“Nothing,” she reassured him as she zipped her coat all the way up, looking shifty.
“What do you mean, ‘nothing’? Let me see!”
Helena Freire unzipped her coat to reveal a huge hickey on her neck.
“Just what we needed! How are you going to explain that at home, young lady?” he grumbled. “How do you hope to keep your little secret if you turn up branded like a colt?”
“We didn’t mean to,” she said, blushing to the roots of her hair. “We got a bit carried away ...”
“It looks like you’ve been bitten by Count Dracula, for Christ’s sake,” Roberto groaned. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Try to make sure nobody sees it, and find yourself a nice scarf. The last thing we need now is for your mother to start asking questions.”
They set off for El Cucorno in silence, Roberto annoyed by the teenagers’ carelessness, Helena somewhat sheepish. When they finally reached the path that led to the Freire place, he let out a sigh of relief. They had made it without incident. Things were finally looking up. They stopped and looked at each other.
“We’re here,” whispered Roberto. “Now we need to decide what you’re going to say when they ask you where you were.”
“We can’t tell them I was with Tristán!” the girl declared. “You promised that if we did what you asked, you wouldn’t say anything!”
“And I plan to keep my promise,” he replied, “but we still need a good excuse to explain your little excursion.”
“I’ve already thought about that,” she said, smiling triumphantly. “Look.”
She opened her shoulder bag and showed him the contents. It was full of medicines, mainly painkillers and antibiotics, most of them in opened packets. Roberto was tempted to grab some for himself, but he resisted the urge. It was better to endure the pain in his shoulder and keep his head clear.
“Lots of tourists leave them behind when they go home at the end of the summer,” explained Helena. “I’ll tell them I checked a few of the houses for leftover medicines. That I thought we might need them, and, because I was sure they wouldn’t let me leave, I snuck out. They’ll be angry, but once they’ve had time to think about it, they’ll come around. You’ll see.”
“You’re one smart cookie.” Roberto shook his head and smiled at the girl’s cunning.
“Tristán and I owe you one,” she replied.
“I try to do the right thing, that’s all. And you don’t owe me anything. The only thing I need is for you not to do anything foolish, at least not for a few days.”
“We won’t cause any trouble, I promise.” The girl flashed him a dazzling smile. “Thanks so much!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.
Roberto—taken completely by surprise—limited himself to patting her on the back.
It was an innocent gesture.
But fate had other ideas.
The Freire lookout had alerted people to their arrival. Just then, the door of El Cucorno opened, and the stout figure of Rosalía Freire came rushing out. When she saw Roberto and Helena hugging, she stopped sharp. They let go of each other, but it was already too late.
Rosalía Freire looked suspiciously from one to the other, and eventually her eyes came to rest on Helena’s neck. An expression of surprise gave way to one of indignation.
“You son of a bitch.” Her voice was ice-cold. “How dare you!”
“It isn’t what it seems.”
“I don’t want your explanations,” the woman replied. “I’ve got eyes in my head; I’m no fool. I know what I see.”
“If you’d just let me explain—”
“What is there to explain?” she shouted. “That you’ve seduced a young girl? She’s barely eighteen years old!”
Roberto felt as if the ground had opened up beneath his feet. It was just a stupid misunderstanding, but the woman was far too angry to listen to his explanations.
“Helena, please.” He turned to the girl, who was as pale as death and in a state of shock. “Tell your mother that it’s not what she’s thinking. Please.”
But Helena just stared at them, unable to utter a single word, caught on the horns of a dilemma to which there was no solution.
