Floating Upon This Surface

Once Sergio left Cantabria, he never looked back; he had no reason to. His life was now Madrid, his love was now Christina, and his family was now Real Madrid. He discarded his ties to Cantabria like scraps of paper to the wind, and slipped into his new world like a glove to a hand.

And for a while he was happy. He was enjoying his life and his victories without a care in the world. He would smile at the swarm of cameras, kiss the cheeks of many girls, and wave his hand to all those who watched him. He was king of the world; given the ultimate power of King Midas, for it seemed everything he touched or wore turned to gold. Years passed, his talent grew, his name expanded and he was happy. Until in the midst of slumber, that yearning swallowed his heart again…

▲▼

To say that Sophia was devastated the day Sergio left, was nothing compared to what she felt the day she had found out she was pregnant. She was numb. She did not know how to feel, or even how to process what this meant for her and her family. She closed her eyes and feel into the black abyss. But her attempt at destruction, ended quite suddenly for her mother pulled her back before she got very far. She was no longer in charge of her very own life, the child growing in her was, and it was that life she would have to think about before hers. Lucas Alejandro Olivar was born nine months later. Ten pounds, 2 ounces, ten fingers and ten toes. Beautiful and unbelievable, just like Sergio. This is was what Sergio had left her, a piece of himself, a piece that resembled him in every which way, it frightened her at times. She loved him instantly, kissed his temples lovingly and held him so close to her. He was hers to keep.

She captured every moment of his precious life, always right behind him with a camera, snapping photographs every chance she could. He was such a curious little boy, always getting into things, on things, holding on to things, pulling on things, that at one point, Sophia could not leave Lucas alone. Lucas erased in her, the pain, and wounds Sergio’s abrupt departing left behind, and at the same time, made her miss Sergio even more. Five years came to pass, and Lucas grew and grew. She watched in awe as he went from taking his first steps to running in cleats and scoring goals into an overturned trash can behind their house.

“Dios mio!” she exclaimed one night she saw him walk into the house with a large gash running down his forehead. “Lucas what did you do?”

“I-I-the ball got stuck.”

“Where?”

“In the sewage, I bent down to pick it and I didn’t know there was glass.”

“Mi amor, why didn’t you come get me, or Manuel?”

“I wanted to do it myself mama. And Manuel always says you baby me too much,”

Sophia glared at the man leaning against the wall, he chuckled at the little boys response and smiled back at her, “Mi amor don’t get mad.”

“Get mad? Manuel look at him? Do you see this? He’s bleeding. How am I not going to get mad?” she asked turning Lucas’s face in his direction.

“He wanted to show you, he was a big boy, right campion?” Manuel said coming over and checking out Lucas’s cut, “its not very deep.”

“He doesn’t need to be doing things like that Manuel, he’s barely five!”

“Sophia, the boys old enough, let him earn his cuts.”

Sophia sighed, her mind was so heavy with the stress of work, all she wanted was to come home and know her son was alright.

“Please don’t be angry mama.”

She looked down at her baby, her only love, and smiled at him. “I could never be mad at
you little man.”

“Don’t be mad at Manuel?” he asked tilting his head in his direction.

“That, I cannot assure you Lucas.”

“Pero mam-”

“Let me handle this, Lucas,” Manuel cut in smiling.

Manuel waited for Sophia to turn around and bend over the sink, when he sneaked around her and grabbed her waist, he started humming a tune and swaying their bodies left and right.

“Manuel, stop you’re going to get us all wet!” Sophia whined trying to break free.

“Nonsense nena, just dance with me.”

Lucas laughed at Manuel trying to get Sophia to dance, forgetting the stinging pain crawling up and down his left temple.

“Manuel!” Sophia, laughed as he tickled her ribs suddenly, “Okay, I give in! I am not mad!”

“See Lucas? She’s not mad.” Manuel said giving Sophia a quick kiss on the cheek and then moving back to the living room.

“Dios Mio Lucas, the things that man does for you.” Sophia smiled leaning over to him, she dabbed gently the wet washcloth over his cut.

“Ow!”

“I know sweetie, I know,” she cooed continuing to clean his wound, “almost done I promise.”

“Mama,” Lucas asked gently.

Sophia looked at him, water trickling down his chin into his shirt, “que pasa?”

“Do you love Manuel?”

Sophia bit her lip and looked into Lucas’s blue eyes, the exact shade of Sergio’s and felt her heart break. “Why the silly question mi amor?”

“Well, at school they say mama’s love papa’s but I don’t have a papa. I just have Manuel. So do you love Manuel?”

“The only man I will ever love, is you.”

▲▼

Sergio reclined against his first class seat, his blonde hair spreading across the white pillow case, he finally had decided to come back home, six years later. Yearning for his old friends, and old flame. Christina slept beside him, her head pressed against his shoulder. He looked at her, and lifted her chin lovingly, wondering what she would say about his childhood, and the streets he once ran around with his childhood sweetheart….Sophia…would she still be there? Would she want to see him? Should he go see her? The questions bombarded his mind rapidly, filling every empty crevice with a question that pinched and probed his mind, sprouting doubt in his heart. He wanted to see Sophia, see that she was happy, and tell her, he was happy for her. He wanted….

“Sergio,” Christina mumbled waking up, “are we almost there?”

“Almost, twenty minutes until we land mi amor.”

“I am so sleepy, are we going to go straight to our hotel once we get off?”

“Hotel? Mi amor, we’re going to my mother’s house, why would we need a hotel?”

“Because I need a hotel Sergio.”

“Christina, por dios. It’s my mother, we don’t need to spend money when we have a
perfectly good room under my mother’s house.”

“We have money to spend, and I want a hotel room Sergio. I want my privacy.”

“Christina, go back to sleep.”

“I want my hotel room.”

“I want my life back,” Sergio mumbled under his breath, his honesty escaping his heart for the first time. Sergio looked out at the window, the clouds began to clear and reveal the town below, who still held his memories intact and waited for him.