Chapter 26 - Made of Gold

It’s finally that day. The day I can pick up Ben from hospital and bring him home. Everything at Soñador is ready for Bens’ arrival.

He has slowly started to recover and he is able to speak again. He is still quickly out of breath and he is not allowed to do something that would make him run out of breath. “No sex.” Ben grins and I smile. “No sex.” I agree with a pout.

“Unless you do all the work.” Ben laughs and I gently poke him. “No sex.” I say again.
Funny how it’s changed, from sex a few times a day, to no sex for weeks.
We are such a well behaved couple.

The smile is back on my face. I survived two nights at Soñador without nightmares or any problems. And I am ready to get through the rest of the nights together with Ben. Until he’s healthy enough to travel on.

I found a job as a waitress in a restaurant close by the house. Thanks to Erica, who spoke to a few people about my situation.

I will surely earn some money so we will be able to continue our traveling. I have the feeling I am not done yet.

We decorated the house with balloons and garlands. Erica and Carlotta are waiting for Ben and I to arrive. They hug us both when we step outside the car. Ben looks around. “I think I will be fine, being back here.” He whispers. I kiss him on the cheek and take him inside.

I force him to sit down on the couch and Erica and I make some coffee and sandwiches for us.
I bring it back to the living room. Ben is staring outside. “Are you okay?” I ask. Ben turns around and nods. “I will be.” He says.

I lean in for a kiss. “I got you some food.” I say and point at the table.
We eat in silence.

“We are going for some shopping.” Erica tells me. “We‘ll be back later.” She says.
Carlotta and Erica leave the house. Ben and I stay behind, together, alone.
A car drives by and I look out of the window. It’s a police car. They really keep their promise.

I assured them that Rick would not rest till he killed us both. And thank god they believed me. They will drive past the house every now and then. They also gave me a phone number that I have to call when I see Rick.

Like they would be on time to save us. When I see Rick, it will probably too late.

I curl up against Ben on the couch and he strokes my hair. “I am glad to have you around me all day again.” Ben smiles.

“I have to disappoint you on that sir. I have to work tomorrow. But Erica will be here to watch over you.” I say. “Oh, yes, your job, I almost forgot.” Ben pouts.
I place a kiss on his cheek. “You’ll be fine! It’s only for a few hours and you will be asleep most of the time anyway.” I grin.
“Sleeping? Why?” Ben asks. “Because you need to rest, and I work in the evenings.” I explain. I don’t really feel like leaving Ben, but I have no choice if we want to continue traveling.

And I surely do want to continue traveling. But I wouldn’t mind staying here either.

“Ben?” I ask. “Hmm?” he replies.
“Can we come back here one day? Can we come back to Seville when we are done traveling?”

“Forever you mean?” He asks. I shake my head. “Not necessarily. Maybe just on holiday. But I really love it here.”

“Even after the tumultuous time we have had?” He asks. “Even after this time. The past few weeks have brought us closer together. Rick did not manage to pull us apart. My love for you grew stronger than ever before.” I confess.

Ben kisses my head. “Things happen for a reason, and even though this wasn’t a fun thing to go through, it made a lot of things clearer to me.” He says.

I sit up straight and look at him. “What?” I ask.

“I’ve always been the kind of guy to just have fun. To go out and do all the fun things in life. I never thought I could still do this with a girlfriend. I thought that having a girlfriend would be the end of all the fun things in life. But in fact, the fun only got better.” He says.

“I simply love you Lynn. I can’t make it better, I can’t change the things that happened. I can only be here and love you.“ Ben looks at me with a little smile on his face.

“That’s all I need Ben. And I am here to love you and be there for you whenever you need me.” I say and lean in for a kiss.

“I’ll go wherever you want me to go.” Ben says with a smile.

“And I will go wherever you will take me.” I grin. “I love you Ben.”

I gently hug him. “I love you too Lynn.” He replies. I place my head in his lap and look up at him. He strokes the hair from my face. My eyes locked with his. They say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. And now I know how they figured that out. They must have been staring into Ben’s eyes when they came up with that.
His eyes seem to tell a story, that only I can understand.

Erica comes back home and I help her get dinner ready. It’s a simple Paella with sea food. We chat and laugh loudly. Ben walks into the kitchen. “Having fun I see?” he asks. I look at Ben. “I am sir.” I smile and hand him the spoon. “Can you stir for a moment? I want to go out for a smoke.”

“Can I join you instead?” He asks. “No, you can’t. Not such a good idea huh, to smoke with a perforated lung.” I grumble and luckily he agrees. He takes the spoon from me and I run outside.

I sit down on the porch, looking out over the fields. My thoughts run and I think about the past time.
I know that everything happens for a reason. I wonder what the reason behind all this sadness is.

I squint my eyes. It looks like something is moving at the back of the field. “Not again.” I mumble to myself.
I throw away my cigarette and quickly run inside. I lock the door and slide the chain on it.
“Erica, can you come here for a moment please?” I call.

Erica comes through the door and I point at a spot that’s quickly coming closer. “You see that?” I ask. Erica nods. “There is someone coming.” She says. My legs tremble and I need to sit down. “Can it be Rick?” I ask. “Could be. But I run a very well known Bed & Breakfast, so it could be a guest too.” She replies, but I can hear from the tone of her voice, that she’s not that certain either.

I run to the bedroom, grab the gun from my bag and place it on the table next to me. Just to be sure.

The spot in the distance is quickly coming closer, and it’s definitely a running person. Ben comes into the room and looks at us. “What are you doing here?” He asks.

I press my fingers against my lips. “Shh, someone’s coming.” And point at the clearly visible person now.