Nacre's Promise

Chapter XV : Feedback

From month to month, in the two years she had worked with Manuela, her physical appearance had changed. She had lost her little belly and childish curves and gained finesse and muscle, but she was exhausted and her certainties were starting to crack.

Manuela realized this and, thanks to a calm activity at Christmas time, she suggested that he stop to recuperate.

Why wouldn't she take the opportunity to see her family? It had been so long since she had been there. Her sisters must have grown up and then there was her little brother Alfonso whom she had never seen, the son of Carlina and Ernesto who must have been eight years old now.

As Isabel had learned to ride a horse and was not unaware of the care that should be given to them, Manuela offered to lend her the youngest of her two horses for the road. It was the son of her mare that she was harnessing to go to the market and she had not yet taught him to pull the cart. It was more solid and would easily endure the journey back to the estate. In addition to horseback, the route would be shorter.

Isabel packed her small luggage and dressed in baggy panties tight at the ankles under a light skirt. This outfit, practical but nevertheless feminine, allowed him to ride astride without any discomfort and without revealing his anatomy.

After checking her route with Miguel and warning Señor Ruiz, she set off with a light heart. It was also the first vacation she had enjoyed since she started working. At Manuela's, she had at most one day off per fortnight, which she spent most often with Carmen and Miguel or resting. Holidays would be welcome!

As soon as she left the outskirts of Barcelona, ​​saddled on young Solindo, her heart sank. For the full seven years she had lived there, it was her home today. She longed to see her family again, but, after all this time, she feared that the reunion would be tinged with embarrassment.

Ruiz had warned her against highway robbers, and as soon as she saw a human figure or a car on the horizon, she would deviate slightly from her path so as not to cross them. The trip was long but it went off without a hitch, and at the sight of the houses where she was born in the distance, she asked Solindo to accelerate.

She was covered in dust but well dressed, so that no one of the people she had known recognized her when she arrived at the estate. Fortunately, it only lasted a few minutes. She was quickly surrounded by many people, delighted to find her, who asked her lots of questions about what she was doing in the city. Ernesto had been warned and he came running with tears in his eyes. He quickly dispersed the curious and led her to the stable then to the house where she found all her family.

Her fears vanished when she entered her old home. Carlina and even her two sisters rushed over to kiss her. They were asking so many questions that Isabel couldn't answer them. She also got to know the little Alfonso who, out of timidity, stood back. He was impressed to see this great lady who was told to him to be his sister and did not dare to come forward. He wasn't the only one who was impressed.

Isabel had not put on her Sunday clothes to ride but she nevertheless had a beautiful outfit that she had made during her days off at Manuela's and she shone in spite of the fatigue and the dust of the road.

As it was late, Ernesto put a stop to this reunion and invited Isabel to supper and rest. It would be good time for reunion tomorrow, but tonight her daughter needed a good night's sleep before she answered all the questions.

She gratefully accepted the bath Carlina had prepared for her, then changed into a lighter outfit to sit down at the table. They had already had dinner and she had a quick snack in the kitchen. After his good night wishes, Ernesto had gone to the stables to take care of Solindo. Carlina was in the girls' room to put little Alfonso to bed, who was going to sleep with his two sisters to leave his room to Isabel, and who still needed his mother's kiss. The sight of this family life drew some tears from her.