and bitter, not desolate—a woman who had been deserted. ‘I said at the very beginning I didn’t want to come and live here. Not with everything so dirty. In some of the shops, stuff like flour is in an open sack: what about the mice? And everyone paws the vegetables before they buy what they want. What happens if someone’s got something nasty like . . . Well, you know what I mean?
‘Maybe it doesn’t matter for the likes of you. You live here and are used to things, but in England our food’s wrapped up, like it should be. And what happens when you eat in a restaurant? No tablecloths and the food’s covered with garlic so it smells worse’n a Frenchman.’
‘Garlic is very good for the health . . .’ he began.
‘My mother never had any in her house, not in all her seventy-three years. If she could smell what they dish up here and have the nerve to charge for, she’d turn in her grave. And when you’re ill, what happens? The doctors can’t even speak simple English.’
‘Señora, this is Spain . . .’
‘I know that all right, don’t make any mistake on that score. And I also know what happens when you’re ill. I had a pain in the chest and it got so bad I just had to see a doctor. D’you think I could get him to understand what was wrong? Back home even the wog doctors are brighter than him. I could have died for all he understood or cared.’
Alvarez tried to move the conversation along. T suppose Sen or Allen liked living here?’
‘It’s different for a man. He can go out on a boat, play golf, or go boozing. What can a woman do?’
‘Are there no other English ladies to meet?’
‘Them! . . . D’you think they’d ever try to be friendly? Just because I don’t sound like the BBC and used to watch Coronation Street . . . I wish we’d never left home and come out here to live. Then he’d still be alive.’ For a moment, her expression became one of misery, then it changed back to bewildered resentment. ‘But he wouldn’t take any notice of what I said. Insisted on chucking up his job and coming out here to live and if I didn’t like it I could stay at home. Did he think I was going to leave him on his own so he could have fun with every young bitch on the beach?’
‘What kind of a job did he have, señora?’
‘Worked in the local railway offices. That is, when the lazy sods weren’t on strike. I told him, if I went on strike as often as he did, he’d go hungry.’
‘Did he have a job here, on the island?’
‘You’ve got to be joking! He told me before we came out that he wasn’t going to do another stroke of work for the rest of his life. It’s the only time since we got married that he’s kept to his word. I’m not lying, if I asked him to pass the paper, he’d tell me to ring for the maid to come and do it.’
‘You have a maid?’
‘Five days a week and if I worked as little as she does, I’d be ashamed to take the money. Tell her to clean a room and what’s she do? Uses a duster to flick the dust from one place to another. She won’t use a Hoover. I’m telling you, she just won’t use one. Says they’re unhygenic: leastways, I think that’s what she says. I only took her on because she was supposed to speak English, but if what she speaks is English then I’m a Hottentot. I’d get rid of her only I can’t look after a place this size on my own.’
‘It looks a very nice house.’
‘It’s too big and that’s what I told Simon when he said he was going to buy it. There’s only the two of us and we can’t sleep in more than one bedroom at a time, can we? But he always did have big ideas . . .’ She stopped and stared into space.
‘Was your house in England not so big?’
‘Number eight, Oldgate Street? You’d near fit the whole of it into this one room. But the people along the road were friendly and if I wanted a chat all I had to do was walk up and see Gwen or Madge and they’d give me a cup of tea.’
‘It must have been quite a
‘Maybe it doesn’t matter for the likes of you. You live here and are used to things, but in England our food’s wrapped up, like it should be. And what happens when you eat in a restaurant? No tablecloths and the food’s covered with garlic so it smells worse’n a Frenchman.’
‘Garlic is very good for the health . . .’ he began.
‘My mother never had any in her house, not in all her seventy-three years. If she could smell what they dish up here and have the nerve to charge for, she’d turn in her grave. And when you’re ill, what happens? The doctors can’t even speak simple English.’
‘Señora, this is Spain . . .’
‘I know that all right, don’t make any mistake on that score. And I also know what happens when you’re ill. I had a pain in the chest and it got so bad I just had to see a doctor. D’you think I could get him to understand what was wrong? Back home even the wog doctors are brighter than him. I could have died for all he understood or cared.’
Alvarez tried to move the conversation along. T suppose Sen or Allen liked living here?’
‘It’s different for a man. He can go out on a boat, play golf, or go boozing. What can a woman do?’
‘Are there no other English ladies to meet?’
‘Them! . . . D’you think they’d ever try to be friendly? Just because I don’t sound like the BBC and used to watch Coronation Street . . . I wish we’d never left home and come out here to live. Then he’d still be alive.’ For a moment, her expression became one of misery, then it changed back to bewildered resentment. ‘But he wouldn’t take any notice of what I said. Insisted on chucking up his job and coming out here to live and if I didn’t like it I could stay at home. Did he think I was going to leave him on his own so he could have fun with every young bitch on the beach?’
‘What kind of a job did he have, señora?’
‘Worked in the local railway offices. That is, when the lazy sods weren’t on strike. I told him, if I went on strike as often as he did, he’d go hungry.’
‘Did he have a job here, on the island?’
‘You’ve got to be joking! He told me before we came out that he wasn’t going to do another stroke of work for the rest of his life. It’s the only time since we got married that he’s kept to his word. I’m not lying, if I asked him to pass the paper, he’d tell me to ring for the maid to come and do it.’
‘You have a maid?’
‘Five days a week and if I worked as little as she does, I’d be ashamed to take the money. Tell her to clean a room and what’s she do? Uses a duster to flick the dust from one place to another. She won’t use a Hoover. I’m telling you, she just won’t use one. Says they’re unhygenic: leastways, I think that’s what she says. I only took her on because she was supposed to speak English, but if what she speaks is English then I’m a Hottentot. I’d get rid of her only I can’t look after a place this size on my own.’
‘It looks a very nice house.’
‘It’s too big and that’s what I told Simon when he said he was going to buy it. There’s only the two of us and we can’t sleep in more than one bedroom at a time, can we? But he always did have big ideas . . .’ She stopped and stared into space.
‘Was your house in England not so big?’
‘Number eight, Oldgate Street? You’d near fit the whole of it into this one room. But the people along the road were friendly and if I wanted a chat all I had to do was walk up and see Gwen or Madge and they’d give me a cup of tea.’
‘It must have been quite a
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