“I know. Thank you.” Lisa hung up and put her phone back in her handbag, noting she’d never felt so lonely. She was in an alien world; a world where she didn’t belong, with people who were different to her and rules she didn’t understand. Behind her, she heard someone calling, but she kept her eyes fixed sternly on the horizon, hoping whoever it was would go away.
6
By the time Stella ran back in the direction of Paradise Hotel, with at least ten different dishes and a bottle of red wine that Joachim had thrown in as the woman had left way too much money, the boulevard was riddled with tourists, market stalls and hospitality representatives handing out flyers. If the woman was here somewhere, she’d never find her, and even if she’d gone back to her room there was still only a small chance that she’d be able to find out what room she was in. The reception team consisted of seventeen staff members, and with over two hundred rooms, they didn’t know the guests personally.
She went down the promenade steps and continued over the beach, slowing her pace. Unsure why she cared so much, Stella narrowed her eyes as she scanned the beach.There she is.Spotting a figure in a white shirt sitting by the shore facing the sea, she approached her. “Hey, lady?” When the woman didn’t answer, Stella closed the distance between them. “Hey…” A touch on the woman’s shoulder made her turn around abruptly.
“What?” She looked up at Stella, then at the bags in her hands.
“You forgot your food.”
“Thank you, but you shouldn’t have bothered. I’m not hungry anymore.”
Stella bit her lip as she lingered on the spot. This was not going the way she’d planned. “Well, I thought you might want it for later. There’s a bottle of wine in there too.” For a split second, she met the woman’s dazzling blue eyes and almost drowned in them before she looked away again. “Can I sit with you?” she asked, then lowered herself in the sand when the woman didn’t answer. “Look, I’m sorry about my colleague. That was very rude. I totally understand that you’re upset and furious and that you’ll want to file a complaint against my team.”
“Yourteam, huh? That explains it. Are you trying to bribe me or something?”
“Not really. Unless a food bribe is a thing, but you paid for it, so no, I wouldn’t class this as a bribe.” Stella shrugged when her joke clearly didn’t hit home. “I just want to apologise, that’s all.” She hesitated before she continued. “I’m Stella, the poolside manager at Paradise Hotel. And your name…?”
“Lisa.” Lisa straightened her back and cleared her throat, but Stella could see she wasn’t as confident as she made out to be. “You should tell your staff to stop pestering guests. It’s annoying and it’s making me feel…” She fell silent, then turned to look ahead again. “Never mind.”
“I’m sorry. They’re trained to get people in the pool now and then. To distract them from drinking at any opportunity. But I’ll tell them to leave you alone. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
Stella opened one of the boxes and held it out for Lisa. “Here, try a Padrón pepper. I had one earlier and they’re really, really good.”
Lisa looked like she was about to throw the peppers in her face, but instead, she reached out and took one, slowly chewing it as she gazed out over the water. Although there was a lot of background noise from the lively town, the rustling of the waves so close to shore made it feel peaceful here.
“Good, right?” Stella tried again.
“Better than the crap they serve at Paradise.”
“Right. I agree with you on that.” Stella chuckled. “Can I ask you something?” She got no reply but pressed on anyway. “Why are you here if you hate it so much?”
Lisa’s lower lip started trembling and she wiped away a tear. “Because it was cheap, and I needed somewhere to live.”
“Oh.” Out of all the possible answers, Stella had definitely not seen that one coming. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t want to talk.”
“Okay.” In need of something to focus on, Stella took a piece of bread from the bag and nibbled on it. “Do you want me to leave?”
“It’s a free world, do what you want.” A hint of regret flashed through Lisa’s eyes as she turned to Stella. “I’m sorry, that was rude. But yes, if I’m honest, I’d rather be alone.”
“Then I’ll go.” When Stella met her eyes again, she really felt for the woman. There was so much pain and insecurity in them, so much hurt, and she cursed Manuel for making it worse. Standing up, she placed a hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “Listen, I know this sounds strange because you don’t know me, but I’ll be around if you ever want to talk, okay?” Stella had no idea why she’d just offered personal support, but it felt like the right thing to say. As she walked away without waiting for an answer, she could feel Lisa’s eyes on her.
A message came in as she strolled back to the boulevard.‘We’ll be at Mas Tequila later. Want to join us?’It was from Vera, Manuel’s friend, who sometimes tagged on during staff nights. They’d ended up in bed together a couple of times, and whenever Stella received a message from her involving tequila, she knew exactly what Vera was hinting at. Normally, she’d embrace the opportunity of no-strings sex, but after tonight’s drama, she was tired and just wanted to crawl into bed. Perhaps it was for the better; at least she’d wake up fresh tomorrow morning and wouldn’t have to deal with the awkwardness while Vera stuck around for longer than she was comfortable with.
‘Sorry. Too tired. Rain check?’she replied.
‘Nooo! Come out, I want to see you!’
Stella threw her head back as she laughed and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Vera had already been drinking, that much was clear.
7
“Pablo, you really have to stop waking me up so early,” Stella mumbled as she turned over in bed. The brown and grey tabby was an early riser, and he was having none of her plans to sleep in. “It’s seven am and you have plenty of dry food.”
