The Second Calling - setting the scene.

Hans Reinders’ new novel takes us to the beautiful Spanish countryside near Seville, where a young American named Jonathan has come to ‘find his own way’ at The House of Bethany - run by Ramón Jimenez - a small community of mentally and physically disabled people living together with carers and supporters...

‘Little did I know that I was on the road to an amazing discovery, a gold mine of truth, where the weak and the strong, the rich and the poor would be brought together in community and find peace, where those who were rejected could heal and transform those who rejected them’ - Jean Vanier

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‘Sunflowers always turn to the sun, did you know that, Alonso?’ They were overlooking the field full of yellow and green in front of them. ‘This morning their heads turned that way.’ The man pointed to the hills where the sun rises in the morning. Alonso gave him one of his broad smiles.

‘Now they’re looking at you. They want to know whether you are as happy as they are.’ Alonso smiled again. A patch with hundreds of sunflowers stared him in the face with their big deep brown eye framed in golden leaves. His wide eyes looked happy. Then he took the man by his sleeve and pointed down the road. ‘Uh, uh,’ he murmured.

‘Yeah, you’re right, we need to go home.’

Ramón Jimenez was a frail middle-aged man with a typical Southern complexion. Had it not been for his funny worn-out straw hat, his dark eyes under his thick brows would have left the impression of a stern face. Compared with his light steps Alonso’s gait in front of him was a bit strange, hesitant as it were. People who knew him called it his ‘clumsy’ walk. Alonso was shorter than his friend and clearly too heavy for his age. His feet seemed insecure about whether the road would carry his next step.

The road they had been walking on was a dusty trail in late August, meandering through fields that were full of olive trees. When they reached the crossroads where their path was going down the hill, Alonso again made his Platypus smile. There was a huge stone at the side of the road that apparently made him very excited.

‘Boomm!’ he shouted, making a gesture as if he summoned the stone to explode. Ramón stopped.

‘Yes, Alonso. Boomm!’ he repeated. ‘The wagon nearly turned over, didn’t it?’ We were lucky that it didn’t break down.’

Alonso nodded with excitement, as if he were going through the moment once again. ‘Boomm! Boomm!’ he shouted while making a jump in the air. A few months ago they had been visiting a music festival in Olivares, a village west of Seville. On their way home the people from Alonso’s house crowded into a wagon taking them back to their own village, the village of Benacazón. They had been laughing and singing to the dark blue evening sky when all of a sudden their wagon had hit that same huge stone. It had been lying in the middle of the road then, but now it had been pushed aside. For a split second its passengers had found themselves floating in the air, which was an occasion for great excitement. Fortunately no one got hurt other than a few scratches. For weeks the adventure had been the story of the day.

‘Come on, we need to go if we are to be in time for lunch!’ Ramón pointed in the direction of the house to encourage Alonso to walk again. As they went along, he was thinking about the meeting he was to have in the pottery. Maria had made an appointment with a new assistant named Jonathan Harrison, a young man from the west coast of the United States, who had arrived about six weeks ago. It was Maria’s task to supervise assistants. She had made it a rule that after six weeks a ‘first-term’ interview was to take place, and had asked Ramón to conduct these interviews. Jonathan Harrison had been assisting Antonio in the pottery. From what Ramón had heard he seemed to be doing quite well. Now that his first term as a new assistant was nearly over, the decision needed to be made about whether they wanted the young man to stay.

‘Will you be back before lunch from your visit to Father Gilberto so that you can speak with him afterwards?’

‘I think so. I will ask Alonso to join me. He can use some exercise. But he surely will want to be back in time not to miss his plate!’ Ramón said smiling; he enjoyed the prospect of a pleasant morning.

When he was asked to join him for a walk Alonso had hugged him, which was his way of saying that he wanted to come. They had left before nine to visit Father Gilberto, a priest friend in Sanlúcar - Sanlúcar la Mayor to give it its full name. The air was still fresh, even though it was expected to be a hot day. It was a delightful morning.

When Maria had briefed him about the young American she told him what she knew from Antonio’s report.

‘What do you make of him?’ Ramón had asked her. ‘Do we want him to stay?’ She said that Jonathan seemed to have found his place in the pottery, but that there were some worries about him too.

‘Antonio is quite pleased to have him, but he is less thrilled about his interest in Lucie. It seems as if he has made it his personal project to get her to actually work as a potter.’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘You know what is wrong with that! It means pushing her around and making her do things she doesn’t understand.’

The sun was really getting hot now that they were past the shady olive trees, approaching the railway. Ramón noticed that his companion was speeding up.

‘Do you smell the kitchen already?’ he joked. Alonso turned around with his big smile and put his hand on his belly. Ramón laughed.

‘Your stomach wants to be filled again?’

When they were past the railway station of Benacazón they would soon be able to see the House of Bethany. The dusty dirt road turned into a wide lane with big oak trees, though still without a pavement.

There was laughter in the kitchen when they entered the house ten minutes later. Claire, who was in charge of preparing for lunch welcomed them. ‘There you are!’ To make their arrival known she called on Sylvia who was assisting her in the kitchen. ‘Ramón has arrived with Alonso, we can start serving out the soup now.’ Turning to the two men who had just arrived again, she said: ‘We were just about to start without you.’

‘Not without Alonso, I hope,’ Ramón said.

‘Why not? His belly could bear to skip a meal!’

‘Did you hear that, Alonso? …Where is he?’ When he turned to the dining table, Alonso had already taken his chair – ready for a full plate of whatever the cook would serve for lunch this day.

‘The walk from Sanlúcar has made me hungry too,’ Ramón said.

‘Let’s hope there is a plate for you too, then. How was your walk?’ Claire wanted to know. ‘Did this fellow here behave himself?’ She patted Alonso on his shoulder.

‘Oh, yes. He is great company. We were watching sunflowers. Then he discovered the stone that almost knocked them off the road when they came back from Olivares.’

‘Oh no, not that story again,’ Claire said. She ordered everyone to the lunch table and asked Ramón to say a blessing. The ensuing meal was filled with gossip about what had happened that morning with the habitual joking and teasing of who had, and who hadn’t, earned his or her meal.

‘Alonso found the milestone that got you almost killed the other day,’ Ramón said laughingly.

‘No it didn’t. It only gave us a sore butt.’ He didn’t hear who said it, but it caused a roar of laughter. Once again the story was the occasion for a merry excitement during their mealtime.

‘That story gets crazier every time I hear it. Can we perhaps have lunch in an orderly manner?’ Claire summoned the crowd with a loud voice, which was answered by more jokes and more laughter. Alonso listened while he ate a full plate of the pasta that was on the menu.

After lunch was finished Ramón went to the pottery for his appointment. He called upon his companion to join him again.

‘Alonso, come we are going to Antonio.’

When they entered the workshop, Alonso saw a girl moving around and almost jumped upon her. It was Lucie Miles. The two of them seemed very fond of each other. Ramón stepped aside because the new assistant quickly moved in their direction, apparently intending to stop them.

‘Enough, enough of this!’ he said in a loud voice. ‘Lucie watch yourself, you are ruining a day’s work.’ Ramón raised his brows. Then he turned to the young man.

‘Jonathan, how are you?’ he said, taking both his hands.

This is the opening section from The Second Calling: A novel inspired by the life and work of Jean Vanier written by Hans S. Reinders, available now in paperback, priced £9.99.