Chapter Six
An hour later, I’m sitting next to Federica, with Mariangeles on the other side of her. Neither could be lovelier to me. Federica tells me she’s twenty-six, originally from Colombia and has been here two years. Mariangeles is Peruvian and arrived the day after her. You can just tell they’re best friends, and they do look like two peas in a pod, not physically, but they’re like an old married couple, or siblings the way they go on. It’s endearing and makes me smile.
Dexter is sitting opposite me, Victor on one side, Carlos on the other. Sofia is down the other end of the table, next to Roisin, and I take a moment to assess her whilst Mariangeles and Federica engage in a non-argument to see who’s right about some song that was top of the chart in 2015. Roisin is striking: jet-black hair, blue eyes, eyeliner– seriously, does she think the sloths care?– perfect white teeth, and tall. When she was standing beside me earlier, I had to look up at her. She must be five ten, at least. And she has that creamy Irish complexion but no freckles.
I wonder what her beef is with me. She seems to have taken an instant dislike to me. My thoughts are interrupted by Victor leaning across the table to ask me which part of Scotland I’m from, and if I have indeed seen the Loch Ness monster. I can’t tell if he’s kidding about the second thing, but I tell him I’m from Glasgow, and he then asks if that’s near where the Loch Ness monster lives. I get the impression this conversation could last some time, so I excuse myself and head for the bathroom.
As I come out of the cubicle, Roisin is standing applying lipstick. Lipstick! Has she mistaken Costa Rica for Beverly Hills? Or maybe I’m just too casual, since I can’t imagine tarting myself up for an informal dinner in a sloth sanctuary with my workmates. I reckon she’s at least a couple of years older than me. Yes, she gives the impression of someone who looks after herself. I’m guessing thirty-five.
‘Hi, Roisin. I’ve not had a chance to talk to you yet.’
She gives me a look which if it had a speech bubble attached to it would probably read, ‘So what?’
She doesn’t even acknowledge me, well, not with any words; her mouth simply closes in a firm line.
I flounder a little at her rudeness and finally say, ‘Victor tells me you’re Irish.’
I’m sure she said something under her breath, but I can’t be certain what, although it sounded suspiciously like ‘Riveting.’
Rude cow. What’s got her goat? ‘Anyway, I’m looking forward to us working together. See you later.’
I can’t get out of the door fast enough, but I don’t miss the expression on her face that quite clearly shows she isn’t looking forward to working with me. Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but I don’t think so.
When I return to the table, I focus on those who’ve made me feel welcome– everyone else– and we have a lovely time. The food is good– rice with palmito . I hadn’t come across palmito in my guide book, but Mariangeles fills me in, as she and Federica fight over which is the best of Costa Rica’s dishes, despite neither being Costa Rican.
That’s when Victor decides to weigh in, as a veritable authority on Costa Rican food. As a proud Costa Rican, and being of more advanced years than the rest of us, in some cases not by much, he gives us the lowdown on what constitutes the nation’s most famous dishes, as well as those that don’t make the top ten in guide books, but which should absolutely make our to-try lists.
So, as Victor reliably informs me, palmito is palm hearts from the palm tree, and is best served with cherry tomatoes and lettuce, but it has been paired with béchamel sauce. Seriously, what’s not to like? It is a taste sensation and I soon devour every mouthful, not having realised exactly how long it has been since I last ate, nor how ravenous I’d become.
I pop the final forkful in my mouth only to sense someone watching me. When I glance up, Dexter’s eyes are on me.
‘Good, isn’t it?’ he says.
Since my mouth is full, I simply nod, but as I shift slightly to reach my water glass, my gaze takes in the full length of the table and its occupants. Roisin is staring straight at me and if looks could kill… well, let’s just say, I’d no longer be among the living.
Federica takes in my empty plate. ‘Ah, you liked it. Good. Mariangeles, pass me the palmito . Kat is empty.’
I make to protest, but Mariangeles is already passing the bowl down and then Federica piles some more palmito on my plate. She beams at me and I thank her.
Once she has said, ‘You’re welcome,’ she turns away to pass the serving bowl back to Mariangeles, and I sigh and take in the heaped portion of my arroz con palmito . Don’t they realise rice is filling? How can they all be rake-thin if they eat like this? Or maybe they just expect me, a guest, to eat like this.
‘You don’t need to eat it all,’ a voice says.
I glance up and Dexter’s eyes meet mine. ‘Sorry?’
‘They must think you need fattening up, but Sofia honestly won’t be offended if you don’t finish it.’
I blow out a breath. ‘Thanks. I’ll remember that, but yes, I couldn’t eat another bite. I’m stuffed full.’
Silence falls over us for a few moments before Dexter says, ‘So, when would you like to start? I know you have some of your holiday still to go.’
I bite my lip, thinking about how long it took me to save up for this holiday and how long I’ve waited, and all the wonderful places I wanted to visit. On the one hand, it goes against the grain to waste money, but on the other hand, opportunities like this never come up. I make a snap decision. ‘I want to dive right in. Perhaps not tomorrow, but the day after. Would that be OK?’
‘That would be perfect. But what about all the tourist things you came here to do?’
I shrug. ‘I figure I’ll have days off and maybe if anyone else is off that day, they’d like to come too.’
Dexter nods. ‘I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting company, I mean, people to come with you.’ He reddens slightly and it’s adorable, as if I was going to misinterpret his ‘company’ comment, although I can’t help thinking I wouldn’t mind him being the one keeping me company, platonically or otherwise. For goodness’ sake. Am I on heat or something? A guy throws a few nice words my way and is kind to me and I’m almost imagining him naked.
‘Hey, Kat, I heard you were here. How’s it going?’
I glance over Dexter’s head to see Ed with a guy I glimpsed earlier, but who I wasn’t introduced to.
‘Great, thanks. You didn’t tell me you were coming here. What’ve you been up to? And are you sure you actually have a home?’
Ed laughs then puts his arm around the man beside him. ‘Javier and I have been fishing. Well, I say “we”, Javi has been fishing and I’ve been taking photographs.’
He takes out his phone and shows me a few pics of brightly coloured birds. There’s one of a green and red bird with a little tufty patch on its head.
‘Is that a quetzal?’ I ask.
‘Yes, well done.’ He looks impressed, as does Dexter.
I grin. ‘I knew my quizzing would come in useful sometime.’
Dexter and I share a smile. I guess he’s remembering, as I am, the sloth quiz he gave me to see if I was worthy enough to meet their sloths in the animal hospital.
‘Did you catch anything, Javi?’ Dexter asks.
‘I did, indeed. A machaca . Three point seven kilos.’
‘Wow, that’s a big guy.’ Dexter’s eyes widen.
‘Yep,’ Ed agrees, ‘and here’s Javi with his prize.’ He angles his body so he can show both of us the photo on his phone.
‘Nice catch,’ Dexter says. He hesitates a second. ‘Javi, sorry, have you met Kat?’
Javier shakes his head. ‘No, but I’m guessing you’re the new volunteer Papa was talking about.’
I dip my head. ‘That’s me. Nice to meet you, Javi. I’ve heard a lot about you from Nicolás.’
‘Oh no!’ He covers his face with his hands. ‘It’s lies, all lies.’
I smile. Nicolás wasn’t kidding when he said they were like brothers.
‘Anyway, Kat, if you’re good to go after dinner, I’ll take you back, save Dexter here a trip,’ says Ed.
‘That would be great, thanks. Let me just say bye to Carlos and Sofia, and then I’m all yours.’
‘Take your time. I’ll be outside when you’re ready.’
I turn to Dexter. ‘So, I’ll see you the day after tomorrow then.’
He smiles and says in his delicious Irish brogue, ‘Looking forward to it.’
It’s almost like a physical wrench to move from the seat opposite Dexter, and for a moment it’s like we’re the only two people here. I’m only aware of him and me. Then the screech of a chair being pushed back knocks me out of my reverie and I stand and walk round to bid Sofia and Carlos goodnight.
After being inundated by hugs and kisses, not only from Carlos and Sofia, but also Mariangeles, Federica, Victor and Javier, I manage to disengage myself and catch Ed’s eye.
As we drive back with the chirping of the cicadas around us, I can’t help feeling that being driven back by Dexter wouldn’t have been so bad, and I hope that my attraction to him doesn’t become a problem.
Ed glances over at me. ‘So it’s your thirtieth tomorrow?’
‘Yep, end of an era. The big three-oh.’
‘Ah, that’s pretty significant. Doing anything for it?’
‘Well, originally I’d planned on going to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, but it might be too far and I haven’t booked it.’
‘A bit of an adrenalin junkie, are you?’ Ed teases me.
‘Not really, but I’m OK with zip wires and I just imagine that being on a mountain where you’re almost in the clouds must be incredible and so much fun. And I’ve seen the photos. It looks amazing. But I think perhaps everything is catching up with me. I don’t know if I have the energy now.’
‘Are you talking about Aidan or moving to Costa Rica?’ Ed prods gently.
I’m silent for a moment as I wrestle my way through my answer in my head. ‘Possibly a bit of both. It’s hitting me what a momentous decision I’ve made about moving here, in an insanely short space of time, but my gut tells me it’s the right one.’
He nods, as if understanding.
‘But I also know I still have to address the Aidan thing, and I haven’t even told my mum I’m moving here yet. How messed-up is that?’
He remains silent, which I’m thankful for.
‘I feel as if I have a lot of mental baggage to unpack before I can fully align myself with my new life.’ I half-turn in my seat towards him. ‘Make sense?’
‘Totally. Tell you what, how about this? Have a lie-in tomorrow, have a leisurely breakfast, do whatever you fancy, and then I’ll take you out diving, if you want to, that is. That way, you’re still doing something momentous on your birthday, without having to go far afield.’
A smile breaks across my face. ‘Really?’
Ed grins. ‘Really. You’ve had a shitty run of luck recently. Let’s make being thirty the year that changes that.’
‘I’ll drink to that.’
‘We can do that once we’ve had our dive.’
I laugh and settle back against the seat as we drive on in companionable silence.
‘Kat, wake up. Ka-a-at.’
My eyelids are heavy as I struggle to open them. ‘What time is it?’
Ed glances at the clock on the dashboard. ‘Half past ten.’
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry I fell asleep. Great passenger I am.’
Ed dismisses my concerns with a wave of his hand. ‘Don’t worry, you were obviously exhausted.’
I nod and yawn again, a huge unsightly, unrestrained yawn.
‘God, I’m embarrassing.’ I rub my eyes and drag my fingers through my hair.
‘At least there wasn’t much drool,’ Ed says, his lips twitching.
‘I drooled?’ Ground open up and swallow me.
He smirks. ‘Kidding.’
I bat him on the arm. ‘Thanks for bringing me back, but if we’re going diving tomorrow, I’d best get some sleep.’
As I close the truck door, Ed calls, ‘Night, Kat. Sleep well.’