Broken Soldier: A Novel by Clara Frost

Author:Clara Frost [Frost, Clara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00ES2OZ5W
Publisher: Clara Frost
Published: 2013-08-24T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

EMILY sat with Rafa at one end of a long, dark dining room table. Silver and gold inlay circled the edge. A portrait of a Spanish man wearing goggles and a scarf, leaning against an airplane and gazing into the distance, dominated the wall. Counting him, there were nine people in the dining room, only eight arranged around a table that could have held twice as many. The room smelled of roasted meat and cooked vegetables, steam still rising from the diner’s bowls of stew.

“Pass the salt, please,” Emily said.

Rafa reached for it, pausing as he realized that he couldn’t pick it up with his right hand. His face flushed. “Lorena, would you mind?”

Lorena. Rafa hadn’t said a lot about her, and she’d looked utterly different than what Emily expected. She’d assumed that Rafa’s ex would be pretty. He was gorgeous enough to catch the attention of any woman, that was for sure. But Emily hadn’t expected Lorena to look like a swimsuit model. In America she would have been hanging off the arm of an investment banker or a professional baseball player.

“Sure.” Lorena flashed a set of perfect white teeth and passed the shaker.

Rafa took it with his left hand and sent it on to Emily. “Thank you,” Emily said.

Rafa smiled. Lorena didn’t respond.

“I would like the salt,” said the girl to Emily’s left. Salome. She had the still-pudgy face of a fifteen year old.

Emily salted her stew and passed the shaker over. “Your English is very good.”

Salome blushed. “Thank you. I have tried for four years to learn.” Her speech was halting and heavily accented, but understandable.

“Are you a cousin or a friend of the family?” Emily asked. The younger girl thought about it, and Emily could see that she wasn’t sure what the question meant. “Is your mother or father related to Maria or Yaya?”

Salome smiled. “Yaya is my family.”

Rafa leaned in, stage whispering, “She is a second cousin. Yaya’s sister is her grandmother.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s a pleasure to share a meal with you.”

Salome nodded.

“Is this your first time in Spain?” Antonella asked.

Emily looked up, unsure whether the question was for her. Everyone else seemed to be looking at her, so she assumed it was. “Yes. I went to Paris in high school, but I never made it south of the Pyrenees.”

Antonella pursed her lips. “You will find that we in Spain are better hosts, I think. More polite.”

“No complaints so far.” Emily hoped her lie wasn’t completely transparent.

“We also have better nightlife,” Bernardo said. “Come to the club some time. We know how to dance far better than the French.”

“And you’re better at football, is my understanding,” Emily said.

Bernardo laughed. “Absolutely. Tiki taka has taken over the world.”

“Tell that to the Germans.” Rafa kept a straight face when he said it.

Bernardo’s expression only darkened for a moment. “When the Germans win consecutive Euros and a World Cup in between, they can talk.”

“Are there any games between now and New Year’s?” Rafa asked.

“Of course. If you want to see a match, let me know.

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