Chapter 16
Barcelona
Fallon’s dad had the jet meet us this morning at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport where we boarded and flew to Barcelona.
Once we landed, a limousine was waiting for us.
After what seemed like a long drive through gorgeous, scenic countryside, we came to our final destination—a grand and majestic country estate.
Fallon told me on the plane that his sister and her husband owned several homes throughout Spain and Europe
“I have to warn you,” Fallon says as he helps me out of the limousine. “My sister’s husband is twenty years her senior. But he treats her like a queen, so I have no problem with him. Yet,” he adds.
I pull my sunglasses down to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight and look around.
The temperature is mild, around the mid-sixties, and it feels wonderful.
The beauty of my surroundings is breathtaking.
You can clearly see the attention to detail in the design of the property’s landscaping and the colorful design of the home with its stained-glass windows and mosaic tiles.
Some type of vine climbs up along the sides of the house giving it an old-world feel.
The roof is made of red and brown terracotta tiles and the outside stucco is a muted tan color.
“What style of architecture is this? I don’t recognize it?
“Catalan Modernism,” a woman’s voice replies.
This must be Tatiana. She is absolutely stunning.
Her hair is honey-blond and straight, but I can see purple and gold-foil strands interspersed throughout her shiny locks.
I’ll have to ask her what she used in her hair because it looks cool.
Her eyes are as crystal blue as Fallon’s.
She smiles at me, and I instantly like her.
Fallon breaks away from me and moves toward his sister; the smile that lights up her face is one of pure joy.
Before he can get to her, she runs over to him and throws her arms around his neck, kissing him very enthusiastically on both cheeks.
Fallon lifts her up, causing her yellow dress to blossom out and flow around them as he twirls her around in a circle.
Once he lets Tatiana go, she looks over at me and pokes Fallon in the ribs.
“You are right, brother. She is very pretty.”
I blush at her compliment. “It is so nice to meet you,” I greet her, walking over to hold out my hand. “Thank you for allowing me to stay in your home.”
Tatiana ignores my hand and embraces me in a hug instead. She leans back and kisses me on each cheek, then takes my arm and starts walking me across the paver stones that lead to the house. “Fallon, be a good boy and make sure her bags are taken to the Rosa room.”
We hear him respond with a few choice words, which makes us both laugh. I look back over my shoulder and waggle my fingers at him, then I blow him a kiss.
“He seems happier than usual,” Tatiana comments as two twelve-foot doors gracefully swing open for us like magic.
I get my first glimpse at the inside of her home and it’s as gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside. A woman carrying a tray of drinks approaches us and gives a small curtsy. Tatiana takes two flutes of bubbling liquid off the tray and hands one to me.
“Are these real flowers?” I ask when I notice the purple and white blossoms floating in my glass. I sniff the drink and it smells divine.
“Yes. I use fresh edible flowers in most things. The flowers come from a world-renowned grower in Barcelona.”
I take a sip of the drink and the bubbles pop on my tongue. Expecting Champagne, I’m surprised to find that it’s more like a floral-infused sparkling water.
“Your home is lovely.”
“Once you settle in, I will give you a tour. My husband, Eduardo, is out of town on business until tomorrow so it will be just the three of us tonight.” Tatiana has picked up a hint of the local Catalan accent and it’s quite charming and lyrical.
I was raised in the South, so I have a slight Southern twang when I talk.
It gets more pronounced when I’m angry or excited.
“I would very much like that. Thank you,” I tell her.
“You are very pretty, Elizabeth. I can see why Fallon is so taken with you.”
I blush again. “We’re just good friends. He’s helping me with something.”
“Ahh,” she says, but the look she’s giving me tells me she’s not convinced. “Regardless, I’m happy he brought a friend. It’s not often I get to see him with us living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, so this sudden visit is a nice surprise.”
I think about how much distance now separates me from Ryder, Jayson, and Julien. God, I miss them.
“That must be hard, living so far away from your family,” I comment, stopping to inspect a beautiful tile mosaic that spans along one entire wall of the foyer.
Tatiana pulls me down a short hallway. “I see them twice a year. Once during the summer and again at Christmas. We video chat all the time. It’s not so bad because I have the man who I love with me. He’s my home now.”
I love that she said that. For me, the guys are my home now. I guess in a way, they always have been. But that home in my heart feels a bit empty without Mom, Dad, and Hailey
As Tatiana walks me through different rooms, a Steinway grand piano catches my eye. Dad would freak if he was here and saw this piano. It’s a model D and those suckers cost almost two hundred grand.
Tatiana notices my stare. “Do you play, Elizabeth?
“I do, yes.” My fingers start to twitch, and I think I drool a little over the Steinway.
“Please, be my guest. I play a little, but I’m not very good.”
I walk over to the grand piano and lovingly glide my fingers across the black and white keys. “Are you sure?” I ask her, afraid to touch something so elegant and expensive.
Tatiana is already sitting down on the chaise lounge across from the piano waiting for me to start playing. “Music is the sound of the soul. It would be my honor to listen to your soul, Elizabeth.”
“Would you like for me to play something classical, Baroque, romantic, contemporary?” I take my seat on the piano bench and position my feet over the pedals, my fingers hovering over the keys
“I would like to hear you play something from the heart,” she replies
I warm up my fingers by playing a few major scales.
“There you both are. This house is a maze to navigate,” Fallon complains as he walks in the room.
“Come and sit beside me, Fallon. Elizabeth is about to play for us.”
Fallon drops down beside his sister and she takes his hand in hers. It’s clear how much she loves him and how much he adores her.
“Something from the heart?” I ask.
Tatiana nods.
I look at Fallon who hasn’t taken his eyes off me since he entered the room.
I decide on something modern. Something that reminds me of Fallon.
I close my eyes and begin to play “Wonderlust” by Will Post. As my fingers move over the keys and the melody flows, I sing the lyrics.
I love the words of the song. It’s a perfect theme for the journey I’m on with Fallon.
When I finish, Tatiana leans over to Fallon and tells him, “She’s really good.”
“That she is,” he replies, and I blush at his softly spoken compliment.
“Eduardo will love her.” She stands up. “You are welcome to play any time you wish, Elizabeth. You both must be tired from your journey today, so I will give you some time to rest before dinner.”
She kisses Fallon on the top of his head before taking her leave.
“Why haven’t you done more with your music?” Fallon asks me.
Looking directly at Fallon, I play a little ragtime number and give him a wink when I transition into Beethoven and then into a rocking rendition of “Great Balls of Fire.” His lips curve with a smirk at my showing off.
“My dad taught me. It was always something we did together. Something that connected me to him. I had no desire to pursue a music career even though he was in a band.”
Playing the keys left-handed, I thump the bench seat with my right to add percussion. “I play regular drums, too.” I smile at him when I’m done.
Fallon gifts that comment with one of his breathtaking smiles. “I don’t think there’s anything you can’t do.”
“Thank you… I think.”
He walks over to the piano and hugs me. I jolt a little at his unexpected display of affection before my wits return and I hug him back.
“That was nice,” I comment.
He sits down next to me on the bench and punches a few keys with one finger.
“Can you play?” I ask him.
“If you count chopsticks as playing, then yes.”
I get an idea. “Here, help me turn the bench.”
We maneuver the bench so that it’s perpendicular to the piano. I push Fallon down to sit in a straddle on the bench and then I sit in front of him.
“What are you up to?”
“You’ll see,” I reply, and reach behind me to grab his arms, bringing them around me so his hands rest on the piano keys. I position his fingers, then I place my hands over his. “Now, relax and let me do all the work,” I tell him. “All you have to do is feel the music.”
I press down on his thumb, middle finger, and pinky to play a C-major chord. Fallon peers over my shoulder to see what I’m doing. He scoots closer behind me and rests his chin on my shoulder.
I tap his fingers. “Relax, Fallon. This won’t work if your fingers are stiff as a board.”
I try again until his fingers loosen up and allow me to guide them.
It’s like I am the puppet master, and he is my puppet.
I go slowly at first until he gets the hang of what I’m trying to do.
With my hands over his, I start playing a simple version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D major.
When I need to shift to a different key position, I gently lift his hands up with mine and move them where I need them to go.
After a few tries, Fallon quickly catches on and allows me to manipulate his hands and fingers with ease.
“My dad first taught me how to play the piano like this,” I explain.
“I always loved those days when it was just him and me in the music room. He converted one of the back rooms in our house to a music room, sound-proofed it and everything. That’s where he kept all his instruments.
I would sit in that room for hours as a little girl and just mess with everything he had in there.
One day he caught me messing around with one of his Fender Stratocasters and that was the first day he sat me in his lap and showed me how to strum a guitar. I was instantly hooked.”
I can feel Fallon’s breath against my cheek as he watches our hands move in synchronicity across the keys.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your parents, kitten.”
I shrug off the tears that want to form because what more can I say at this point? Scream and cry and throw things? All that will do is give me a headache. It won’t bring them back.
I lose my place in the tune and my fingers stop playing.
“I just realized that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away,” I say, melancholy tinging my words.
“Our families—mine, Jayson and Julien’s, and Ryder’s—always spent Thanksgiving together.
We would alternate houses every year. One year it would be at my house, the next year Ryder’s, and so on.
Last year, Thanksgiving dinner was at the Jameson’s, meaning it would have been my family’s turn to host this year. ”
Fallon tugs on a strand of my hair and abruptly stands up from the bench. “Let me show you to your room. It’s pink. You should love it.”
He’s trying to distract me from my sad thoughts, and I appreciate the gesture. I pat the Steinway one last time in reverence and follow Fallon out of the room
“Tatiana is so nice. How can the two of you be related?” I tease.
“Ha, ha,” he replies dryly.
“Thank you!”
“She likes you just like I said she would. Then again, what’s not to like about you? You’re pretty much darn perfect. Looks, smarts, and talent.”
“Fallon, did you just say something sweet to me?”
“I take it back.”
“Oh, no. No take backs. I heard it and you can’t make me unhear it. See, Nutter Butter, you do have a soft center like a Tootsie roll pop.”
We walk down a long hallway. “Jesus, not that stupid nickname again. Don’t you dare tell my sister. I won’t hear the end of it.”
“What do I get in return for keeping my mouth shut?”
I release a gasp when he crowds me back against the hallway wall and spreads his hands flat on either side of me. “What do you want, kitten?” he asks, his voice suddenly low and full of inuendo.
I’ve clearly ventured into dangerous territory here. I lick my dry lips and his aquamarine eyes zero in on them.
“Right this moment, I want to see where I’ll be sleeping.”
“Liar,” he rejoins, but backs off, allowing me to release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
I spend the next hour in my rose-pink room, unpacking and thinking about the choices I have made and the choices that are yet to come.
I think about all my mistakes and how best I can fix things between me, Jayson, Ryder, and Julien.
I think about my sister and my parents. I think about my new friendship with Fallon.
I think about Daniel. I think about the ‘new’ New Elizabeth.
Am I strong enough now? Have I healed enough? I guess I’ll soon find out.