Chapter 11
11
Everything would feel so perfect right now, if it didn’t feel so well and truly fucked.
The small town, a short-ish journey from the villa, really is small. That’s what you want though, when you go abroad, right? If you’re not heading to Spain for sun, sex and sangria on a party island then you’re after that authentic experience, seeing the real Spain, and soaking up everything it has to offer.
We’re in the one and only local food shop and although it may not be very big, it’s got everything.
The terracotta floors are so beautiful, their uneven texture adding charm, and the shelves are packed more than I can even take in. Olives, spices, fresh meats and cheeses, freshly baked breads – and seemingly unlimited snacks like crisps, crackers, chocolates and cakes. And everything just looks so legitimate, you know? I know, I sound silly, but the tomatoes here don’t look like the tomatoes back at home, these ones look like actual tomatoes – stock images of tomatoes even. Oh, and the smell, I could eat one right here right now.
The only sight more welcomed than the well-stocked shelves of delicious food was the small chalkboard on the counter offering Spanish street food to order and eat now, so we all placed orders to be cooking while we filled our bags with shopping for the next few days. Well, even if we don’t have our accommodation sorted, we still need to eat, right?
Our food finally ready, we don’t waste any time in tucking in, eating just enough to make our hungry brains work before we start chatting, so that we can figure out what the hell we’re going to do.
I can’t help but let out a little groan as I bite into one of the golden-brown croquetas. Filled with ham and lava-hot béchamel, I can feel my tongue burning, but it’s so worth it. We also got enough patatas bravas for the four of us, as well as the Tortilla Espanola, which is like a potato omelette served in triangles. We also have dips, which I’m eager to try, but we are kind of up against it here, so I’m trying to rein in my enjoyment just a little.
‘I need that villa,’ Lou says, breaking the silence, waving around her little wooden fork. ‘Because it’s not just for us, for somewhere to stay, my wedding depends on it. My actual wedding! Because if I’m not here, then how can I get there? And it’s been so hard, getting here, and getting there, and…’
Her voice trails off – I imagine because even she is losing track of what she means. I get it though. This is her dream wedding location, which she didn’t think she’d get, and then she almost lost it, so I completely understand why she’s panicking about having nowhere local to stay. Even the hotel we booked for the guests, which is miles away, is fully booked now, and that would have been far from ideal for her getting ready. No one wants to spend hours on a coach in a wedding dress, with the groom on board too.
‘It’s going to be okay, Lou,’ Nita says – she keeps saying this. Again and again. I wonder if she thinks positive thinking can make a difference. God, I hope it can – not that I would be contributing all that much.
Nita’s positivity – or at least the degree to which she is able to fake it – is truly admirable, and I’m sure it’s helping Lou, even just a little, so I need to try to do the same.
‘Obviously we just need to stay there,’ Willow says. ‘So, if we just tell the boys that, then it’s totally reasonable, right?’
‘And what if they don’t care?’ I dare to ask, knowing that it isn’t what anyone wants to hear, but we don’t know these boys, which means they don’t know us, which means they really might not give a shit.
‘Then we give them an incentive,’ Nita says through a mouthful of potatoes, licking rogue tomato sauce from her hand.
‘What, like we shag them?’ Willow replies in disbelief. ‘I suppose there are four of them, and four of us…’
Wow, she came around to that idea pretty quickly. There’s a beat of stunned silence, where it’s almost like no one can actually believe she said that enough to form a reply.
‘Willow, what the fuck?’ Nita can’t help but laugh.
‘You know Lou is getting married, right?’ I say in disbelief. ‘Also, this isn’t fucking Love Island . There will be no coupling up.’
‘Yeah, I mean they are all hot as hell, but even I think that’s a terrible idea,’ Nita – our resident wild child – points out. ‘Not that I don’t think it would work, mind you. But, no, I was thinking maybe we could offer them the money we’re getting refunded? We’ll get to stay there, which we were paying for anyway, so we’re no worse off, and they’ll have double the money to spend elsewhere. Everyone likes money, right?’
I cock my head curiously. I mean, that could work, if the boys are happy to do it. But would they be happy to do it? I guess Nita is right, everyone does like money.
‘I’m happy to do that, if you think it will work?’ Lou replies. ‘God, I really, really need it to work.’
I take a big bite of my tortilla, buying myself a little time to think before I speak. Yes, Nita is right, money is a language everyone speaks, so the boys might be more than happy to find somewhere else, further afield, with double the dosh. But that would require them to be reasonable and rational and… eesh, I’m not sure they screamed reasonable or rational during my brief interaction with them. I suppose it wasn’t a normal first encounter, everyone was confused, the girls were naked – it was a mess. Maybe they’ll be cool about it.
‘We can give it a try,’ I say, giving the project my sign-off.
It’s not so much that I think it will work, more that I just really, truly cannot think of a single other option.