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Authors: Anna Nicholas
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slightly out of breath from running. 'I'm Helge. I think you've met my husband, Wolfgang.'
  I'm momentarily distracted by her apparent ability to wear silk and run without perspiring. What's her trick? I proffer a hand and explain that her husband and I have merely exchanged hand waves. She beams at me.
  'You know we are so happy to have you as neighbours. Ollie says you speak some Spanish which is good because I don't speak English.'
  She tells me that she and her husband live in Berlin but visit Mallorca during the summer. They'll be away from September but have a local family keeping an eye on their house. Ollie kicks the ball towards her and she scrambles after it energetically and somehow elegantly. Maybe some people are just born svelte.
  'Listen,' I burble, 'If Ollie is being a nuisanceâ¦'
  'No, no,' she smiles. 'He saw me on my terrace and invited me to play football. He was so sweet, how could I resist?'
  I narrow my eyes at my devious little darling. 'Hm, I manage well enough. Now Ollie, I think it's time for your bath.'
  He pulls a face. 'But I want to stay with Helge.'
  I give him a warning grimace and he quickly drops his hand from Helge's clasp. 'Can I see you tomorrow?'
  'Of course, liebchen! ' she cries, giving him a hug. 'It's so nice to have a little boy around again. I remember when my son, Tomas, was small. Listen, why don't you all come and have drinks with us tomorrow night? It would be good to get to know one another.'
  Given Helge's instant star rating with my son, he'll probably bring adoption papers round for them to sign. I thank her heartily and, with Ollie shuffling behind me, make my way through the courtyard and into the house where I drop the bulging pannier on the concrete floor and collapse onto a flimsy beach chair. I try not to fix my eyes on the boxes of unpacked kitchen utensils and crockery around me. What I'd give to have fitted cupboards and a decent dining table and chairs, but I'm just going to have to wait.
  'Had a fun time?' enquires Alan, striding into the kitchen with a pair of secateurs in his hand. Sometimes I think they're welded to him.
  'I need a cup of tea before I expire.'
  He steps over the assortment of vegetables that have spilled out of the pannier and cheerfully fills up the kettle. I notice Ollie skips over the same heap en route to the biscuit tin.
  'Well, I got the e-mails done and met Antonia and Albert who own HiBit. She's Mallorcan and he's American and so I didn't have to use my awful Spanish.'
  'What a cop out!' growls Alan. 'Were they any help on Ollie joining the local football team?'
  'Yes. Antonia says there'll be no problem with him joining. She's going to speak with Felipe.'
  'When can I start?' Ollie pipes up.
  'I think the new season starts in September, so very soon.'
  His face brightens. 'Good, and Helge's agreed to play with me until they leave.'
  'Who's Helge?' asks Alan, slapping a mug of green tea in front of me.
  'Our glamorous next-door neighbour. She's invited us round tomorrow night for drinks.' I give him a leading smile.
  'A glamorous German,' he muses. 'I wonder if she likes gardening.'
  'Yes, she does,' says Ollie enthusiastically. 'And football.'
  'Sounds just like my sort of girl,' replies Alan roguishly.
It was one of those spontaneous decisions that are easy to make here. The sky was blue and the air still and warm, so Alan and I decided to call it a day and go for an early evening walk in the mountains. And why not? Ollie, aimless around the house until able to start his new school, had been invited by our builder, Stefan, to spend the evening round at the house of Catalina, his older sister, and her husband Ramon, both of whom we are yet to meet. The promise of a large plate of macarrones , delicious pasta tubes with Bolognese sauce, the
  I'm momentarily distracted by her apparent ability to wear silk and run without perspiring. What's her trick? I proffer a hand and explain that her husband and I have merely exchanged hand waves. She beams at me.
  'You know we are so happy to have you as neighbours. Ollie says you speak some Spanish which is good because I don't speak English.'
  She tells me that she and her husband live in Berlin but visit Mallorca during the summer. They'll be away from September but have a local family keeping an eye on their house. Ollie kicks the ball towards her and she scrambles after it energetically and somehow elegantly. Maybe some people are just born svelte.
  'Listen,' I burble, 'If Ollie is being a nuisanceâ¦'
  'No, no,' she smiles. 'He saw me on my terrace and invited me to play football. He was so sweet, how could I resist?'
  I narrow my eyes at my devious little darling. 'Hm, I manage well enough. Now Ollie, I think it's time for your bath.'
  He pulls a face. 'But I want to stay with Helge.'
  I give him a warning grimace and he quickly drops his hand from Helge's clasp. 'Can I see you tomorrow?'
  'Of course, liebchen! ' she cries, giving him a hug. 'It's so nice to have a little boy around again. I remember when my son, Tomas, was small. Listen, why don't you all come and have drinks with us tomorrow night? It would be good to get to know one another.'
  Given Helge's instant star rating with my son, he'll probably bring adoption papers round for them to sign. I thank her heartily and, with Ollie shuffling behind me, make my way through the courtyard and into the house where I drop the bulging pannier on the concrete floor and collapse onto a flimsy beach chair. I try not to fix my eyes on the boxes of unpacked kitchen utensils and crockery around me. What I'd give to have fitted cupboards and a decent dining table and chairs, but I'm just going to have to wait.
  'Had a fun time?' enquires Alan, striding into the kitchen with a pair of secateurs in his hand. Sometimes I think they're welded to him.
  'I need a cup of tea before I expire.'
  He steps over the assortment of vegetables that have spilled out of the pannier and cheerfully fills up the kettle. I notice Ollie skips over the same heap en route to the biscuit tin.
  'Well, I got the e-mails done and met Antonia and Albert who own HiBit. She's Mallorcan and he's American and so I didn't have to use my awful Spanish.'
  'What a cop out!' growls Alan. 'Were they any help on Ollie joining the local football team?'
  'Yes. Antonia says there'll be no problem with him joining. She's going to speak with Felipe.'
  'When can I start?' Ollie pipes up.
  'I think the new season starts in September, so very soon.'
  His face brightens. 'Good, and Helge's agreed to play with me until they leave.'
  'Who's Helge?' asks Alan, slapping a mug of green tea in front of me.
  'Our glamorous next-door neighbour. She's invited us round tomorrow night for drinks.' I give him a leading smile.
  'A glamorous German,' he muses. 'I wonder if she likes gardening.'
  'Yes, she does,' says Ollie enthusiastically. 'And football.'
  'Sounds just like my sort of girl,' replies Alan roguishly.
It was one of those spontaneous decisions that are easy to make here. The sky was blue and the air still and warm, so Alan and I decided to call it a day and go for an early evening walk in the mountains. And why not? Ollie, aimless around the house until able to start his new school, had been invited by our builder, Stefan, to spend the evening round at the house of Catalina, his older sister, and her husband Ramon, both of whom we are yet to meet. The promise of a large plate of macarrones , delicious pasta tubes with Bolognese sauce, the
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