse María about how he felt.
“Don’t frown, Caya, it makes you look old,” she said the moment the door opened.
“Perhaps, but you lost the right to use my nickname when you let your cameraman stick his dick in you.”
María let out a long whistle and let that moment pass. Her hot-pink lipstick cracked when she did it. “Bitter as ever, I see. Did I interrupt something?”
“Yes, you did. But even if you hadn’t, I would have lied and said you had.”
María paused and adjusted her purple-framed glasses. At this rate she wouldn’t ever win over her husband. “Can I come in?”
Cayetano reluctantly hobbled back a few steps and gestured for her to come in. He shut the door behind her, and watched her welcome herself in their home. His home. He hadn’t heard her high heels on the grey marble for a while. The neighbours downstairs always complained about that noise. They probably enjoyed María’s absence as much as Cayetano did.
“You have redecorated,” she commented and walked into the living room. She gazed around the room, now all done in a simple black and white minimalist style. The room had been in an opulent gold and red when she lived there. Gone were the heavy red curtains in favour of a simple white blind. The deep red rug on the floor was now a simple black rectangle. He had done a great job, even if he had kept his hideous old brown armchair. María sat down on the black leather couch and ran her fingers over one of the white throw pillows. Her long hot-pink nails caught on its fabric. “The place looks great. Did Mamá do it?”
“Sofía helped me,” Cayetano said. He limped over to the glass dining table, and pulled out one of the simple leather chairs. “She knew just how to purge you from the place.”
“How are you?” She watched him sit awkwardly on the chair across the room.
“Excelente. I am in good hands. I have people who know how to make me well again.”
“Good. I have spoken to your Mamá many times, to see how you are. I wasn’t sure you would tell me if I called you.”
“You’re right.”
“Seeing you get gored like that was horrific, Caya. I have feared that every day since we met. After your last injury…”
“After my last injury you planned our wedding while I lay in a hospital bed; you didn’t even bother to consult me on the subject of marriage.”
“Doesn’t that show you how much I care about you?”
“You were only at the ring the other week to keep up appearances.”
“And because I wanted to see you perform. I still care.”
Cayetano pursed his lips and sighed. “There’s no need to worry. The week in hospital, and weeks of rest have worked wonders. I’ll be fine. This is nothing compared to my last major fall. The pain lessens every day.”
“I’m glad,” she said, and gently brushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ve been worried. I sit at home and think about you here, discharged from the hospital so soon and trying to get by at home, all on your own.”
“I’m never on my own. I have a whole family to care about me. Besides, I’m not crippled.”
“Inés said you walk with a cane now.”
“I do, but it’s temporary, and Mamá should have mentioned that detail. In fact, this morning I went to Valencia and walked in the park with no cane at all.”
“You have been to Valencia and back today?”
“Yes, it’s a long trip, but it was worth it. María, I don’t need to be looked after, and certainly not by you, if that is what you came here for.”
“We have been together for over a decade, Caya. Don’t brush it all aside because I made a mistake.”
“Your mistake, or Paulo as his friends call him, brushed it all aside. The next time I see the man, I will shake his hand. He did me a favour.”
“We had a quickie in the office. That’s it. You know all this, we have been over it a hundred times.” María wasn’t a calm woman, she was uptight, and easily wound up. She wanted her own way all the time, and usually got it because people were afraid to say no.
“If you’re going to throw your life away, the least you could do is make it a full-blown fling, you know, get your money’s worth out of Paulo. I’m having a fling right now, and it’s fabulous.”
A deep frown clouded María’s heavily made-up face. “You’re seeing someone? Since when?”
“Since not that long ago.”
“Is it serious?”
“No, it’s not. It’s fun. It’s light, and spontaneous, and exciting. It holds a lot of promise but isn’t weighed down by it.”
María sat and looked at her hands, and played with her wedding ring. “I’m not sure what to say,” she mumbled. “We agreed not to see anyone else.”
“Yeah, but we agreed to that when we got married, so that rule is easily broken.”
“¡Mierda! Are you ever going to stop being angry at me? I get it! I fucked up! Has it occurred to you that even though you think I’m an adulterous witch, that I could be the one for you anyway? After everything, don’t you think we’re soulmates? Even with our mistakes?”
“I have tried to convince myself that we are meant to be,” Cayetano said and ran his hand over his sore thigh muscle. “The truth is, María, we don’t work. We look nice in photos, and everyone thinks we are a good couple, but we aren’t. Your television career is propped up by you being married to a torero. It’s all bullshit. Life isn’t supposed to be this hard. Love isn’t supposed to be complicated.”
“But it wasn’t always like that.”
“No, no it wasn’t. I loved you. But you broke that.”
“Oh come on, Caya! Use your head for a change!”
“My head is to blame for all the mistakes my heart has made. So what if I’m impulsive, and think with my heart and not my head. I was with you because it made sense in my head, but it never made sense in my heart. It didn’t make me happy.”
“You would seriously throw away everything? What, because of a fling with a woman you don’t know?”
“No, it’s not about her. Although, the last weeks have been like a new start for me.”
“Where is she now that you’re injured?”
“She is the only one who doesn’t treat me like an invalid. That is what makes me feel better.”
“But we are i
n love.”
“Love is like a kiss on the wind. It only sometimes comes your way. You don’t know where it’s coming from, or where it’s going.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning it’s blown my way from the direction of someone else. I’m sorry. I want a divorce.”
“What? Because of someone you have known for a matter of weeks? We agreed to no divorce until I had my contract renewed with the station.”
“Wouldn’t a celebrity divorce raise your profile?”
“I would like an amicable divorce portrayed, if the time ever came.”
“Great, works for me. It’s not because of Luna, but I have learned some things from her.”
“Oh, she has a name now,” María quipped and folded her arms over her chest. “And what has Luna taught you?”
“That even the most broken hearts can move on if they’re strong enough.”
“I don’t believe this crap.” María shook her head. “I was on the phone only an hour ago with your mother, getting invited to family lunch this Sunday.”
“Go right ahead,” Cayetano scoffed. “I’m not going. Neither is Sofía, as usual.”
“So you are both abandoning your parents. That’s just great. You know how much they value Sunday lunch.”
“They turned their backs on Sofía, not the other way around. She is still my best friend.” He couldn’t resist. “And she likes Luna.”
María’s eyes widened. “She met your sister?”
Technically, yes. “Sure has.” He was really goading her now, and no good could come from that. But it felt great not to be the victim in the relationship for a change.
María grabbed her handbag and stood up. “Do you think I will just wait around while you have a rebound affair?”
“Give me a break, I have slept with plenty of women since I kicked you out.” Liar. “I’m past the rebound phase.”
“So, what, are you skipping off into the sunset with this Luna, are you? House in the country? Children?”
Cayetano rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be so dramatic.” She couldn’t help it. María seemed to be a shitstorm that was always forecasted to have hurricane force winds. Until they split, he didn’t realise how high-maintenance she was. “At least someone as easy-going as Luna would be open to subjects like children, and not just need a man who can drive her to her parties, or plastic surgery appointments. Not that she needs it anyway.”
“And we are back to not having a family again. You are like a dog with a bone. I won’t give you a baby.”
“Good,” Cayetano said. He grimaced as he lifted himself from the chair. “That would be like making a pact with the devil.”
“You can be impossible sometimes, Caya,” María said and threw her bag over her shoulder. “Sometimes I wonder why I bother.”
“Probably because I’m richer than you?”
“I doubt that. When did you become this man?” she squinted. “So rude and angry! You have a good reputation, but you’re being a fool.”
“That reputation is suffocating me. I’m sick of being what everyone wants. I would rather be happy on my terms. What did you come here for?”
“To tell you that I love you! I care about you! It seems that you are too stupid to realise the mistakes you make.”
“At least they are my mistakes, and not just the demands of others forced on me.”
“You have everything, Caya. You are a part of a legacy. Don’t throw your good fortune away on an affair. You will work all of this out too late.”
Cayetano stood on the spot and watched María leave the room. The front door made a loud slam as María exited the apartment. He shouldn’t have told her about Luna. That was foolish, but now he felt empowered. He was comfortable in his life. He didn’t want to be comfortable anymore. He wanted to feel alive, and so what if he fell on his face? Change was worth the risk.
11
Cuenca, España ~ septiembre de 2009
Drive all the way to Cuenca?
Who are you going with?
Are you sure you can do this on your own?
Why have you planned this for when I’m going to Cordoba?
If you marry me, then you don’t need residency in Spain…
Who randomly throws a marriage proposal at a woman over morning coffee in the kitchen? Darren James does, that’s who. As soon as Luna told him that she was off to Cuenca in the hope of tracking down her grandfather, he was full of questions. She had told him that she had received help from a woman named Sofía in Madrid.
“How can this Sofía woman help you if she’s in Madrid?”
“She called the Registro Civil in Cuenca, but there is someone else, Cayetano. He will meet me there and help me out.”
“Who is Cayetano? Do you need someone to tell you what you need to look at? Don’t you already know?”
“Darren, I’m capable of planning a trip. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot. You’re the boss around here.”
“Damn right I am.”
“I’m just saying, you don’t like to drive and the A3 is a high speed road, and then you would have to get off, at what – the N420? That road is winding through the mountains. Can you do that?”
“I have to learn to drive again sometime,” she shrugged.
“Lulu, this is huge. There is no shame in not wanting to drive.”
“No, I want to drive again. Who knows, now that I’m unemployed I might get a job that requires me to drive. I can’t believe I got fired.”
“You weren’t fired, you were made redundant, just like most of your workmates. That isn’t your fault. People are losing their jobs all over Spain. You’re too good for a job that simple anyway.”
“I liked it. I needed something simple that got me a bit of time out of the house. It helped me get over my depression.”
“Of course, but it’s time to move forward,” Darren said and put his coffee cup down on the counter. “But don’t worry, you don’t have to get a job straight away.”
“That’s good, because I have no idea what goes on with me half the time.”
Darren stepped forward and wound his arms around Luna. “You have been a bit funny these last few weeks.”
“I’m fine. It’s you who is all cut up after the accident.”
“I feel much better already. It could also be the painkillers.”
“Yeah, it’s the drugs.”
“Are you sure you can’t wait until I get back from Cordoba? I’ll come with you. All of us at the parador there sounds fantastic. Romantic even. I don’t like the idea of you taking the kids and meeting up with some guy.”
“He isn’t some guy. It will be fine. Nothing weird is going on. I don’t make dumb choices, especially not with my boys.”
“I don’t like it. Why can’t you wait?”
I’ll tell you why, Darren. Because I feel smothered by you. Of course she didn’t say that. But it was true. Protectiveness was a good trait in someone you love, but Darren had become very defensive at the name of another man. He didn’t even know a fraction of the story. Good thing she had never told the truth.
“Just think about what I said about getting married, Luna, I mean it.”
~~~
Wow, that was enough to sweep a woman right off her feet. Not. Darren had left for Cordoba early that morning. The children were still in bed when they said their goodbyes. His serious words rang in Luna’s ears for the whole 200 kilometres to Cuenca. It was a hot day, and even with the air-conditioning on in the car, the boys moaned and fidgeted in their car seats. Darren had announced that he wanted to get married, the kids were loud and difficult, the drama of her grandfather and his disappearing act… and not to mention the drive, Luna’s least favourite activity, all made for a stressful day. Only when she pulled up outside the parador, the Convento de San Pablo, did she finally let the stress of the day go. Everything needed to be left behind in Valencia.
Luna stood in th
e cool entrance of the parador and took off her sunglasses. The silence of the high-ceiling room didn’t stand a chance with the excited footsteps of two eager five-year-olds that jumped up and down on the black and white tiles. The monastery was beautifully restored, and even though the hotel was permanently full of tourists, its stone walls heaved with history. Who knows what the building had seen in its 400 years.
“It looks as if a star has been misplaced.”
Luna turned in an instant at the recognisable voice behind her. There stood Cayetano. Her Cayetano. The scruffy guy who walked on a black cane. The Cayetano who wore a suit of lights in the bullring also lurked. His body may have been wounded, but his eyes reminded anyone who came close of the fire that was in him. He possessed an effortless cool, and it threw Luna – her confidence was shaken by the man. Not that he knew that. “A star?” she asked as her two gentlemen companions turned to see who their mother spoke to.
“Yes, a star has fallen and has lit up this room with her presence.”
Luna rolled her eyes with a smile. “Good afternoon.”
“It wasn’t, but is now.” Cayetano wanted to step forward and kiss her, but with the boys there, maybe that wasn’t a good idea. He looked at the two redheaded cherubs that stood either side of their mother. “Hello, boys,” he said. “How are you?”
“Good,” they replied in unison.
“This,” Luna said, and pointed to her son on her right, “is Giacomo, and this,” she gestured left, “is Enzo. Take note, because they will quiz you on it later. Boys, this is my friend, Cayetano. He has come to help me with my work.”
“You will test me, will you?” The boys looked identical.
“Yeah,” Enzo said. “It’s fun. People always mix us up, even though we don’t look alike.” He flashed his sweet little smile, not shy in the slightest.
“What happened to your leg?” Giacomo asked. “You walk funny.”
“Giacomo,” Luna chastised him. “That isn’t polite.”
Blood in the Valencian Soil (Secrets of Spain) Page 12
