Twenty-five-year-old Lily Harrison just lost her dad.
Orphaned, unemployed and saddled with student debt,
she discovers an envelope full of cash in her dad's
closet with instructions to take his dream trip to
Pamplona, Spain, for the Festival of San Fermín. In the
summer of 2010, practical Lily reluctantly embarks on
this adventure to fulfill her dad's last wish.
Immersed in the celebrations of the festival and the
electric atmosphere of World Cup football, she meets
the complicated Miguel. Lily's once-in-a-lifetime trip to
Spain teaches her about the value of community,
friendship and the possibility of love.
Twenty-five-year-old Lily Harrison just lost her dad.
Orphaned, unemployed and saddled with student debt,
she discovers an envelope full of cash in her dad's
closet with instructions to take his dream trip to
Pamplona, Spain, for the Festival of San Fermín. In the
summer of 2010, practical Lily reluctantly embarks on
this adventure to fulfill her dad's last wish.
Immersed in the celebrations of the festival and the
electric atmosphere of World Cup football, she meets
the complicated Miguel. Lily's once-in-a-lifetime trip to
Spain teaches her about the value of community,
friendship and the possibility of love.
CHAPTER ONE
Lily cupped his sweaty, quivering hands. Breathing deeply to stop the queasiness, she parked herself in front of his chair. Their knees fused like sticky sugar.
“The police will find her.”
Miguel’s pallid face blended in with the sterile yellow walls of the comisaría. He said nothing, as his head rocked in rhythm with the rattling fan in the corner of the office. The moisture in the air enveloped them, as the sharp odour of alcohol drifted from the main reception area, overflowing with drunk partygoers. The street festival music mocked his anguish. “How can this be happening?”
Lily mulled over the same thought, as her watery eyes fixed on Miguel’s wrist tattoo. Two days ago, his cutting words had ravaged her. It was over. Now, she brought comfort to his crushed spirit as they waited to complete the Missing Person’s Report.
Her once in a lifetime trip to Spain had taken a cruel twist.
Lily sat hunched on the blemished parquet floor beneath her Pops’s closet. Her beat-up grey sweatpants kept catching on the lifted planks. Warmth and familiarity reverberated through the damaged tiles. She could feel his presence, even though he had died last fall.
With their lease terminating at the start of May, cleaning up her father’s belongings could no longer be delayed. The modest flat they shared for most of Lily’s twenty-five years was simple but treasured. Leaving this home orphaned marked another devastating milestone in this challenging year.
Lily examined the peeling wallpaper inside the closet, concealing the crumbling surface. The once packed space now accommodated few items. The navy custodian’s uniform that Pops wore proudly during the night shift at the bank, dangled like a mobile in a nursery. A single spike secured the horizontal clothes rail. Lily applauded the nail’s tenacity in holding up the rod, despite limited support.
Her oldest friend, Jade, had cautiously agreed to help Lily purge. A morning of sorting had decluttered his room, but the smell of pine air freshener remained. So had the empty bottles of whisky buried between Pops’s sneakers on the flimsy shoe rack. Jade had tried to quietly remove them earlier, but Lily uncovered her mission in the blue recycling box.
His weekend drinking was steady. Rubbing her slim legs, Lily could hear her father crooning his beloved drunken ABBA tune, “Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me/ Shining like the sun/ Smiling, having fun/ Feeling like a number one…” The corners of her mouth reluctantly turned up.
Jade sat on Pops’s bed, watching Lily explore. She was not accustomed to any domestic chores. Her ballerina posture supported her curvy build. An Aegean blue Gucci tracksuit was Jade’s cleaning uniform, easily afforded by her flourishing PR career. A pyramid of casual wear rested beside her. “Will Goodwill even take these hideous jeans? He had so many.”
Rescued from her contemplation, Lily smirked back at her closest friend. “Most were cast-offs from a buddy at work who gained too much weight. I didn’t realize he had so many T-shirts. What a hoarder!”
“Well, you certainly didn’t inherit that trait from him, Ms. Organization!” Jade propped her chin and gawked at Lily.
“It’s easy to stay tidy when you have fewer things to organize, Princess.” Lily’s wink was stained with a touch of resentment.
“My new personal assistant, Anita, keeps my life in perfect order.” Jade stuck out her tongue in defiance.
Lily launched a charcoal slipper. Gracefully dodging to one side, Jade narrowly escaped the smelly projectile. The pile of clothes plunged off the bed. An eruption of laughter permeated the room. The tension Lily held broke loose. They were nine again; huddled inside Jade’s treehouse, as her brother’s army lofted mud balls at them.
“Ok, joker. Let’s get serious. Goodwill closes at five today.” Lily was ashamed to know their schedule so intimately. At least this time I’m donating.
Lily retrieved a dusty Nike shoebox from the closet. “Gross.” The chalky air collected in the back of her throat, as she lifted the ripped lid.
“More running shoes?” Jade flung an armful of clothes back on the bed.
“I can’t believe he kept these.” Tears dripped on the cards that Lily removed from the box. Her friend intuitively clutched Lily’s shoulder. Rainbow-hued sparkles floated through the air, as a parade of homemade cards marched out of the box.
“We made this monstrosity in Mrs. Garner’s class, Lil. That was my final year in public school, before transferring to Hawthorne Private.” Jade displayed a Father’s Day card constructed in the shape of a turquoise tie.
Trying to subdue the throat lump, Lily smiled. “He howled when I gave it to him. When have you ever seen my Pops wearing a tie?” A beat-up sweatshirt would have been a more appropriate shape for his Father’s Day card.
Her forehead wrinkled as she noticed a wedding picture. Jade plucked the photo. “He’s wearing a tie here! So, 1980s! Daddy’s second wife wore a frock like this. Look at your mother’s puffy sleeves and oversized skirt. She resembles a child doing her First Holy Communion.” Jade rattled her head.
“She was young. Fifteen years younger than Pops! How did they ever think it could work?” Pops looked radiant beside his pregnant young bride.
“I bet the sex was extraordinary.” Jade bounced on the bed and gyrated her hips. Lily flung the matching slipper.
“You exhaust me, Jade.” Lily kneaded her temples. Thinking about her mother was the real cause of her fatigue.
“On a serious note, you do get your beauty from her, Lil. You have her green eyes and youthful freckles.”
“Whatever … they would be the only gift I ever received from Véronique.” Lily wrestled the photograph back and tossed it into the box. She had little time for this woman who walked away from her family when Lily was a child.
She drew a book that peeked out of the box. A frayed copy of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway settled on Lily’s lap. Jade examined the dark blue cloth cover with gold and silver lettering.
Slumping back onto the bed, Jade’s analysis continued. “What a surprise! I assumed Pops only read the sports section.”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Lily took a gulp. “It was my grandfather’s book.” Lily caressed the cover.
“Is it a first edition? Could be valuable.” Her steel blue eyes flickered.
“It’s not a first edition … but it’s priceless. Pops loved this novel.” Lily leafed through the musty pages. She delighted in the perfume of old books. “If I remember correctly, it’s about a group of friends, British and American expats, who travel to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain.”
“Please don’t bore me with another lecture, teacher.” Jade hopped off the bed and headed to the kitchen.
“I am a teacher. I can’t help myself.” After graduating last June, Lily spent a frustrating year looking for a full-time teaching position. The next round of interviews would hopefully secure a job for the coming fall.
As she caressed the book, a black and white photograph dropped out. Lily’s face beamed with recognition. The book housed her grandfather’s last remaining photograph. How appropriate! Taken during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, her lanky grandfather stands erect and grins, as a cigarette dangles from his mouth. He leans on a rifle with his left arm. His right drapes the shoulder of a shorter man, wearing spherical eyeglasses and a beret. This Spaniard saved his life and cemented a bond to Spain that fascinated her Pops. “Time for lunch?”
After gulping down leftover Pad Thai, the two friends got back to work. “Put the rest into the garbage.” The trunk of Jade’s SUV provided ample room for Pops’s belongings. April drizzle coated the silver vehicle; the damp air drilled into Lily’s bones. It was nippy, but the fertile smell of earthworms reminded her that spring would come soon. Toronto winters were too long and too grey. Lily craved sunshine.
She scooted back into the unassuming bungalow. “I think this lamp is in good shape. Someone could use it.” Standing at the front door, she clutched the light fixture, anticipating a wisecrack from Jade that never landed.
Back inside, Lily combed her father’s bedroom for any last-minute donations.
“Enough with playing the philanthropist! Naomi is doing my nails at six, Lil.” Jade’s voice projected through the flat from outside.
Lily scooped Pops’s favourite hoodie and threw it in the direction of the Nike box. I’m keeping this one. The box tipped on impact, unveiling more treasures.
Lily lifted a bursting kraft envelope. Her father’s scrawled cursive writing appeared on the front: For my precious Lily Bear. Take the trip I never could. The throat lump reawakened.
“All right. You can bring the decrepit lamp. But that’s it!”
Oblivious to Jade’s screeching, she ripped the seal. Her misty eyes overflowed as she thumbed the crammed five-, ten-, and twenty-dollar bills. A silky red scarf peered from beneath the pile. Lily instantly comprehended her father’s request. With lamp and envelope in hand, she bolted outside.
The potent scent of orange spice perfume circulated in Jade’s car. “What do you mean you can’t take this trip?” The seatbelt felt rigid across Lily’s chest as crumbled bills overflowed the box on her lap. The frosty leather seat would take some time to warm.
“Pops always had a fascination with Spain because my grandfather fought there and fell in love with the country. He fantasized about Hemingway’s journey to the Festival of San Fermín but never followed through because he couldn’t afford it, or his health prevented him from travelling.” Lily straightened the bills as she envisioned her father, wearing the bright scarf, dancing around their tiny kitchen, describing the Running of the Bulls. “This was his dream, not mine, Jade.” As these words left her mouth, the guilt set in. I would love to do this for Pops.
Jade’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel. “You are missing the obvious fact: he wanted you to go and has financed it, for once.” Pops had consistently provided the basics for his only daughter. “Extras,” like nice clothes and shoes, books, movie tickets, bus fare, and lunch money were Lily’s responsibility.
“He would understand if I used this money to pay down my student loan.” Lily closed the box and wiggled to ease her stiff legs. Her five years as a university student had left her in debt. “I will hopefully have a full-time teaching job in September. I’ll be able to do some travelling in the future.” Picking at her cuticles, she drew blood.
“When was your last vacation? Weekend camping doesn’t count.”
The sound of a European adventure charmed Lily. Unable to find work as a certified teacher, she had spent the last year juggling three part-time jobs. Her defeated eyes gazed out the tinted window.
“It would be reckless of me to take a trip with so many bills to pay! Besides, I have enough to cover the flight, but then what? I’ll need money once I’m there.” Lily nudged the power window switch to let in some air. A trip to Spain was such a luxury for a young person who kept her meagre savings in a Tim Horton’s coffee tin.
“I know you will flatly refuse any money I might offer, but I have another solution.” Lily considered her friend’s plan, as she massaged cream onto her splintered hands. “What about a working vacation? I may have a connection at a school in Northern Spain.”
Jade’s proposal and the smiling face on the blue Goodwill sign calmed her nervous stomach. Maybe I can go to Spain.
After losing her father, Lily Harrison discovers that he left her money for a trip to Pamplona Spain for the Festival of San Fermín. Lily’s friend, Jade, helps her get a teaching job at a language school in Northern Spain so Lily will have no choice but to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. There she meets Miguel and the festival and football isn’t the only reason she likes Spain. But Miguel’s complicated life and Lily’s dream adventure collide and suddenly issues ensue. Can the love of Spain and love for each other win in the end?
Camino to Love reminded me of Jenna Evan Welch’s Love and Gelato, just more adult and set in Spain instead of Italy, however, I should have tailored my expectations.
The novel doesn’t give the reader much setting to work with in the beginning or even once our heroine, Lily, arrives in Spain. There is a lackluster description that barely lets the reader see or feel what Lily is experiencing. Rather, the reader is told what is happening and we don’t get to experience the story through Lily.
Another aspect of the novel I don’t like is the quick pacing. The reader isn’t given enough time to sit in the scene before the story time skips to the next scene, sometimes the next day. There are no transitions in between scenes or a setup to let the reader know where we’re headed next. One minute we’re at the school with Lily and the next we’re at the bar watching the World Cup. I would have liked to enjoy the journey a bit more with the reader, hearing Lily’s thoughts on her day or her hoping to meet up with Miguel, reflecting on what she might say or do. This is a love story and the love is a little lost on the reader at times.
Also, the reader doesn’t get enough of each character’s thoughts. Lily is the main character but unless she is speaking with someone, the reader doesn’t get her inner thoughts. As I mentioned before, I don’t get an in-depth sense of her feelings towards her job, Miguel or even being in Spain. Just one-off sentences about how she likes it here, but no deep dive. At least we get more of a sense of feeling from Miguel, like how he doesn’t want to run a Bed and Breakfast but he feels he must for his sister who is in the hospital. But those thoughts are short-lived and Miguel is in the throes of something else, leaving the reader wanting more.
Although, one thing the novel did well was the interactions between characters. Despite how fast-moving the scenes are, the characters speak and act genuine towards one another. Lily and Jade have a wholesome friendship, where Jade pushes Lily to be more adventurous and Lily tends to be more level-headed and practical. They balance each other really well. Also, Miguel comes off as complex yet caring with having to take care of a Bed and Breakfast despite not being a people person. He loves his family and cares for Lily but suffers from past trauma that adds to his standoff and reluctant nature. Even Lily’s interactions with her colleagues at the school or locals in the area feel real because we do feel as out of place as she does yet still welcomed.
Camino to Love had all the makings of a great novel, but the lack of description and quick pacing and slow start of the novel just made it hard to get into. Not a bad read, just wish it had been better. A 2 out of 5 stars.