Novels by Jade

CARLOS POINT OF VIEW I was at Elena’s house at seven thirty exactly. I had two cups of coffee in a thermos and a bag of pastries I had bought in town. Marta opened the door and let me in without saying anything. She just pointed toward the garden and went back to the kitchen.Elena was already working when I went outside. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked over when I came out and nodded.“You’re on time,” she said. “I didn’t think you would be.”“I told you I would be,” I said. I handed her a cup of coffee. “I got your favorite. With extra milk and sugar.”She took the cup and took a sip. “Thank you. How did you remember?”“I remember everything about you,” I said. I sat down at the table and took a sip of my own coffee. “What are we working on today?”“We need to build a trellis for the beans,” she said. “They’re starting to grow and they need something to climb on. Miguel said he would help me but he had to go to the city for

CARLOS POINT OF VIEW Two weeks later I was standing in the living room of the house next to Elena’s. It was smaller than her villa but it was nice. The walls were yellow and there were wooden floors. There was a big fireplace in the living room and a small kitchen off to the side. David was standing next to me with a stack of boxes.“You really bought this place sight unseen?” he said. He put the boxes down on the floor. “What if it had termites? Or a leaky roof?”“I didn’t care about the house,” I said. I walked to the window and looked out at Elena’s garden. I could see her sitting at the same table as before. She was reading a book and drinking coffee. “I just cared about being close to her.”David walked over and stood next to me. “She hasn’t talked to you since you got here. Every time you go over there Marta tells you she’s not home even though you can see her through the window.”“I know,” I said. “But she’s looking at me. Every time I look over there she’s looking back. She j

CARLOS POINT OF VIEWThe white car drove down the narrow road leading to the old villa. The gates were made of iron and painted white to match the walls around the property. We stopped at the entrance and I looked over at the man next to me.“You don’t have to do this,” David said. He kept his eyes on the gate. “We can turn around and go back to Madrid.”I shook my head. My hands were in my lap and I kept folding and unfolding them. “I can’t go back. I have to see her.”The gate opened slowly and David drove up the long driveway. The villa was bigger than I remembered. It had red tiles on the roof and ivy growing up the stone walls. There were flowers everywhere but they didn’t make the place feel warm. It looked cold and empty even with all the colors.We parked near the front door and I sat still for a moment. David put his hand on my shoulder. “Carlos, she hasn’t spoken to you in three years. She might not want to see you.”“I know,” I said. I opened the door and got out. “But I ha