The Seaside Hotel

by Agnès Ruiz

  She was at the famous dinner he had gotten out of her. But it wasn’t going as well as she’d imagined.

  It was going too well, actually.

  “How can you say that, you idiot!” Joanna groaned at her reflection.

  She had no reason to begrudge Guillermo. Quite the opposite.

  He was thoughtful, considerate, and funny! Even better, he listened to her. She wasn’t used to it. And yet, she thought her conversation was boring. It was quite an achievement that he was so open despite it.

  Joanna sighed, moving back to look at herself with a critical eye.

  She was wearing a bright red fitted dress with reasonable cleavage. She was going to change at the last minute and wear something more conventional: jeans and a blouse, nothing too compromising. A quick glance at her watch revealed that she didn’t have enough time.

  He should recognise her, even in such a feminine outfit which she found a little too risqué for a simple evening out between neighbours.

  She didn’t really look the same. Except she wanted to show she was more confident than she was in reality. Unsure, she turned around in her dress to see the effect until she was dizzy. She felt like a winner.

  But the sooner the dinner approached, the more she was having doubts about her choice. The dress seemed out of place, inappropriate.

  She stifled her doubts because she loved how she looked in that dress. Well, the rare times she had worn it.

  She had bought it with her friend Linda who swooned when Joanna tried it on. Its high price raised Joanna’s eyebrows.

  The pressure from her friend calmed her doubts.

  Now, leaning towards the mirror, Joanna could only see how she looked drawn, with bags under her eyes. She hadn’t been able to completely cover up the tiredness, despite the foundation and concealer.

  Whenever she used her beauty products (supposedly miracle-performing, for those bright mornings!), she left she bathroom with mixed feelings about the result.

  She was convinced it was her poor usage and not the product itself that was the problem. She had tried it many times.

  Unsparingly, she moved on to her cheeks, which she thought were too red under the bright light.

  It was hot in the room. Probably because of so many people or because she was sitting on hot coals... Whatever.

  Joanna turned the tap, took water in the palms of her hands and freshened up her face by patting it lightly.

  Finally, she straightened out a few strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail then left the room.

  The noise of the room hit her as soon as she left. The respite in the bathroom had been short lived. She suddenly imagined a beehive in full swing.

  The day had already been busy at the seaside hotel. This wasn’t what she needed to relax.

  “Is something wrong?” Guillermo asked, worried.

  Joanna looked up at her neighbour and shrugged a shoulder without comment.

  “I didn’t know it would be so busy here”, he continued, as if he understood her uneasiness. “Shall we get a coffee and go?”

  “Go where?”

  Joanna told herself she’d go home as soon as the dinner was over. She couldn’t wait to kick off her high heels. She always felt like she was walking on eggshells when she was perched in these shoes. Yet, she persevered. Her legs looked thinner, longer and her figure more elegant.

  25

  Guillermo didn’t seem to want to cut short the evening. For him, it was just beginning. Enthusiastic, he let out:

  “Why not the beach? We could walk along the Deauville Boardwalk...”

  “With your crutches?”

  She didn’t mention her painful feet to him. How could she complain while her neighbour had a leg in plaster?! Trying again, she questioned him.

  “Aren’t you sick of dragging those bulky crutches everywhere?”

  “I only have one now. I have a special shoe heel, which is more practical.”

  With a wink, he leaned towards her and added, mischievously:

  “I’d show you, but it’s not easy to hold out my leg like this, under the table.”

  Joanna wondered why she had really asked. But Guillermo was too good for... Suddenly, she felt her cheeks burning as her mind started going astray.

  She had an image of her and Guillermo embracing in her mind’s eye. Was it the heat of the room, one glass of wine too many?

  With an abrupt movement, she stood up. But the top of her thighs struck the edge of the table. Unfortunately, the movement didn’t stop there. Suddenly, the contents of the table tipped all its contents over Guillermo: plates, glasses which were still full, knives, forks, not to mention the water jug...

  With a start, Guillermo fell back in a sudden movement, all whilst trying to grab hold of something when he felt the chair falling backwards. He felt a napkin in his hand, which needless to say, only led to further catastrophe!

  The succession of events could have been avoided if the space behind him hadn’t been so large. Indeed, there was nothing to slow the unstoppable falling of Guillermo’s chair.

  Confusion and an indescribable ruckus followed in the dining room of the restaurant.

  Guillermo, with his two arms in the air protecting himself from projectile objects from the table, let out such a long protest that Joanna, standing up to help with the disaster she had unintentionally caused, let out a frightened scream.

  The majority of the clientele remained stunned and silent as the staff present, watched the scene, torn between nervous giggling and inaction.

  They were all powerless due to the speed and unexpected scenario.

  Some random creep nonetheless took out his phone to immortalise the disturbing moment. He missed the fall, he told the next table, but guffawed seeing Guillermo with cream or sauce all over his shirt and face.

  Finally, Joanna rushed to him followed by a waiter.

  “Are you OK? I’m so sorry!”

  They helped Guillermo up although he didn’t say a word. Joanna’s neighbour looked at the person who was still waving his mobile phone towards the scene, before turning his attention to Joanna and the waiter.

  “Why aren’t you saying anything?” Joanna panicked sure he must have broken something else.

  Again! She wanted to shout. And worse, it was all her fault again.

  She touched his shoulder, squeezed his hand, perhaps hoping to get a reaction.

  “Ow!” He protested. “It hurts!”

  “It hurts? Where? We’ll go straight to the hospital. You need an x-ray, or an MRI!”

  This time, Guillermo noticed Joanna gathering her things. She slipped some money on the table, no longer with its tablecloth then came back to him.

  Unable to resist, he burst out laughing.

  With Joanna so troubled, he tried to justify himself, but he couldn’t as he was still laughing so much.

  “You’re fine? And you think that’s funny?” Joanna railed.

  Guillermo understood she was seeing red before his incomprehensible hilarity. Not without difficulty, he got his breath back, tried to say something then burst out laughing again. Several clients laughed with him, relieved to see the strange scene conclude.

  Guillermo was getting a pain in his side. Slowly, he calmed down and smiled at Joanna, his eyes still sparkling, even watery.

  “I’m fine, Joanna, honestly. And I will pay. Put your money back, please.”

  “What? That’s all you have to say after... after all that?!”

  She showed him the floor where the chair had slipped as well as the spilt contents of their table, and the tablecloth which hid part of the mess. An employee was already cleaning it up.

  “Please”, Guillermo insisted, holding the banknotes out to her, “take it back”.

  Joanna wanted to have the strength to resist, but with his almost sad eyes, she had no other choice than to put the money back in her purse. She followed him with her eyes as he hobbled to the till. Guillermo paid then slowly went back to Joanna.r />
  He was still smiling, as if nothing had happened and he offered her his free arm.

  “Let’s go for a walk along the Boardwalk?”

  Weird, thought Joanna. He insisted despite that whole disastrous evening? How did he do it?

  She wanted to tell him that he should be furious with her. He had his leg in plaster, he couldn’t stay in his own flat because of the leak from hers, and now, she almost crushed him under a restaurant table. She swore she would never return to this establishment, sure she was now a laughing stock.

  She had become extremely dangerous. Why was she so clumsy when she was with him?

  “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. You’ll end up in the morgue, with me”, she argued, following the path of her bleak thoughts.

  Her voice sounded strange. She wanted to be humorous, but it sounded more mournful.

  “I’m still in one piece. And that was pretty... epic.”

  “Epic? You think...?”

  Joanna was doubtful.

  “A tragic farce”, Guillermo tried again.

  He was obviously trying to cheer Joanna up. But it didn’t seem to be working. She shook her head several times, clearly disheartened.

  “You should stay away from me. I’m a walking catastrophe!”

  “We should test it. Let’s go for that walk, as agreed...”

  Joanna thought about it for a few seconds. Either he was crazy, or he was looking for trouble.

  Still shaken and in a bad mood, she gave in. Nothing seemed to convince Guillermo to forget about this stroll.

  26

  She remained quiet for a while. To avoid any kind of conversation, she had even turned on the radio in her car, with the volume a little too high.

  It was the perfect way to place an invisible wall between them she told herself, wanting recharge her batteries and gather her wandering thoughts. Actually, she wanted to try to understand everything that had just happened...

  After driving for a few kilometres, she parked, not far from the Boardwalk and stopped the engine.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want? To walk here...?”

  “Are you making a suggestion?”

  “What?”

  She observed Guillermo. She quickly noticed his lopsided smile and protested.

  “Oh! You’re impossible!”

  Guillermo was playing out of category, Joanna thought. Why could she never make a comeback of her own imagination? Why did he rile her so easily or make her feel so comfortable? It was very uncomfortable. She should follow her instinct; drive him back to the seaside hotel and voilà!

  Guillermo didn’t hold forth on Joanna’s outburst. He almost looked contrite. Perhaps he felt he had reached her limit. He opened the car door and pulled himself out of the small vehicle. Joanna noticed that he handled it quite well despite his leg in plaster.

  That suited her. She didn’t want to get too close to him.

  She avoided dwelling on why she didn’t want to. All she desired was to protect herself. Protect her heart that was a little too sensitive since the beginning of the meal, and even since before then.

  They walked along the shore in silence, just like in the car, except here there was no radio. Against all odds, the silence was much nicer.

  The sea air filled their nostrils and lungs. The tide was in and the waves licked the sand in a regular, repetitive movement.

  Joanna loved the sea. She couldn’t imagine living far away from it. She enjoyed the sun setting on the horizon, throwing ochres, reds and oranges across the darkening sky.

  “I wanted to be a painter”, she said, suddenly, her eyes far away.

  “It’s never too late”, Guillermo replied.

  Joanna laughed softly.

  “I don’t have the talent.”

  “Art is very diverse. And abstract. Have you tried at least?”

  “Once”, she admitted. “It was a huge failure. I’d bought everything I needed, proud of myself and sure I would create a great little work of art.”

  “Who told you it wasn’t?”

  “You are too nice, I think.”

  “You trust me too much”, Guillermo said in return.

  Joanna stopped walking to search for the irony in Guillermo’s comment. Was he laughing at her? It didn’t look like he was. Cautiously, she nevertheless asked:

  “Why are you like that?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean, you are kind, but at other times, you’re almost impossible.”

  “I didn’t know I was like that. I don’t see myself as being kind.”

  With that, he pulled a face.

  “Kind: it sounds like a great service buddy...”

  “Why not?”

  He looked at her with doubt then continued walking.

  “I can see you don’t know me”, he said.

  “I know you enough to know I can trust you.”

  Guillermo thought about her words. Finally, without looking at her, he said:

  “We all have a dark side, you know. And believe me, I am a difficult, complicated person.”

  “You mean you have enemies?”

  Joanna decided to play his game. If he wanted to go down that road, then why not!

  “Indeed”, he admitted without hesitation. “I’m sure there are a few who want me dead.”

  Joanna suddenly felt a shiver of cold down her spine. It wasn’t very positive what she was learning. Who boasted not only about having one enemy, but “a few”?

  She knew people who she didn’t particularly appreciate, but she didn’t count them as enemies in actual words. How did one make an enemy, anyway? You only saw that in films or books... And certain professions; like bailiffs, for example.

  “What about you?” he shot, suspicious.

  “What about me?”

  “Whose hide do you want?”

  Joanna realised just how dark their conversation had become. A bit too much so for this nice evening beside the sea. Guillermo must have had the same thought because he had decided not to answer. Or perhaps he just didn’t want to.

  27

  “Fancy an ice-cream? We could eat it on the sand, and watch the sea.”

  They had just passed by an open restaurant.

  It was a tempting offer. Joanna discreetly glanced at her watch, but Guillermo, clearly very observant, told her that the time didn’t matter.

  “We are good, like this; friends chatting together.”

  “We are only neighbours. And we didn’t even know each other a month ago”, Joanna had the last word.

  She didn’t know why she felt the need to reiterate that last fact. Guillermo looked upset, but agreed.

  “You’re right. We are neighbours; well we will be once the building work is finished. For the time being, I feel like we are on holiday. Especially since I’m staying at the seaside hotel.”

  Once again, his tone was light, almost detached.

  They had bought their ice-creams and Joanna was happy with the suggestion to sit on the sand. She saw it as a good pretext to finally take off her high heels. She carried them in her hand as they got comfortable on the sand, near the water, but far enough to avoid the risk of getting wet.

  If Guillermo didn’t have his leg in plaster, she would have suggested walking in the water. Of course, it wasn’t possible.

  “Does your leg hurt?”

  “Everything can be fixed, Joanna.”

  “Except the heart”, she answered back, too quickly.

  She bit her lip, angry at herself. Why had she said it like that, with such a sense of urgency?

  “We can’t always protect ourselves from everything, you know.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “If you shut yourself off to avoid suffering, you risk missing another chance.”

  “What do you know? You write love letters now?”

  “Don’t be angry, Joanna. It was just a comment, that’s all. How’s it going with Paul, anyway?”

  �
��You really want to talk about that now?”

  Joanna was just as surprised that he wasn’t being sarcastic this time.

  “Why not? Maybe he’s the one who can make you happy... You never know.”

  “I’m not looking, you know.”

  “You are wrong. You’re not made for being alone. Life is too beautiful.”

  Joanna was surprised at her beliefs in that so-called beautiful life. But it was finished.

  “Finding yourself alone with a sixteen year old child: I can guarantee that changes your plans, very quickly.”

  “You are bitter.”

  “You mean I’m bad company. We should go. It’s getting late, anyway.”

  “And miss this incredible sunset?”

  Guillermo held his arms out to the sky whose colours had once again changed, casting darker, yet stronger shades, shimmering just the way she liked.

  “You are right. I love these constant changes”, Joanna said.

  As she finished her ice-cream, she took advantage to lie back on the sand to contemplate the palette of colours on the horizon, with both arms used as a pillow under her head. Guillermo remained sitting.

  The wind swept softly along the beach, echoing the waves, and caressed them with thousand year old secrets.

  “I think we are more than just neighbours. We are friends”, Guillermo said after several long minutes. “Plus, you have been looking after me, worrying about me.”

  Joanna turned and looked at him without speaking. She smiled at him, relaxed, calm.

  “That’s true.”

  “Why did you say the opposite, earlier, then?”

  “Who knows! I’m perfectly difficult to understand.”

  “I think you want to protect yourself, more likely, from everything and everybody.”

  “Even from you?”

  “And why not from me? I have a leg in plaster; I’m not as harmless as that.”

  Joanna laughed at his comment.

  “You... I don’t know.”

  “I’m fine when I’m with you. I didn’t expect that”, Guillermo confessed.

  They watched in silence, as if time had stopped. Joanna moved a hair that had stuck to her lips.