Author's note: this is a love story and it evolves gradually - be patient, there will be plenty of sex later on! The locations are all real, the characters are based on real people but the story is imagined.
*****
David first noticed her at the airport, waiting at the gate for boarding. He was struck by how calm she seemed despite travelling on her own with two small, excitable children, and he was equally taken with her attractive appearance: quite tall, with shoulder length blond hair, an excellent figure shown to best advantage in a short summer dress which also revealed her shapely tanned legs. He wondered about her age, estimated it at late 30s, and thought ruefully that that would make her around 20 years younger than he was.
The strident announcement that their flight to Palma in Mallorca was boarding intruded on his daydreaming and he grabbed his bag and made his way towards the desk. The blond woman and her children were just in front of him as the queue inched forward and his admiration for her parenting skills increased as she managed to make the whole experience fun for the kids, a boy of around four and a little girl who could be no more than two.
When they reached the top of the stairs down to the tarmac he caught up with them and, though she seemed to be managing fine, offered to help her with her luggage. She graciously accepted, with a charming smile, and he carried the pushchair down the steps with his bag. As they waited to board she thanked him and asked where he was going to in Mallorca.
"A hotel called the Protur Biomar Gran", David replied, "on the east coast, how about you?"
"That's so weird, we're going to exactly the same hotel - have you been before?"
"Yes, last summer, it's amazing, I rarely return to places but I had to go back here - what about you, will it be your first time?"
"Yes, I saw it in a brochure and it looked so lovely, and just what we needed at the moment..."
There was clearly some extra meaning behind this last remark but David did not want to pry and at that point the queue started moving again.
"Where are your seats, front or back?" he asked, and having established that she was heading to the front he took the pushchair again and left it by the aircraft steps as instructed by the ground crew, then carried her bag on to the plane. He was sitting a few rows behind them and after he had stowed her bag in the overhead locker David wished her a pleasant flight and said he would see her when they arrived.
The journey was uneventful and David dozed a little, tired from the dawn start to catch the early flight. When they landed, David let a few passengers depart in front of him and found his new acquaintance and her children were still in their seats when he reached them. He helped get her stuff together whilst she woke the little girl, who had somehow managed to sleep through the landing, and they headed into the terminal.
Once they had retrieved their cases David found two trolleys with built-in child seats and he helped load children, buggy and various small and large bags on to them.
"I'm David, by the way, and you said this is Theo and Rosie, but do you mind me asking your name?"
"Of course not, I'm Claire, it's nice to meet you and thank you again for all your help. Are you on the hotel's transfer bus or have you hired a car?"
"No, I'm on the bus, might hire a car later in the holiday - are you on the bus too?"
"Yes, we are, where do we get it from?"
David led the way and Claire and the children followed, with Theo chatting away happily about the sunshine, different coloured taxis, and the fact that the tannoy announcements were in several languages, whilst Rosie was still sleepy in the buggy. The hotel's minibus was just outside and it seemed that they were the only people being picked up. The driver spoke a little English but just as David was starting to use his rudimentary Spanish, Claire took over in fluent, and to David's ears, idiomatic Spanish. She established that they were indeed the only passengers and they were soon on their way, spread across the back seats with the children looking out of the windows at the changing landscape.
"Your Spanish is amazing, have you lived there or something?" he asked.
"Yes, I was an au pair in Madrid in my gap year and I did languages at Uni, and fortunately I had several jobs before having kids where I could travel and use my Spanish - I speak some French and Italian too."
"I'm envious, my French is o.k., my Spanish was an O level when they still existed and I can just about get by, and my Italian is restricted to menus and musical terms."
"Still, that's better than most English people - we're so hopeless about languages, just expect everyone to speak English."
"Have you been to Mallorca before as well as the mainland? The more remote parts are really beautiful and there almost no-one speaks any English."
"Only once to the touristy bit with my parents when I was a child, I am hoping to see a bit more on this trip."
They chatted easily as the bus headed east, and found that they were both away for a fortnight. David told Claire a little about the hotel but without too much detail as he did not want to pre-empt the striking first impression it had made on him. He was, of course, keen to establish where the children's father fitted in to the picture - would he be joining them later, was he already there - but was far too polite to ask, and was therefore relieved, and secretly delighted, when Claire's tone changed slightly.
"You know, this is quite a big step for me, this holiday, and I am really pleased to have met someone I can talk to so easily so early on. It's the first time I have been abroad on my own with the children since their father left, and I was quite nervous this morning when the taxi arrived to take us to the airport. Thank you for being so friendly, it's really helping."
"It's nothing, it's lovely for me to have someone nice to talk to as well, and especially as you have such sweet children. My sons are in their 20s now, but I am not expecting any grandchildren for quite some time, and my wife tells me off if I even mention the subject."
"Isn't your wife joining you on holiday? Sorry, that was nosy, you can ignore that question if you want."
"Not at all, you have been open with me. No, Diana isn't keen on hot weather, and to be frank our relationship isn't all that great nowadays - hasn't been for some time actually. We are quite different in many ways, so she is happy for me to go on holiday abroad two or three times a year without her, and doesn't really want to know what I do when I am away. I enjoy the time on my own - we have been married more than 30 years - and I love good weather, food and wine, and meeting new people. Diana prefers to stay at home and work, and only wants to travel in England, so we reached this compromise some years ago."
"I see, thank you for explaining that so honestly, I appreciate it. You must have been very young when you got married, you don't look old enough to have been married that long!"
"You're very kind, I do look after myself, play a lot of tennis and keep fit, and my job is quite active - I'm an architect and I travel all over the UK for work."
As he finished speaking David saw that they were approaching the edge of Sa Coma, the small coastal town where the hotel was located. He warned Claire not to be put off by the run-down appearance of some of the shops and houses; the hotel was at the edge of the town and was something of an oasis in an unpromising landscape.
They pulled into the forecourt and as soon as the bus drew to a halt the children clamoured to get out, enticed by the fountains and palm trees. Claire let them dip their hands in the cool water whilst she and David helped the driver to load their luggage on to a large trolley, and once David had tipped him they walked up to the main entrance with Claire holding the children's hands.
As he had hoped she would, Claire let out an audible gasp as they entered the foyer through the automatic glass doors. The elegant opulence could hardly fail to impress a new visitor, with its marble floors, curved oak reception desk, comfortable sofas, enormous chandelier and, best of all, smiling staff welcoming them to the Biomar Gran and offering glasses of cava for the adults and fresh juice for the children.
David remembered Isabella, the young woman receptionist, from his previous visit, and either through genuine recognition or good training, she greeted him as a valued returning guest. Claire and the children were charmed by Pedro, the other receptionist, and check-in was smooth and surprisingly enjoyable.
David had booked a ground floor room in the part of the hotel reserved for couples and singles without children, whilst Claire's room was in the family area, which had its own pool and play facilities.
"David, would you like to show us round and maybe have some lunch once we've unpacked, I'd really like that?" Claire suggested, and he gladly agreed, arranging to meet in an hour back in reception.