Inseparable 2

Chapter 2-3

“Okay, that’s fine. I’ll call you Friday night.”

“Brilliant. Say hello to Nick for me, and you take care of yourself.”

“You too!”

“Oh, and Ronnie?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not really sure Ewan will be available that weekend. He’s very busy these days with MSF.”

“That’s no trouble at all. Really. The point is, you should be there,” she stated a bit too quickly.

It was only after she had hung up that Veronic began to feel that her comment about Ewan may have been a little insensitive. But it suited her plans much better if Alex were to visit London on her own that weekend, and she genuinely hoped that Ewan would have something else to do.

#

Alexis had just finished her exhausting twelve-hour shift, and she could hardly wait to get home and stand under a hot shower. She knew the day was far from over, as it was one of those rare occasions when her father was coming to see her in person. As a matter of fact, this was the second time James had come to see her in Sheffield. On the first occasion, he and Elisabeth had visited her when she took the job and moved here. This time around, her father happened to be on a business trip in the area, so they decided not to miss the opportunity to spend some time together. Despite her tiredness, Alex looked forward to meeting him, but before she did anything else, she opened a bottle of dry red wine - a favourite of her father's - so that the drink would have time to air before the meal. James was tactful and foresighted enough not to come empty-handed: he arrived with two portions of steaming beef stew he had bought at a nearby bistro. They had a nice relaxed dinner and a cosy chat, sipping on the wine. Alex noted with regret, as she had done so many times before, that the atmosphere was much less intense than it would have been in her mother's company.

James Woodville’s reddened cheeks were an unmistakable give-away sign that he was on his third glass of wine, and fully content.

“Daddy, I think it’s better if you spend the night here,” she remarked with laughter, referring to the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

“But I’m fine!” he protested.

“I’m not saying you’re not, but it would put me at greater ease if you would stay put and spend the night here. You can have my bed, and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“That’s out of the question!”

“Don’t protest. I’m the doctor, or whatever.”

“Talking about you as a doctor,” James lifted his finger with significance, “What about this Colombia issue? Were you serious, or was it just a passing fancy?”

Alexis heaved a deep sigh while standing up to clean the table.

“Ewan's dead serious. I haven’t made a final decision yet. My contract in Sheffield is supposed to expire in a month. After my exams, I’m free to decide whether I want to stay or go elsewhere.”

“I have the feeling you like it here.”

“True. But MSF also excites me. You know I’ve always wanted to try my luck on something like that.”

“I know,” he nodded unwillingly.

“And perhaps I could even dust off my Spanish there.”

“You’re not saying you can still speak Spanish?”

“¡Por supuesto, señor!” she replied, at which they both laughed. “But seriously. What do you think?”

James shook his head without any conviction, while drinking the last drop of wine from his glass.

“Colombia is a dangerous country, Alex. People get abducted. A single woman like you would be a target.”

“I wouldn’t go as a single woman. I’d go with Ewan, and there would be a team of ten with us.”

“Well, I don’t know,” he sighed. “I think it’s crazy. But don’t forget I’m your father, and naturally, I’m worried about you. I may not be the best person to ask regarding the issue.”

“That’s possible,” she smiled at him warmly.

“And Ewan? Is he definitely going? Even if you’re not joining him? I find that quite strange.”

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. She herself couldn’t see clearly what the deal was. It was a fact that Ewan had been talking about wanting to join one of the Médecins Sans Frontièrs groups. Ever since it had turned out that he would work with a medical group in Colombia, he had consistently tried to talk Alex into going with him, to start the adventure together. She felt uncertain about the Colombia mission, but what worried her most was that she had some questions about Ewan’s person as well. Up till then, they had enjoyed a great measure of independence, but if both of them were to travel there, they would be together day and night. Just like a married couple. Ronnie wasn’t wrong when she compared the young doctor to Dominic. They were both obsessed with their profession, but while Nick was a man of theories, a researcher, Ewan found great pleasure in connecting with his patients in the process of healing them. Their dressing styles and fields of interest were also very similar. Although Ewan was handsome, cheerful and funny, Ronnie was nevertheless taken aback when her sister introduced him to the family one and a half years before. As the two men, the ex and the present boyfriend, stood side by side in the Woodville villa, conversing about the spreading of the Ebola virus in Africa, Veronic just stared at them in surprise, moving her eyes from one man to the other, and then to Alex. She had the impression that however amazing Ewan was, he wasn’t the best match for Alexis. What was this invisible power that caused her sister to tie herself once again to a man she did not passionately love? Was it some kind of self-t*****e? Ronnie often found herself brooding over such things; she was genuinely lost for an explanation.

That night, Alex wasn’t able to find a satisfactory answer regarding the Colombian mission or her relationship. Suppressing her inner frustration, she continued her cosy chat as she prepared the sofa for James’ night time rest.

#

In his anger, Nathaniel slammed the door so vehemently behind him, that the paint began to fall from the ceiling. It wasn’t the first time, and he had lost count of the number of occasions he and Carolin had had such a heated fight. The woman’s uncontrolled mood swings and bouts of jealousy, coupled with her quick changes of opinion drove him crazy. When things were okay, he had fun with her. But when something wasn’t right, all the devils of Hell seemed to have been released upon him. The cause of these swings between such extremes was still a mystery to Nathaniel, despite the one and a half years he had spent with this cyclone of a woman. There were incidents when, on his arrival home, he found her in his apartment, completely lethargic. The first time this happened was right after they had decided to live together in Nate’s Barcelona apartment. The second time she fell into a depression was when they had chosen to separate. Still, there had also been occasions when she, like the most dedicated of lovers, had prepared a kind and generous gift for his birthday, which would knock him off his feet. Then would come another downfall, followed by another period of her feeling high, and intensively happy. Nathaniel was confused. In the beginning, Caro’s secrecy had appealed to him, and he had found her capricious behaviour exciting. But now, he had begun to feel tired of the relationship with all of its complications. While rushing to the car waiting outside, and mumbling curse words under his breath, the thought of terminating the relationship crossed his mind once more. If good was very good with her, bad was downright miserable.

To avoid the paparazzi, Luis waited for him not in the street, but in the inside garden of the apartment house. Nate yanked the door of the Audi open, and with palpable anger, threw himself in, next to his cousin.

“Come on, drive!” he snarled. Lu raised his eyebrows while shaking his head and starting the engine.

As they rolled out of the garden into the street, cameras immediately flashed at them from the opposite sidewalk. The media headhunters must have been able to sniff the current whereabouts of some of the football stars, which meant that over the last several weeks they had been on constant standby at the exit of the house, hoping to get a few random shots.

“They’ve become so cheeky lately,” Lu noted indignantly, while firmly applying pressure on the accelerator. “But I have a suspicion as to where the info must have leaked from. You might want to give a thought to the house in Sarrià-Sant Gervas,” he said, glancing to the side, to see how the other was taking the idea of another relocation.

No reaction came at all. Nate stared out the window, and chewed on his nails, feeling frustrated. Lu could only assume what was behind all of his tension. He knew Nate all too well, and had kept up-to-date with the past months’ emotional turmoil of Carolin as well. He had tried to persuade Nathaniel not to be with her, but Nate wouldn't listen in the same way as he wouldn't listen to his mother either in recent times. As a matter of fact, the whole family was against the relationship, but Nate’s stiff-necked response was that he liked a challenge, and his relationship with Carolin definitely fell under that category. When the others couldn’t comprehend this, he would just laugh and say that with Carolin he was guaranteed never to be bored. Lu never doubted this, yet, he didn’t consider this to be sufficient motivation to keep the relationship going. Strangely, however, he couldn’t say that the complications with this Ruiz woman were having a negative effect on Nathaniel’s achievements on the pitch. On the contrary, he always played much better in times of stress. True, he would collect a lot more yellow cards than usual, but he would also venture more, and get involved in more of the action during the game, which always reaped its benefits. At the time, he was going at it head-to-head with another footballer from Madrid for the title of League Championship Goal King. This meant that professionally he was reaching for the skies, and yet, Luis couldn't help but feel sorry for him because of all the chaos that was going on in his private life. But he couldn’t help him. Nathaniel was a closed door, and Lu had no idea that Nate's race for self-destruction had only just begun.

“Is it Caro?” he finally asked, when they made their way out of the camera flares.

Nate looked at him darkly, then breathed out in anger, and thumped the glove compartment.

“Sometimes I have the feeling that I could strangle her.”

Luis was about to say something like I would’ve done that a long time ago, but then thought the better of it. He didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.

“She drives me crazy.”

“What’s the problem now?”

“London. We’ve already discussed that we’d go to my father’s birthday together.”

“And?”

“Now she’s decided she doesn’t want to come, after all.”

“Where? To London?” Lu asked in disbelief. “But she is always nagging you with how much she hates Barcelona and how very much she wants to be in London.”

Nathaniel looked at him flatly.

“Up until yesterday,” he responded in a restrained voice. “Now, though, she doesn’t intend to come with me at all, even though we arranged things long ago.”

“I don’t get it,” he shook his head. “Could it be because of your parents?”

“I don’t have the foggiest, Lu. Hell, I haven’t the foggiest idea why. And I’m pretty sure she hasn’t either!”

“Now what?” Lu looked at Nate questioningly, wrinkling his forehead.

“I’ve had enough. I’m dead serious,” he stated, shaking his head angrily. “I’m finished with her. On Wednesday, after the game against Atlético, we are travelling as planned. I’ll be here again on Saturday, for the charity match. Of course, you can stay longer with the family in London, if you wish. I have no objections.”

“We’ll probably stay a few days. We’ll see. But how will you sell that to Ruiz?” Lu asked, referring to Caro’s father, the club’s director.

“I don’t give a s**t. You think I care about his opinion?” Nathaniel snorted indignantly.

“This is still a touchy issue, Nate. The press will tear you to pieces again. You know how much such things can irritate Sandro?”

“Why? Is it my fault his daughter behaves like a schizophrenic?” he shouted, spreading his arms heatedly. “I bet there’s no other man on earth who could have taken it longer than me. Besides,” he added somewhat more quietly, “he knows exactly how horribly difficult things can get with Caro. Not to mention Eva,” Nathaniel waved, referring to his girlfriend’s mother. “She was the first to warn me not to be surprised about certain things regarding Carolin.”