Starting Over - Chapter three.....Fiesta!

Chapter 3 - Fiesta!

After lunch there was a round of ‘Jenga’ played with two foot by one foot pieces of wood. Ellen was flaked out on a lounger high above the beach, overlooking the sea. She had a large floppy sunhat the shade of which covered her eyes but her eyes were closed as she listened to an old Beatles album. She had hundreds of songs on her iPod, but for some reason she was listening to some melancholy from the masters of the sixties. She hummed along to ‘While my Guitar Gently weeps’, but when   ‘Yesterday’ came on, she quickly flicked to another playlist. Yesterday all her troubles had been so far away. And now? Ellen couldn’t let her think like that anymore. She had no money, no job and no home. She had to make the most of this retreat because there were only hard times ahead.....

Sighing she tuned back into the Crowded House track that now blasted through her earphones, she really was having an easy listening day today. As she chuckled to herself a splash of ice cold water hit her bare and sun warmed belly. With a screech she sat bolt upright fighting to see the culprit against the glare of the sun, there was no one around, other than two elderly couples who were also lounging, but now looking at her with bemusement.

Then she spotted it, the peak of a navy hat disappearing back around the waist high wall to her right. Jumping up she strode across the terrace and rested her elbows on the stone looking down at the crouching figure of Jan.

 Sensing her above, he looked up with a grin, a water pistol in his hand, “sorry, I couldn’t resist it! You were asleep...” he rose to his feet, a good four inches taller than her, had she ever thought him average height? “And you refuse to join in....or smile....”

With that he gave her a huge beaming smile.

It floored her and diminished her anger, “low shot Jan, low shot!”

He chuckled, “but SO well timed. I don’t know your name...”

                “Ellen,” she smiled, “and where I come from the name should precede dousing someone with a water pistol!”

                “Well I didn’t think that Miss Cold Shoulder would offer that information. Now can I interest you in a game of bowling?”

Ellen grinned but shook her head, “no, I’m relaxing thanks.”

Nodding knowingly he leaned in and added in a whisper, “I guessed as much, nice bikini by the way!” Turning before she could respond, he was bellowing in four or five languages and gathering up the competitive holiday makers and walking off into the distance. As she looked down she blushed, she’d chosen bikinis for a new husband, this one was a zebra print halter neck top with fairly sensible bottoms, but the soft cups of the top were struggling to contain her ample chest , it took a gasp and a jiggle to get herself back into position.

She must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes the terrace was quiet, most people having gone to dress for dinner, her watch told her it was six, she groaned, glad that she was in the partial shade. Pulling herself up, she was sliding her arms into a kaftan when a cough from behind alerted her.

Turning she saw Jan stood there.

                “A better hello than cold water! Well done!”

He grinned, “I came to ask if you want to join me, and some of the other workers this evening? It’s Friday and we’re all heading to a town a few miles away. It’s a blast anyway, but tonight is a fiesta. You look like you could do with some party time?”

She froze, the last thing she wanted was a date whilst her heart was still paining from all it’s suffering the last few weeks.

Spotting her hesitation he added rapidly, “I’m not suggesting a date. You’re on your own here, there are barely any other single people, you’ll like it. It’s a fun place.”

                “Ummm...”

Still grinning he leaned into her, “the hotel doesn’t like relationships with clients, I assure you. I have no intention of doing anything untoward. Despite how you try not to be, you’re fun! You’ll enjoy. We leave after the kids disco. Meet me by the garage at nine thirty?” When she didn’t answer he laughed, “and be discreet!”

Ellen showered, changed, then changed again. She was still undecided. She had hardly any money, these people were strangers....but the thought of another night sat beside the pool with inane entertainment and idiotic patrons did fill her with dread.

Even as she ate dinner in the crowded restaurant she was unsure of what she’d do.

Rushing back to the room, she changed again, into a mid thigh length halter neck dress and cowboy boots, she may have to stand or walk a lot and she couldn’t handle her heeled sandals for that long. Plus the dress suited her, showing off her quite shapely legs, her best asset, and that gave her some confidence, but the boots were her REAL safety net, they were like a second skin, her favourite item of footwear, she’d bought them on a trip to New York three years earlier...even that memory brought a shaft of pain. She’d gone with Rebecca; the two of them had been inseparable since they were allocated next door rooms at university seven years ago. Nights out, movies, holiday, dates...they’d done so much together, and as the hole in her heart from Richard’s betrayal started to heal, she had a sneaky suspicion that the majority of the hurt and the loss was for Rebecca.

As she headed to the terrace, Amelia and Jan were dancing wildly, winding the children up into a frenzy with songs, dances and animal noises. She chuckled as she ordered a beer and sat at the far end of the terrace watching with amusement.

She wasn’t sure of exactly when Jan became aware of her, but suddenly when she looked up his eyes kept flitting to her. The athletic uniform was replaced by evening, and tonight Jan was wearing white linen trousers, tied with a drawstring around his slim waist and a dark blue seersucker shirt his hair was well gelled into his favoured short Mohawk.

He raised an eyebrow at her, as three young girls tried to climb on him, she nodded a response, Yes I’m coming with you guys. He smiled at her, then was swamped by three older women all fluttering those eyelashes at him.

After half an hour she could take no more, so she made her way down to the underground garage. There were a few staff cars and the hotel rental vehicles. As she was making her way to the exit on to the road she heard giggling behind her.

                “Hey Ellen!” She was relieved that Jan’s boom was reduced now that he wasn’t entertaining the whole hotel. “Come this way!”

She turned and saw him and two others disappear around a corner. Following them she gasped when she saw him sat astride a moped holding a helmet in her direction, another hotel worker Cisco was on a similar moped, Amelia wrapped around him on the back.

                “Hop on, come on! Let’s party!”

Without much forethought she climbed on behind him pulling on the helmet, he tapped her bare knee, her dress pulled ridiculously high by her being astride the bike, “nice!” And with that he cranked up the engine and they whizzed out of the car park.

The ride turned out to be hair-raising – to put it mildly. But as the two mopeds pulled up to a bike park at a street corner, Ellen felt her jaw drop. In front of them was a narrow street, that lead down to what appeared to be a harbour. Flags and signs seemed to fill the street, and neon signed bars flanked each side, and the patrons spewed out into the road and it was impossible to see where one crowd ended and the next began. Ellen could also tell that there were very few English there, no real tourists. These mainly Spanish, but some Dutch and German people were all workers, a long way from the average tourist.

                “What do you think?” Jan asked.

She stared at him open mouthed, “it’s brilliant!”

He grinned, “enjoy! If we lose you meet us back here, what two am?”

Nodding she followed him into the first bar.

It was one of the most fun nights of her life. Everyone gathered was friendly, chatting freely, she drank beer and talked to workers from other hotels, bars. Everyone seemed to know Jan, and as his friend she seemed to have special attention.  She danced with strangers, drank beer, ate food from street vendors. It was well past midnight when everyone seemed to congregate at the harbour along the far end of the street. She then witnessed a magical display of fireworks, all apparently to celebrate the festival of a Saint, the name of whom she was told, but forgot!

Ellen was sat away from the crowd on the harbour wall drinking a beer when Jan appeared in from of her. She hadn’t seen him for a while and she smiled genuinely as she shuffled along and he sat next to her.

                “Had a good evening?”

She nodded, turning to look at him, “I’ve had a great night. Just what I needed.”

Smiling back at her he replied, “You look SO much better when you smile!”

                “I haven’t done a hell of a lot of that!” She offered. “This was supposed to be my honeymoon.” She could tell by Jan’s expression of half embarrassment for making her confess, and pity that she’d had to holiday alone, that he was stunned. “It’s ok, I’m over it...I think!”

                “It’s brave to come alone...”

Brave? Was it? Until tonight she’d thought she’d been bloody stupid, now she was starting to realise that life was going on, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been as happy as she was at that moment. An irony in view of the fact that she had almost got married.  She’d worked as Richard’s assistant since graduating from University and she’d started initially a clandestine affair with him within weeks of starting there.  When they were discovered in a compromising position the affair became public knowledge. And that had been the start of changes. It was only now when she looked back that she could see the signs that Richard was a serial cheat. He travelled lots with work leaving her to run his business on a pittance of a salary. She lived in her small flat whilst he rolled around his palatial four bed apartment, she rarely was invited there,  and after the wedding they were moving into a smaller home together, though whilst she was giving up her rented home, he was intending to keep his apartment...for ‘business’.

She was such a fool, and now she had nothing, no money, no home, and after a phone call in the airport on her way to this beautiful island, no job either. She couldn’t even think about the loss of her friend, her confidante.

Turning back to Jan she groaned, “I found him with my best friend ten days before the wedding. And I don’t think they were discussing business....that is unless he had his latest marketing paperwork in his underpants!”

Jan was unable to control a burst of laughter at the imagery her words had conjured, “sorry! It’s not funny!”

She laughed for the first time, “it is funny! It’s bloody ridiculous!”

                “Now I can see why pool games and competitions don’t interest you!”

Nodding she scraped her hair behind her ear and jumped down off the wall, “I think I’ve been flashing a bit too much leg for a bit too long sitting up here! Do you want to dance?”

After an appreciative glance, he jumped down landing next to her, “no such thing as too much leg!” then took her hand and led her into the throng of people all milling around on the walkway.