Chapter 3
LEMON AND MINT CREAM
ELENA
The hotel is packed. I’ve barely had a moment’s rest; my legs are numb and my head feels foggy, though what’s weighing on me most is the nagging pain in my lower back.
I’d love to be able to sit just like the guests do at this time of day: with a cocktail in hand, sunglasses on, and the sea breeze caressing my face.
But I can’t, and complaining won’t make the rest of the tasks disappear.
High season started a couple of weeks ago, and these are the months when the work gets most intense.
Every day when I wake up, I remember the words my father said to me when he left Gardenias in my hands: “This is much more than a job; it will end up becoming your life, and you’ll either love it or hate it.
” He worked tirelessly for years to make the hotel a benchmark in the island’s hospitality industry, and he knew full well what I would have to face, but I wasn’t going through my best moment and just wanted something to escape to.
From my office window, I see sailboats and yachts bobbing in the distance on the sea.
Ibiza is already teeming with visitors looking to leave the mainland’s hustle and bustle behind and find an oasis where they can rest. This place is paradise, with its cliffs, the lull of the waves, and its beautiful turquoise waters; with its breeze stirring the senses and its magic enveloping your heart.
Back at the pile of papers on my desk, I let out a sigh and lock my thoughts away in a little box somewhere in my head.
I can’t afford to waste time daydreaming.
I have plenty to do besides planning my brother’s wedding, and I can’t let anything slip through the cracks.
When Jorge and Carolina told me they wanted to get married here, I offered to plan the wedding without giving it a second thought.
I was so excited that my head was bursting with a thousand ideas, which I jotted down for weeks.
I really enjoyed sharing my ideas with them, and now I know it’s going to be a wonderful, magical wedding.
“Knock, knock…” My brother’s voice breaks my concentration, and, as if by magic, a smile crosses my lips. “Too busy for a visit?”
“You’re just what I needed,” I reply, dragging the office chair aside to jump up and give him a big hug. “Tell me you already have the guest list.”
“Well… about that…”
“I’m already here.” Carolina walks through the door, her cheeks red and a look of exasperation on her face that makes me laugh. “My mom wouldn’t let me go,” she adds, giving me two kisses. “Did I miss much?”
“No. I just got here. Elena was asking me about the guest list,” my brother says. “Are you going to tell her, or should I?”
“Tell me what?” I ask curiously.
“First of all,” my future sister-in-law points out, looking at everything I have spread out on the table, “the lemon-mint cream cake. That’s the one we liked best, right, honey?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well, that’s one more thing taken care of; but tell me, what about the guests?”
They look at each other, and an awkward silence falls that makes me nervous; just as I’m about to explode, Carolina grabs my hands and forces me to sit back down.
“I’ve asked Victoria to be my maid of honor,” she announces, and upon hearing the news, my heart stops. “I know I should have told you sooner, but…”
“It’s your wedding, and you get to choose who to invite.” “But it wouldn’t have hurt to mention it to me, would it?” I think, and I squeeze my thumb with my other hand.
“It’s not that, Elena, it’s…” Jorge comes over to me and kneels so our eyes meet. “How many years has it been? Four?”
“Five years, four months, and twenty days.” Embarrassed by keeping such a precise count, I hunch my back and lean on my legs, covering my face with my hands.
“Do you know when she’ll be coming?” I ask, terrified.
“Tell me I’ll at least have some time to get used to the idea that I’ll see her again. ”
Carolina wrinkles her nose, and when I look at her, I can’t help but sigh.
“She hasn’t told us anything yet,” my brother replies. “But I suppose…”
“In a week or so she’ll be here. I’m sure she’ll come; she cares about me and she won’t refuse, so…
” she murmurs, leaning on my desk. I immediately try to pull myself together and stay calm.
“We were thinking that family and close friends could stay here…” she adds, narrowing her eyes slightly and changing the subject away from Victoria.
“It’s such short notice, I know!” she pouts at me.
“But we both think it’s better if they’re already here and not scattered all over the island, don’t you think? ”
My brother doesn’t know what to say to smooth things over a bit, and although I’d like to be able to refuse, I straighten my back and look at them. I really can’t do anything about their wedding and their decisions.
“Jonathan is going to be in shock… do you know that?”
“There won’t be many of us,” my brother replies jokingly. “About thirty or so. It’s not that many.”
“And thank goodness!” I say, bursting out laughing. “Let me talk to him and I’ll see what we can do. But take it as a given.”
“You’re the best…” Carolina pulls me into her arms, and I savor this moment for a few seconds. Once we part, I smile with a mix of fear, excitement, and worry. “Remember, we have the dress fitting on Friday. I can’t wait to see how the red one looks on you…”
“Don’t you think it’s too flashy for a wedding? I preferred the purple one.”
“It’s perfect, and it matches the flowers in my bouquet.” She winks at me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Now let’s go. I want a giant ice cream.”
“Take her with you,” I ask my brother, giving him a little nudge, “and don’t let her mom stress her out anymore, or at this rate the dressmaker will have to make the dress two sizes bigger.”
“I promise.” Jorge comes over to me and, after hugging me, says goodbye with a kiss on my forehead. “And don’t stress too much, okay? Everything will be fine.”
When they walk out the office door, leaving me alone, I sit down and the weight of the past falls on my shoulders.
It’s been five years since Victoria and I last saw each other, and since then I’ve lived far away from everything despite my longing to hear from her, but there’s no turning back now, and when she returns to the island, I’ll have to face my feelings.
During this time, I’ve lived cut off from everything, even though my longing to hear from her was immense, but now there’s no turning back, and once she returns to the island, I’ll have to face what’s happened and what I feel.