Joey thought about her father. He had not been a good or safe father. But he was an addict. She knew in her heart that addiction was a disease. That knowledge wouldn’t heal the scars she carried. And she knew that she would carry them always. But at the same time, she wanted to see if there was some level of relationship to retrieve from the wreckage of her childhood.
She thought about Anna. They had been so young at university. Joey’s feelings had been so much deeper than her friend’s. She’d read an article recently that said that adolescence could last into a person’s thirties. She chuckled to herself. She could believe it. She and Anna had only been twenty-one. Perhaps she could let go of that bad experience. Perhaps she could move beyond that pain. Her mind raced.
Her phone beeped again. She picked it up. This time it was Carmen, demanding to know where she was and when she would be turning up to help. She tapped out a reply, pocketed her phone, and left her apartment.
The early evening sun was strong and the Carrer de Petritxol seemed to emit heat from its cobbles. There were multicoloured flags decorating the street, and a number of Catalan flags, too. Slowly, tables were being brought out of cafes and bars.
“I cannot believe you would let an old woman do this alone.” Carmen was struggling out of the bakery door with a small table.
“Put that down,” said Joey, rushing to her side. “You are so impatient. It’s ages until people start arriving.”
“Well, I didn’t know if you were ever going to turn up. I thought you might still be in your love nest.” Carmen’s faux gruffness made Joey laugh.
“No love nest for me. Vanessa’s with her brother. They had some family stuff to take care of.” Joey lifted the table and moved it easily into the street. “And she had to sign the contract for her new cafe.”
“Ridiculous that she’s even thinking of that, still.” Carmen rolled her eyes. “Young people are really quite stupid.”
Joey gave her a warning look, but said nothing. She busied herself, moving all the tables and chairs onto thestreet. Further down, outside a small record store, a small band was setting up with guitars and drums.
“Can I help?” Vanessa had appeared wearing another of the gorgeous floaty dresses Joey so appreciated. It gave her an ethereal quality, as if she wasn’t part of the real world.
For a moment Joey was lost for words. She wanted to tell Vanessa everything that was going through her mind. She wanted to explain the change she seemed to be experiencing. More than that, she wanted to kiss Vanessa.
In the end she went with practicality.
“I think the coca needs to go into the oven, actually,” she said, jerking her head towards the bakery. “I’ll come and help you with it.”
“I think I’ll need it,” Vanessa replied, with a giggle.
“Your wish is my command.” Joey and Vanessa walked through to the kitchen, where the coca they had prepared earlier was on the largest baking tray they could find in the kitchen.
“It really is a monster,” said Vanessa.
“It is,” Joey agreed. “Definitely the biggest I’ve ever made.”
“And the glace fruit makes it look so pretty.” Vanessa leaned over to breath in the aroma of the spiced enriched dough.
“Ok.” Joey made a show of stretching her arm muscles. “I think we’ll need to do this between us. You take that side. Yes, like that. Ok, and I’ll take this one. Yes. One, two, three, lift!”
“I guess it’ll take a bit longer to bake than the usual ones,” Vanessa mused once the oven door was shut.
“I reckon,” said Joey. “But we’ll need to keep a close eye on it. Underdone, and it will be claggy.”
“Ooh, that’s a great word,” said Vanessa with a grin. “Claggy. I wonder if there’s a Spanish equivalent?”
“We’ll have to ask Dani,” said Joey. “She’ll be here later. And Pedro’s back at last from his work trip. He’s missed all the drama.”
“Yeah.” Vanessa nodded. “Dani was telling me he’s been promising to make it up to her in all the ways for the next few weeks.”
“He better had,” said Joey.
“It’s weird,” said Vanessa. “I feel like Dani and I are family now, in a strange kind of way. Obviously we’re not related in the traditional way, but our great grandmothers were together.”
Joey put her arms around Vanessa and hugged her close. “I completely understand that. Family takes many forms.”
Chapter Fifty
VANESSA
