‘How are you enjoying the Santiago estate?’ Alvaro asked. ‘Benjamin seems to think you’re very much at home there.’
‘He does, does he?’ she said, glancing over at him and receiving raised eyebrows in response. ‘I have to say that I’m loving spending time here, it’s a beautiful place. I’m just having a hard time thinking of it as my own, I suppose.’
Benjamin’s sister said something in Spanish and received a sharp response from her mother, which turned into a rapid-fire conversation between her and her brother. Rose found herself glancing away, uncomfortable, and decided to rise and offer her assistance.
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ she asked his mother.
‘Everything is done, and I’m terrible at sharing my kitchen, but you can take this to the table for me.’
‘Well, I’m a terrible cook, so I’m rather grateful you didn’t ask me to do something complicated.’
‘Your mother didn’t teach you to cook?’ Martina asked, sounding surprised.
‘My mother was a fabulous cook, and my grandmother before her. We actually all lived together, just the three of us, and they were both so good at taking care of me that they always shooed me out of the kitchen.’ Her heart broke as she spoke of them, wishing again for just one more moment with the three of them together. ‘I wish I’d learnt from them when I still could.’
‘Ahh, so you had two mothers,’ she said. ‘They fussed over you like I fuss over my Benjamin. You’re a lucky girl.’
Benjamin came to stand behind Rose, placing a warm hand on her shoulder, which earned an enquiring stare from his mother. Rose wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d dropped the spoon she was holding at seeing her son touch their guest, but she appreciated the gesture. She’d always felt that a person showed their true colours when faced with sadness or a difficult situation, and Benjamin had shown her that he cared, which meant a lot. He could easily have stood back and let her tell his mother on her own.
‘Rose’s mother passed away very recently, before she came here,’ Benjamin said, his voice soft as he gently squeezed her shoulder.
‘You’ve lost your mother?’
Rose nodded, wishing they weren’t having this conversation in front of a woman who was so maternal that it reminded her acutely of her own mum. ‘I did. She had a long illness and I lost her only last month, so it’s been a very difficult time.’
‘You didn’t tell me this?’ Martina said, shaking her head at her son. ‘How could you not tell me this about our guest?’
‘Mama, I only just found out tonight,’ he replied, in a tone that made it clear she was not to say anymore on the matter. ‘It’s why I’m telling you now.’
Rose had never been so taken by surprise when Martina put down the spoon she’d been holding and enveloped Rose in the kind of hug that was usually reserved for family or very close friends. She held her tightly, not letting go for a long time as she whispered something in Spanish, before finally standing back and touching her palm to Rose’s cheek.
‘I’m sorry for your loss, Rose. There is nothing more painful than losing a mother, so I understand what you’re going through.’
‘Thank you,’ Rose said, as unexpected tears caught in her lashes. ‘She meant everything to me, which is why coming here has felt so special but also so very hard. I feel like staying here has given me a break from my real life, from everything I’ve had to deal with, and I suppose I’m searching for a connection to family now that I don’t have anyone left.’
‘You lost your grandmother, too?’
‘I did. She passed away last year.’
His mother nodded, her hand lingering on Rose’s before retrieving her apron and putting it back on. Benjamin picked up the bowl Rose had been about to take and indicated for her to follow him.
‘Come and sit down,’ he said.
Rose stood at the table, glancing back over at his mother, and then at his sister and father, who were still seated. ‘I know you were all very close to the Santiago family, and if my being here makes you uncomfortable for any reason, I understand. I can go.’
‘Rose, Valentina’s family is our family,’ Martina said, as she carried an enormous dish of food to the table and placed it inthe middle. ‘Please, don’t leave. I would very much like to get to know you. We all would.’
Rose looked at each of the faces turned towards her. ‘Are you sure? Because?—’
‘Please, stay,’ Benjamin said, holding out his hand to her and beckoning for her to sit beside him. ‘Or at least don’t go until you’ve tried my mama’s famous paella. We can’t let you leave on an empty stomach.’
She hesitated.
‘Please stay,’ Benjamin said. ‘It would mean a lot to me if you did.’
Rose looked between them all, at the warm, hopeful expressions on their faces, and slowly sat down. Talking about her mother had stirred her emotions, but she could see that opening up had changed the way his family were looking at her, too, especially his sister. It was clear they all wanted her to stay, not just Benjamin.
‘To family,’ Alvaro said, holding up his glass.
