American library books » Romance » New Beginnings in Spain by Sarah Barkley (early reader books TXT) 📕

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Molly was all alone. Her parents had retired to West Palm
Beach, and she didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Rick had died on June 18th, the beginning of Molly’s summer vacation from teaching. Molly’s parents had come to stay with her for the rest of the summer, but then the new school year was about to begin, and
it was time for Molly to go back to work. Day after day, week after week, month after monoth. Molly went through the motions of her life for the many months following Rick’s death. She did like her teaching
job at St. Pius, but so much was missing in her life.

Her joy was gone. She was lonely, but she definitely was not ready to start dating again. Finally, the school year ended, but she had no idea what she would do for the summer.

On the one year anniversary of Rick’s death, at what should have been their 10th wedding anniversary,
Molly decided to treat herself to her favorite Chinese restaurant, China Garden, in Buckhead. She hadn’t been able to go back to Three Dollar Café since the accident, but this place was just across the street. She sat alone in the corner, eating spicy Schezwan Shrimp, drinking SAKE, and reminiscing of Rick. She knew that he would be angry with her to see her so depressed all the time. She really DID need to get on with her life, but how?

The waiter came over and left the check on the table, along with a fortune cookie and one more SAKE. She’d take a taxi home. After all, she WAS entitled to a little indulgence, right? It was her anniversary! Yeah, right!

Slowly, as she sipped her SAKE, an idea came to her. The fortune cookie! That’s it! I’ll follow the advice of this silly cookie! What did she have to lose, right? Quickly, she tore open the wrapper and split the cookie in half. Inside was the little piece of paper that was going to change her life. She stared down at the words:

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND YOU WILL FIND HAPPINESS

Oh, terrific, she thought. "Follow my dreams? What dreams? My dreams were shattered 12 months ago. OK, OK, what have I always wanted to do, at least BEFORE I met Rick? Think. Think." All she could think of was missing Rick.

"Be realistic, Molly! What had I always wanted to do?" Then, it came to her. All through high school and college, she had always longed to go to Spain. She surprised herself by her next thoughts: "Spain! Why not? I'll go to Spain! But for how long? A week? A month? A quarter? A year? Why not!" Right then and there Molly made up her mind. She’d frickin' go to Spain for a year! She could afford it. She’d sell the house and take out a
chunk of money she got from Rick’s life insurance policy. She’d take a leave of absence from her teaching job, and if they didn’t have a job for her when she got back, she’d just have to find another job at another school. She could do it!

Or, was that the SAKE talking? Molly had the waiter call her a taxi, and she took it home with visions of Spain dancing in her head. She fell asleep with a smile on her face; the first time that had happened in 12 months.


Molly woke up at 7 the next morning with a splitting headache. Slowly, the memories of the night before snuck into her foggy brain. Something about Spain and quitting her job and way too much SAKE. Oh Man! Her car! She had to go get her car. Maybe the 3½ mile jog would clear the cobwebs out of her head. Slowly, Molly got out of bed, pulled on some shorts, a t-shirt and her Nikes. After a quick glass of juice and 2 Advils, she hit the street running.

Spain! What was I thinking? What would I do in Spain for a year? That’s ridiculous! And my job! I can’t just up and quit my job, sell the house and move to Spain for a year. What would I even do there for all that time? As Molly jogged up Peachtree, and cleared Heart Attack Hill, her speed picked up, and her head started to feel better, and that’s when it hit her.

Why NOT go to Spain for a year? It’ll be awesome. I've always wanted to go, didn’t I? What did that fortune cookie say? Something about follow my dreams to find happiness? Follow my dreams. Follow my dreams. Why the heck not? Spain, Here I Come!

When Molly reached her car at the China Garden, she was smiling again.

During the next two weeks, Molly put her house on the market, quit her job at the school, put all her belongings in storage, and bought a one way ticket to Spain. She had a couple of good guide books, her favorite being Michelins SPAIN. She was going to fly into Madrid and just play it by ear. Of course, her parents thought she was crazy, and they desperately tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined. At least her best friends Jennifer and Carrie understood and even agreed that this is just what Molly needed to jump start her life again. The house should sell quickly. Molly had put a low price on it, just to get rid of it. Her friend Regina was a real estate agent and would take care of everything. Molly wouldn’t even have to be there for the closing, since she made Regina “power of
attorney”.

After finalizing her plans, packing up the house and saying her good byes, Molly was finally ready to start her adventure. It couldn't have been soon enough! It was so wonderful to actually feel happy and excited about something again. It had been too long. She had a general, but unstructured idea of where to begin her journey. Molly was determined to not be a "typical tourist" and stay in Americanized hotels and eat at Americanized restaurants. She really wants to get a feel for the people and culture.

Molly instinctively knew that she didn't want to begin her trip in Madrid. She was afraid she’d just get lost in the big city. Recalling from her Spanish Culture classes from UGA, Molly knew that most of the cities and towns in Spain have a patron saint. On practically any given week, at least one city or town will be celebrating their patron saint with a huge week-long fiesta. The streets would be filled with
dancing, eating, drinking and bull fighting. Molly would be arriving in early September, just before the city of Logrono begins their Fiesta of San Mateo, the patron saint of the wine harvest. Logrono is located right in the Rioja Wine region, and each September, to celebrate the harvest of the Rioja grapes, the whole town comes out to celebrate for an
entire week. What better place to begin her first real live taste of Spain than at the Fiesta of San Mateo!

According to her guide book,the best way to get to Logrono from Madrid is to go by motor coach, if you're not planning to rent a car. From the airport, she’s to take a taxi to the bus depot located at Intercambiador de Avenida de América Num. 9. Easy enough, according to her notes. All taxi drivers should be familiar with that bus station. Then, she’ll take one of the 5 daily departures for the 4½ hour trip to Logrono.


The beep from the intercom pulled Molly out of her thoughts. "Ladies and Gentlemen, in final preparation for landing, please return your seatbacks to the full upright position, stow your tray table, and place all carry-on luggage under the seat in front of you. Electronic devices must also be turned off at this time. Flight attendants will be walking through the cabin to pick up any remaining service items. We’ll be landing soon.”

Look out Spain, here I come!


Chapter Two




Look out Spain, here I come? “No, no, no. Look out Molly, what in the world am I doing here?”, Molly thought as she finally settled into her seat on the motor coach for Logrono. This place is a madhouse! Flight 108 landed right on schedule. After the intial brief message from the flight attendants in English, a Spanish speaking one came on, talking really loud and really fast in totally in Spanish! Yes, Molly WAS fluent in Spanish, but her actual listening and conversational skills were very rusty. She was not prepared for what hit her, nor was she prepared for the "culture shock" of entering a foreign land, and on her own. Everybody seemed to be shouting and running all their words together at 100 miles per hour. The plane landed and then came to a stop out on the runway, rather than taxiing up to the terminal. Molly couldn’t even SEE the terminal from where they were. Suddenly, everybody jumped up, grabbed their belongings, and ran down the steps
to a waiting bus. At first Molly thought the plane was on fire or something, by the way everybody was running, so she grabbed her stuff and ran with them. When she reached the bus, it was packed full, but a man standing on the steps reached for her hand and pulled her on board. The doors slammed shut and then the bus took off for the terminal.


Finally, catching her breath, and in a frantic voice, Molly asked the gentleman who helped her get
on the bus, “What’s happening? Why was everybody rushing to this bus? Is there an emergency?”

The man laughed loudly and said, “Oh, you are American, yes? Welcome to Madrid. No, there is no problem. All these people know from experience that if they miss this bus, they are left standing in the runway for maybe an hour waiting for it to return. You looked a little confused, so that is why I pulled you on board.”

“Uh, thankyou. I WAS confused", Molly stammered in Spanish.

“Oh, it is my pleasure to come to the rescue of such a beautiful lady. And you speak excellent

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