Page 23 of Kissing Games
Charlie followed her, pausing outside her room. ‘I’ll sort this and let you know when we’re back online. It might take a while to get going again.’
Fifteen minutes later,everything was back in place and the router was flashing as it got up to speed. Charlie knocked hesitantly on Valentina’s door.
She opened it and beckoned him in. ‘It still isn’t working.’ She pointed at her tablet. ‘Can you do anything?’
He picked it up as there was a knock on the door. Valentina had a hurried conversation with a young woman wearing a headset on the other side.
She turned to him. ‘I have to go and sort something with Wardrobe. Are you okay to stay for five minutes and see if you can get it going?’
‘Yeah, no worries.’
‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him and left.
Charlie sat down at the desk as the Wi-Fi icon appeared at the top of the screen. He put the password in and everything came back online.That was easy. A call flashed on screen and he stared at it.
‘Mis abuelas’ were calling.
His finger dithered over the phone icon on the screen. It was bouncing up and down like an angry child demanding attention. He swiped to end the call but caught it mid-bounce. Suddenly he was looking at the faces of two old ladies.
‘¿Dónde está mi chiquita?’ the one on the left demanded.
Charlie stuttered.Oh shit.He was FaceTiming Valentina’s grandmothers.
‘Er, hola,’ he began, wracking his memory for what Spanish he knew that didn’t involve swearing or ordering a beer. ‘Valentina es… Er, Valentina no está aquí. Er, lo siento.’
The woman on the left had dyed black hair scraped back in a bun, fierce black eyeliner and bright-red lipstick. The woman on the right had white hair in a long braid that fell over one shoulder and no make-up. Both had eyes that penetrated the screen and bored into his. The woman on the right put on a pair of glasses.
‘Are you Charlie?’
He nearly dropped the tablet in surprise. They knew who he was? The woman on the left put her glasses on and moved closer to inspect him. Charlie instinctively pulled back.
‘Are you Charlie? Mr Charlie Hamilton?’ she asked, talking slowly and articulating every word.
‘Er, yes. Yes, I am,’ he replied, starting to get flustered.
‘Do you have a tattoo of a dragon on your stomach?’
His cheeks heated. ‘Um, yes, I do.’
‘Can we see it?’
His mouth dropped open. The woman on the right turned to the other and poked her. There was a brief argument in Spanish, then they turned back to face him. ‘We do not need to see it.’
Charlie sagged with relief.
‘Do you have syphilis?’
What the fuck?The heat in his face spread down his neck.
‘No! No, I do not!’ What else had she told them about him? They both stared at him, then simultaneously sat back and nodded.
‘Si,’ pronounced the scarier looking one. ‘We believe you.’
There was silence. He stared blankly at them. His mind had decided the situation was too weird and temporarily suspended all operations.
‘Thank you for mending Alejandro’s bag,’ said the white-haired lady.
‘Valentina’s bag,’ corrected the dark-haired one.
