Kevin pounced the moment Eduardo wandered into the living room the next morning. Carl and Beth were there too, both reading something and enjoying a cup of coffee.
'You said we could go to San Gervasio today,' said Kevin.
'Did I say that?' Eduardo asked sleepily.
'I think I said it,' said Kylie, coming in behind him, looking tired as well. 'And Beth and I were going to pick up guys at the dolphinarium – weren't we, Beth?'
'We could put the dolphins off until tomorrow,' said Beth, 'if you're too tired.'
'I'm not too tired,' said Kylie. 'And Eduardo's not too tired either – are you, sweetie?'
'Um,' said Eduardo.
'It's boring spending the day with these guys, Uncle Eduardo,' Kevin whined. 'But... we don't have to go to San Gervasio if you're tired. We could just stay in and read Harry Potter today.'
'I'm sorry, Kevin,' said Kylie. 'It's my fault for keeping him up all night.' Then she and Eduardo both sniggered.
'It's okay, Kev, we'll go today,' said Eduardo, once over his mirth. 'If it's okay with your dad.'
Carl, frowning, peered round from behind his newspaper. 'Do you really need me to go with you?'
'Well, yeah,' said Eduardo. 'We need you to drive.'
'You'd better hurry if you want to hire the car,' said Kylie, then once again she and Eduardo laughed mysteriously.
'You could take a tour bus or something,' said Carl, 'or hire a cab like Adela sometimes does. Beth and Kylie might want me to go with them. Don't you guys want an interpreter?' he asked, looking pleadingly from one to the other.
'You speak dolphin?' said Kylie. Then she subsided, sniggering, under a withering look from Carl.
'Almost everyone speaks English at the touristy places, hon,' said Beth. 'We'll be fine.'
'You'd only cramp our style,' Kylie added, with a facetious smile. 'Just give me ten minutes, Beth, and then we'll go.'
'How long do you need?' said Carl, looking darkly at Eduardo.
'Just the time it takes to get a cup of coffee, Carlos.'
Eduardo made his way to the kitchen. Kevin followed him, leaving his parents to their boring reading material, but Carl did not return to his paper. He went to sit beside Beth on the sofa, saying quietly, 'Why is she in such a good mood this morning anyway?'
'Who, Kylie?' said Beth. 'Because she's young and in love. She spent all day and half the night being driven around a beautiful island on the back of a motorcycle by the guy she's crazy about.'
'The island's not that beautiful,' said Carl. 'And it was only a scooter. And it was only Eddie.'
'Well, obviously she doesn't see him the same way you do, honey. Look, are you just in an awkward mood, or is there something in particular that's bothering you?'
'It's this conspiracy you and Adela have, to make me spend time with him,' said Carl. 'You always do it, every time we come here, and now I'm wondering if you've dragged Kylie into it as well.'
'I haven't dragged Kylie anywhere. I don't think I could if I tried, and neither could Adela.'
'So then why is she so keen on me going to San Gervasio?'
'I don't think that's it. I think she just doesn't want you tagging along with us today.'
'Oh,' said Carl. 'That's a bit rude.'
'I'm glad you're going to San Gervasio,' said Beth, smiling and patting his knee. 'You know I want you and Eduardo to work out your differences.'
'We've never been able to do that before. Why should it be any different in some Mayan village?'
'You never know. Maybe you'll both feel a connection to this Captain Gaspar character.'
'You know I don't believe he ever even set foot on this island,' said Carl. 'Yaya was so full of crap – the guy probably never even existed.'
'Well,' said Beth, 'you and Eduardo do at least have one thing in common: you both love Kevin. Try to give him a good day, will you?'
The hire car was very small, and Carl's bulk took up almost all of the space in the front. He sat hunched over the steering wheel, frowning and saying nothing. Kevin sat in the back of the car, fidgeting uncomfortably, while beside him Eduardo looked impassively out of the window.
At last they pulled into an area that was surrounded by trees and filled with cars, buses and a line of taxis. Carl, Kevin and Eduardo got out of their car and made their way to the white, thatched building that served as the ticket office. There were a few steps up to where a section of the building seemed to have been cut away, and people were queuing to get to a little window in the wall. When Carl reached this window, he made the transaction with a few curt words of Spanish, then shepherded Kevin outside. Eduardo followed them at a short distance.
The Mayan remains themselves were made of grey stone, forming the bare outlines of buildings and pathways, and surrounded by trees on all sides. Kevin happily trotted off to examine the ruins and read the information boards. He dragged Eduardo to some of the monuments, pointing and talking and making him take photographs. All the time, Carl hung back and looked unimpressed.
'Why does anyone need to see this stuff more than once?' he asked, when he found himself standing near Eduardo, and Kevin was some distance away.
Eduardo shrugged, and said, 'It's pretty nice out here.'
'I prefer New York. The buildings are mostly complete and still in use.'
'Y'know, you might find some of this stuff interesting if you tried. Like... you see el Arco over there, where Kevin's going?'
'Yeah,' said Carl, watching as Kevin approached a rickety-looking archway of dark grey stone.
'That was used in religious ceremonies. Hundreds of years ago, the entire population of the village would've walked under that arch almost every day.'
'No they wouldn't – they never even saw it. I remember that being built when you were a little kid. It's a fake.'
'It's not a fake – it's a reconstruction.'
'Same thing. Hey, what the hell is Kevin doing? Kevin!'
Carl suddenly started sprinting along the stone pathway. The Arch was cordoned off, and Kevin was in the process of stepping over the tape. In the blink of an eye, Carl had grabbed hold of his son and pulled him back onto the right side of the law. Kevin was steadying himself on his feet when Eduardo joined them.
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Carl demanded.
'There's a baby turtle on the top of the Arch!' Kevin said urgently.
Carl frowned at him. 'There's a what?'
'He's right, Carlos,' said Eduardo, squinting up at the top of the seven-foot structure, where a tiny turtle was hobbling about on the stones within a tiny radius.
'How'd it get up there?' said Carl, staring in disbelief.
'Something dropped it there,' said Eduardo. 'It obviously got picked up by a bird after it hatched.'
'We have to save it!' said Kevin.
'What? No!' said Carl, grabbing his son's arm as he once again attempted to go to the turtle's rescue. 'It's probably injured, Kev. It won't last long, here or in the ocean.'
'We have to try!' said Kevin.
'No we don't,' said Carl. 'It'll never survive. Almost all of them get eaten in their first few days, even if they make it to the water. That's right, isn't it?' He looked to Eduardo for confirmation.
'Well, yeah,' said Eduardo, still looking at the baby turtle. 'I think so.'
'It's just nature, Kevin,' said Carl, as gently as he could manage.
'I don't care,' said Kevin. 'I know all that about baby sea turtles dying, but I have a chance to save that one, and I'm going to do it!'
'No you're not!'
'Let go of me!'
'I'll get it,' said Eduardo, and he stepped over the barrier.
'Are you crazy?' said Carl, whipping round to face him. 'You'll get us kicked out!'
'No one's watching,' said Eduardo.
'There's a big tour group right through those trees,' said Carl. 'It'll come through here any minute.'
'Good point, Dad,' said Kevin. 'I'll go keep them busy 'til you're done.'
Kevin sprinted off, and Eduardo began his ascent of the Arch. There were some stones accessible from ground level on the left of his approach, and from these he was able to scramble to the top of the structure, pulling himself up with his long limbs. Carl stood stiffly by, his eyes flitting between Eduardo and the gap in the trees through which he could see the tour group.
'So,' Kevin was saying to the tour guide, 'about how many people used to live in the village?'
'Carlos,' said Eduardo.
'Stop calling me that!' said Carl, glaring at him.
'Whatever.' Eduardo was now kneeling awkwardly on the Arch's apex, clutching the baby turtle in his hands. 'Can you please take this?'
'Are you kidding me?' said Carl.
'It won't bite or nothing – it's just a baby.'
'Can't you throw it to me or something?'
'No way! Come and take it.'
Carl sighed resignedly, gave one more look to the tour group and then stepped over the tape. When he reached the Arch, he held up his hands and Eduardo was able to place the turtle into them. The creature was pathetically small with a thin, rather flat shell, which was in contrast to its huge, blinking eyes and absurdly long front flippers. Carl hurried to get out of the forbidden zone, then looked distastefully at the flailing creature in his hands.
'How is it even still alive?' he said, as Eduardo joined him.
'It couldn't have been up there for long,' said Eduardo. 'Oh, look, it's bleeding.'
Carl looked, and saw that the left front flipper was wet with blood.
'You take it,' he said, bundling the turtle into Eduardo's hands, then wiping its blood on his trousers. 'This is exactly what I was afraid of. I said we should leave it there, but oh no – you had to go making yourself popular with my son. We both know that thing won't last a day in the ocean, and how's Kevin gonna feel if it dies in the car? You didn't think about that, did you? Of course not! You've got a hell of a lot to learn if you ever have –'
'It's not far to San Miguel,' said Eduardo. 'Let's take it to Adela.'
'You've gotta be kidding me.'
'I just climbed up onto that thing to get it. We're not letting it die.'
'Adela won't know anything about sea turtles.'
'Sure she will,' said Eduardo, as he caught Kevin's eye and waved him over.
'So you see,' the tour guide was saying, 'the family structure of the indigenous people –'
'Er, thanks,' said Kevin. Then he turned and ran to his father and uncle, demanding, 'Did you get it?'
'Yeah, I got it,' said Eduardo, and he passed the turtle into Kevin's tender hands. 'Let's go.'
Meanwhile, back on the west coast, Beth was swimming with dolphins. She and the other swimmers, both human and dolphin, were hemmed into a section of sea by wooden walkways and overlooked by a collection of thatched buildings. Kylie was sitting on a walkway with her feet in the water and a camera on a strap around her neck.
Beth laughed hysterically as a particularly lively young dolphin dived under the surface of the water, then popped up in front of her with a shrill cry, and opened its fins for a hug. Beth obliged, kissed the dolphin tenderly, and then swam over to Kylie.
'Are you bored?' Beth asked, leaning her arms on the walkway.
'Not at all,' said Kylie. 'Take your time. Hi, Pablo,' she added, giving the dolphin a pat on the nose as he surfaced in front of her and trilled a greeting.
'But you got sick of it ages ago,' said Beth.
'No, not really. It's nice to just sit and do nothing for a while.'
Beth hauled herself out of the water, sat down beside Kylie and said, 'I guess I'm still the only one who likes swimming with dolphins.'
'No you're not,' said Kylie. 'Look at all these people loving it.'
Some yards away from them, an obnoxious American boy was treading water and shouting at some poor creature, 'Come on, splash me, you stupid dolphin!' Kylie and Beth watched as two uniformed officials ran to intervene.
'I enjoyed it,' said Kylie, turning away from the scene when it began to get ugly. 'I really did. And I'll always come with you, if I'm invited here again.'
'Oh, I'm sure you'll come here often,' said Beth, smiling. 'Eduardo's crazy about you. In fact, I feel kind of bad for dragging you here. You'd obviously rather spend time with him.'
'No one drags me anywhere, Beth,' said Kylie.
'Oh, yes... I guess I knew that. Anyway, I can't drag anybody anywhere. I sometimes seem to get dragged places myself, but I never get to drag anybody else.'
'You should learn to say no. Next time you're being dragged somewhere, remind... whoever it is... that he never goes dolphin swimming with you. Um, or she.'
'Oh, no, I don't think so,' said Beth. 'That kind of thing just causes arguments.'
'Is there anything else you're wanting to do?'
'Oh... no, nothing.'
'Beth, come on,' said Kylie. 'I really wanna know.'
'Well,' said Beth, 'I'd kind of like Carl to do with me what we used to do here fifteen years ago... the kind of thing you and Eduardo did yesterday... whatever that might be,' she added pointedly, when Kylie giggled. 'I don't know, because I was deliberately ignoring all that double entendre before.'
'Sorry,' said Kylie, trying to calm herself.
'Don't apologise for being young and in love, Kylie.'
'Well, you're young and in love too. Have you told Carl how you feel?'
'I did try... well, I guess it was a few years ago now. But you've seen how he can be. He doesn't want to leave the city; he doesn't want to stay out too late; he doesn't want to drive a scooter...'
'Are you sure you told him how you feel?' asked Kylie. 'I mean, how you really feel?'
'Don't worry about me, Kylie,' said Beth. 'I don't feel all that strongly about it. Let's go get something to eat. Those official-looking people are glaring at us because we're not swimming.'
The hire car pulled up outside a small building which had the smiling faces of a cartoon cat and dog pasted onto the window.
'This place is such a dive,' said Carl, as he got out of the car. 'Why doesn't she get a job in that nice, big, relatively clean animal hospital?'
'Because she thinks that place is impersonal,' said Eduardo, 'and she likes being her own boss.'
'Too bad her business could go under at any minute,' said Carl. 'How's the turtle doing, Kevin?'
'Okay,' said Kevin, still clutching the flapping turtle in both hands. 'It's still alive, anyway.'
Eduardo led the way into the building, and spoke in Spanish to a young woman at the reception desk. As they were talking, a middle-aged man came out of the back room with a cat carrier in his hands and tears in his eyes. He put the cat carrier on a chair, then went to stand behind Eduardo until the young woman had finished with him. This did not take long.
'Garbiñe says we can wait until Adela finishes cleaning up,' Eduardo said to Carl and Kevin, 'and then we can ask her if she'll see us.'
'Of course she'll see us,' said Kevin. 'No one else is waiting.'
As he spoke, a small boy came in carrying a large hamster cage, with his mother just behind him. They sat down in the waiting area, the boy keeping the cage on his lap. Carl, Eduardo and Kevin decided to sit down as well. The boy behind the hamster cage looked at the turtle with interest.
When the crying man had left with his cat carrier, the receptionist looked at Eduardo, and said, 'Qué se necesita agua... o alimentos?'
'No lo sé,' Eduardo said helplessly. He looked at Kevin. 'Garbiñe wants to know if the turtle needs food or water.'
'I don't know,' said Kevin. 'What does it even eat?'
'Almost anything,' said Garbiñe. 'The young ones are, um... omnívoro. When they grow, they eat only plants, but that one could perhaps eat the dead spider up there.' She pointed to a corner of the ceiling, where a spider was hanging from a droopy web with its legs curled under it.
'Don't you ever clean in here?' asked Carl.
'Every day,' Garbiñe said tartly. 'And where animals are treated is cleaned every ten minutes or so.'
'Adela!' said Kevin, jumping to his feet as the door to the back room opened. 'You have to help us! It's a turtle emergency!'
'A what?' said Adela, startled. Then she noticed the baby turtle in Kevin's hands, and took it from him, looking puzzled. 'Where did you get this, queridito?'
'San Gervasio,' said Kevin. 'It was on the top of the Arch.'
'I see,' said Adela. 'Well, Kevin, the next appointment is for this boy's hamster...'
'Esta bien,' said the boy, peering round from behind his hamster cage. 'Salvar a la tortuga.'
'He says we can see to your turtle first, Kevin,' said Adela. 'Gracias, Rafa.'
'Yeah,' said Kevin, looking at the boy. 'Gracias.'
Rafa beamed at him.
'We were wondering whether to feed to it that spider,' said Garbiñe.
'It can't hurt,' said Adela, shepherding Kevin through to the back. Eduardo and Carl followed, while Garbiñe went to the spider corner and climbed up onto a chair.
'What's wrong with the hamster?' asked Kevin, as Adela shut the door behind them.
'He has an abscess,' said Adela. 'He can wait. Put your turtle on the table please, Kevin.'
'Do you know anything about sea turtles, Adela?' Carl asked dubiously.
'I didn't study them much at vet school,' said Adela, frowning down at her patient, 'but I think she will be all right. It looks as if some stupid bird has picked her up by the fin and lost its grip.'
'How can you tell it's a girl?' asked Kevin.
'I can't for sure,' said Adela, 'but they usually are girls at this time of the year, because the nest is hot. Sand temperature decides the sex, you see?'
There came a knock at the door, and then Garbiñe popped her head into the room, saying, 'La araña. Y...' she went on, glancing at Kevin, 'señora Muguruza offers to fetch seawater. Debería?'
'Sí,' said Adela, taking the spider. 'Gracias, Garbiñe. Now then.' She made her way back to the examination table. 'I need to look at that wound. At the very least I think it needs disinfectant. She will not like that, so I will give her a little injection to asleep the fin.'
'Is that safe for a newborn baby?' Kevin asked anxiously.
'It will be little, very little, my dear. See if you can get her to eat this, and I shall prepare.' She dropped the dead spider into Kevin's hand. 'Now, don't worry, queridito. I am determined not to lose another patient today.'
'What went wrong the last time?' asked Carl.
'The fault is not mine, Carlos,' said Adela, as she began busying herself with bottles and syringes and pipettes. 'It is cruel nature. Did you see that poor man with his cat? It is dead. That was the cat with the cancer. He was old, and the lump under his tongue had grown bigger, so that poor man made the unselfish decision to put the cat down because he could not eat. If I cut out the cancer, then the lower jaw must go with it. The cat would need to be fed by hand and come here constantly for examination. He would not like that.'
'Don't tell Kylie about it,' said Eduardo. 'She's worried enough about Pagan as it is.'
'Poor Pagan,' Kylie was saying into Adela's telephone, some time later, when Carl and Eduardo came in carrying a large, full fish tank between them. 'Better give him something extra special, to make him better. I think there's some chopped liver in the freezer... Okay, thanks, Roland. Bye.'
She hung up, and went to see what the fish tank was all about. Carl had already disappeared, and Eduardo was trying to hold the tank steady whilst moving aside stationery and board games and a bamboo fruit bowl to make room for the tank on the sideboard.
'What the hell is this?' asked Kylie, taking some of the weight of the tank and staring at its contents.
'A baby sea turtle,' said Eduardo.
'Okay, stupid question. Oh my God – how cute is it?'
'She.'
'Oh? How can you tell?'
'Just an educated guess,' Eduardo said airily. 'Sex is determined by sand temperature.'
'Well, yeah,' said Kylie. 'If it was too hot, you'd burn your butt.'
They laughed hysterically, still trying to secure the fish tank, which of course made the whole thing even more hilarious. Eventually, the turtle was safe on top of the sideboard. Her wound had now been bandaged, and the water tank supplied with seaweed and a layer of sand.
'Is Pagan okay?' Eduardo asked.
'Just missing me,' said Kylie. 'Roland says he keeps staring at the door and yowling.'
'I don't blame him,' said Eduardo, putting his arms around Kylie and pulling her close to him. 'I'd miss you like crazy if you went away for two weeks.'
'And left Roland to take care of you?'
'Well, I'd trust Roland to take very good care of me.'
Kylie giggled and wrapped her arms around him as he stooped to nuzzle her neck.
'You still have sand in your hair,' she remarked. 'You should've worn a hat, like me.'
'I'll never look at a sombrero the same way again,' Eduardo grinned. 'Will you come out with me again tonight, querida?'
'Hmm... maybe. Where to?'
'Anywhere you want. What do you feel like?'
'The same kind of thing, I guess,' Kylie said mischievously, playing with his collar, 'but maybe somewhere a little more original this time.'
'Oh yeah?' said Eduardo. 'You're calling me unoriginal?'
'No. Not yet. I'm waiting to see what you come up with tonight.'
'Hey, I came up with a freaking mommy sea turtle on that beach! The sex was your idea.'
'Shut up and kiss me.'
Not far away, Beth closed her bedroom door on the sounds of love and laughter. Carl was in the room, sitting on the bed and reading something colourful.
'Hi, hon,' said Beth.
'Hey,' said Carl, not looking up. 'I'm looking at some tourist brochures. I never really picked one up before. I should've – there's lots of stuff in here. Does Kevin like scuba diving?'
'Maybe,' said Beth, climbing onto the bed next to him. 'He's never tried it.'
'A lot of this stuff seems to involve learning how to scuba dive... sounds like a hassle. Maybe it's not such a good idea anyway. If Kevin went into the sea, he'd probably find more animals to rescue.'
'Well, maybe not. I'm glad you let him do that, honey.'
'They ganged up on me,' said Carl. 'They were lucky it didn't die. It still could, you know. They're not pets, so Adela's only making educated guesses. Anyway, it's time Kevin grew out of that kind of thing. Most boys his age who found an injured turtle on a Mayan reconstruction would have thrown a rock at it.'
'Well then,' said Beth, 'it's a very good thing we're not their parents.'
'Yeah, I guess so,' said Carl, putting down his brochure at last. 'I didn't mean... oh, I don't know what I meant.'
'You just didn't want him to learn the hard way,' said Beth, smiling and cuddling up to him. 'I know there's a heart of gold in there, hon.' She paused a moment, then went on shyly, 'Carl, do you, um... remember when we hired a car and drove through El Cedral, all the way to the end of that road which went absolutely nowhere?'
'Yeah, I do,' said Carl. 'Kind of. Why did we do a fool thing like that?'
'Because we thought it'd be romantic. Because we spurned all the touristy stuff and did what our hearts told us.'
'We spent hours there, didn't we? What the hell did we do for all that time?'
'All kinds of things. We talked... we watched the sunset... we made love in the back of the car...'
'We did?' said Carl in astonishment. 'I don't think you're really supposed to do that in a hire car.'
'But we didn't care – don't you see?' said Beth. 'Carl, couldn't we... I don't know... do something like that again? Just for old times' sake.'
'Beth, come on, we're adults. We're old enough to know that it doesn't mean any less if you do that kind of thing someplace sensible.'
'You mean in a double bed... like this one?'
'Well... the walls are kind of thin here, honey,' said Carl, picking up his tourist brochure again.
The days went by; Carl, Kevin and Beth took some scuba diving lessons; Adela took her guests to various eateries and local attractions; many chapters of Harry Potter were read during periods when Eduardo was not off with Kylie on some outrageous romantic adventure. Then, one day, the baby sea turtle was deemed ready to be released into the wild. A large car was acquired for this purpose, and there was almost room for everybody to sit comfortably inside it.
'I think you'd better go front middle, Kylie,' Adela said, as they were working out the logistics, 'because you're small.'
Kylie obediently took up this position beside Carl, who was in the driving seat. Adela sat on Kylie's other side while Eduardo, Beth, Kevin and the baby turtle squeezed into the back.
'Perfect,' said Adela, as Carl started up the engine.
'Not really,' said Carl, beginning to drive. 'Why did we all have to come?'
'Because we all want to see Donatella going home,' said Kylie. 'It'll be fun, Carl. Lighten up!'
'I could've stayed home if just one of you had a permit to drive out here,' Carl mumbled. 'Why don't you get your licence, Adela?'
'Don't be ridiculous, Carlos,' said Adela. 'I live on a tiny island, and I've gone my whole life without driving. I don't intend to start now.'
'I think I'll get a permit for next time, Carl,' said Eduardo. 'Some places here you really need a car for.' He caught Kylie's eye in the rear view mirror, and they both giggled stupidly.
'Or why not use a taxi, Adela?' Carl asked loudly, to drown them out. 'That's what you usually do.'
'I don't want anyone to see us with our friend Donatella,' said Adela. 'We might be accused of nest robbing, and that leads to trouble.'
'I don't think we're really supposed to have loose animals in a hire car,' said Carl.
'Can we do anything in a hire car?' said Beth. 'Is it okay if we breathe – can we breathe?'
Carl didn't answer, and the journey continued in silence until Adela directed the disgruntled driver to pull up on a deserted stretch of beach. He did so, but lamented as he got out of the car, 'This isn't a designated parking spot.'
'Deja de quejarte,' Adela said sharply, getting out of the car at the same time as Kevin. She turned to him. 'All right now, queridito, we'd better let her walk across the sand so we don't hurt her instincts for the future. Nothing will come for her while we're here. Take her to, shall we say... that rock there, see?'
'Something'll probably get it in the water,' Carl muttered, but only when Kevin was out of earshot. 'What a waste of time.'
'I'm with Adela, Carlos,' said Eduardo, who was watching the scene with his chin on Kylie's head and his arms around her waist. 'Quit complaining.'
'Will she come back here to breed?' asked Kylie. 'You know, like salmon and frogs and stuff do.'
'Maybe,' said Adela. 'They don't have a homing instinct like you mean, but she'll stay in the area, and she might well come back here to lay.'
'If it lives,' said Carl. 'And if it's really a girl.'
'Of course she'll live,' said Beth, smiling as Kevin crouched down to give the turtle her freedom.
'How long before she's fully mature?' asked Kylie.
'A surprisingly long time,' said Adela. 'Decades, even. If she ever does come back here, Kylie, you will be a middle-aged woman.'
'Cool,' said Kylie, angling her head awkwardly so she could smile up at Eduardo. 'I hope we'll see her again someday.'
