Page 18 of Christmas Shelter

Patricia takes it and stares ahead, trying to remember when she thought it would be a good idea to wake up so early to drive the many hours ahead of her. Carlota, who was loading her things into the trunk, walks around the vehicle and drops into the passenger seat.

"Are you okay to drive?" asks the volunteer, watching her travel companion in the same position with the thermos in her hand.

Patricia blinks several times. It's not really that early, but since she knew she'd have to leave before dawn, Aida decided to stay at her house that night so Coco wouldn't be alone at any time. They stayed up talking late, and the result is that Patricia feels sleepy and has zero desire to drive.

"Yeah, yeah," she confirms, nodding her head. "I'll wake up properly soon."

The volunteer nods while fastening her seatbelt.

"We can take turns if you want," Carlota offers. "We can stop somewhere to rest and recharge. I came prepared."

Patricia smiles. She had already noticed during those nights at the shelter that Carlota likes to have everything arranged to be comfortable, and she has no doubt that besides the coffee thermos, she's brought other provisions.

The journey begins, and they both decide to play some music, mainly because they feel a bit awkward, and to avoid the uncomfortable silence, they fill it with a playlist that Carlota has prepared.

"Seriously?" Patricia bursts out laughing when she hears a Christmas song of dogs barking and howling.

Carlota's ears turn red.

"That slipped in," she says embarrassed while fiddling with her phone. "I use it to cheer them up at the shelter during the holidays."

Patricia realizes that the girl isn't just embarrassed but very flustered, and she thinks what's happening is that she doesn't want the cardiologist to have that image of her. In an uncontrolled movement, Patricia extends her hand and touches Carlota's thigh, who jumps slightly but tries to hide it.

"Leave it on," Patricia requests, referring to the song. "It actually sounds good."

Carlota looks up and, although Patricia can't see her, she knows her travel companion's eyes are sparkling. Maybe it's because of things like these that Patricia is starting to like her; the volunteer is a simple woman whoappreciates these moments that, however silly they might be, seem to delight her.

"We could stop at that rest area," Carlota suggests when she sees a sign announcing it a kilometer away. They've been in the car for several hours, and she wants to stretch her legs.

"Yes, we can have breakfast, looks like there's a café," Patricia answers, squinting to scan the rest area.

"No way. I brought hornazo that I made last night and several homemade cookies," Carlota responds, almost licking her lips.

Patricia's stomach growls at hearing this; she knows it's a heavy breakfast, but being from Salamanca, she loves hornazo, especially when it's homemade. The cardiologist parks the car and while she goes to the bathroom, Carlota sets everything up for breakfast. When she returns, she discovers amazed that her companion hasn't just prepared a couple of delicacies, but there's also a small cooler with cold drinks.

"I wasn't sure what you'd want, so I brought juices, sodas and water, besides the coffee."

"I want it all, honestly," Patricia laughs, "driving makes me very hungry."

With a smile worthy of a child receiving a nice gift, Carlota cuts a piece of hornazo that she hands to Patricia and serves her a cup of coffee. The two veterinarians eat leisurely and talk about trivial topics; the weather, the car, and even the route they need to take to reach their destination.

The journey continues as planned and to Patricia's surprise, it isn't uncomfortable at all. They've both loosened up quite a bit and have moved on to talking about more personal things without touching on emotional topics. They discuss families, hobbies, and even some cases that have come to their clinics. Carlota is fascinated because, although she didn't want to specialize, she finds Patricia's work as a cardiologist very interesting.

"Finally, we're here!" Patricia exclaims exaggeratedly when they reach Gibraltar and find the hostel.

"It wasn't that bad," Carlota responds, stretching her back.

"Says the one who didn't have to drive," the cardiologist teases while parking.

Carlota raises her eyebrows. Patricia laughs.

"Hey, I offered to switch at least ten times so you could rest."

"You mean those ten times we stopped at different places because you wanted to buy a magnet or take a photo up close?" Patricia continues, teasing her.

Carlota turns red again; if she weren't such an insecure woman, she could surely take these comments as jokes because she knows Patricia is just kidding, but she struggles to control that feeling. Patricia notices and tries to help.

"I wanted to see those places too," she says after turning off the engine. "It's been a fun trip, I usually do them non-stop, but I liked it better this way."

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