“Today is going to be a great day,” I said with conviction as I opened the windows and let the warm air venture inside.
This year, from the very beginning, we have been hit by a train of storms in southern Spanish Andalusia. Instead of the sun and beach dreams of every jealous holidaymaker, we’ve been flooded with storms like Leonardo, Marta and Oriana, forcing us all to stay indoors, complain about the damp weather outside and the humid walls inside.
Nature’s Interior Design
Well, yes — there is no such thing as insulated homes. At least not where we live. And the air conditioning “warm” mode is not really helping much.
So the black dots on the ceiling begin their magical decoration during the weeks when the sun refuses to show its face. Stinky mould has had its prime year this winter, screaming at us from above, singing with every new black spot: “Home sweet home.” All to our frustration.
Oh Happy Day
At last, the sun returns.
We bleach the walls, open the windows, and celebrate the comeback of light. We can breathe again.
And once the sky finally decides to stop pouring down on us, what do we decide to do?
“Darling, shall we go and get a car wash?” my husband suggested.
“Oh yeah, good idea,” I replied — in the supportive wife mode.
“Got some spare change?”
When was money ever spare? I was about to say… but no. Not today. Today is a sunny Sunday.
We are enjoying a peaceful day. Everything is beautiful.
“Let’s go to the one that accepts card payments.” Problem-solving mode activated.
As I grabbed the keys, I started humming “… working at the car wash, yeah…”
A Shared Mission
So we jumped into our car — the one that hadn’t been washed for a whole long month. Not that the rain hadn’t battered it from right to left… but a bit of shampoo was clearly missing.
On the way, we chatted jovially — each about our own topic.
Him:
“This is a beast for the price. You’ll see. This is the future,” excitedly talking about some new car being manufactured recently.
Me:
“Oh yes! He’s published another book…”
I can’t wait to get my hands on the latest book by Dan Brown, The Secret of Secrets.
Both of us enthusiastically discussing our precious subjects… with ourselves, at the same time — yet somehow still considering it a marital conversation.
Finally, we stopped at the car wash. My precious other half stepped outside to perform his husbandly duty, while I — the obedient wife — stayed inside, already thinking about where we should go for lunch.
Time to treat ourselves. Nice lunch. Sitting outside in the sun.
Later, I could take some cool pictures, post them on social media, just to gently annoy family and friends who were still braving snow and freezing temperatures in the northern hemisphere.
What Has Just Happened?
Suddenly…
“What the heck!” I shrieked as the cold water hit my face with such force I could feel my cheeks wobble.
The gush of water swallowed my scream of horror, while the completely oblivious man outside continued the task he had set himself just a minute earlier.
“Stoooooop!” I yelled.
To no avail.
The man was deaf — probably imagining he was washing his imaginary Porsche, singing to himself, while I was being professionally drenched in our very ordinary Ibiza.
A Sudden Shift
Immediately, I attacked the door buttons. The windows began to close in painfully slow motion, as if rolling up themselves in protest… or giving me the middle finger, enjoying the disaster.
The supportive wife had just transformed into a wet cat… No longer supportive.
I sat there, dripping, staring at the closed windows. And somehow, still believing…
“Today is going to be a great day.”
Clearly, I am not allowed to have peaceful days. If this story made you smile, wait until you read “Oops, I Did It Again — This Time In Spain.” Meanwhile, some people collect souvenirs; I collect international incidents — welcome to Life in Translation.