The Women Who Ran Away - Sheila O'Flanagan Page 0,121
while, but eventually she gave a cry of satisfaction.
‘Less than a kilometre away,’ she said. ‘I reckon we should go now. It seems to have cooled down a bit.’
Deira agreed, and Grace returned the laptop to her room before they set out. The intense heat had gone out of the sun, but it was still very warm and there weren’t too many people about. They followed the map to the Avenida de la Constitución, a wide street with a pedestrian zone running through the centre, bordered by flower beds and trees. A few minutes after they turned onto it, they found the bronze sculpture of Lorca, sitting on a bench.
‘Will I take one of you with him?’ asked Deira, after Grace had captured a few snaps of the famous poet.
‘D’you mind another selfie? The children are expecting them now.’
So they sat either side of the poet, copying his pose by crossing one leg over the other and trying, as Grace said, to look as serious and literary as possible. She sent the photo to Aline, and almost immediately received a reply back saying that they looked as if they were having a good time. ‘And Deira is fabulous!’ Grace read out. ‘Such a strong-looking woman.’
Deira laughed. ‘If only she knew.’
‘But she’s right,’ said Grace. ‘No matter what you might feel inside at the moment, you are strong, Deira. And you definitely look it in this photo.’
‘It’s the hairdo and the red lipstick,’ said Deira, who was thinking, with a certain amount of pleasure, that she did in fact look rather like a young Katharine Hepburn in an early Hollywood movie.
Grace shook her head. ‘That’s just gilding the lily. It’s your personality that shines out from the photo. I know that you’re struggling with the whole fertility thing,’ she continued. ‘I understand how important it is to you. But it’s not the defining thing about you. I admire that you’re a woman who’s done well in her career. You’ve taken some personal knocks, but you’re still looking at ways to move on. And you’ll find them. I know you will.’
‘I’m touched by your faith in me.’ Deira’s words were light but there was a lump in her throat, and she was cheered by Grace’s confidence in her.
‘I mean it,’ said Grace. ‘Now come on, let’s get something cool to drink. I’m positively melting here.’
They walked back towards their hotel, stopping on the way at a small bar with tables outside shaded by parasols, where the young barman suggested that they needed a couple of refreshing mojitos to cool them down.
‘Why not,’ said Grace, and soon they were sipping the mint-infused drinks and thinking that the barman had been absolutely right.
They had a second drink before going back to the hotel and uploading the photo. Once again, the wait was agonising until the ‘photo is a match’ message appeared and they were given the number 9 to unlock the next clue.
‘Or the result of the whole thing,’ said Grace. ‘You know, Deira, I’m not ready to do this yet. How about we leave it till later?’
Deira looked at her speculatively. ‘Are you afraid of coming to the end?’ she asked. ‘Of finding out what the professor thinks might be important in your future?’
‘A little,’ admitted Grace. ‘He’s been pulling the strings in the background all along. I don’t know what the conclusion will be, but I don’t want it to ruin my evening here.’
‘Whatever you think,’ said Deira. ‘I was considering the Alhambra tour tomorrow morning. There’s one at eight thirty and there are still tickets left. I checked online. Would you like to come with me?’
‘Ken and I visited the Alhambra a few years ago,’ Grace said. ‘It’s magnificent, but I won’t go again. We’re not in a rush tomorrow, so you take your time and enjoy it. The drive to our apartment is about three and a half hours, but it doesn’t matter what time we arrive. Even if Ken has added a clue for there, I know the place well, so it’s no big deal.’
‘OK,’ said Deira.
‘We’re the ideal travelling companions,’ observed Grace. ‘Happy to do stuff together and equally happy to do stuff alone.’
‘And rescue each other from night-time encounters in the middle of nowhere,’ said Deira with a smile.
‘And solve each other’s problems,’ added Grace.
‘And share the driving – I’ll do it tomorrow,’ said Deira.
‘Excellent.’ Grace smiled. ‘Would you like to eat together tonight or go our separate ways?’