Sangre De Toro (Old Draft - Now Published!)

Chapter 10 - Baggage and Burritos

'A date, eh,' Alfonso said as they walked back to the flat with their burritos, plus some drinks and several large carrots and cucumbers.

'Well, yeah,' Rita said. Her mood had picked up. He couldn't stop thinking about her. At first he had told himself it was because of the Pepelito situation. This woman had phoned him in desperation, out of compassion or recklessness or both. His actions had saved the animal's life. Now, Alfonso was invested in the bull's wellbeing, finding somewhere more suitable than Rita's flat where he could have a quiet life free from fear.

But increasingly, his thoughts now turned to Rita herself. There were so many reasons why at first he hadn't wanted to admit how much he liked her. But Pilar would have wanted him to meet someone else after all these years. She'd want him to be happy, wouldn't she? He moved closer to Rita as they walked together up the cobbled road. There was a shop still open selling bike accessories, like chains and padlocks.

'Something like this would sort out the fridge. I might have one in the van,' he laughed, pointing out a heavy duty metal padlock. Rita stared at him in horror. She took out her phone. She had smart cameras installed outside and inside, not surprisingly for a cop.

'He's chilling in the living room look,' she said, laughing. Sure enough, Pepelito was lying on the fresh bed of straw, bought with cash, that they had placed in the living room this evening, the old bedding now bagged up and sitting in his van. Alfonso felt a rush of affection for her. They were now standing by the door of the flat. Rita put her key into the lock and they carefully walked inside on the heavy easy-clean plastic sheeting now covering most of the rooms. Alfonso looked down.

'I have another roll of that stuff, it looks like the kitchen needs it,' he said as they walked past the living room.

'Good idea, I don't want him going in the kitchen or my bedroom if I'm not in, I've decided. Started locking my bedroom door again.' Rita shook her head and they went to the kitchen and sat down at the small white plastic table. The place was starting to smell like a farmyard. They would have to find somewhere else for Pepelito soon, especially since he was recovering and starting to wander around more frequently. He needed to go outdoors. But taking him round the back of Rita's was going to be incredibly risky.

Alfonso unwrapped his burrito. There wasn't much point in getting out a nice plate given the current state of the rest of the house. He had to be honest with her, he thought.

'This is weird for me. Since my wife died it's hard for me to think about meeting anyone else.'

Rita's eyes widened. 'I'm sorry.'

'I miss her every day. I know she'd want me to find someone else, that's what she said to me when she was dying. It's been seven years and I still haven't been able to face it.' He had been on a few dates through the apps since she died. But they had left him cold, it felt wrong, and he felt almost guilty. Because there was nobody else like her in the world.

'What did she die of?' Rita said. It was quite blunt but maybe that's what he needed, Alfonso thought. He rarely talked about it. He'd carried on with his work caring for animals the way she would have wanted him to, rather than caring for himself.

'She had cancer,' Alfonso said. 'She found out two years after we got married. By then, it was too late. She was 35.'

'I'm so sorry, that's too young, cancer is a bastard,' Rita said.

'Her name was Pilar; she was an animal rights activist and she did all sorts of crazy things. When we met, she had a pet rat she'd rescued from a lab. She'd broken in there in the dead of night, and they'd let them all out.' He laughed and Rita's mouth dropped open, like she wasn't sure whether to be shocked or impressed. Alfonso noticed her black hair falling into her face. He reminded himself she was a cop. Maybe he'd already said too much. In the adjacent room, he could hear Pepelito getting up and sniffing at something.