We Took the Fall

“You remember the plan right?” Fernando posed as he padded through the hall, collecting his overnight bag and keys.

“You made me memorize it last night before you let me go to sleep” Catalina replied, resting her weight on the doorframe “You said it was extremely important” she added, a teasing smile on her face. She liked it, as her pregnancy had progressed, Fernando had become more and more protective of her, and she had to admit, the paternal side of him made her love him just that little bit more. He had been amazing, especially since she had gone on maternity leave, and she hoped that one day, she could make it up to him.

“Your due date is in 3 days. I am not taking any chances. If you can’t get through to me…”

“I call Esther and Alex. If I can’t get a hold of Esther or Alex, I phone your parents and, in the unlikely event that I can’t get a hold of any of them, I am to call my papa, not my mother, and ask if he can help” Catalina reeled off, offering him a slight smirk.

Fernando shook his head. “No need to show off, Lina” he mused.

Catalina offered him a small smile before she took a couple of steps towards, placing her arms gently around his neck. “My due date isn’t for another 3 days, Nando, and I don’t know why you’ve got it in your head that it is going to happen today, the one day you’re not here, but if it does, I know that there are other options. You need to calm down, amor, you’re getting ahead of yourself” she smiled softly.

Fernando sighed gently and leant down, resting his head on hers. “I just don’t want to miss it, Lina” he murmured, his hand gently brushing against her bump “After nine months of waiting, I don’t want to be papa that wasn’t there when he takes his first breath” he insisted gently. He knew that there was no guarantee that it would be then, Catalina was almost convinced that their son would arrive after his due date, but still the striker worried. He didn’t want to miss the moment his son cried for the first time or the look on Catalina’s face when she held him.

Catalina smiled and pressed a kiss against his lips. “I am not having twinges right now, Fernando” she assured him gently “I actually feel pretty good so stop worrying. You’re the first number I will call if something changes” she assured him gently.

Fernando nodded his head and kissed her briefly once more before he ducked down, kissing her bump gently, mumbling about the baby holding out for him. Catalina smiled and ducked down, pressing a kiss to the back of his head, wordlessly assuring him that it would be fine.

~#~
Staring at the door ahead of her, Marisol shook her head, not quite believing that she found herself stood outside of her youngest daughter’s home. She didn’t want to be there, if Marisol had her way, she would never have spoken to the daughter that had thought it was OK to take Fernando away from her sister, but she didn’t have choice. Her divorce from Santiago had been harsh, he’d left her with next to nothing and with Alicia’s boyfriend not prepared to pay her off, Marisol had turned to the next best thing, her youngest daughter with the footballer boyfriend. Swallowing a little, she fixed the most polite smile she could muster before she tapped the door, waiting for Catalina to appear, her hand resting on the bump she carried. Marisol resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose. “Catalina” she greeted.

Catalina folded her arms over her chest, sparing her mother a pointed look. “What on earth are you doing here?” she murmured.

“I wanted to see you” Marisol noted.

Catalina scoffed. “You’ve not wanted to see me in almost a year” she mused “And every time you have seen me, all you’ve done is pick a fight” she added.

“Cat” Marisol protested.

“I have no interest in whatever you’ve come to say” Catalina quipped, shaking her head gently.

“Your father left me” Marisol protested.

“I can’t blame him” Catalina muttered “You’re a vicious woman, madre, one who’s cold hearted and spoiled and I have no idea how papa put up with you for 35 years. I can’t even do it for ten minutes any more” she mumbled “I know that I did something bad, madre, getting with Fernando so soon after he and Cia had happened was a mistake, but I am not going to say I regret it. You made your choices, madre, you choose to defend Alicia even though it was proven that she was a cheating puta and I chose Fernando and our son who’s probably never going to know his abuela because she can’t love me like a mother should. I don’t know at what point you decided that Alicia was more important than me but I am not about to forgive and forget, so if that’s what you came here for, please, go” she muttered.

Marisol shook her head. “Just like your papa” she muttered “A hopeless romantic” she added.

“Perhaps” Catalina shrugged “But at least I can be happy” she mused.

Marisol scoffed. “You will never be able to keep that man around. Baby or not, he’s going to hurt you because it’s what he does. He convinces girls like you…”

“Like me?” Catalina protested “What is it about me that offends you so much, madre?” she spat.

“You’re not like Alicia” Marisol quipped.

“So you don’t like me because I am not the type of girl who sleeps around? Or the type of girl who wants to be with a guy just because he’s rich or could get me attention? If that’s what makes a good woman in your books then you and Cia should be happy with the twins and the lawyer because I know I am with Fernando” she murmured before she closed the door, slamming it.

Resting against the closed door, she listened for the distant sound of her mother’s car door closing before she slipped down the door, tears in her eyes. She hated it, what she and her mother had become, but she doubted that it could be fixed. She and her mother were beyond repair. Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes and moved to climb to her feet, freezing at the warm sensation that spread down her legs. “Fernando” she squeaked into the silent house. Shaking her head, she padded towards the living room and seized her phone, knowing she needed to find him as soon as she could.