Garcìa

chapter 6

It's been six months since Valentina came to her grandparents' place. She has been going to therapy to overcome all of that happened. She made her therapist sign a non-disclosure to make sure she wouldn't go about telling people where Valentina was. Luckily, her therapist understood completely and signed.

It did help Valentina, those sessions. She came to understand her emotions and herself much better. Off course, it was still hard without her parents but she was doing much better and she had her grandparents by her side. Maybe even Rafael.

Rafael had been calling once a month, like he said. He would usually give updates on her family's company and occasionally on Elijah if he had found anything. According to Rafael, Elijah thought that Valentina was still in the United States. The workers didn't receive any type of punishment, which made Valentina glad.

She spent most of her time with her grandparents in the garden, or she went to the beach, the flower fields, the market. She even volunteered at a local school. In six months she would have to cut down a few of her activities since she would be travelling a lot. That's why she wanted to enjoy it all as much as she could.

She was currently walking through a vineyard. It was nearby the beach house. She would spent a lot of her time here, just walking in the sun. Sometimes even bring a book with her to read. She had found a dog here, just wondering around with no owner so she usually took some food with her as well. She was pretty content with her life at the moment but she also knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She frowned before taking it out of her pocket. She looked at the name on the screen in confusion. Why would Rafael be calling her? He isn't supposed to call until at least a week or two. She picked up nonetheless.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked through the phone.

"Who are you?" a curious, female, voice asked from the other side of the phone.

"Uhm, I could ask you the same thing." Valentina replied, not wanting to give away who she was just yet.

"Well, in my brother's phone, your name would be V.I." the woman replied.

Valentina mulled over the name. V.I.? How did he come up with that? She started racking her brain for an answer before she came to the conclusion that those were her initials. Valentina Isabella.

"That's sort of true." she replied to the woman. "But who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Kelly. Rafael is my brother. Listen, if you're his girlfriend, you better not be out for his money." the woman, Kelly, replied.

"Oh god no, I'm not his girlfriend. Absolutely not. Never in a million years." Valentina quickly rushed out. Which caused Kelly to laugh out loud.

"Then why is your number used exactly every month? I heard him call sometimes." Kelly questioned.

"It's business related. We made a deal and calling every month was part of it." Valentina explained.

"So, you're not his girlfriend?"

"No, I am not. And I really don't wish to be. He so grumpy all the time."

Kelly laughed at the woman she was calling with. No woman, except herself, had ever spoken about her brother like that. They would always want something from her or him. But obviously, he never gave it. Well, except the occasional one night stand that disgusted her to the bone. Because it was gross to think about her brother like that. Other than their mother and herself, Rafael never really showed he had a heart. But it seemed like he was showing a little bit of it to this mysterious woman.

"Shit. I have to go now, but I'll definitely try to call again sometime soon." Kelly said through the phone.

"Alright, I guess?" Valentina replied.

"Probably with my own phone. Okay, bye now." Kelly said before Valentina could reply.

She sighed before dropping the phone back in her pocket. She looked through the vineyard in front of her. She loved the peace it held. One of the few places she could be alone and think. Some sort of reset place. She started thinking about Kelly. Rafael's sister. He never spoke of them much. Only to tell her that his mother wanted to know how she was doing. She thought it was sweet that he asked for his mother. She also thought it was sweet that his mother worried about her. But she never really heard about his sister. In fact, she had googled it because she hadn't known. But now, his sister was going to call her back. Not every month but just when she felt like it. It kind of reminded Valentina about her best friend Izzy who would do the same. Just call when she saw fit.

She sighed before hearing a bark. She turned around and found the dog she always saw around here. She crouched down in front of him and started petting him. He wagged his tail enthusiastically. She chuckled before grabbing the food out of her basket. She handed it to him and he took it greedily. She watched with a smile how he all but inhaled the food. Once he was finished, he looked at her expectantly. She knew what that meant. She grabbed the tennis ball and threw it as far as she could. He ran off towards the ball. He caught it and ran back towards her.

"Good boy." she said while taking back the ball and petting his head.

He barked in reply and she chuckled. She threw the ball again and he ran after it. They spent the rest of the afternoon like this. Until it was dusk. A man walked towards them and Valentina panicked. The dog stood in front of her protectively.

"Excuse me, miss?" the man said to her.

"Yes?" she asked the man.

"Is this dog listening to you?" he asked her, confusing her.

"Uhm, yes, mostly." she replied.

"Take him, then. I have seen you and him play all the time. He never listened to any of us. We tried to get him back to us with food but he wouldn't budge. Would you want to take him home with you?" the man said, causing Valentina to smile at his suggestion.

"If you wouldn't mind." she said with a small smile.

"Absolutely not. He seems to be happier with you than he is with us." the man said with a smile. "If you come back here tomorrow, I can give you his papers."

"Alright then, I'll come back for the papers tomorrow." she said and the man smiled.

They said goodbye before Valentina called the dog along with her. He happily walked beside her, not knowing his life was about to change. She started thinking of a name. Something fitting. She thought of the name Benji. He seemed like a Benji.

"I think I'll call you Benji." she said to him and he barked happily.

She took that as a yes and they made their way back to her grandparents' house. Just one more resident couldn't hurt.