Monday, February 16, 2009

SPANISH VALENTINE

SPANISH VALENTINE
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So here I am at Malaga airport with two suitcases, on standby for the next flight to the UK.
I’d had enough! I was going back after my dream turned into a nightmare in Spain.
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But let me go back a little. John and I had been living together for a few years when we decided to try to make our dream come true. We had our own recruitment business that we could leave in our manager’s capable hands and we thought it would be great to have a place we could disappear to, especially during the horrible English winters. After some searching, we bought a little house “in need of reform” in the middle of a small valley in Spain.
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It was wonderful at first; blue skies, warm sunshine, with a lovely little white pueblo not too far a drive from the house. There was the gorgeous smell of country herbs and the wonderful fruit and nut trees growing all around. Everyone we met was so friendly, even though our Spanish was very limited, and we felt we had truly found paradise.
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The house was lovely, with fantastic views to the mountains; not too much land, but then we couldn’t handle acres of it! What we had really looked forward to was putting our own stamp on the house; repairing the odd damaged wall, putting in a bathroom and kitchen, making some sort of path to the front door. You know, little things like that!
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I knew there was work to be done - but what work! We had spent months digging, moving, building, painting.
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It was lovely in the spring with the clouds of almond blossom, wafting it’s magic perfume towards us. We would work in the mornings, then go to the village for wine and tapas a few times each week. In the evenings, it was bliss, sitting out under the incredible sky, so full of stars I could hardly believe it was real. Summer was good too, except for the exhausting heat, and the pesky mossies who seemed to think I was the only food supply in Spain.
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We were both working really hard, but John seemed to be totally wrapped up in it all. Oh, he looked wonderful; his hair bleached blond by the sun and his tanned muscles getting better every day (eat your heart out Brad Pitt!) It wasn’t so good for me, as I’ll tell you now.
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The wet season arrived, and I never seemed to be out of jeans and wellies, squishing through mounds of mud.
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My once dewy English complexion was now looking leathery and grey, my hair dull and what fingernails I had left were short and grubby. I lived in jeans, wellies, a big jumper and my hair tucked under a woolly hat for protection. It was like this that John suggested we go down to the village for lunch! “Haven’t been for ages” He said, “No time to change”. So off we went.
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Manolo’s bar was our usual watering hole and I looked forward to a nice tapas and a glass of red wine, but today something was different. Behind the bar stood Carmen! All voluptuous with long shiny black hair, ruby lips and scarlet talons to die for! John was captivated. The twit kept going on about how luscious her hair was and how on earth did she keep her nails so beautiful working in the bar. The final straw came when Carmen asked him if I was his little brother! He nearly fell of his stool, laughing so much. So did everyone else. I was heartbroken! I tried to laugh along with everyone, but inside I just curled up.
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So it was that, after a stony silence on the way back to the house, we had an almighty row. I went over the top. All the frustrations of the past months came to the surface. I said some unfair things and ended up telling John that when I was gone, he could ask Carmen to come and do the digging! Then I stormed upstairs and began to pack.
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In silence, John drove me to the airport. As we parted, he gave me my puzzle book, the one I always work on while waiting for a flight. I walked away, back straight, fighting tears and inside pleading for him to ask me to stay, but he didn’t.
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So here I am, waiting for a flight. Might as well do a puzzle. I open the book, and there taped to the page is a piece of paper that says
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Please don’t leave me all alone
Without you it’s a house – not home
I don’t want any skies of blue
Or sunny days if not with you
You are my dream, my love, my life
Please say that you will be my wife
And that for ever you’ll be mine
My perfect Spanish valentine!
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As the tears flow down my face, I look up and see him standing in front of me!
He pulls me to my feet, wraps his arms around me, and says,
“Come on precious, let’s go home”.
And we do.

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