Blood in the Valencian Soil (Secrets of Spain) (31 page)

“He could have tracked down my father his whole life and chose not to. He abandoned his own family.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple. We don’t have the whole story.”

“How sure is he of all this?”

“Alejandro looks like Paco. You only have to take one look at him!”

“Cayetano?” Giacomo interrupted. “You look funny.”

“Do I?”

“You look a little pale,” Luna smiled.

“Well, you did surprise me. Hey, little gentlemen, in my kitchen I have Christmas treats. I’ve got some turrón, some polvorones and some mazapan. Would you like some?” He watched two pairs of ice-blue eyes light up. “You wait here, and your Mamá can help me with the treats.”

Luna followed her limping compa
nion into the kitchen. “You cook now? Or did your mother do it again?”

“Mamá.”

Luna went in to find the traditional Spanish treats, on the huge plate on the island counter. He had turrón duro, the hard almond nougat treat, along with the sweet almond and honey mazapan. The polvorones were the flaky rich almond shortbread cookies. “You’re a 40 year-old man, and your Mamá still bakes you sweet treats?”

The moment she turned back to him, he grabbed her and thrust his lips on hers. There was the heated passionate moment she had
longed for, out of sight of the little ones.  She found herself pinned between her bullfighter and his extra-large fridge as his hands searched her body for the best way to hold on to her.

“Next time you suggest we ‘get some
almond treats’, I will come better prepared,” she joked.

“I missed you. Did I mention that?” His intense gaze may have been fixed on her, but one of his hands roaming
her body.

“I missed you
, too. But we will have two savages on our hands if we don’t produce sweets, and I don’t want you to serve my sons while with a raging hot erección.”

Cayetano let out an evil laugh. “You noticed.”

“How could I not?” She giggled as he brought his lips to her neck to nibble at her skin. “Later, Caya, later.”

“I know,” he mumbled, his lips against her neck,
the rain of gentle kisses slowly made their way back to her mouth. “First treats, Christmas tree shopping, and a bit of happiness.”

“I was worried you would be mad at what I came to tell you.”

Cayetano stood up straight, a serious look on his face. “Preciosa, not at all. All this isn’t our fault. In 1939, Luna and Cayetano were split up by circumstance. It’s our duty to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself.”

31

Madrid, España ~ noviembre de 2009

Cayetano’s face started to hurt; he smiled so much that his cheeks stung in the cold air. People went about their days unaware of how lucky they were. Taking Luna and the boys shopping wasn’t a chore. The way he heard other parents moan about such excursions seemed like overkill. The department store was packed with Madrileños getting into the early Christmas spirit with some reluctance, but not Cayetano Beltrán. He bought a stupidly large Christmas tree and all the decorations they could carry. Jamming it all in the Mercedes was a mission in itself. He liked the way the kids had to stop and touch everything they laid their eyes on. He liked looking his rear vision mirror to see them in their booster seats. He liked the way Luna graciously smiled every time she heard someone yell, “mirar, mirar, pelirrojo.” Look, look, red hair. It obviously got on Luna’s nerves. Strangers came to inform her of something that thousands would have already mentioned in the past, and in a tone that suggested she hadn’t noticed that her sons were redheads. The boys seemed to know exactly how handsome they were; they just stood there and grinned every time they heard it.

What was the point of
being well-known in Madrid, if you couldn’t use it to impress your girlfriend? Trudging up to a popular restaurant at three in the afternoon, no reservation, and getting straight in was a perk of the job. Yes, people did take a second glance when they saw him there with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and two little children, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t about to let anyone get confused either. It was clear she was his lover. The way he held her hand across the table told its own story, while he listened to the children who sat politely in their seats against a window that let in the weak winter sun. The occasional kiss to the back of Luna’s hand sealed it for those still in doubt about their relationship. Cayetano knew this was what it felt like to have a family, something he could have as long as no one messed it up for him again.

There was the problem. Cayetano was smiling and happy, and grateful Luna had come to see him, but there was a
n obstacle. Maybe not as big as being related, but a significant one all the same. Luna had mentioned he looked terrified when she came in. He was. When she had turned down his stupid phone proposal, he had gone and had quick sex with María, in the armchair. It was nothing more than a drunken biological moment, one minute’s reprieve from the lonely world he had cultivated for himself. He had to tell Luna what he had done. But it would ruin everything, surely. Or would it? They had been in a state of confusion for over a month, not clear on whether they had broken up or not. He had told himself that they hadn’t split, but had acted as if they had. What had Luna been doing? Had Darren been hovering, waiting for her? This conversation would ruin all the joy. So, behind the smiles and chats and kisses, Cayetano sat in his chair at the restaurant and watched the kids make a mess of a fine dish of suckling pork, not sure if everything he dreamed of would last another day.

The day continued and Cayetano’s concern grew. It was dark by the time he had decorated his Christmas tree with the kids, their bright little faces so happy when they flicked on the twinkling white lights. The four of them sat in the dark, only illuminated by the Christmas tree.

“Why don’t you normally have a tree?” Giacomo asked him.

“I have Christmas at Rebelión, the farm,” he explained. “I’m not here much at Christmas time, so I never got a tree for myself.”

“So, when do you have Christmas? We get presents on December 25 in Italy from Nona Paulina and Poppy Max. Santa Claus knows we are there. But the three wise men leave presents under our tree at home on January 6.”

“That’s the same for me. I go to church on December 25 with my family, but we have gifts on Three Kings Day in January.” He turned to Luna, who sat next to him on the rug by the tree. “Are you going to Italy for Christmas again this year?”

“Yes. Fabrizio’s relatives are all the family the boys have. I want to give them a relationship with the Merlini family.”

“You’re a selfless mother. I hope people tell you that.”

“Never.”

“Well, they should.”

“When my father was dying, I wanted to thank him fo
r all he had done for me. He raised me alone after Mum died. He asked me not to thank him for anything. He said if he had done his job right, to shield me from the burdens of the world, I wouldn’t have noticed what he had done for me. I hadn’t; he had done a terrific job, just the two of us.”

Cayetano watched her face turn into a frown. She
tried not to cry. The kids sat nearby; she considered everything she did and said for their benefit, like her father had obviously taught her to do. “It doesn’t get easier, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. Dad died ten years ago, and it still hurts. He was dying, and worrying about what would hap
pen to me. He said that being 23 made me still a baby. That’s why I was so grateful to Fabrizio, he reassured Dad that he would look after me, and they thought that I didn’t hear their conversations.”

“That’s a noble thing for a man to do.”

“Dad went to Italy for our wedding. It was the first time he had ever left New Zealand. At least he was there to share that with me.”

“You were young to be married.”

“I was ready, and Fabrizio was a lot older than me, and wanted to get married. I already knew that it’s the little things you do, the way you act when you think no one can see you, they’re the things that define you and your character. To see Fabrizio at my father’s bedside, telling him that he promised to look after me, it left me in no doubt that I had married the right man.”

“Was that Daddy?” Enzo asked
.

“Sure is.”

Cayetano watched Luna turn her attention to the boys for a moment, who sat so close to the tree that they may as well have started to climb it while they admired their decorating skills. “Marry me,” he whispered.

Luna turned her face back to him. “What?”

“I can be noble, if that’s what you want. I would devote the rest of my life to finding a way to prove it. Marry me.”

“Cool, can we move to Madrid?” Giacomo asked.

“No!” Luna said. “I mean, no to moving to Madrid.”

“Oh yeah, you are going to work on the bikes with
Darren,” Enzo said.

“No… well… maybe…”

“Maybe to the bikes… or…?” Cayetano asked. “La chispa, I can’t live another day without you, and I kind of hoped you felt the same way.”

A little smile crept over Luna’
s face as she nodded gently. “Yes.”

“
¿Sí?”

“But I’m no rush
to get married…”

“Me neither, all I need is the promise I can be with you.” He didn’t even notice that his leg didn’t hurt when he leant over to give her a kiss.

“Will there be more kissing?” Giacomo asked, his little nose screwed up.

“At least they will be married, so it’s okay,” Enzo added.

“There’s always a critic,” Cayetano joked.

The doorbell rang, and he rolled his eyes. “Seems like a day of peo
ple just turning up unannounced.”

“We can go if you like?” Luna said.

“Don’t you dare!” He grabbed his cane and pointed it at her. “I won’t let any of you go.”

Cayetano didn’t even stop to consider who might be there. Right now he felt like any problem could be solved. But that feeling was lost the moment he saw María. That was back. His eyes were still adjusting from in the dim lighting of the living room to the harsh reality of what he was faced with. “Not now.”

“It has to be now.” María pushed passed him and went into the large entranceway. “Why are you in the dark? Are you in need of company again?”

“Luna and the boys are here,” he hissed at her. “I need you to leave.”

“Luna and the children are here?” Her voice was loud and clear, more than enough for Luna to hear her. “Well, in that case perhaps she would like to join us?”

Cayetano saw Luna flick the lamp on the living room, and come towards the angry pair in the entranceway
. “María. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Not really,” she said. “I need to talk to my husband, but you may as well hear what I have to say.”

“I don’t need to be part of your business.”

“But if you and I are getting married, you are entitled to be part of
anything you want,” Cayetano replied. Hopefully Luna wouldn’t call his bluff. He didn’t want her anywhere near María.

“You’re getting married?” María spluttered. “You forgot one thing.”

“No, I asked you for a divorce. I think you need to leave.” Cayetano was not angry, he was defensive. The last thing he needed was María’s fat mouth to ruin things.

Luna turned and shut the double glass doors from the living room into the entranceway, so the boys didn’t hear the argument. “Look, if you two need space or whatever, I’m fine with that.”

“I don’t need space,” María shot back. “I needed to tell my husband that I’m pregnant.”

“Congratulations,” Cayetano said. “You and your adulterous cameraman will be able to raise your little Satanic baby together.”

María looked at Luna and back to Cayetano. “You never told her, did you?”

“What?” Luna shrugged.

“María, you need to shut up!” Cayetano yelled, which surprised both women. “I want you to leave.” His heart had begun to pound in his chest.

“Cayetano and I spent the night together, a few weeks ago. I guess it’s a miracle, we sleep together on the one right day of the month he decided to
fire live rounds instead of his usual blanks. I found out today, we’re having a baby. Just like my Caya always wanted.”

Cayetano felt cold to the bone. Just when he thought he had got his shit together
, his whole life started to slip away. The look on Luna’s face said it all. “I don’t believe you,” he shot out.

“I have the test I took at the doctor’s office.” She
fished around in her large handbag. “It’s still very early days, Luna, so I would appreciate your discretion on this happy occasion.”

“I don’t want to see it!” Cayetano
didn’t dare look at the little white stick that María had produced. “Even if you are pregnant, how do I know it’s mine? You’re seeing someone else.”

“It’s fate,” María said.

“There’s no such thing as fate.” Cayetano looked over at Luna. He had tried to convince her that fate was real.

“No, there’s not,” Luna replied. “But history can repeat itself.” She turned and opened the glass doors to the living room. “Come on, boys, we’re going home now.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Cayetano begged as he grabbed Luna by the arm. “Please, no, please don’t leave me.”

“There are things going on here that have nothing to do with me, and certainly nothing to do with my boys.”

Cayetano let Luna go. “María, get out.” He turned and opened the front door with force.

“You would toss me out, pregnant with your baby?”

“Even if I believed you, it would make no difference. I will never love you. Don’t make me throw you out.”

María dragged herself into the doorway and turned back. “I will come and see you tomorrow, when you have calmed down.”

“I will never calm down. Don’t ever talk to me again!”

“But…”

She got cut off when the door slammed in her face. Cayetano turned to find Luna with the boys. “Please, don’t leave. What are you going to do? Drive all the way home now?”

“It’s 350 kilometres. It’s not that far,” Luna snapped.

“So, what? You just give up on me, just like that? Again?”

Luna paused while she watched the boys pull their shoes on. She grabbed their coats off the rack. “No, but I can’t have this conversation in front of the kids.”

“Then let’s sit down, and talk about it later.”

“How many elephants do we need in the room?” she cried. “If she wasn’t pregnant, were you even going to tell me that you and her…” she glanced at the kids’ innocent faces, “were together?”

“Yes… but…” he gestured in the general direction Giacomo and Enzo. Jesus Christ, this was hard with them in earshot. It was probably the reason she hadn’t spit in his face with disgust. Her expression suggested she wanted to. “Everything was going so well.”

“We were only apart for a month. That’s all it took for
you to cheat on me? Were we even apart? ”

“I thought so… I don’t know! Luna, please, it was nothing!”

“It was something! Something I can’t get my head around right now. When was this?”

Cayetano glanced at the boys.
“You rang me, and I asked you to marry me… and you said no. You said no! I was angry, and drinking…”

“You told me that you loved me.”

“I did! I do!”

“But to do that when I said no… I said no for a very good reason!”

“And today, just now, you said yes!”

“Maybe we’re cursed. The first Luna and Cayetano couldn’t work it out over an accidental baby, and maybe we can’t either.”