43: Horses

They had already passed the reservoir and were almost there.
"Shall we eat at yours or mine?"
She turned as far as she could from the passenger seat, with the look of surprise and amusement that someone of her age might interpret a certain way.
"Do you realise how that sounded, sir?"
Mario moved his lips, repeating the question to himself. In a moment he understood how clichéd it sounded to outside ears. A mixture of surprise, mild embarrassment and considerable complicity made his eyes go wide and his mouth fall open.
"I didn't mean it like that!" He relaxed almost immediately. "Though now that you mention it..."
"Very nice — you put your foot in it in the sweetest possible way and flip it into flirting!" Marta laughed too.
He pulled in to park.
"We're not eating tinned beans and peaches again." His voice came out slightly lower, serious but with half a smile. "Are we?"
He took the key from the ignition while Marta watched him as though in slow motion.
"I could eat you whole, if I could." It slipped out.
They leaned towards each other with urgency — but a call on Marta's phone interrupted them.
"Hugo?"
"Auntie, why didn't you take my mother to the spa?" He was audibly exasperated. "She's climbing the walls!"
Mario, pressed close to Marta, formed a tight-lipped smile. He had to press his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.
"Well, I already had plans arranged..."
"Auntie Marta, please—" Felisa could be heard grumbling in the background about her son's fussing. "Do you have any ideas?"
Mario pulled back for a moment to search for something on his phone, while Marta tried to steer her nephew away from the conversation and reclaim the intimacy.
"I honestly don't know how I can help."
As she said it, he showed her a photo of his father and mimed a phone with his thumb and little finger extended, bringing it to his face.
"Marta, don't worry — my son is being dramatic!" Felisa called from the other side.
"Hugo, do you have your boss's number?" Marta tried to steer the conversation in the direction she thought she'd understood from Mario's gestures. "I'm going to hang up — I'll send you Manuel's number and you can call him. With any luck, he'll be able to help!"
Silence took hold of the call. Until Hugo thanked her and hung up.
A clear, shared burst of laughter filled the parked car. When it settled, Mario was the first to get out.
"I want to capture the beauty I see in you — the kind only I see."
She got out of the car and folded her arms on the roof, resting her chin on them and smiling with amusement.
"And what will you do with the painting when you're done?" She straightened up and closed the door. "Show it, of course — I'd die of embarrassment."
"I think there'd only be one other person who could recognise it — and they're not going to give me away."
Marta pulled a suspicious face, but decided to let it go.
"Shall we cook something together?" The idea came to her suddenly.
"What did you have in mind?"
He stretched out his arm and pointed shamelessly at a shop on the ground floor of the building next door.
"We could try something simple."
"I like that idea, my queen."
They went in to buy some pasta and tomato sauce. But Mario also picked up smoked salmon and guacamole. They also grabbed a couple of prepared salad bowls for dinner.
"Would you like to eat somewhere tomorrow on the way back to Madrid?" Marta smiled warmly.
"Will we be able to?"
She shrugged.
"Why not?"
After paying, they decided to eat at Marta's little house. But stepping onto the pavement, they came across a procession of riders on horseback.
They stood for a while watching the animals go past — and even a beautiful white mare with faint grey markings came over to sniff them.
"Whoa, Luna!" The rider brought her to a halt.
"A very fitting name." Marta remarked.
"Your daughter made a similar comment about my cousin's bodyguard." Mario rested his free arm over her shoulders as he said it. "Ask Julián about it."
"You make such a lovely couple — you can see how close you are!" The woman was trying to get Luna moving again. "Forgive the mare — she's in foal and tends to feel drawn to females of other species. Good afternoon!"
She gave a firm pull on the reins and the mare finally obeyed.
"Did you understand what she said?" Mario asked.
"Not a clue." She lied.
With his arm over her shoulders, Marta felt a deep, sudden fear at what the rider had implied. She dismissed it entirely given her age — but the doubt was there.
They reached the little house door and caught the neighbour across the road going inside.
"Hello, Auntie Tina!" Mario called the moment he saw her.
"You're looking radiant, neighbour." She looked directly at Marta.
"Thank you, Tina. Forgive me for not having asked your name since I've been here."
"Think nothing of it, love — tell me yours and we're even!"
"Call me Marta!" She tried to hug her around the waist, bags and handbag still in hand. "And this is Mario!"
"It's lovely to see such a warm and devoted couple — with all this pollution these days, couples aren't what they used to be." Tina moved her door curtain to go in. "I'm going to take the pot off the heat before my children come home and burn their tongues on the stew. See you soon!"
When the woman had gone inside, Marta and Mario looked at the little garden.
"You can see everything from here!" she exclaimed.
"Absolutely not." He said drily.
They joked about the effect that garden had from the inside until they crossed the overgrown patio — and he took all the shopping so she could open the old barrel lock.
They started cooking what they had bought. While Marta prepared pasta with tomato sauce and flaked tuna, Mario added guacamole and chopped salmon to his.
"Have you tried it sandwich-style?"
"It's pasta with guacamole and salmon — where's the bread in that?"
"Want to try?" He stretched out his fork with some macaroni on it.
The smell hit her and she gagged — and he grew concerned.
"Are you all right, Marta?"
"Perfectly fine!" She was smiling, but exhaling, with the same worried expression as before. "I think I'll avoid raw fish until I see the doctor." She took a paper napkin and wiped his mouth before planting an unplanned kiss on him. "I love you."