The weekend passes by in a blink and it’s Sunday before I know it. We said goodbye to David yesterday and he promises to be back in fall, together with his wife, Joanne.
I couldn’t help but crying a little when he left. He did so much for us the past weeks and I really started to like him. I had to make him promise to call us soon.
Tomorrow will be the first day that Suerte opens its’ doors. I go to bed early, I need to be in shape the next day. Ten kids will need all my attention for most of the day. Inéz will be there at seven in the morning and we will open our doors at eight.
I kiss Ben goodnight and crawl under the covers.
The alarm clock rings, it's 6:15. I yawn and quietly swing my legs out of the bed. It's D-day today.
I quickly brush my teeth, get dressed and make some coffee for Inèz and me. My hands are shaking by the time the clock strikes eight. The day finally started.
Parents and children are filling the room. Inèz and I run back and forth to sooth crying kids and talk to parents. Nine out of ten kids have arrived and we get everything ready to have a short break with the oldest kids. The babies are relaxing in their cradles.
Inèz takes care of the youngest kids while I take the oldest ones outside to play in the garden.
Ben peeks around the corner and waves at the kids and me.
I introduce Ben to the kids and tell them he loves to play soccer. Ben grins and jumps over the fence. "I'm the soccer king" he laughs. The three five year old boys are immediately drawn to Ben. Rico, the oldest of the three, grabs a ball and kicks it towards Ben. "Play?" he asks in his best English. Ben nods and runs after the ball with three little boys close behind him.
I enjoy myself reading books to two little girls in the hammock while keeping an eye on two little two year old siblings who play in the sandbox.
"Bénito, no!" I shout when the little boy tries to take a bite of the sand.
Ben and the boys are done playing their soccer game and return back to me. Ben is all sweaty and the boys' faces are red. "I'm going to take a shower." Ben gives me a quick kiss before heading back inside. I smile. This is going better than I expected.
The kids are getting whiny and hungry so we head back inside for lunch and nap time.
The daycare is silent when most of the kids are asleep. Inèz and I both hold a baby on our lap and we quietly talk together.
The day ends quicker than expected. Inèz and I clean up and lock the doors. Inèz heads home and I move myself towards the good smell that's coming from the kitchen.
The table is set. Ben is sitting on the counter waiting for the oven dish to be done. I sniff. "That smells good Mr. Graupner." I give him a kiss and sit down at the kitchen table.
"How was your day?" He asks while jumping off of the counter to check on his dish. "It went better than expected. The kids are angels and even the oldest boys took a little nap after your soccer game." I smile.
"Good to hear. I had fun." Ben says.
"Dinner is ready." He bends and grabs the dish out of the oven. "Wow, Ben. You’ve really outdone yourself." I grin and look at the stuffed bell peppers. "Erica gave me the recipe. And it looks better than the fake paella." He laughs.
It was the best dinner anyone ever made for me. I ate more than I should have and my belly is hurting a little. We clean the kitchen and have a nice, relaxing evening together.
The days pass by quickly. The daycare is running great from the start and Inèz and I are like a machine together.
Ben regularly takes the oldest boys out for a soccer match or playing in the tree house.
The boys really adore Ben and I can see he's enjoying himself.
Little radars are running in my head. Ben has not found a job yet. What if I can get him take classes to become a teacher. He can teach the oldest kids to play music instruments and take them out on adventures. We can have more kids if Ben would be an extra pair of hands around.
I need to discuss this with him.
I finally find some time to talk about it. He frowns when I tell him about my plan. "I don't know Lynn. I like playing around with the kids and all. But I don't know if I can do it all day." He rubs his forehead.
"But I do like the thought about teaching kids music." He continues. "Maybe I can do something with that." Ben says thoughtfully. I smile. "I think you would do great and you don't have to focus on kids. You can teach anyone to play instruments." I stroke his cheek. "I need to look at all the options I think." He says.
His eyes are twinkling and a smile spreads across my face. “That would be so great if you could do that.” I jump up from my chair to hug him. “You are going to have a great time.” I kiss him a few times and he pulls me onto his lap. “I am sure I will. Thank you for having great thoughts.” He softly kisses my lips.
“Want to go out tomorrow?” Ben asks in between our kissing. “I would love to.” I reply breathless.
The last day at work this week goes by quickly and Ben and I get ready to head to town. I made a reservation at a simple but fancy restaurant in the middle of the center. I promised Ben to drive so he could drink.
The restaurant looks nice but it doesn’t have the authentic Spanish atmosphere as I had hoped it would have. It’s more of a tourist bar. The paella looks the same as how Ben made it, so I play on the safe side and order a steak.
Six weeks later
Everything has settled down at Ventura. The daycare is running and Ben is taking classes to learn how to give music lessons to kids. We found some parents who want their kids to learn how to play the guitar. Ben already has students signed up and he hasn’t even started yet. The future is looking bright.
Ben is working his ass off to get everything done around the music lessons. He wants to start sooner than later.
Spring has fully entered Seville and the days are getting longer and warm. It’s mid April and the olive trees are blooming. We spend most of our days outside, in the shadow of the trees.
But I, I feel like crap.
It’s like I’ve got food poisoning all over again. I thought back about the past days of throwing up.
It hasn’t been so bad as it was when I ate the bad paella, but it’s close to it. Throwing up nearly once a day and waking up with a sore stomach.
But I did not eat any seafood.
I don’t have time to worry about it a lot. The kids are pretty demanding and Ben needs his attention too when I get home from work.
Sometimes I wish I had some alone time.
It’s Friday and the sun is shining. I should be a happy girl, but I feel bad. Very bad. I open my eyes and the world is spinning already. I glare at the clock and it’s not even time to get up.
I have to run and I reach the toilet just in time.
Stomach bug.
Again.
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