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‘Why is that?’

Hope shrugged and stared off into the distance, thinking about her mother, her life, the chaos of her childhood.

Wondering why she felt so tempted to open up to him when, really, she should barely be tempted to give him the time of day. And yet, their orbits once this odd escapade was done would never again collide.

He would never say a word to Carlos about anything she told him. There was something fundamentally trustworthy about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Besides, it didn’t matter anyway because Carlos knew a lot about her past, their closeness developing over time during their many conversations.

‘To be honest, you wouldn’t understand,’ she said truthfully. ‘When you said that having no money might be easier than having no time, you were being really naïve.’

‘Not a description I recognise.’

* * *

Javier was enjoying this conversation.

Hope wasn’t impressed by him and he got a kick out of that. If variety was the spice of life, then he was in for an interesting few days.

‘Well, maybe you live in a world where you don’t come across too many people who have money struggles.’

‘Having no money isn’t a life I’ve ever known,’ Javier grudgingly admitted. ‘So you grew up in a financially challenged household?’

‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Hope said wryly. ‘Not that unusual a story, to be honest. Single mother who got pregnant young. She was a groupie, one of those incredibly pretty girls who hang around with rock stars thinking that some of their stardust will brush off on them. I joined the dots over the years and, of course, Mum confided in me as well.’

‘A groupie?’

‘Perhaps you don’t know what that is? I’ll bet…’ she couldn’t resist adding snidely, ‘…all of the girls you knew would have had rock stars on speed dial. They would never have hung around dressing rooms or sneaked off backstage to get a glimpse of their teen idols.’

‘But in your mother’s case, she got more than a glimpse?’

Hope winced.

‘She held out hope for years that the guy would do the honourable thing and marry her but in fact he scarpered the second he found out that she was pregnant. For a while, he sent us some money, but he died young from a drug overdose. So that was that.’

‘I… That must have been tough for you both.’

‘You don’t miss what you don’t know,’ Hope said with a shrug. ‘I never knew him. After he died, Mum went somewhat off the rails. A little too much drink. A little too much partying. I was nine at the time. I picked up the slack but the truth is that my mother always went for the wrong guy. The guy with the fast cars and the charm. The one who was just on the lookout for a pretty, impressionable woman desperate to fall in love and be loved. Always confusing gifts with love instead of just seeing them for what they were.’

‘Is that why you don’t like rich guys?’

‘I don’t have a problem with them. At least not for other people. Personally, I can’t think of anything worse than making the same mistakes my mother did.’

‘You’ve never made any mistakes at all?’

Hope barely skipped a beat. Even relaxed as she was, she knew where limits had to be drawn.

‘Thankfully…’ she said avoiding his question, ‘… Mum is finally on the straight and narrow but… You asked me about the money thing?’

She hadn’t meant to delve into details but she had seen the way his ears had pricked up at her response to his question about mistakes she might have made. Mistakes on the man front. Definitely none of his business. Opening up instead about their financial situation seemed the fastest way to distract him.

‘I did.’

‘The last guy Mum fell for turned out to be a conman.’

Hope sighed and felt something akin to relief that she was unburdening herself of all that confusion. It was something she had shared with no one, not even her girlfriends. Not even Carlos. Eighteen and gullible was one thing. Getting giddy over unsuitable types was another. But at the ripe of age of forty-seven, handing over most of your life savings to a man who flattered you with all the right words because you were his prey, had been a step too far.

‘A conman?’

‘Mum thought he was charming and solvent and in love with her. He always showed up in a natty little car with bunches of flowers, took her to great restaurants and even showed her round a house he claimed was his. All a con. That was three years ago and we’re still struggling financially.’