"Disculpe, señor," I call out, halting a cabana boy in his tracks. This is the third one I've stopped and every time, I feel more and more idiotic for not learning Portuguese in addition to Spanish. "Estoy buscando a mi hija. Ella tiene el pelo castaño y, ay Dios mío. Lo siento, señor, la veo."
He gives me an odd look as I run off toward Elsie, where I can see her sitting at one of the cabanas with a plate of watermelon set in front of her.
The little escape artist is happily munching on her sliced fruit, chatting in what I assume is her disjointed Spanish with the man sitting a few feet away from her.
I'm there in an instant, elation replacing the awful anxiety that'd wrapped itself around me like a vice. "Elsie, my goodness, Mummy's been looking for you everywhere!" I crouch down beside the four year old, giving her a quick look over.
Beyond being covered in watermelon juice, she looks perfectly fine. She seems to be pretty happy, actually, especially with the watermelon in her hands.
"Mummy, mummy, uh..." She hoists her watermelon slice in the air, swinging it around before promptly bringing it back to her mouth. "¿Cómo se dice watermelon en Español, señor?"
It's only then I realise that my daughter's sat herself down across from a complete stranger who's not only supplied her with watermelon but is actively teaching her Spanish as she eats. I've never heard Elsie say more than a few words in Spanish and yet, with this man, she's asking full, grammatically correct questions.
I give him a look up and down, pleased to see that he's sat himself a respectable distance away from my daughter and rather surprised to notice that he's fit. I haven't looked at a man and thought he's good looking in...god, in ages. Probably not since I had Elsie.
Whoever sold this man the blue swim shorts he's got on deserves a medal.
"Sandía," the man responds as he eats his own piece of watermelon. "Mamá, ¿hablas español?"
"Sí, señor. Mi hija y yo vivimos en Madrid." I lean over Elsie to offer my hand, hoping he'll take the invitation.
"Ah, me too." He smiles a bit and gives my hand a shake, "Carlos."
"Mara. Thank you, by the way, for sitting with her. She wasn't meant to wander off," I aim that last part toward my daughter, who looks up at me with a grin. "Troublemaker."
Carlos shrugs, obviously not bothered by the interruption, "It's no problem, she's only been here for," he pauses, glancing down at the watch on his wrist, "Oh, wow."
"From what the nanny told my assistant, Elsie wandered off about an hour ago. So, genuinely, thank you. I'm glad she ended up with someone...not crazy."
Elsie jumps up from the cabana cushion at that, throwing herself onto me and tugging on the side of my tank top until I'm standing up and lifting her into my arms.
She's still small enough for me to carry, though not without a smidge of a struggle.
Used to the adjustment period, Elsie occupies herself with the watermelon in her hands until I've settled her on my hip. Carlos, momentarily forgotten by me, pops back into my focus as he rises to a stand as well.
"Allow me to walk you back," he gestures toward the resort in the distance and I smile, shaking my head, "No?"
"We're over on the beach, actually...but, if you'd like, you're more than welcome to join us on set and watch for a bit."
When he doesn't respond immediately, I continue to pitch the idea, "I mean, it's not something most people ever get to see and I usually keep a closed set but...consider this a thank you, for watching Elsie."
I wait in silence as he weighs his options, apparently deciding he'll come with as he picks up his shirt and pulls it on. Elsie claps, clearly excited to have her new friend on set with her. "Carlos, Carlos, Carlos," she chants, leaning away from me and reaching for him.
"Elsie, baby, let's remember that Carlos has a bubble." He's close enough for Elsie to grab at and he doesn't pull away when her little fist closes around the sleeve of his shirt... "I'm so sorry, she's doesn't normally act like this."
I detach her hand from Carlos's shirt and take a half step to the side, widening the distance between us as we near the beach.
Amira is the first to spot us. She nearly drops to the ground at the sight of Elsie in my arms, rushing over to us and pulling Elsie into her own arms with teary eyes.
"Sprout, you're not allowed to wander off like that! We were all so worried, oh my god," Amira runs her hands through Elsie's hair, fixing her curls with a shaky smile.
Carlos looks between the two of them, then to myself, and I realise then what this little interaction must look like to him. Amira's got the same dark hair and eyes and Elsie is clearly very comfortable in her arms and oh god, he must think - "Carlos, this is my assistant, Amira Carmichael. Amira, this is Carlos. He found Elsie wandering by the pool."
At the mention of a pool, Amira blanches in colour, quickly reassuring me that Elsie's had all the necessary swim lessons while reaching for that damn tablet to show me a certificate she swears she has.
Catching herself panicking in front of a stranger, Amira pauses, inhales deeply, and it's like a mask has settled over her as she pivots ever so slightly to fully face Carlos.
"My apologies," she starts, her voice suddenly much more posh. "If you'll excuse us, we'll be resuming our shoot shortly and do maintain a closed set, sir."
"Oh, no, he's my guest," I interject, nearly touching Carlos's arm when I gesture toward him. "Sorry, sorry."
Carlos waves off my apology, instead continuing to take in what he can see of the set as we walk through toward the videography set-up. "What are you shooting here?"
"This one's for a Portugal-based swim brand called Collection: Us," I explain, gesturing toward the group of models currently setting up for a group shoot for their socials. "They're a relatively small business with limited global scope but after they landed a feature in Vogue my agency got the call for a socials revamp."
"Your agency?"
A gust of wind blows my hair into my face and I laugh, struggling to pull it back as I try to respond to Carlos's question. "Oceá Creative. We specialise in public relations and creative branding, so this sort of stuff is right up our alley."
He laughs along with me, stepping in the path of the wind to block it so I can finally get my hair under control. "I think I've heard of Oceá before. You did the recent Puma campaign, no?"
"Yeah, I-" Hold on a second, "That campaign hasn't gone live yet, how did you know that?"
Before Carlos can respond, someone's shouting his name, making the both of us turn. A pair of men stand at the top of the beach, pressed up against the temporary fence erected to keep the set private, frantically waving and gesturing for him to come over.
"¡Un momento, amigos!" He sighs, running a hand over his mouth and glancing back at me with a frown, "It was so nice to meet you...do you...may I see your phone?"
Unsure where this is going, I hand the device over to him, quickly dialling in my password when he gestures it back in my direction. I watch on with wide eyes as he opens up my WhatsApp and texts himself, giving me a wink as he hands back my phone.
"When you're back in Madrid, call me."
YOU ARE READING
solo / carlos sainz
Fanfiction'you're allowed to be more than just a mummy' above all else, mara walsh is a mother. for as long as her daughter's been in her life, she's raised her all on her own and done a damn good job of it. so what happens when carlos sainz comes into her li...
