Chapter 13
13
I’m in good spirits as I leave Villa Madrigal to head for the airport on Sunday afternoon. The minibus still bothers me a little on the small roads, but Pedro has been helping me to practise with it. He and Rosa have enlisted me as their chauffeur for every errand they’ve had to run and, between them, that has amounted to quite a few. I’ve had to negotiate my way through narrow streets in the nearby villages, park it in seemingly impossible spots and reverse it for long distances when we’ve met things coming the other way on the tiny lanes. Pedro is the total opposite of Rosa; where she is small, chatty and inclined to screech ‘watch out’ at the top of her lungs every time she thinks I’m getting too close to something, he’s a beanpole of a man with very few words. Needless to say, I find being with him in the car much more relaxing than driving her. They’re patently devoted to each other, although she admitted to me that they did go through a rough patch not long after they were married when they discovered they were unable to have children. This might partly explain the way they seem to have semi-adopted me. Despite the fact that we’ve all been busy preparing for the arrival of the film crew and first set of guests, I haven’t had to prepare a single meal for myself, as Rosa has insisted I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with them each day.
I might be out of my comfort zone, but I’ve really enjoyed getting my teeth into this project. We’ve completed all the items on Gus’s checklist, which helpfully included notes on the various dietary needs of the crew and the initial set of guests so Rosa and I could plan menus. The format of the show is fairly simple, if brutal. We start with ten guests, five men and five women. After that, new guests will arrive in pairs at regular intervals and, this is the brutal bit, choose whose places they are going to take after spending twenty-four hours with the group. The two people who are replaced are then sent home. I couldn’t understand how someone who is purportedly too busy for love could commit to spending up to six weeks lounging around at Villa Madrigal, but my question was answered not only by the ￡50,000 prize money for the viewers’ favourite couple at the end, but also when Pedro and I were dispatched to an office supplies shop in Palma to collect twelve flatpack desks, which he then erected in the bedrooms. On top of that, a truck arrived yesterday filled to the brim with boxes and cables which the driver informed us was filming equipment, much to Rosa’s horror. We’ve stacked it all in the dining room, and I’ve noticed her eyeing it suspiciously every time she goes in there.
The latest missive from Dom had the daily schedule on it. Breakfast is to be served at seven each morning, and the contestants will have to remain downstairs until at least nine, while Rosa and I rush round cleaning their rooms. They are then allowed to work until lunchtime, and they have to be downstairs again by six thirty for pre-dinner drinks. Meals will be served buffet-style and eaten at the table outside unless the weather turns against us. The only exception is dinner, where two pairs will be chosen to have one-on-one meals away from the main group; I’m not sure how that is supposed to work yet, but I expect it will become clear soon enough.
The traffic is light and it doesn’t take me long to reach the airport, where I score a further win by managing to secure one of the spots in the express parking lot directly outside the terminal. Although Pedro has assured me the minibus is just under the height restriction for the multi-storey, I don’t fancy taking my chances in there. My mood improves even more when I reach the arrivals hall and see that the flight I’m meeting has already landed. Sure enough, Gus appears a short time later with four other people, all pushing heavily laden trolleys.
‘Beatrice!’ he exclaims, a smile breaking out on his face when he reaches me. ‘Lovely to meet you in person at last. How is everything?’
‘All good so far,’ I reply as I shake his hand.
‘Great. Let me introduce you to the others. This is Dom, who you’ve met via email.’
‘Nice to meet you, Beatrice,’ a tall, bearded man says.
‘Dom is the associate producer and will be working closely with me,’ Gus explains. ‘Then we’ve got Chris and Tim here, who are our technical experts and camera operators. Finally’ – he indicates an ebony-skinned woman with close-cropped hair – ‘this is Raquel, our sex and relationships expert.’
‘Lovely to meet you all,’ I tell them. ‘The car is just outside for those who are coming with me.’
‘You’ll be taking Chris and Tim,’ Gus informs me. ‘Dom, Raquel and I have a conference call with HQ shortly, so it makes sense for us to travel together.’
‘Fine with me,’ I tell him. Chris and Tim follow me out to the minibus while the others wander off in search of the car-hire desk.
‘Did the truck arrive?’ Chris asks as we start loading their cases into the boot.
‘Yes. I’ve never seen so much stuff,’ I reply as we put the seats down and start loading their cases into the back.
When we get back, I leave Chris and Tim going through the piles of equipment in the dining room, change into my bikini and wander down to the pool for a swim. It’s going to be off-limits as soon as the contestants arrive, so I’m determined to make the most of it before then. When the heat starts to go out of the day, I come back up to the house for a shower before going to help Rosa in the main kitchen. I say ‘help’, but really I’m just standing by the pass chatting to her in Spanish while she prepares the dinner.
‘I’m not at all happy about all those cables,’ she complains for the umpteenth time. ‘I won’t let them make a mess in Mr Mancini’s beautiful home. You tell them that, Beatrice.’
‘I did,’ I reassure her. ‘They’ve promised me that they know just how to lay them so they’re practically invisible, and they will leave the house just as they found it.’
‘Hmph.’ She shrugs her shoulders, clearly unconvinced. ‘Where are the others? Dinner is nearly ready.’
I glance at my watch; nearly two hours have passed since I got back. Even with the car-hire queues, it shouldn’t be taking this long. I’m just about to call Gus to find out what’s going on when the buzzer sounds to indicate that someone is at the gates.
‘I’ll start plating up,’ Rosa tells me. ‘You go and greet them.’
‘Everything OK?’ I ask as I walk out to meet Gus, Dom and Raquel, who are climbing down from an identical minibus to mine. ‘We were starting to worry.’
‘We, umm, had a spot of difficulty,’ Gus admits sheepishly. ‘The car was a bit bigger than I thought it would be and, well, I’ve not driven anything quite this size before.’
‘He misjudged the width when we met a tractor coming the other way,’ Dom adds. ‘Had a bit of an argument with a wall.’
Curiosity gets the better of me and I walk round to the other side of the minibus, which is now sporting some impressive gouges and scratches.
‘Ah,’ I say, unable to suppress a grin. ‘Don’t worry. It’s insured, so they’ll just give you another one if you take it back, and you’ll soon get used to the size, I’m sure.’
If Gus realises I’m parroting his own condescending remarks back to him, he has the good grace to allow me my victory and says nothing.
‘Rosa’s just dishing up,’ I explain as I lead them through the house. ‘We thought we’d eat on the terrace to make the most of it before the guests arrive.’
‘How are you getting on with her?’ Gus asks quietly as we step through the back door. ‘I found her a little prickly when I came to do the reconnaissance visit. I don’t know whether it’s just the language barrier or something else.’
‘She’s really nice, but she’s very houseproud and understandably worried about how much mess you’re going to make with all the filming equipment,’ I tell him honestly. ‘She practically had kittens when she saw how much there was on the lorry yesterday.’
He stiffens. ‘It’s not really any of her business. Our agreement is with Mr Mancini, not her, and we made it very clear in the paperwork what equipment we’d need to rig up. I’ll be relying on you to keep her docile, OK?’
‘I’ll do my best, but she’s not going to react well if you start smashing the place up.’
‘We’re not going to smash anything up. We’re going to rig up a few cameras and lay a few cables, that’s all. How come the table is laid for eight? There are only six of us.’
‘I’ve invited Rosa and Pedro to join us. They’ve been incredibly hospitable to me since I’ve arrived, and they’re just as much part of the crew as the rest of us.’
Gus just grunts and takes his place, turning to talk to Dom in a low murmur. Thankfully, the slight tension in the air is dispelled completely as we tuck into the generously filled bowls of gazpacho that Rosa and I bring out to start with. By the time we’ve finished the main course of pollo al ajillo , juicy pieces of chicken heavily fragranced with rosemary, garlic and white wine, the atmosphere is positively convivial. The wine is flowing and I’m relieved to see both Gus and Rosa are looking a lot more relaxed.
‘What’s your job on the show?’ I ask Raquel, who’s sitting next to me.
‘I interviewed all the contestants as part of the selection process,’ she tells me. ‘So I know what kinds of things they’re looking for in a partner, and I also know what qualities they bring to the table. Let’s just say there are certain people who pair up very well together on paper, so I’m here to give them the appropriate nudges if they need them. I’m also going to be running some workshops on successful relationships, to give them the best chance of taking any budding romances back to the real world. Are you in a relationship?’
An image of Jock forms in the front of my mind. ‘No. Not currently,’ I tell her. The ache of longing in my chest as I say that catches me by surprise.
‘But there is someone important to you. I can sense it.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘When I asked the question, a wistful expression crossed your face. Most people wouldn’t spot it, but I’m a professional. That makes me think you have unfinished business with someone.’
I feel a little uncomfortable under her gaze. Although I’ve been busy, Jock has been on my mind a lot. I haven’t heard from him and, although I did think about texting him a couple of times, I don’t want to come across as clingy if he’s moving on with his life. Raquel is looking at me expectantly.
‘It’s definitely finished,’ I tell her, before turning to chat to Rosa in Spanish. I make a mental note to stay as far away from Raquel as possible for the duration of her stay. If Jock has moved on, I need to do that as well, and being psychoanalysed by her all the time is not going to help.