By: Steph & Esther
“Hey, where’s Kiki?” Sophie asked placing one of her
Louis Vuitton Luggage in the boot of the four wheel drive.
” Yeah,” Giselle said looking around, “I
thought she’d be here to pick us up.”
Emily groaned and rolled her eyes, “She’s
meet this loser guy that doesn’t leave her alone….”
“…and they spend every minute together.”
Esmeralda added as she got into the driver’s seat.
“She said she’s in love!” Emily
slammed the door shut with full force and plopped herself next to her cousin.
“Hey Em, careful!” Esmeralda
exclaimed, “you’re gonna ruin my dad’s car!”
“Sorry Esi! It just that it makes me
so mad that Kiki is making a fool of herself. This guy’s a sleaze and I don’t
trust him!”
“Are you sure you’re not just
jealous?” Giselle asked buckling her seatbelt securely into place.
“What!?No way!”
Sylver, who was sitting at the front next to the
driver’s seat piped up & turned to look at her three cousins, “Well, she
is your twin and you did have plans of the things you were going to be doing
here. But…”
“No that’s not it.” Emily interrupted.
“Think about it Em,”Sylver continued, “You haven’t done ANY
of your things since this guy came along.”
Emily frowned considering the possibility and
shook her dark head, “No! That’s not it at all,” She said taking out her
phone and scrolling through it, “I took a photo of him during the ceremony
rehearsal yesterday, because I completely saw him checking out one of the
bridesmaids. The really tall one with black hair.”
“Raquel? “Esi offered.
“Yeah her. See this pic?” Emily passed the
phone to Sophie & Giselle.
“Ohh he’s cute!” Sophie giggled.
“He looks beautiful!” Giselle grabbed
the phone for a closer look, “Oh yeah, definitely perfect!”
“You guys!!! Stop that!” Emily snatched her
phone back and shoved it back into her satchel bag, “I’m serious. He was
checking her out!”
“Sorry to burst your bubble Em, but in that
picture you can’t really see him looking at anyone.” Giselle touched her
cousin’s arm in sympathy.
Esmeralda looked at her through the review
mirror, “Sorry Em. I know you think he’s a bad person and everything
but…”Esi’s voice trailed off….
“You sure you didn’t take that photo just
to be looking at him?” Sophie laughed and everyone followed suit. Emily
scowled and glared at her cousins. She loved them to bits but sometimes she
wanted to strangle them.
She looked out the car window oblivious to the scenery scrolling by and sighed, was Sylver right? Was she just jealous because her twin was spending all the time with this cute guy? Twins are supposed to have a close connection and everything and maybe she did miss her sister too much. She had to admit that she was disappointed that they hadn’t done what they had planned to do. Nevertheless, something about this guy really bugged her and she just couldn’t place it.
Oh, man she really needed to vent. She wished her best friend Taylah was close by so they could chat. She had to send her a long email tonight and just tell her everything. Taylah always had great advice.
Here she was in beautiful Spain Barcelona for her Uncle Alex’s wedding and she was depressed! And, she felt awful lying to her parents, whenever they called; she always said that they were both having a ball! if their mum found out that Kiki was spending time with a guy she didn’t know- she would chuck a fit!! They weren’t allowed to have boyfriends, let alone a foreign one they had met only one week ago.
And, was this guy even a Christian? He never mentioned God and the other day when they prayed before a meal; Emily had opened one eye and caught him glancing around the room bored! No respect at all!
The laughter of her cousin’s broke the spell of her thoughts and brought her back to reality. They had driven through her uncle’s front gates already! The drive back had definitely been faster, she guessed it was how much fun and noisy the ride had been.
“Giselle, Sophie!” Uncle Alex came to greet them.
“Hi Uncle Alex!” The girls answered in unison as
they ran over to give him a hug and a kiss.”
“So good to see you girls, look how grown
up you are. I trust the flight wasn’t too tiring for you?”
“No way,” Giselle exclaimed, “it
was amazing!”
“Oh?” Alejandro frowned not
understanding how a twenty-four-hour flight was so ‘amazing’ as Giselle had
stated.
Sophie flicked her long blond her and positioned
her expensive carry- on-bag on her shoulder, “Well, being such a long trip,
daddy thought it would be nice to travel first class and naturally I wouldn’t
leave Giselle in economy.” Sophie wrapped her arm around Giselle and
giggled.
“That’s what happens when you’re daddy’s
little princess!” Esmeralda remarked loudly, dragging a luggage behind
her.
“Hey, I heard that,” Sophie pouted,
“and don’t drag my Louis! It might wreck!” She squealed.
Everyone laughed.
“But you do have a heart of gold!” Sylver concluded as they walked into the house together.
Emily’s phone peeped, indicating that a message had come through, quickly she dug it out of her satchel bag and read it, her heart sank,
Emy I won’t make it 4 dinner 2nite,
Chris & I r still sightseeing he’ll call uncle Alex to let him know Kxo
Emily’s blood boiled! How dare she do that, Sophie and Giselle had just arrived into the country and she was giving them the flick like if they were cockroaches! Grrr…She slammed the phone shut and threw it into her bag. She didn’t want to reply just yet, she might say something she would later regret……
Kiki checked her phone for what seemed the hundredth time. It had been over an hour and Em hadn’t replied! That was so weird. She always had her phone with her and replied within seconds, even while she was in class! Kiki giggled, shaking her head and remembering Em’s phone obsession. Had her phone died? No, that wasn’t it either; she always carried her charger just in case. Kiki let out a sigh as she came to the only other possible conclusion – Em was mad at her.
Kiki groaned, hating having her twin mad at her, it wasn’t fun! She began to dial and rehearse in her mind everything she would say to make Em happy again.
“Katherine,” Chris’s smooth accent interrupted her thoughts as she was about to press ‘call’. Kiki looked up and saw him holding a gorgeous sparkly bracelet. She gasped and walked closer to his side, the phone call forgotten.
“Oh, wow that’s stunning!” Kiki gushed, taking a closer look, “and expensive!”.
Chris laughed, “Happy to hear you like it.” Even in the soft night lighting, Chris’ eyes twinkled.
Kiki cleared her throat and tightened her grip around her phone, “Let me just ring Em, I think she’s…”
“Asleep?” He interrupted, grabbing the phone from her hand.
Kiki frowned, it couldn’t be that late could it?
She glanced at her watch, “What! I didn’t realise it was so late! Em and Uncle Alex are going to kill me – I’ll be grounded for life!” She snatched the phone back from Chris and threw it into her handbag, “Seriously Chris, we need to go now!”
She hurried along the concreted streets of Las Ramblas, oblivious to her surroundings and the delicious smells of food wafting through the air. All she could think about was getting into huge trouble with her uncle Alex, and him ringing home to tell her parents.
She cringed at the thought of her parents’ fury, if they knew she was going out with a guy five years older than her, a non-Christian and a foreigner – a complete stranger!
“Katherine, please…”She could hear Chris running behind her and muttering under his breath in Spanish or Catalan. She didn’t speak either so she wasn’t sure. Finally Chris caught up to her and grabbed her arm to stop her, “what is wrong?”
Kiki exhaled and pointed to her watch, “It’s 1.00 a.m. Chris! I have never, ever been out that late with anyone before, especially a guy. My parents will flip if they know I am doing this. They were really specific when we left Charlotte Bay. They gave us a huge set of rules and…”
Chris lifted his hand up as if stopping traffic, “OK, you speak too fast the English… but you and me have done nothing wrong. Have I hurt you? Or tried to kiss you or take ‘advance’ to you?”
Kiki opened her mouth to speak and shut it again. No, he had been a perfect gentleman.
“Katherine,” He whispered in his divinely smooth accent – an accent that made her simple name sound magnificent – “it’s OK. I told your uncle Alex that I would be very late with you. Look around you, Barcelona is alive!”
Kiki stopped and looked; he was right. Las Ramblas was in the full swing of things. People and restaurants were open as if it was the middle of the day.
Chris moved closer to her, the scent of his cologne powerful, yet not offensive. He reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze, “We will go home now I promise, but first the little gift.” Chris dangled the beautiful bracelet she had seen a few minutes ago and smiled, flashing his white teeth, “For you.”
“No, that’s too expensive, I couldn’t!” Kiki started to say…
“I’m glad you like it.”
Kiki shook her head, how could this guy make her forget everything in seconds? She hated not having full control. It was frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time.
“It’s yours”, Chris smiled charmingly.
“Chris, I can’t…” Kiki began as he placed it around her wrist.
“It’s how I feel, Katherine, te amo.” Chris leaned forward as he fastened it, and kissed her lightly on her cheek.
Kiki’s faced flamed and she quickly drew back, her heart hammering in her chest. I really need to take control of my emotions, she thought, what is wrong with me? Chris had only kissed her cheek; why did she feel so flustered?
Feeling vulnerable and annoyed she looked up at Chris’s hazel eyes and melted again! Her emotions in turmoil.
_________________________________________
Kiki waved Chris goodbye as he drove out of Uncle Alex’s front gate. She still couldn’t believe how a guy – well a man – had fallen for her. She didn’t feel that she was especially beautiful, but he made her feel as if she was the most stunning creature in the world. She closed the front door behind her and practically floated up the stairs.
He said ‘I love you’. She couldn’t stop the dreamy smile on her face, as she replayed his words in her head over and over again. She looked at her sparkling wrist and sighed, he loved her! Even though he had said it in Spanish, ‘te amo’ was a universally known phrase.
Rounding the corridor, Kiki was surprised to see the light in her room still on – Em was still awake?
Opening the door slowly, Kiki saw her twin laying on her back, on the bed, with headphones on, a type of Barcelona sweet bread on a napkin, and what looked like a glass of cold milk on the bedside table.
Kiki wanted to laugh out loud! Her sister looked like she was in heaven – she knew how to indulge in the simple things. Kiki walked over and peered at her from above. Em looked up.
Kiki gave her a tentative smile. Taking her headphones off, Em sat up, “I couldn’t sleep, I was worried,” she said honestly.
“I know!” Kiki plopped herself onto the bed next to her sister, “we completely lost track of time. I was going to call you, but I got distracted at Las Ramblas and the next thing I knew it was 1.00 a.m. and I nearly died!”
Em stared back at her sister without saying a word.
“Em, I’m really, really sorry. I honestly got completely lost with the time”, Kiki pleaded.
Em crossed her legs on the bed, “You didn’t make it to dinner with Gi and Soph. They arrived today, and missed seeing you.”
“Oh no!” Kiki gasped, “I completely forgot, I would never blow them off.” She covered her face in remorse, “were they mad?”
“No, they weren’t.” Some humour tinged Em’s voice as she remembered the girl’s excitement, “They were excited about you and ‘Romeo’.”
Kiki grabbed her sister’s arm, “Oh Em, it was such an amazing night, and I was on my way home for dinner when Chris remembered about some night markets and he took me there. Just spending time with him is sooo nice. He makes me forget everything!”
“Yeah, I know!” Em muffled, through a mouthful of bread.
“And…” Kiki rummaged through her bag, “I brought you a peace offering.” She pulled out a packaged rectangular box, and handed it over to Em, “They’re called ‘Turon’. It’s a Spanish version of peanut brittle, sort of.”
Em looked at her sister through narrow playful eyes as she tilted her head to the side, “That’s so not fair Katherine Anderson! You can’t use food as bribery – especially sweets!” Em groaned and grabbed the box, “Gosh, they look divine!”
“Sooo, you’re not mad anymore?”
Em looked up at her sister’s sheepish grin as she produced two more boxes from her bag – more sweetness heaven.
“Oh fine, I’m not mad anymore,” Em laughed as they hugged.
“Oh wow!” Em exclaimed, grabbing her sister’s wrist, “That’s stunning! Did you buy that at the markets?”
Kiki cleared her throat and looked at the pretty sparkles, “Um, actually it’s a gift…” she didn’t say from whom.
“It looks really expensive Kiki”.
“It is”, Kiki began as she told Em everything.
“Kiks, that’s too much to give someone you basically just met, it’s been like, just over a week, and he’s buying you expensive gifts and proclaiming his love? It’s going way too fast.”
“I know, but…” Kiki stood up and took off the bracelet, admiring it again.
“Look, I’m just saying you have to be careful, and you can’t keep the bracelet. Either give it back or pay him back!” Em ordered.
“Em, no!” Kiki slumped back on the bed next to her sister, “He might think I don’t like it, which means that he’ll think that I don’t like him. And I really like him.”
Deep down, Kiki knew that if her parents were around they would make her give back the expensive gift. They wouldn’t approve. But honestly, this was just a gift, she thought. Besides, the Spaniards probably showed their love in a more refined way.
Em looked at her sister with eyebrows raised, “What do you think Mum and Dad would tell you to do?”
Kiki groaned, “OK, let me think about it and I’ll tell him in the morning. But…you have to promise me that you will make a GOOD effort to get to know Chris.”
Em rolled her eyes, but nodded, Oh I’ll get to know him, alright! Like the old saying goes, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. Em took another bite of her bread, and remembered she really needed to pray for her sister. Kiki was definitely not thinking or acting like herself. What had happened to the self-controlled, grounded girl from Charlotte Bay?
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT PODCAST…….
