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“Cariño, why would you think that? I feel safe here. I wasn’t tired, so I took a walk.” She perched on the wall and rested both hands over the pommel of her cane in front of her. “Sit down, cariño. Enjoy this wonderful place.”
Gabi sat, not because she wanted to, but because she felt as though she’d had the wind knocked out of her. “I was frickin’ terrified.”
Nana patted her on the knee. They sat in silence. The elation seeped from Gabi as her insides unwound, and she felt sick. A flash of irritation gave way to exhaustion. She closed her eyes and willed herself to stay calm. Nana was safe, and that was all that mattered.
“I used to sneak out from my house and walk here with a boy.” She sighed. “It was romantic and exciting,” Nana said.
Gabi opened her eyes. Nana was smiling, and her cheeks had coloured. It was hard to imagine Nana being that young. This wasn’t Grandpa she was talking about because she would have called him by his name. Intrigue got the better of Gabi as she watched Nana reliving the fond memories of that time. “Were you in love with him?”
“Juan was his name. Yes.”
Her eyes watered, though she was still smiling as she gazed out at the river. She had been in love with someone other than Grandpa. All Gabi knew of Nana’s history was that she and Grandpa had fled to England at the beginning of the Second World War on a shipping boat via Gibraltar. Grandpa had been a civil guard, and Great Grandpa, Nana’s father, a senior guard commander. After Nana and Grandpa moved to England, he worked for the British government as a civil servant of some kind. He’d died before Gabi was born, and she’d never heard Nana talking about him. She’d had no reason to ask questions before, but now her head was filled with them. “If you loved Juan, why didn’t you marry him?”
Her smile broadened. “It wasn’t possible. He was a gitano.”
“A what?”
“They are Romani Gypsies who originated from southern Asia. Some settled here hundreds of years ago, and many still live in the caves in the Sacromonte hills.”
“So, why couldn’t you marry him?”
“Franco killed gitanos without reason, and I was the daughter of a guard commander. I wasn’t even allowed to speak to him, let alone walk with him.”
Gabi’s heart ached at the sadness she saw in Nana’s eyes. The cruelty was hard to stomach. “If I loved someone that much, I couldn’t leave them.”
Nana sighed. “I hope not. I’m pleased the world has changed for you.”
Nana must have been broken-hearted leaving behind the man she loved, but that made something else more confusing. “Why did you marry Grandpa if you didn’t love him?”
Nana took a deep breath, and there was a long silence before she responded. “Circumstances, Gabriela. It wasn’t safe for a young woman to travel alone, so being married gave me some protection.” She pinched her lips together and took a deep breath. “And I did learn to love your grandfather.”
How could you learn to love someone? That didn’t make any sense at all. Love came from the heart, not the head. “Do you think he’s still alive?”
Nana pressed down on her cane and stood. “I doubt that. Many gitanos were slaughtered during the war.” She set off towards the hotel, and Gabi strode to catch her up.
“I’m weary, Gabriela. How was your evening?”
Gabi had the impression she didn’t want to talk about Juan anymore. Gabi’s evening was a blur. “I wandered for a bit then watched flamenco in the square.” She recalled the dancer’s block heels and the man fiercely strumming his guitar, their passion, and the fast beat that she hadn’t been able to keep up with. “It was brilliant.”
“My Juan was a flamenco dancer,” Nana said.
My Juan.Gabi played the words of affection through her head. She linked her arm through Nana’s. It was going to take a bit of adjusting to the fact that Nana had been in love with a man who wasn’t Grandpa, but she was fascinated. “Will you tell me more about him?” she asked. “Maybe we can visit where he used to live? Maybe he’s still there?”
“Oh, cariño, we will go to Sacromonte. I would like to see it one more time, and the dancing there will be the best in the city.”
Gabi wondered whether Nana had a bucket list for this trip that she hadn’t shared with her, and whether she’d been secretly plotting that this would be her final resting place. “Are we going to the cemetery tomorrow?” she asked.
Nana stopped walking and took a few quick breaths. “Maybe another day.”
Gabi frowned. Nana had lost a little of the sparkle she’d had earlier, and she did look tired. She’d pushed herself too much when she should have been tucked up in bed.
Nana stroked Gabi’s cheek. “I don’t need you to look after me, Gabriela. I want you to explore for yourself. My legs are tired. I will go to the spa tomorrow. It’s been a long day. A very exciting day, don’t you think?” She smiled, concealing a yawn.
No, Gabi didn’t, and she hated spas. She was knackered and utterly drained from the stress of travelling and the subsequent distress of thinking something awful had happened to Nana, and now she had to face the guy in reception again whose smile would say, “I told you so.”
Gabi tilted her head from side to side to release the tension in her neck as they entered the hotel, scanned the faces behind the desk, and released the breath she’d been holding. She couldn’t see him, thank God. She made her way quickly to the lift and kept it on hold while Nana bid everyone a good night. Gabi felt even worse for her behaviour and vowed silently to make amends with the man when she next saw him. She lowered her head and rubbed the back of her neck.
“You don’t seem yourself, cariño. You’re not coming down with something, are you? They say flights are the worst for germs.”
“I’m fine. I made a bit of a fuss at reception when I was worried about you, that’s all. They called all the hospitals.”
Nana smiled. “Well, I’m sure the staff were delighted to help. They’re so welcoming, aren’t they?”
In her room, she found a small bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a card that said the staff were at their service no matter what they needed. It hadn’t felt like that earlier, but then maybe she hadn’t been seeing things all that clearly.
By the time Gabi’s head hit the pillow, she was beyond exhausted. There was a rumble coming from Nana’s room, like water gurgling down a narrow drainpipe. It took her a while to work out that it was Nana snoring. She sunk into the soft mattress pondering Nana and her old love, Juan. It had been a lifetime ago. The last thing she remembered was the flamenco woman’s block heels tapping out the beat of the music.
