“You seem to do a good job of keeping up with everyone. Have you met all of them?”
“All but Carlos, his son. He owns a restaurant in Ronda. I think it’s called Alcazar— reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada.”
“We could trace your family across a lot of Spain.”
Ana chuckled and nodded her head in agreement. My grandmother returned to Spain after my grandfather died and lived out her life in the town where she was born.”
“In Andalusia, right?”
“Yes, in Ronda.”
“Well, it’s clear we don’t know very much about each other—me more than you. My side of things has come at you full force.”
“That’s okay,” Ana assured him. “It will all balance out. We just need time to talk.”
“That’s quite a story about your father. What did he do when he got out?”
“The man who owned the curio shop decided to retire. He sold the shop to my parents and they still operate it.”
“Where?” Ben asked, obviously very interested in every fact concerning Ana.
“Cambridge… Massachusetts.”
“Wow…” he said, standing up and pulling her to her feet. “This gives me food for thought about a little respite before we go back to London. Let’s sleep on it and talk in the morning.” Ana was curious and preferred not to wait, but she nodded, stood up, and turned toward the elevators. Ben followed her.
Once they had entered Ben’s room, both seemed to deflate. Their fatigue was not yet assuaged and neither had slept well the previous night. Ana asked Ben how he was feeling, whether he needed something for pain in order to get to sleep. He expressed that he was feeling better and didn’t need anything. She approached him and reached up to touch his shoulder, then his face, before asking if his ribs could take a gentle hug good night. He reached out, pulled her close and kissed her sweetly. One more night, he thought, then no more ‘adjoining’ rooms. His plan for their little respite would not include separate beds.
They hesitated to part for the night, but it was late. In spite of the hour and his discomfort, Ben asked Ana to wait, that he had something to say. She perked up and turned her attention to his expression. She couldn’t quite read it and hoped what he had to say wouldn’t be upsetting.
Ben sat down on the edge of his bed and said, “Ana, about these separate rooms. I know it has seemed silly to stay separate. My parents may have booked two rooms, but there was nothing keeping us from ‘sharing,’ if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean by ‘sharing,’” she said self-consciously. “But there were some rather good reasons to the contrary.”
Ben sighed, clearly being unsure how to explain why he hadn’t pushed for more togetherness. After a short pause he said, “Well, aside from the fact that I’ve been dealing with injuries, I was thinking about the ‘why’ of my parents making a two-room reservation.”
“It’s pretty clear to me, Ben,” she said, seeing that he needed a little help with his explanation. “Your parents didn’t know if we were in a relationship, or how far it had gone. But most of all, they didn’t know at that time whether or not I was to be trusted.”
Ben continued, shaking his head, admonishing himself. “ I have to admit, I’m almost forty years old and I still care what my parents think. I wasn’t comfortable with having them think we were ‘co-habiting’ in the midst of this family crisis.” He paused then added, “It seemed really inappropriate.”
Ana could tell he was struggling with his explanation in order not to have her feel she had been in any way undesirable, or that he was losing interest. That had gone through her mind, unbidden, but she pushed the thought away with logic and the reality of the situation. She decided to lighten the moment with a little humor and hoped he would take it that way.
“Ben, listen. First of all, I think your respect for your parents is lovely.” She waited a moment then looked him straight in the eyes and in a mock-serious tone added, “But aside from that, you wouldn’t really have been much good to me the last few days anyway!”
He took it the right way and said, “True… but I’m hoping to make up for that.”
Then came the smile, the one that made Ana blush and look away like an adolescent in the throws of first love. Ben stood up and walked to the chair where Ana had settled. “Get up, woman,” he said. She did as she was told and stood before him. He came close, lifted her chin to meet his gaze and said, “One more night—two at the most.”
She repeated his words back to him and he took her in his arms, kissing her in a way that did not say goodnight. They parted and Ana went through to her own room. She left the door ajar. Ben stood there, looking at the slightly open door, summoning his will power in order not to pass through it. He knew that in the morning he would wake feeling more like his old self. After pulling off his clothes he slid into bed, making the silent pronouncement that in the morning his aches would be gone and everything would be on the way to wonderful.
* * *
Ana’s eyes opened at dawn. The emotional roller coaster of the last few days had made for another restless night. Fed up with trying to get back to sleep she threw off the covers, got up and walked to the window. Street lamps still lit the plaza and whatever glow was rising in the east was out of her western view.
