Till There Was You

Steven thought his face would crack from smiling as he held up his new Blaugrana Barcelona shirt with his name and number on the back, the cameras all seemingly flashing at once. he put the shirt on over his suit jacket and tie and sat back down as the assembled crowd cheered. "Steven, how does it feel to put on the Blaugrana of Barcelona?", asked one reporter.

"It feels like I graduated school and moved onto secondary, I remember leaving primary and how Mum and Dad threw a party for me. It sort of feels that way except I'm not getting a chocolate cake from Tesco's", he said as Xavi translated and everone had a laugh.

"Are you going to learn Spanish and Catalan?", asked another reporter.

"Si, I know a wee bit from Luis and Xabi when we were all at Liverpool. I can't get rid of my Scouse accent so I'm probably going to sound like like a bloody Brit wanker speaking Spanish", he chuckled.

"Amigo, I can't translate that one", joked Xavi.

"Sorry about that, mate. I'm English, i can't change that", he laughed.

"Steven, how does it feel to move to a club with the tradition of Barca?", asked a reporter.

"Exciting and nerve-wracking, it feels like a combination of Christmas morning when you're a lad and when I joined the first team at Liverpool. I don't know what it's going to be like running onto the pitch at Camp Nou, but it's probably going to be like the first time I set foot at Anfield", he replied.

"What made you want to leave Liverpool after being a life-long Kopite", asked a reporter.

"The losing on the last day of the season, we were so bloody close. To say I was gutted was an understatement, I felt like crawling into a ball and dying. And my last season was trying, we never got off the ground and my divorce became final. I felt like I needed a new start, Luis talked about what a great organization Barca is and how much he loved playing here", he said.

"How do you find Barcelona so far?", asked a reporter.

"My condo is in the city and I like what I've seen so far, it's bigger than Liverpool for sure. I have to get out a bit more and look around, I would really like to see the Sagrada. There's a church like that in Liverpool, Metropolitan Cathedral. Everyone in Merseyside calls it Paddy's Wigwam because it's a Catholic church and so big", he said.

"Are you Catholic then?", someone asked.

"Yeah, my great-gran was Irish and her husband had to convert so they could get married. I had me First Communion and was Confirmed at thirteen and got married in a Catholic ceremony, my oldest daughter had her First Communion last year. Since I'm divorced, I can't take Communion", he said sardonically.

"Here in Barcelona, the priests wouldn't care as long as you weren't a serial killer, amic. And you play for Barca now, so many of the priests", quipped Xavi.

"Is the rest of your family back in Liverpool?", asked a reporter.

"Aye, my ex-wife lives in Liverpool with our daughters. The girls are coming over for Christmas to visit during the holiday", he replied.

"Then we ought to take them to see Los Tres Reyes, I'm taking my nieces", said Xavi.

"Luis told me about them, Mum and Dad took me to see Father Christmas at the mall when I was a lad and I take the girls", he said.

"Steven, what do you want to accomplish with Barca?", asked a reporter.

"I want to win La Liga, go win another Champions League title. Hoisting that trophy is the best professional feeling I've ever had, I want to feel that again", he said with intensity.

"Tambien, amic. And we will do what we know we can do, last year will not be repeated", vowed Xavi.

The press conference ended and Steven removed his shirt, draping it over his arm. "That had to be one of the oddest pressers I've done", he chuckled.

"Veritat, but you did well. It's the English in you, nothing fazes you guys", teased Xavi.

"Too right, it got us through the wars. I was nervous as fuck all but I got through it, I need a drink", he chuckled.

"Si, I know this place that does great Gallego tapas and has a big selection of beer and cider, the husband is Gallego and his wife is Asturian. Does that sound good?", asked Xavi.

"Okay, Xabi used to take me out for tapas when we both played for Liverpool and we were in London. Too bad he plays for Bayern, if he was still in Spain we could have met up and I'd get to see Nagore and the kids", said Steven.

"Cules don't hang with Madridistras, Steven. But Alonso is a good guy, Basques are a proud people. Crazy bunch of people, but they remind me of Catalans, we don't like those bastards in Madrid", laughed Xavi.

"That sounds like Scottish and Welsh people, they don't like us English much but they don't like the bastards in the government in London more", he quipped.

Steven followed Xavi into a small, dimly lit restaurant on the waterfront as the smaller man was greeted by a fat, middle-aged man and they embraced, saying something to the man in Catalan. "Hola, Senyor Gerrard", he said.

"Dues cerveses, si us plau", said Xavi as they sat at a table.

"You have to keep the toothpicks, right?", he asked.

"Si, you remembered", he teased as the waiter set down two beers.

"Now all I need to do is find a place that has steak and kidney pie and ale and it'll really start feeling like home", joked Steven as the waiter counted up the toothpicks on their plates.

"Eso es algo de comida de mala muerte, usted Inglés no tienen buena comida", said Xavi in mock-horror.

"It's not bad, my Mum does a terrific version. It goes right good with a strong ale", said Steven.

"No gracias, amic. When I go to England, I have to find a Spanish place or at least Italian. And warm beer is terrible", said Xavi.

"Your loss, Xavi", he chuckled.

"Gerard likes warm beer and English food, he used to live there and Shakira cooks it for him", said Xavi, a fond note in his voice when he spoke of the big defender and his good friend.

"He has good taste then. Xavi, can I ask you for advice?", he asked.

Xavi raised a thick black eyebrow but nodded. "I met Luis' sister Aracelis last night at his house and I fancy her, but he's my mate and she's younger than me. I asked Carra and Daniel for advice, Carra was useless and Daniel was in a good mood because he'd just finished shagging his wife", he said.

Xavi tried not to laugh. "I like that term, shagging, it's very English. I would suggest you buy Luis a drink and ask permission, does she like you?", he asked.

"I think so, Aracelis is a pretty girl and she is studying at uni, she works at a nail salon.", he said, showing him a picture on his phone.

"Ella son bella, Steven. Whatever you do, don't make Luis or her mad at you, he might actually kill you. South Americans are worse than Spaniards like that, the men tend to be protective of the women in their family. I'm sure you'll feel the same way when your daughters are old enough to date", teased Xavi.

Steven gave a shudder at the idea. "My girls are too young to date, Lilly is only ten and Lexie is eight, Lourdes is three. If any guy treated them badly, I will kick their ass", he growled.

"Veritat, Jaume is the same way about my nieces", agreed Xavi as they split the bill.