‘Go and fill up at the buffet,’ she urged. ‘Then we can get going.’
‘Oh my God – you didn’t?’
Pepper stared at the shiny red Vespas that were parked at a jaunty angle by the kerb, her mouth falling open as Josephine tittered with amusement.
‘I am afraid I did. This was how Jorge and I used to get around the city, except in those days the scooters were very different from these beautiful beasts, of course.’
Pepper could not be sure if she was referring to their vehicles of choice for the hour-long tour, or the two young men that would be driving them.
‘We will start along the beach,’ her guide, Tomas, told her, handing Pepper a helmet and helping her to adjust the chin strap. ‘Then go around to the north, stop for some photos, and back along all the best roads for seeing our sites.’
‘Er, gracias,’ she said. Glancing across to check on Josephine, she found that her friend was already in the pillion position, both legs and arms wrapped snugly around Ignacio, who was a few years older and a good foot taller than his colleague.
‘Are we ready, ladies?’ he called, as Pepper hopped onto the smooth leather seat. Unsure of where to put her hands, she felt around behind her, only for Tomas to indicate his waist.
‘Hold me here, please,’ he instructed. ‘It is easier for me to balance – and safer for you.’
‘OK.’ Pepper turned even redder than the paintwork. She barely had time to register the fact that her hands were now full of young Spanish man before they were off, zooming along the narrow side street in a burst of such unexpected power that Pepper found herself gripping Tomas even tighter.
Ignacio and Josephine led the way, and Pepper shut her eyes in fright as the two men weaved them out into the traffic at speed, dodging cars and tooting their horns at any tourist who dared get in their way. When she heard Tomas cough as if he was trying to catch his breath, she relaxed her arms a fraction and tried her best to remain as still as possible.
Once she got over the fear factor, Pepper started to realise that it was actually quite a fun way to travel, and what made her even happier was the sight of her friend up ahead, her arms brazenly outstretched and her head thrown back, clearly loving every second. When they pulled up beside one another at a set of traffic lights not far from all the beach bars, Josephine reached across and squeezed Pepper’s hand.
‘Isn’t this blooming marvellous?’ she yelled, as both Ignacio and Tomas revved their engines in anticipation of a green light. ‘This is really living!’
Pepper laughed – it was impossible not to – but as soon she did they hurtled off once again and the warm wind flooded into her open mouth, along with one or two insects. As Pepper coughed and spluttered, she heard a great whoop coming from her friend up ahead, and her chokes dissolved into laughter.
The sky today was an uncompromising shade of the clearest blue, the sun within it bright and ringed with gold. The deeper they ventured into the city, the more there was to see, and when Ignacio and Tomas pulled over so they could take photos from up behind Park Güell, the view made Pepper fall into a silent state of awe. From all the way up here, Barcelona could almost be quiet. The traffic was muted, the canopies of the trees turning the streets from grey to green and the people were merely dots – stitches on a tapestry.
‘Do you want to swap?’ Josephine asked slyly, throwing a look in her driver’s direction. ‘Ignacio is very funny – keeps telling me jokes about the English that I can’t for the life of me seem to work out. I have been laughing along with him, of course.’
Pepper chuckled. ‘I’m very happy with Tomas,’ she assured her. ‘He is a strong and silent type, which suits me just fine.’
‘Shall we get a photograph with them?’ Josephine asked, beckoning the two men over with an enthusiastic hand. Ignacio, who was the tallest, kindly offered to take the selfie, and Pepper rested her head against her friend’s, knowing this would be yet another moment she would never forget. As she clambered back behind Tomas, however, she could not help but think what Finn would say if he could see her, and how happy he would be to hear she had spent the morning with her legs wrapped around another man. A really childish part of her wanted to send him the selfie, but she knew that was the disgruntled side of her worry talking. This was Finn. He was different. She had to believe that if he wasn’t getting back to her, then he must have a very good reason.
Pepper told herself to put the subject away and concentrated instead on how glorious it felt to have the wind rushing through the ends of her hair, and the sun beating down on her bare legs. Thank heavens she had worn shorts today instead of a dress – flashing the people of Barcelona her pants was definitely not something she wanted to tick off the bucket list.
The next time they stopped at a set of lights, Tomas reached down and moved Pepper’s hand from his waist to the moped throttle, putting his own over the top.
‘When I say,’ he said loudly, ‘you pull – yes?’
What was this, Carry On Vespas?
‘Yes – er, OK.’
The light turned green, Tomas said ‘now’, and Pepper eased her hand backwards on the handle, feeling the roar of the engine vibrating through her fingers.
‘Bravo!’ yelled Tomas. ‘Now you are driving.’
Although it was not quite Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2, Pepper felt very pleased with herself.
For a few exhilarating minutes, she had been the one in control, and it had felt so damn great.
Chapter 36
It was with slightly bandy legs that she and Josephine ambled through the Barri Gòtic quarter that afternoon. While Gaudí’s various haunts had felt like other worlds, the cobblestone streets and Gothic churches down here transported them to another time.
As a city, Barcelona was grander than Lisbon, but it was no less fascinating to behold, and as they strolled under stone arches, past ruined cathedrals, lively water fountains and café tables buried under a sea of tanned, sprawling limbs, Pepper felt more and more overwhelmed by a need to capture what she was seeing. Her camera was not enough; it would only tell half the story. She needed a pencil and paper, some paints and an easel.
Seemingly immune to the steadily rising heat of the day, Josephine powered through the lanes as fast as her stick would allow, exclaiming in delight every time she saw a landmark that she recognised.
‘Jorge and I kissed on this wall!’ she would cry, sinking down and pressing a hand to the stone. ‘Do you know, we never let go of each other’s hands – barely ever. It was as if the two of us were conjoined, for heaven’s sake, so helplessly infatuated that we could not bear to let go, even for a moment.’
‘That’s what love should feel like,’ Pepper told her, picturing herself and Finn, wrapped up in each other’s arms as he led her through Hamburg. Josephine, however, had not replied, merely peered closely at Pepper, as if trying to work her out.
‘This is one of the prettiest squares in the city,’ she announced a little while later. ‘Plaça Reial. Of course, it was far less populated with all these fancy restaurants when Jorge and I used to while away the hours here – the only other creatures we ever saw were other artists. Oh, and the pigeons of course.’