Solo Tu

If there was something that Lorena absolutely hated it was waiting and that is what she was currently doing right now. What was she waiting for? Lorena was at the dentist about to have surgery. The dentist had informed her two days ago (the dentist squeezed her in for this week because of the family reunion taking place) that she needed to have her wisdom teeth removed—all four of them. The Spaniard was horrified at this news, but she went ahead and agreed to do the procedure because the dentist knew more about her mouth than she did. The dentist had told her that it was weird seeing as most Europeans didn’t need their wisdom teeth pulled, except maybe in a few rare cases. Lorena was a rare case.

So now here she was in the waiting area, waiting for the assistant to come in and whisk her away.
“Hey! Sorry I’m late,” Camila said as she went to sit next to Lorena.
“It’s okay, I’m just glad you are here.” Lorena said as she fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt.<br><br>
There was a television on and it was on the news. Camila started talking to her about how her day was going and how she was glad that Lorena had called her because she really needed to leave, “so work has been a little stressful. This couple isn’t happy with any of the decisions that they’ve been making on how to decorate their house and I think that they’re going to fire me.” <br>
“That’s stupid, they shouldn’t fire you, they should listen to you. After all, you are the one that knows what goes with what. Some people could be—“ Lorena turned to face the screen of the little television.
The words Fernando and break-up had been used in the same sentence so Lorena paid attention, “yes ladies. That is right. Spain’s el niño is single. Torres and longtime girlfriend Olalla Dominguez had called it quits. A close source confirms this and says that the couple had been on the rocks for quite some time now. On to other news as pre-season begins in the next few weeks…” The reporter continued.<br>
“What a coincidence!” Camila sarcastically said.<br>
“Camila…” Lorena said.<br>
“What? Just sayin’.. uh-oh.” She exclaimed.<br>
Before Lorena could say anything else someone was calling her name, “Lorena Ramos? The doctor is ready for you.” <br>
The brunette groaned, “here goes my life..”<br>
“Good luck! I’ll be here waiting. Don’t worry.”<br>
“Yeah, yeah,” Lorena said as she hung her head while walking into her office.

***
“Make sure she stays sitting in an upright position and change her gauze every hour. Make sure she takes her medication. Lorena was quite the trooper.” The doctor told Camila.
Lorena was sitting on the chair—she couldn’t feel her mouth. The procedure had taken an hour and it had been a weird sensation for her; one second she was talking to the doctor and the next, her mouth just went numb. Her mind had been active, but she couldn’t do anything. It had left her to think about her friend Fernando.
She hoped he was okay. Then again… how could you be okay after ending a thirteen year relationship? Lorena guessed it was somewhere along those years… Especially to someone that had been your first everything? Lorena didn’t know what to think about it all. She was jealous. Jealous that he had had someone to call is lover, someone to call his, someone that had experienced a first love with. The Spaniard didn’t know why she all of the sudden began to think about relationships and love. It was sudden for her as she did not expect to hear about his break up with his former love so soon.
Lorena wondered how Fernando had to be feeling right now. Was he alone? Was he okay? Was he sad? All of these questions rose in her mind, but she couldn’t voice any of them out loud. Lorena was just sitting in the chair, until she felt two pairs of arms around her.
“Sergio, what took you so long?” Camila hissed.
Although Lorena could not talk, she could definitely hear what was going on.
“I got held up at the club, but I got here just in time…”
“I thought you were in vacation?” Camila asked.
By now, Camila and Sergio had successfully gotten Lorena out of her seat and the doctor came back around to give Camila the gauzes.
“Lorena might want a smoothie seeing as she hasn’t eaten anything all day…oh my… are you Sergio Ramos?”
Lorena noticed Camila rolling her eyes.<br>
“Yes ma’am, I am. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to get Lorena home so she can get some rest.”
“Why yes of course.”
Lorena wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. She tried, but only mumbles came out.
“No, no talking today. Just keep your mouth closed. You can talk tomorrow.” The doctor instructed.
She lolled her head as Sergio and Camila helped her walk out of the room, “thank you so much.” Camila said.
The dentist just smiled and held the door open for them. Sergio and Camila helped Lorena to the car as they began to bicker towards each other.
“I can’t believe you’re late.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tu sabes de lo que a me estoy refiriendo. (You know what I’m referring to.)” Camila commented.
“I got held up! I told you. An interview ran late… it’s not my fault the news reporter was flirting.”
“Of course it isn’t. It never is.” Camila seethed.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Sergio asked as he put the belt on his cousin.<br>
“What do you think it means? I’ll meet you back at her place yeah?” Camila asked as the defender as she sat in the driver’s seat.
“Yeah. You want some take out?” Sergio questioned.
“Oh yeah! I’d love some Indian.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.” He walked away.

Something else that Lorena did not understand was how Sergio and Camila got along. It seemed to be a hate/love relationship. No, that wasn’t it, it was more like they bickered about everything like an old married couple that wanted to do the other one better. They seemed to understand each other through their arguments and always seemed to end up in one no matter the fight. Then there were times that they didn’t need to fight at all and got along great. Lorena knew that they were meant for each other, she just wondered when they would get together. They needed to resolve all their issues and get over it. Sergio needed to stop leading girls (like that Pilar Rubio) and realized that Camila is the girl. His girl. Lorena sat in the back with her head tilted backwards, she tasted a bit of blood in her mouth. She guessed it was the gauzes, even though they were there, they could only hold so much blood.
The wound was still fresh, four wisdom teeth were a lot and her throat was dry. Her stomach was grumbling; she was starving but she couldn’t eat right now. Not with her teeth hurting. What was she going to do? Hopefully Camila would give her a smoothie or better yet some ice cream. Maybe jello. Lorena was not a fan of jell-o but desperate times called for desperate measures. She wanted to talk to her friend.

“Dude. I’m going to finally talk to Sergio. He needs to be put in his place.” Camila said.
Lorena only looked at her through the mirror.
“I mean, he needs to stop butting into your life. Pressing you to tell him things that you don’t want to I’m sure.” Camila responded towards Lorena.
Lorena still stared and blinked. She hadn’t even told Camila about what had happened at the party in Brazil. Nobody but Fernando, Alvar and Eloá knew what had actually happened. When Lorena had started talking to Camila about everything that had happened, she had told her that Fernando had come to her room and they had just fallen asleep together. It was true, she just left the major part out of it. Lorena didn’t even want to think about what Sergio would do if he found out what had happened during that time.
“Lola, it’s going to be fine. I know you’re scared of telling your cousin to back off, but you need to do that. It’s not like you butt into his life.”
Lorena shrugged her shoulders as she leaned her head back again and stared out the window. Freckles came into her brain like ninjas and she couldn’t shake them away. Why all of the sudden was she thinking so much about her friend Fernando? She really hoped he was okay. Lorena pondered what Olalla must be thinking right now, she wondered who had ended the relationship. What the hell? Why should she care? This had nothing to do with her, not one bit. She shouldn’t care, she should be more focused on getting herself better and ready for the family reunion. <br><br>
Her boss kept asking her why she was taking time off from the shop. Lorena simply answered that she hadn’t had a vacation in a long time and that the one in Brazil was the beginning of many. Her boss understood for when Lorena had begun working at the shop she invested all her time in her work and family. The Spaniard was a workaholic, she knew it, but she didn’t care. She loved her job too much; it was just something that she had always enjoyed doing. Her parents tried to get her to hang out with them, but she was always busy working. <br>
Lorena decided to bulk up her vacation time and hang out with her family after Brazil, but the appointment had come up so she hasn’t been able to see them. Thank goodness the reunion coming up on Sunday. It should be interesting seeing as three families are coming together. Lorena was sure going to gain weight from all the food that they were going to eat. She really couldn’t wait, mainly because of her grandfather. Her grandfather was her best friend in the entire planet. He was the one person that she could definitely tell everything too and she wouldn’t feel judged. Lorena was really excited to see him, to be with him. He was around eighty-five years old, but a young eighty-five year old at that. He has the heart of a child and the spirit of someone who has never let the world let them down. Lorena had learned a lot of things from this man, and she wasn’t about to let him go any time soon.

With the love came the guilt. The guilt that she didn’t see him: that she didn’t call him. There was a reason for it. It was simple. Lorena was afraid that he would see her in a different light. She knew that he wouldn’t judge her, but she was still afraid. It was just something that always happened with her and her grandfather. He had one of the things that she wanted the most out of life. Patience. Patience was probably his biggest virtue and she really wanted some of it. Patience with life, patience with God, patience with everything.
They had finally reached her apartment, Camila helping Lorena get out of the car with the anesthesia still in action. She still couldn’t feel her mouth at all, but there was nothing she could do about it. Walking slowly, but surely they made their way into her apartment, Sergio had not arrived, probably because he was stuck deciding on what to get for himself. He was always the indecisive one out of the three, but that didn’t stop him from taking his sweet time.
“I wonder what’s taking Sergio so long…” Camila said.
The apartment was just big enough for one person—Lorena. It was a one bedroom apartment, but it looked and felt more like a house rather than a small place. It was tidy and clean with a nice sofa and a big screen television in the living room, along with a playstation 3. Lorena was a fan of racing and sport’s games, but funny enough she didn’t own Fifa. Camila helped Lorena to the couch as someone’s phone began to buzz.
“Shoot, that’s mine. There you go.” Camila said as Lorena situated herself in an upright position and went to get her phone. Lorena was breathing slowly as she tried to feel her mouth still. Still, she couldn’t.
“Hey you butt. Why aren’t you here yet?”
Ah. Sergio, Lorena thought.
“Oh. Tell him I’m sorry. Does he want to join us?” Camila asked.
“Oh… okay. Well, will you just get here? I’m starving.” Camila asked chuckling.
Lorena wanted to talk, she wanted to say something. Her eyelids felt heavy, but she fought the urge to go to sleep and be drowsy. Camila came back and sat next to Lorena, the blue eyed noticed.
“Sergio is late because Fernando called to talk to him about the break up with that girl… Olalla.” Camila explained.
Lorena wanted to immediately ask but, “that’s all he said to me. Then I asked if he wanted to join us, but he’s not even here. He’s in Ibiza. Or they were and she left.” Camila said again reading Lorena’s thoughts.
Lorena slowly but surely took her phone out and opened up a new message. She typed something and then showed it to Camila.
“He had mentioned something about getting his priorities done, you say. Who? Sergio?” Camila inquired.
Lorena slowly nodded.
“Sergio confuses the hell out of me sometimes.” Camila stated.
Lorena nodded again, fighting against her heavy lids. Suddenly there was a knock at the door with the following of a door opening.
“Finally. I’m starving.” Camila said as she jumped up and went over to Sergio.
“Calm your pants woman. A friend needed me.” Sergio chuckled.
“I know, I’m just screwing with you.”
“Don’t you always?” Sergio asked.
“True.” Camila said smiling.

Lorena could hear what they were saying to each other, but didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping so she reached for the controller to turn on the television. Lately she was watching re-runs of football games. The Spaniard wanted to catch up on what she had been missing for the past 25 years of her life. Her eyes were heavier and she wanted to go to sleep, but she fought. Lorena pretended to watch TV. Her stomach was grumbling, but she couldn’t eat. Her mouth was still numb.
“So is Fernando okay?”
“He didn’t seem that upset on the phone… I mean. He sounded relieved.” Sergio said.
“Huh… that’s interesting.” Camila said.
“What?” Sergio questioned.
“Wouldn’t you think that someone who’s been in a relationship for a long time would feel a bit sad?”
“He’s been feeling sad for over a year… he just couldn’t bring himself to actually break it off…” Sergio said.
“A year?!” Camila squealed.
“Keep your voice down… I think Lorena fell asleep.” Sergio said.
Lorena pretended to close her eyes as she felt that they were staring at her, “yes a year… he didn’t want to break up with her because he didn’t want to break her heart.”
“So he didn’t break up with her?”
“It was a mutual thing.”
“How?” Camila asked.
“She realized that he’s not in love with her anymore.”
“Smart cookie.”
The smell of Thai filled Lorena’s nostrils and she wanted something. But what? The numbness was going away. Her mouth began to hurt slightly. She grabbed her phone and sent a message to Camila asking her to give her the pain killers and a smoothie.
“Wait. Lola is not asleep… that sneaky sneak! Aw, she’s hurting. Hold on.”
Lorena opened her eyes and saw that an old game was going on. Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia. It was from 2006. She squinted her eyes… there was a young Fernando Torres on the screen.
“Here you go Lola,” Camila said.
“Hmmm,” Lorena mumbled as she sat up a little and took her pills, popped them in her mouth and took a nice long sip of the smoothie. It felt so good going down her throat.
“Feeling better?”

Lola slowly nodded. Camila smiled and walked away to go finish her food. Lorena sighed wishing she could eat, but her mouth was not ready for solid food yet. This also set back work out time for the marathon with Camila, but she understood. Lorena could not believe that she was going to run a full marathon in three months. Those three months were going to pass real mighty fast. She groaned as her throat felt rather good because of the cold drink going down her throat. Lorena continued to watch the match as a young Fernando was running down the field. His face looked so young yet the same as it did now. His eyes were searching for something, probably the ball. <br><br>
“Oh. So you need to lay off your cousin.” Camila said as a matter of factly.
“What do you mean?” Sergio said with a mouthful.
Lorena pretended to watch, she took another sip of her smoothing.
“You know what I mean… you’ve been doing this all her life. Back off. She needs to figure things out on her own.” Camila said.
“I know she does, but I mean look at her. She’s one of those girls that doesn’t even know she’s beautiful and she’s got this great personality. They will eat her alive.” Sergio said.
“Let her make her own mistakes. She’s probably learned so much from you. She’s not stupid you know.” Camila said.
Lorena didn’t know why Camila was letting Sergio know all of this.
“Does Lorena feel this way?”
“Probably, but she doesn’t want to tell you because she knows it will hurt your feelings.”
“She’s crazy. Ay mi Lola. They grow up so fast though! (My Lola)”
“She’s 25!” Camila said.
“I know… I know… I’ll try my best. It’s just all these creeps keep eyeing her.”
“I know, but she can stand up for herself.”
“So true.”
“Besides, it’s not like she goes sleeping with everything that moves.”
“Hilarious. Vos eres tan graciosa ¿sabes? (you are so funny, did you know that?)” Sergio asked Camila.
“Si. Me dicen por ahi. (Yes. They tell me.)” Camila said letting out a giggle.

Lorena wondered when they were going to get together—once and for all. They belonged together and they both knew it. They just didn’t man up and profess their feelings for each other. She was watching the screen as she saw that Fernando had received a red card. Her eyes went wide, what did he do?! They showed the replay, just because he barely touched the goalie? That’s stupid. Some rules didn’t make any sense. The Spaniard continued to watch the game with less interest since the reason she was watching it had been kicked off the field. It’s not even been a week since she last saw him. Is it bad that she wanted to see him? She enjoyed his company and liked talking to him, but were they friends? Just friends? That was something that Lorena didn’t want to think about since she didn’t have an answer for it. It was just something that had to be left in the open since she had only known him for what, a little over three weeks.

It felt like she had known him for a while, like when she was with him everything was fine. Everything would be okay. Lorena’s stomach tightened. She took another swig of her smoothie. She didn’t know what to make of it. This could be the drugs making her think this way, she wasn’t sure. The Spaniard sighed as she changed the channel to her PS3 input. Netflix was calling her name. A bunch of Disney movies had been added, and she felt a Disney marathon coming on, if she could stay awake that is. Using the controller, she turned on the PS3 and clicked on the Netflix application.

Lorena couldn’t believe she wasn’t sleeping yet. She was, but she could watch a movie right about now. Sergio and Camila didn't seem to be arguing anymore, but instead were just conversing with each other. She heard some laughter—all was good in the world. Scrolling through the movies, she decided on Pocahontas. A Native American princess who did what she thought was right? Yes please.

Pressing play, the movie began and Lorena could feel herself closing her eyes and drifting away into a dreamless sleep that was filled with many things, including freckles.