Bright, I wouldn't respond back about the vacation in Spain and Portugal unless you are asked something directly and the question requires an answer.
As for your email to your friends, I wouldn't send another email downplaying what you sent earlier to day. I'd let it go for a while and see what happens. You already told them it was a joke. Your friends were entirely too eager to call you back and try to get you to come down there during the holidays. They know you won't go there if your h is there, but from what you posted, they are stumbling over themselves to convince you to come down. If they should call you back, listen, but don't give them any information...sounds like someone is trying to do damage control of some sort. Of course, I could be reading your posting entirely wrong...but time will tell.
If you sense something is off w/their behavior, then it most likely is. What is it? Time will tell. Sit quietly and the answers will reveal themselves.
Sit quietly, the answers will reveal themselves when you least expect them to. The past is gone, the present is a gift and you need to focus on today, allow the future to reveal itself when it is ready.
