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7.
GABI HAD TAKEN FULLadvantage of the swimming pool on the roof of the hotel in the week since their arrival, enjoying the hospitality at the bar and soaking up the rays, while Nana had relaxed with daily spa treatments and siestas. Nana looked younger and more refreshed for it, and Gabi questioned whether she should have opted for a facial and full body massage rather than Cava cocktails and vitamin Ds. She sipped her drink and cast her gaze across the rooftops below.
The array of vibrant colours marked the textile stalls at the market, and the rocky hills beyond that climbed from the city’s perimeter into the sky in a series of dark jagged lines and peaks. The contrast with the rather flat and green landscape and generally damp and cold climate in Devon couldn’t be starker. The vibe in Granada, like the promise of a deliciously smooth cocktail on a lazy Sunday afternoon, had piqued Gabi’s interest. She’d wandered into the city each evening and sat quietly in the same bar, watching people come and go. She’d enjoyed the music and a free tapa with every drink and hadn’t felt the habitual loneliness that had set in after Shay left her.
“The view is spectacular,” Gabi said.
“What do you think of this?” Nana asked and held up a newspaper to Gabi.
“A two-bed apartment?”
“It has a large terrace and a small garden. It’s a ten-minute walk into the city, so it’s far enough out to be quite peaceful. I think I could manage it.”
Gabi’s heart skipped a beat, and a sinking feeling made its way slowly to her stomach. “Are you serious about buying here? Staying here?” Even though Nana had said she didn’t know when she planned to return to England, Gabi had assumed they would at some point. Nana hadn’t mentioned anything about buying a place. They’d booked their first three weeks at the hotel so they could unwind and then rented a self-catering property through to the end of September. If they planned to stay beyond that, Gabi had thought they would find somewhere else or extend the rental.
Nana looked up over the top of her glasses and smiled. “It would make a decent holiday home and if I, or we, decide to stay, it would be perfectly manageable. I’m going to do some investigating. I have a good feeling about this one.”
The idea of not returning to the place she’d known as home jostled uneasily alongside the thought of returning to England alone. No, she couldn’t go back without Nana. Nana looked so excited about the apartment, it warmed the chill feeling that had come over Gabi.
“It’s been recently renovated, and it’s owned by a Dutch couple. I’m going to arrange to view it,” Nana said.
Gabi rubbed the back of her neck and inhaled deeply. Nana was moving ahead faster than Gabi could process, and as much as she wanted to object just to slow things down, she couldn’t spoil Nana’s excitement. A holiday home would be a great idea, and they would be able to visit at any time. “Shall I come with you?”
“Of course, cariño. Let me speak to the agent first and see what I can arrange.” Nana closed the paper and stood. “I’m going to call them now and then head to the garden and read for a bit. I found a classic in the hotel library that looks interesting.One Hundred Years of Solitudeby Gabriel García Márquez.”
The title sounded depressing as hell. Gabi couldn’t imagine anything worse than solitude, let alone a hundred years of it, probably because it pretty much summed up how she’d been living in her flat, and why she preferred the company of women at night to sleeping alone. All those years in isolation, though. No, she couldn’t see how that would bring happiness. She craved company but not the transient kind that had become her norm. “I’m going into town to see if I can see the group I saw last week.”
“Excelente. You should let your hair down a little.”
Gabi ran her hand over the back of her head and laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
“Oh, and I think it’s time to go to the cemetery tomorrow.”
That would be one of the attractions ticked off Nana’s bucket list. Gabi hoped Nana had a very long list. “Okay.”
“I’ll arrange a packed lunch from the hotel,” Nana said.
Gabi curled her lip.
“I’d like to spend the day there.”
“At the cemetery?”
“It’s a serene place.”
Yeah, dead quiet.Gabi was interested in her grandparents, but the idea of spending the day in the company of tatty tombstones and ugly stone sculptures made her shiver. “I’ll grab lunch at the market.”
“Will you look out for something for Maggie’s birthday for me?”
“Sure.”
“I had in mind an ashtray or a small vase.”
“Will do.”
“She likes reds and oranges and hates black. Reminds her too much of funerals and the war.”
“She’d hate it here then.” Most of the women wore black most of the time from what Gabi had seen. Black skirts, black blouses, black veils. Probably black knickers, not that anyone was likely to find out. Black was expected to be worn for a year after the death of a husband, but many widows never changed back.
