They had spent the hours-long journey towards Zaragoza mostly in silence. There was a strange atmosphere between them, one that made Marta nervous. She fervently hoped that their new quarters would provide an opportunity to clear the air between them. They had hardly had any time together and they were both feeling the impact. It would be good to get some rest for at least a day or two.

'Hola, Marta!' Doña Valeria welcomed Marta almost effusively and with a long hug. The woman who opened the door for them was a very good-looking, dark-haired woman with a broad smile on her face that spoke of more than just a formality.

'It's been ages, Valeria. When was the last time we saw each other?'

'I guess at your wedding or mine.'

Marta nodded.

'This is Fina Valero,' she introduced.

'Ah, your cousin you were talking about.' The emphasis on the word cousin alone would have been enough to know that Doña Valeria didn't believe for a moment that Fina was the cousin. But she emphasised the word with a broad grin and a brief wink.

'Come in, come in. We're in the middle of preparing for a party tonight.'

'A party?' Marta saw the peace and quiet she wanted for Fina and herself receding into the distant future.

'Why yes!' Valeria winked conspiratorially again. 'My husband is going to be away until the day after tomorrow. It's the perfect opportunity to invite some friends to join us. Don't worry, you'll love them.'

Neither Fina nor Marta had any idea what that meant.

Valeria offered them a seat in the living room, which was more like half a dance hall. A few women were standing on ladders and taking care of the decorations, visibly ready for the evening. The estate was huge, that much was certain, and Valeria had told them as they entered that they would be able to sleep undisturbed in one of the guest houses. There had been that strange wink again when she said the word undisturbed and Fina had felt increasingly irritated. Marta, on the other hand, seemed her old self: reserved, polite and attentive. At most, a slight nervousness could be recognised in her hands.

'I didn't think I'd ever meet you again under these circumstances, Marta. At least not after your apparently very happy wedding. Although I always assumed that Captain Nemo was fishing somewhere else than with you anyway.' She laughed and winked at the same time.

Fina cleared her throat and then asked: 'How do you know each other?'

'We went to school together, didn't we Marta?'

School was a very shortened description for the girls' boarding school they had both endured for many years, Marta thought, but nodded in agreement.

'That's right. We were friends for a long time, I'd say. Until our respective weddings?'

'We had common interests, I guess you could say. Which we then didn't pursue any further, unfortunately.' She sipped a glass of sherry. 'And you? Where did you meet?'

'In the shop,' Marta said briefly.

'Oooh. Did she talk you into a special perfume and you couldn't resist?' Valeria asked Fina this time.

'I used to work there. My father has also worked for the de la Reina family for a long time.'

'Ooooh, Marta. Comrades from your own back yard. Keeping it dangerous.' She laughed again. 'I wouldn't have thought you capable of that.'

Marta's eyes flashed briefly and she was about to reply when she felt Fina's hand on her arm. She bit her lips and finally said: 'We're a bit tired. Would it be unforgivable if we took a little rest before the big party?'

'Not at all, my dear. It will actually give me more time to prepare. But I'm really pleased that you're here today of all days. Marta de la Reina at one of my parties! If someone had told me that six months ago. Oh, what am I saying, if someone had told me that last week, I would have thought they were crazy.'

'Me too,' muttered Marta, 'me too.' She really had no idea what to think or feel right now.

'Well then, I hope we can talk a little later, Marta. I'm so curious.' She hesitated for a moment and then spoke for the first time in an almost normal voice: 'It's nice to see you. And maybe take a stroll down memory lane.'

'I'd love that,' Marta replied.

'Was Doña Valeria, I mean, was she...' Fina searched for the right words. Above all, however, she wanted to get the conversation between them going again. A little curiosity was perhaps also involved.

'Were you a couple?'

'Not like you and me, querida.'

Marta and Fina had already unpacked their suitcases. The small house was tastefully furnished, with long red curtains at the windows, curved brass lamps at the head of the bed and an old escritoire with a leather-bound chair.

They lay together on their backs in a bed that was oversized even for the large guest house, with an abstract painting above them that appeared to be of a couple. Perhaps they should have been more surprised that it didn't feature two single beds, but after all Doña Valeria's nervous winking, they both realised pretty quickly that they weren't fooling anyone here. It was still strange, perhaps even refreshing, to be taken natural like this. And the word refreshing certainly applied to Valeria too.

'But you've had feelings for a woman before?'

'I was young,' Marta replied. 'Very young. 17, and alone. We both were. So young that we didn't even really think about what these feelings were. We certainly wouldn't have had a name for it. But we kissed briefly once. And after that...' Marta fell silent.

'And after that?'

'Her father arranged the wedding with Enrique Velasquez and I met Jaime. Unlike Valeria, I actually had a choice. Or at least my father agreed with Jaime. After that, I never gave it another thought. Let alone viewed another woman... like that.'

'And then what?'

'Nothing then. We saw each other once or twice more, mostly at parties, but basically never spoke again.'

'But you called her anyway. And she still offered us a place to stay. You must have left a lasting impression.'

Marta shrugged her shoulders. 'She was different back then. Calmer, not so hyper. She changed after the wedding. I think you would have liked the Valeria from back then.'

'I just can't get over the fact that I'm not your first.' Fina wasn't entirely serious, but she was genuinely surprised to some extent. She also enjoyed simply being able to talk to Marta for a few minutes.

' You are my first. Are you the first one I was attracted to? Maybe not, I'll give you that. Although I never realised or understood that before. I thought it was normal to consider someone your best friend.' She paused for a moment. 'You're the first one I've loved. Not to mention the first one who...' Marta searched for words. She wasn't shy, but talking about it really openly was still unusual.

Fina grinned. 'Who you shared a bed with?'

'Who I shared a bed with,' Marta confirmed. She turned to Fina and kissed her gently. 'That seems like an eternity ago at this point, though.'

Fina felt relief at Marta's playful tone, which she had now adopted.

'Doña Marta, I don't think I understand.' Fina blinked her eyes.

'This woman is hungry, and has been for weeks, and she won't be easy to satisfy.'

Fina smiled. She had said similar words to Marta when she visited her at her bedside. 'I would love to satisfy your hunger, mi amor. But I'm afraid we're expected at Doña Valeria's party in an hour. And perhaps we should freshen up a little.'

Marta twisted her mouth into a pout. 'An hour is a lot of time.'

'I want more than just an hour with you,' Fina replied firmly. 'But maybe we'll get it when we've fulfilled our attendance obligation and unfortunately have to retire due to our travelling fatigue, eh?'

Marta's answer was just a grumble.

When Fina and Marta entered the party room at the back of the estate in their dresses, they had been prepared for a lot, but not for what they were about to encounter. They both had to pull themselves together to avoid standing there with their mouths slack-jawed.
It was Fina who was the first to catch herself and smiled at Marta. 'I think we could dare to dance together today.' A dancing couple of men glided past them arm in arm at that moment. Marta looked after them with wide eyes and her hand over her mouth. 'I think so too.'

Fina grabbed her arm and beamed at her, forgetting the after-effects of the morning for the first time.

'Dance, Marta. We can dance!'

For the first second, Marta wanted to pull her arm away, almost out of habit. It should be normal, she thought. I should feel like a fish in water right now. But she didn't. It was new, it was unfamiliar. She also felt strangely out of place in her somewhat old-fashioned, albeit beautiful, dress, as most of the women in the room were wearing trousers. And everything about it somehow frightened Marta. Wasn't this just a dream? Did it really exist? Were they really safe here?

'Maaarta! It's so nice that you're here.' Doña Valeria rushed up at this moment and this time it was Fina who automatically withdrew her hand from Marta's arm. Which in turn was immediately taken by Valeria. The music became much more upbeat at this point and the small dance floor quickly filled up.

'Are you still dancing as well as you used to, Marta? Come on, show me.' Valeria turned to Fina. 'Can I take her away for a dance, please?'

Fina nodded, but felt a twinge that she barely let on. The first dance should have been hers. Especially after this morning. Or this week. Or this month. But how could Valeria have known that they had never danced together before, let alone been in such company. Fina tried to reassure herself and watched after the two of them a little forlornly. Nevertheless, she felt a touch of annoyance. When was Marta finally going to start saying 'no', she asked herself. She sighed. And decided to get herself a drink at the bar while she watched them.

'It's really nice to see you, Marta.' Valeria had become a little more serious now, while still smiling on the outside, and they made their way towards the side area at the end of the dance. 'You have a special place in my heart. You always will. That's why I was happy to get your call.'

'It's nice to see you too, Valeria.'

'I had always hoped that we would meet again and have some time to talk. Alone.' Valeria's eyes sought contact with Marta's.

'It's been quite a while,' Marta replied guardedly.

'It has been, an eternity even,' Maria confirmed and smiled. 'But you can't easily forget a beautiful woman like you.

'We were young.'

'That's true, too. Oh, I never thought we'd meet again under these circumstances. The great Doña Marta de la Reina. Here, among our own kind! Oh Marta, if I had known that back then...'

'Then what?'

Valeria shrugged her shoulders. 'Well, perhaps I would have endured the first years of my marriage better.' She leaned conspiratorially towards Marta. 'I'll just say this: should you one day get over your little playmate and look for a woman of your calibre, you now know where to find her.'

Marta's eyes darkened. 'If by playmate you mean Fina...'

'The girl is cute, I get that. But Marta de la Reina won't be in love with a simple shop assistant, will she? I can hardly imagine that with you.' That wink again.

'Don't talk about Fina like that. You don't know her or me. What we had, if we had anything at all, was more than twenty years ago.'

'That may be right. But you're still a de la Reina. And if I may add, the smartest, the strongest and the most beautiful of all de la Reinas. That's not difficult, though.' She laughed. 'No other woman in this room could compare to you, I seriously mean that. Every woman in her right mind would lie at your feet if you only wanted to. And most of them come from respectable families, too.'

'Nobody brings their employees here, though,' she added.

'You know, Valeria, I'd actually like to ask you not to talk about any women at all. I don't care who would lie at my feet. I only care about Fina.'

Marta took a deep breath and then added: 'We both know full well that there are countless women out there who are both clever and beautiful. Full of ideas. But who will never be able to do anything with them because they didn't grow up in such supposedly select families as we did. But that doesn't make us any better. And it doesn't make us any happier or more content. You, specifically, should know better than anyone.'

'Well, I at least enjoy some freedom, as you can see. And I have my name to thank for that.'

'Oh, Valeria. Times will change. Maybe not tomorrow. But they will change. And then we'll both have to prove ourselves just like all the other women we look down now. Our name won't help us then either. But apart from that, I'm not sure if women like us, with our preferences, if we could ever afford to be picky and insist on a name that probably won't even be worth much if the worst comes to the worst. In fact, sometimes it's more like a heavy weight on our shoulders than anything else.'

'Oh don't worry, my dear, there are countless like us. Just have a look around. But you're right and I apologise. It probably goes to your head when you're constantly referred to as Doña Valeria. Even in bed.' She giggled.

Marta didn't answer. She felt anything but comfortable that Valeria was now bringing up the subject of sex. But Valeria was relentless.

'Nevertheless, Marta, if you ever feel the need for someone else to get down on their knees in front of you - I'm here,' she almost whispered.

Marta looked her straight in the eye. 'I'm afraid I'm not interested in women who play small.'

A flicker of pain flashed briefly behind Valeria's eyes. She gulped, but then the familiar smile was back on her lips. 'Bueno, I understand. It's still good to see you.' She paused for a moment and then added: 'And to finally get confirmation.'

'Confirmation?'

'That it wasn't my imagination back then? That it was mutual?'

Marta nodded, 'It was.'

Valeria nodded too, then smiled at her again. And pressed her lips to Marta's mouth faster than she could react. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fina leaving the room. 'Mierda!' she thought, while Valeria gave her another kiss on the cheek and whispered 'Adiós, beautiful'.