Picking Up the Pieces

“Will you show me some of the places where you liked to hang out when you were growing up?” I asked Sergio as I continued to comb my hair.

“Yeah I will” he shrugged as he continued to type away on his phone.

I rolled my eyes at his brush off as I continued to get dressed.

We would be driving back to Madrid in a few hours but before we left, I had asked Sergio to show me around his home town since he had already lived in the area I grew up.

“Hey a friend of mine says we have to meet him at five exactly, so do you mind if we speed the tour up a little?” he said suddenly as he started to get dressed.

I nodded in response but didn’t question him as we prepared to leave the house. It was still one in the afternoon but since we were only leaving at six, we should have enough time to enjoy the sights and visit Sergio’s friend.

“Rey lets go. We’re gonna be late” he said hurriedly as he took my hand and lead me out the room. We ran down the stairs before he rushed me into the car and started the journey.

“Sergio is everything ok?” I finally questioned as he gave me yet another quick tour of the place where he grew up.

He just nodded before looking around nervously and scratching his neck.

I brushed his actions off as we walked towards the coach who was in charge of the club where his career started. I could tell Sergio wanted me to make this visit short but I refused to be rushed as I sat down next to Daniel and listened to the hilarious stories he had about Sergio and his friends.

***

I know it may have looked like I was being a jerk when it came to taking Reyna around Camas but I could not help it. Rene had managed to convince to grounds men at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuan tp stay open so I could propose to her, but the deal was I would have to be there by five because the team have a game the day after.

But with Reyna being Reyna, she was having long conversations with anyone and everyone. It’s one of the reasons I love her – her ability to make everyone feel special but with time not on my side I would have really liked her to be less social.

“Rey we have to go” I interrupted her and Daniel as I realised we only had 30 minutes to get to the other side of town. She closed her eyes threateningly before turning back to him and pretending as if she didn’t hear me.

Watching her do that I knew we wouldn’t be leaving soon as she continued to chat with him as if I wasn’t there.

“Look Rey, we really really need to leave” I began to plead after another five minutes of waiting.

She didn’t say anything as she excused herself from where Daniel was sitting and walked over to me.

“Follow me” she shared with no emotion and I did as instructed.

I knew I was in trouble the minute she stood still and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Look I get that you are in a rush to go see your friend but I’m trying to have a conversation here. I know you probably don’t think much of Daniel seeing as the only thing you had to say to him was hello, but I think he is lovely. He talks about you so glowingly and I don’t understand why you aren’t making an effort to speak to him”

“Rey I want to but I don’t have time” I tried to explain but she shook her head no.

“That’s not a good enough reason. He is a lonely old man and the least you could do for him is spend five minutes having a chat”

“I would but we have that thing at five and we can’t miss it” I explained but she shrugged my statement off.

“You can go but I’m staying” she said as a final statement before walking back to Daniel and acting as if there was nothing wrong.

I hung my head in disappointment because this isn’t the way I wanted the day to go but I refused to leave Camas without having asked her to be my wife.

So I quickly got on the phone with Rene as I told him to cancel my initial plans, it turns out I would be asking Reyna to marry me at the ground where my dreams had started to take shape.

I took a deep breathe before walking towards the Daniel and Reyna again, looking to put into words how I felt about her.

“Babe” I began as she glared back at me once more. “Relax I’m not here to tell you that we need to leave” I began as Daniel laughed.

As I watched the old man laugh I couldn't help but smile myself, as difficult as life had gotten for him, he always had time for everyone and never had a bad word to say.

“Tio Daniel do you mind if I say something to her for a couple of minutes” he nodded his head

As I got down on one knee, Reyna gasped – completely taken by surprise at my actions.

“The reason I wanted so badly for us to get going is because I had set up a rather glamorous proposal at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuan that you ruined because you refused to leave. But a part of me is glad that I’m doing this here. In the humble ground of Camas FC, because since I’ve met you, you’ve made me realise that its not the money and material things that matters. It’s the people I’ve interacted with, the way I treat people but also more importantly realising that I’m not so special just because I kick a ball around for a living”

The three of us all laughed at that comment as I continued.

“Rey, my life only started properly once you came into it. You always take the time to make sure I’m taken care off and you laugh at my jokes even though they aren’t funny. Every time you smile, you make me realise I’m the luckiest man alive and you gave me two of the best gifts a man could ever ask for. I just want to be given an opportunity to show you – everyday – just how much I love you. So what do you see babe, will you marry me?” I finally asked as I took out the ring from my pocket.

I had been carrying it for a month now and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring it out.

“Yes Sergio of course I will” she cried as I placed the ring on her finger. Daniel clapped in happiness as I pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

As she cried tears of happiness out our engagement, I realised in that moment that I would do anything to make sure she was always happy.