Everyone Has a Story of Love Gone Wrong

Today's lunch was going to be spent with Saber's Moroccan friend, Salima, who is stunningly gorgeous. I could see Saber being interested in her after I left Sevilla. They were both Moroccan, and she really was stunning. However, this thought would be rethought as the day progressed.

We had drinks and tapas at Las Columnas, and then the three of us (Saber, Salima and I) went back to Jonata's for another drink, and after a cerveza Saber leaves us to 'girl talk' while he takes a siesta. This is when Salima told me she was married. My jaw totally dropped! Married? Apparently, she met a guy in Rabat, her home town, two years ago who was Spanish, and they dated long distance for a year. He wanted her to come to Spain, but for that to happen, he needed to marry her, so he did. Since their wedding day, he has treated her horribly, not giving her money for clothing or toiletries when she did not have a job. (The unemployment rate in Spain is 20%.) He was a lawyer and was gone most of the day, but expected her to be home should he come home for lunch, and he expected to make dinner every night. Salima had not made too many friends in Spain, so she was alone most of the time.

I was so saddened by her story! I wanted to befriend this girl, and told her to come out with us that night. She said she couldn't and needed to be going to get home to make dinner for her jerk of a boyfriend. (she preferred calling him a boyfriend vs. a husband) We exchanged numbers and I told her to call me if she changed her mind about joining us. I guess even in this lovely little place, men could be idiots too.

I was sad for Salima. I had shared my story of a broken engagement with her, and she said she was jealous that I had gotten out of a bad relationship. In comparison to her situation, I was kind of jealous of my situation too.

Throughout my travels, I seemed everyone had a break-up story or a bad relationship story.

• In Barcelona, Maria was divorcing her husband of 7 years and was worried about her little girl.
• In Madrid, Jose told me of how he treated his ex-fiance poorly and she broke up with him, taking the house, car and everything. (good for her!)
• In Rota, I had learned the details of Eline's break-up with her husband of ten years.
• In Granada, Karlyn had shared her story of breaking up with her ex.
• In Venice, Stephanie had shared her story of her ex.
• In Tuscany, Romeo told Sandra and I the sorted details of his father's break-up with his mother, and dealing with his new step-mother, Pascal.
• In Verona, Giuseppe was trying to set up his friend GianCarlo, who was recently divorced.
• And in Sevilla, I had heard break-up stories from Saber, Joseph, and now Salima.

Everyone seems to have a sad tale of love gone bad. I was nice to know that other people were in my shoes, and I hoped for each tale of failed romance there was a happy tale of love waiting for everyone...myself included.

I'm a local!

The next morning, I am feeling a little hazy from the night before. Saber had never really snapped out of the Joseph-drama-slump, even after getting involved in darts tournament with a group of Moroccans, and the late night had a done a number on me. I got up, but not to run, and went straight to Jonata's.

I found my table, my chair, ordered my coffee and got down to business. I had a few work emails to reply too, I had to organize travel, and I just needed to take care of a few things for me. This morning I needed to focus on my world, I would worry about Saber when I saw him at lunch.

Just as this thought past my mind, Saber wanders out into the street and makes a right to head to the shop. He gets half way up the block, stops turns around and sees me at the cafe and wanders over. He looks awful. His hair is crazier that I have ever seen it. He hasn't shaved. He's a mess. Hangovers will do that to you.

He doesn't sit down as he has to get to work, but asks me to bring him a coffee in a few minutes. I can tell he needs some time to himself so I bring him a coffee and head straight back to the cafe. At some point, I get a note on Facebook from him asking me not to speak to Joseph should he show up. No sooner had the note from Saber arrived in my inbox, then Joseph comes out of his building and does the most awkward thing possible. He sits at the table in front of me, facing me, so if I look up I have to look at him and over the two empty chairs between us. What is this old man's problem?!

I roll my eyes and try and focus, when Jonata introduces me to a regular (whom I have yet to meet). His name is Pepe and he had just come from the beauty parlor. Tomorrow, he was getting on a plane for the first time in his life to go and see a lady friend in Hong Kong. 31 hours in the air! I could not believe he had chosen that as his first flight on an airplane! Pepe was excited to practice his English with me, thanked me by buying me a tinto de verano, and then had to leave to go pack.

As soon as Pepe left, the couple that lives in Joseph's building came out with their dog, and sat down for lunch. They smiled and waved "buenas dias". These were the only words we ever exchanged as my Spanish had not progressed from speaking English with Saber.

Next on the scene was a Joseph's lunch date. A middle-aged woman, who could have been the Queen of England the way Joseph was treating her. But hey, good for him. He needed to get some action.

At some point, my computer battery died and I had to get the powercord which I plugged in inside Jonata's and ran the cord outside to my table.

When Saber showed up around 3PM, I think the sight me plugged into the cafe and running the show on the sidewalk got him to snap out of his funk. He was like "what are you doing??!!" with a huge grin on his face. "You have your computer plugged into Jonata's shop, Pepe has bought you a drinks. Joseph is ignoring you. And everyone is waving "hola" to la American. Que pasa?" I was quite proud of myself for the friends I had made at the cafe, and gave him a big smile and said, "I'm officially a local". To which he replied, "You are officially loco."

Gaming It

To get Saber's mind off of Joseph, I remind him of the Bilbao vs. Barce match we had planned to see that evening. It was clear Saber's mind was still on his disrespectful neighbor, as he led us to the exact same bar we had been in for lunch that day. (Earlier we had made a pact to always eat somewhere different and try new things.)

I had never seen Saber so testy so I wasn't going to tell him of this, and instead grabbed a seat at the bar to watch the match.

By half-time, Saber has wound down enough to order, and the drama with Joseph remained off the table for the rest of the night.

Bilbao lost, which wasn't the hoped for outcome. (Poor Saber, not his night was it?)

So since he wasn't winning at his games, I suggested we play darts at the pub around the corner from him.

I love bar games. Photohunt was my all-time favorite, but something told me that playing a game where you look at men in underwear was not going to go over so well right now. Darts seemed a safer option.

When we got to the bar, we were the only ones playing, which was good as Saber had never played before so I had to explain the rules.

This was for sure one of those nights where I was determined to lose. I don't think getting beaten by a girl tonight would go over so well right now.

We played for two hours, and some of his friends joined us at one point.

We had a fun night, but I could tell Saber wasn't 100% over the drama with Joseph. It bothered me because I didn't really know what to do about it. But really, there was nothing I could do. This one was between the boys.

Drama!

During the evening, as I was writing at the cafe while Saber finished up in the shop, I saw Joseph standing in his window and I waved up to him to be neighborly. He waved back and seemed to start to say something, but then changed his mind and disappeared. He is such an odd man.

Three minutes later Joseph is walking out of his building and over to my table.

"Hola! Buenas Noches..."

He tells me was thinking of opening a bottle of wine and asks if I would like to join him. I told him I am waiting for Saber to finish and then we would come up together.

Joseph then tells me he doesn't allow smoking in his house, to which I tell him Saber doesn't have to smoke.

He then tells me he wanted to watch a movie later in the evening and he was thinking of asking me to join him.

This whole conversation was very strange. I was getting the feeling Joseph was hitting on me, but who would be that rude or disrespectful to their neighbor? I tell Joseph we will be up in a little bit, and he returns to his house.

Jonata is standing at the door to his shop looking suspicious, and I decide to go tell Saber about the invitation.

In the shop, Saber is alone. He pops up when he sees me enter and asks what I want to do that evening. I tell him about Joseph's invitation, just as I had told him about Joseph's ex-girlfriend passing by on the street earlier that afternoon, and how Joseph told me about dating an 18 year old -- Saber was equally shocked with the last bit as I was.

Saber makes a face at the invitation, and I tell him we should be neighborly. As a side note I tell him he can't smoke at Joseph's. I am heading out the door at this moment, and I see Saber jerk to attention as I say this. He looks at me with a fierce gaze and says, "Did Joseph tell you that?" Yes, he did.

I head back to my perch outside the cafe, and had not been seated for more than 10 seconds when Saber in his bad-ass mode comes marching around the corner. Que pasa?

He comes over and asks me to tell him exactly what Joseph told me. I thought it was clear, but I repeated that Joseph had asked me to join him for a glass of wine, and I told him that when Saber was finished we would come up, and Joseph had said "but I don't like smoking in my house" and I said that it was okay, Saber wouldn't smoke.

Saber did not seem happy. Infact, he seemed pissed off.

He tells me he is closing the shop ASAP, and asks me to not speak to Joseph should he return to the cafe. What in the hell was going on? Obviously these two had more issues than I thought.

Saber is back in 5 minutes, which is the fastest he has ever closed the shop. He marches directly into Jonata's and has a "chat" with him. The two are deep in discussion when I approach to ask what in the world is going on. Saber tells me he will fill me in momentarily. I head to the ladies room, and when I get back to the table outside, Saber is sitting in the chair I had been sitting in facing the windows of Joseph's house.

He tells me he doesn't want me speaking to Joseph. That Joseph has no respect for other people, and he was a bad neighbor. Joseph is rude. And yes, a hustler. (I had to laugh internally at this last one).

It dawned on me then what was going through Saber's head. He thought Joseph was hitting on me by asking me up for a drink, and that by saying "no smoking" he was suggesting that Saber not come. Saber also filled me in on WHY Joseph had told me about the 18 year old girlfriend.

As the pieces of the puzzle came together, I saw Saber glaring into the sky, and when I looked over my shoulder Joseph was standing in his window. Now I get why Saber had taken my seat.

Men!

P is for Predictable

I was on day 4 of being back in Sevilla, and not one day had been different than the first. My schedule operated around Saber's schedule at the shop. And as the hour was drawing close to 3PM, I knew sooner or later Saber would appear around the corner and come to Jonata's for a cerveza and then we would begin our daily wander to find something to eat. It truly was always a wander, as we never knew where we were going when we set out and because of my love for this area of Sevilla I directed our path by what caught my eye. We never went anywhere too quickly.

At 3:05PM, Saber comes around the corner, sits at what has now become "our table", and without ordering Jonata brings him a cerveza and me Tinto de Verrano. My life has become quite predictable in such a short amount of time!

After our drinks, we wander the winding streets of el barrio, planning to go somewhere new. There are 1,000s of tapas place in Sevilla, so this shouldn't be too hard. Saber picked a spot, and when we are seated he commented that this place was excellent to come and watch football. "Its what you Americans call a 'Sports Bar'." Now that was funny. This place only had ONE TV. Goodness, if he were to see some of the American sports bars in the city he would be in absolute heaven!

We ordered tapas (of course), and vino for me and cerveza for him. We caught each other up on the happenings of the morning and early afternoon. I filled Saber in on his neighbors and what I witnessed at the cafe, and he caught me up on what was going on in the shop. We ate slowly, talked quickly, and laughed often...just as we did every single day at this hour.

My life had become so predictable in such a short amount of time, and yet, I would not swap these moments for anything. I laughed at myself daily regarding my new found routine. The Paige Miller I knew two months ago would never stand for this. Same thing for lunch everyday? Sitting at a cafe for hours vs. going and doing something new? Taking a siesta? These are things that relaxed people did. I had never been a part of that club.

Sevilla was truly doing a number on me. For once I understood why people stayed put in a city or a place, how they could put roots down and own property. I had never found a place that felt good enough to stay for too long. Even in New York, I was always making plans to leave the city whenever I got the chance.

And yet here, I just wanted to 'be'. I wanted afternoons to do nothing except lay under a tree by the river, or write at the cafe, or wander the citrus-scented streets with no feeling of pressure to move more quickly to get somewhere else. I had nowhere else I wanted or needed to go. And that fact alone was just fine by me.

Reading (and Writing) Between the Lines

The next morning was the same routine as every morning this week. I am running in the park by 10, showering by 11AM, and at Jonata's by 11:30AM. For some reason after my first coffee I kept thinking I had something to tell Saber but since I couldn't remember exactly what that might be I figured if I saw him it might jump start my memory.

When I walk in his shop, he's like "Paige, I have been trying to call you." He said it so seriously, I was nervous to look at him. "I have your computer."

And...

"My friend was able to fix it. You can now write the great American novel."

Hallaleujah! I had almost become resigned to the fact that my computer was down until I got back to New York -- 3 more weeks. It was troubling, but what else could I really do except by a new one? Leave it to Saber to get things sorted. He is just amazing.

With my computer in operation, my previous plan to lay out on the roof and soak up some sun was immediately tossed out the window. I was headed to the cafe for more coffee and many hours to catch up on the events of my travels.

As I sat down, I perused what had been writen prior to the breakdown, Joseph (elderly neighbor of Saber) asked if he could join me. I was seated at a table for two, but was only using half of it, and all the other tables were taken so I said sure. He ordered lunch and we chatted while he ate.
As he was finishing his lunch, a woman and a decent looking man walked by. The woman was typical Spanish, with dark hair, slightly larger in size, and dressed in an outfit that was too tight. She knew Joseph, and after a big hug and two kisses, they talked quickly in animated Spanish.

As she walked away, Joseph explained that had been his ex-girlfriend of 14 years. That she had left him a year ago for the man that was with her. Not to be critical, but compared to her new boyfriend Joseph was a relic. I could see where she might have wanted to trade in for a newer model. I guess Joseph knew what I was thinking as he then proceeded to tell me about a time when he was 48 he had dated an 18 year old for 18 months. He did the math for me, pointing out the age difference was almost thirty years.

Why was he telling me this? I did not see how it was possible that a 18-year-old would be happy dating a 48-year-old. Well, maybe some 48-year-olds, but not Joseph. Joseph was about thirty years older than me, and there was NO WAY I would EVER be interested in him. EVER.

Joseph finished his lunch, and I went back to writing while waiting for Saber to have lunch, which was in about twenty minutes. When he sat down I caught him up on the neighborhood gossip, which mostly consisted of my conversation with Joseph.

Saber looked at me funny, as he took a long inhale on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. "You be careful with Joseph," he said. "I don't know that you can trust him."

I am never going to get to write again!

On Tuesday, after my run, I was sitting at the cafe when I see Saber around the corner motioning me to meet him for a chat. Apparently the computer place had called and they could not fix my computer. Crap. So I had to go pick it up.

In the store, I spoke to the the same salesman as yesterday, and in our conversation referenced what he had told 'my brother'. (Seriously, do S and I look like brother and sister?) He gave me the name of another place to take the machine and as I wandered there, Saber called saying he had a friend that might be able to fix it.

I am a little discouraged that it is taking so long to get my computer fixed, as I had hoped to spend the majority of the week writing.

The computer shop was of no use, so I hurried back to Santa Cruz to give it to Saber's friend. Who knows if this would work, but its better than nothing.

Sevillian Date Night

After Azil's debut, I needed a siesta, which I took while Saber closed the shop.

While I waited at the cafe, Saber showered and got ready, for what, I wasn't entirely sure. I never know plans in Sevilla. I never really feel compelled to make many. I just let life happen.

When Saber emerged, he had the helmets, which meant we were taking the bike. He approached, "We go?" He said we were heading to the place in Triana, that is known for barbeque quail. He had told me about this place last week, saying it was the place "to eat birds". This sounded odd to me, although of course we eat 'birds' in America -- chicken or turkey. But the way he was saying it had me baffled, so I did my research and discovered the 'small birds' Saber was talking about were actually quail. Which I was fine with.

I am not opposed to trying new things (I ate horse meat in Verona and Octopus with tentacles still attached in Canaria.), but I do like to know what I am getting into. I could definitely handle tonights menu. Although when Saber told me he had a surprise after dinner, I had to admit I was curious...more so than knowing what 'small birds' were on the menu.


The quail place was typical Sevillian. We ordered at the bar, and then gathered around tables in the courtyard, pulling the meat off the delicate bones. The birds were very tasty, and after two each we moved indoors as the temperature had dropped with the setting sun.


We ate caracoles and then decided to move on. Where, I wasn't sure, as Saber had said it was a surprise. We rode on the bike a few kms, and then on the street that runs along the river in Triana, he stopped the bike and said we were here. Seriously? All I saw was a police station. He covered my eyes, and led me down a long row of steps. This was a little anerving as I typically don't do surprises. (I like to find out about them and then act surprised.)

We seemed to get to the bottom, and Saber kept moving me forward and then removed his hand. "Surprise".

Before me was a view of the Torre de Oro, the Cathedral, the Giralda, all glowing brightly and shining on the river. Saber had found this place over the weekend while I was in Italy, and had wished he had the chance to show me such a sight. Funny, how life works out.

We ordered drinks and sat by the river and chatted the night away.


One of the ladies in the bar wanted to serenade us, which made for an interesting soundtrack to the evening.

It was a lovely, little evening. And I knew somehow, someway, I had to find my way back here once May had passed and I had returned to American soil. Life is too short to not feel this magnificent everyday.

Hanging with the Locals

My first day back in Sevilla, I awoke with the alarm and went for a long run in the park. This time I did not get lost. I met Saber at his shop after my shower, and had a coffee with him. The weather wasn't so sunny, but it wasn't raining either. Because my computer was down for the count, I spent the first part of the day writing in my journal and then returned to the shop at 3PM to go have lunch.

I had called Eline earlier to figure out our plan for meeting up. I wasn't sure I would stay with Saber all week. I wasn't really sure what my plan was, in fact. I figured I would figure it out when I did, and wouldn't worry too much about it until then.

Saber and I went to lunch with his friend Azil, who was quite a character. He was also from Morocco (Tangiers), and wanted to practice his English, which worked out well since I was clueless in Arabic.

Azil was quite the entertainer. He wanted to share the details of his new relationship. A brand spanking new one-month old relationship. He had met the family the night before. His girlfriends father had given him a horse (interesting) and his girlfriend had let him move in with her and her 4 -year old! He was quite proud that in one-month he had gotten a girlfriend, a new apartment, a horse, and a kid. Silly me, I thought the last part took at least 9 months to come about.

From lunch we found a bar, where Nacho was going to meet us. The bartender was Napolese, and could do little to convince me that Napoli was not the most awful place. We stayed here for a bit, and then I needed to take my computer to the shop. I left and wondered my way home, only to get a call from Saber in 10 minutes, saying he thought it best if he went with me and to meet him outside the store.

He sorted it out with the sales guy, and left his number for us to be called when it was time to pick it up. We returned to his shop, got beers, and hung out... Azil still in tow. They wanted to listen to American music, and Azil wanted to dance. Check him out. Is he cool, or what?

Sunset on a Beautiful Day

When I woke, I had to struggle to figure out where I was. I almost thought I was dreaming, but quickly realized I was back at Saber's, and most importantly, back in Sevilla.

I showered and heading out of the apartment I called Saber, who was 10 feet away at Jonata's, and had been for three hours. Jonata was closing his shop, and the plan was to have drinks on the terrace as the sun set.

Saber's friends from Barcelona joined us, as well as Jesus, and Rosia (Jonata's wife). Saber even invited Joseph as friendly gesture, and we were all surprised when he showed up!

When Nacho arrived on his motorbike, I leaned over the edge of the roof, "Hola, Nacho!" His only response was "Que pasa?"He should have known I would be back.

Around 10PM, the neighbors start closing their windows at the noise from our party, so we moved the party to a courtyard by the Alcazar.

I love how you can just drink in the streets anywhere in Spain. Nothing is offlimits. We were standing outside of one of Sevilla's most well-known attractions and no fuss was being made to chase us away. A policeman walked by and waved, 'Buenas Noches' and went on. I

At midnight, we finally made a move towards dinner, which involved taking the motorbike to a pizza place in another neighborhood. Saber's friend ran a trendy little pie shop, and honestly it was some of the best pizza of my life -- I would dare to say better than Joe's!

It was now almost 2AM, and the gang wanted 'one more drink' so we went to a nearby bar until 4AM.

I was exhausted when we got home, and had one of the best sleep's of my life.