You Took My Heart by Surprise

“You’re sure about this?” Sergio posed as he turned to look at his parents, his dark eyes fixed on his mother. It had been a quiet trip, his parents had said very little throughout the duration of their trip from Seville back to Madrid, and he wanted to make sure that they really wanted to spend time with Emilie. The last thing he wanted was Emilie getting worked up whilst she was so pregnant.

“You’re sure about her” Paqui reasoned “And I want to make amends, Sergio. You’re going to be a papa in a few weeks and, despite my issues with her, this girl is going to be the mother to my grandchildren” she explained carefully. She didn’t like Emilie, there was merely something about the ginger girl which didn’t sit right with her, but she knew that she had to make the effort to at least be civil with her. Despite her complaints, Emilie was about to have two of her grandchildren and Paqui knew that she had to make the effort. The last 18 months had made it abundantly clear that Sergio wasn’t going to be easily swayed away from the ginger girl and Paqui couldn’t force him. The more she pushed, the more he would insist on staying with her.

“I just don’t want you upsetting her” Sergio reasoned, pushing the door to Emilie’s apartment building open “She’s very pregnant, mama, and I am trying my hardest to keep her calm. She tends to panic easily” he noted.

“Is she alright?” Jose Maria posed, following his son towards the stairs.

“She’s just shy” Sergio assured him “But once she is comfortable, I am sure that you’d love her” he insisted, leading the way towards her apartment.

Paqui followed along behind her husband and son, watching as the younger man tapped on the door which was quickly pulled back by Emilie. “Em” he greeted brightly.

“You got here a lot quicker than I thought you would” Emilie noted, shifting a little.

“We took a quicker route” Jose Maria noted “It’s nice to see you again, Emmy. You’re glowing” he complimented softly.

Emilie’s pale cheeks warmed. “Gracias” she noted “Do…Do you want to come inside? I had just made myself something to eat, but I am sure I could make something for you all too” she rambled.

“It’s fine, Em” Sergio smiled.

Emilie nodded her head shyly and stepped back, allowing the others to follow her back inside. “I hope you don’t mind the mess” she noted as they made their way towards the small living room “We only started work on the nursery a week ago and I spent some time today going through the boxes we had delivered” she explained, scooting some of the bubble wrap aside.

“You’re decorating a nursery here?” Jose posed.

“One here, one at Sergio’s” Emilie replied as she moved back into her seat.

“You’re not moving back in together?” Paqui posed.

Emilie swallowed and looked at the older woman, offering her a slight shake of the head. “W…We’re still trying to put things back together again” she stammered gently “M…My relationship with your son is complicated and for a while, certainly until the twins come along, we’re not really focusing on us. I want things to be as simple as they can be and right now, it is for the best that we don’t rush into things” she explained.

“We both agreed to it” Sergio added, sitting himself on the arm of the chair beside her, his hand finding hers and settling over her bump “We’re both very aware that the twins have to come first” he added.

Paqui nodded her head, allowing for an awkward silence to fall over them.

“You never told me what you do for a living” Jose noted, trying to spark the conversation.

“I work in a book store, at least I did” Emilie replied.

“Did?” Paqui posed.

“Maternity leave” Emilie replied “My job involved a lot of lifting and with this” she paused, gesturing to her bump “It became difficult. I plan on going back after 6 months” she explained.

Paqui nodded her head stiffly before she let out a little sigh, leaning forwards in her seat. “I want the best for him, Emilie” she noted, offering a little look towards Sergio who was contently playing with his girlfriend’s hand “I want my son to be happy, to be in love, and to have a family. I want to know that you can give him that, Emilie” she levelled softly. She knew she wasn’t going to change Sergio’s mind, just one look at him when he was around Emilie made it clear that he was as smitten with her as he had ever been, but Paqui needed to be sure. After his last girlfriend, she didn’t want him to get hurt again.

Emilie swallowed a little before she leant forwards in her seat, her blue eyes levelling with those of the older woman. “I want the best for him too” she admitted gently “And you can rest assured, the second that I feel as though that is no longer me, I will be more than prepared to step aside and let him be happy, no matter how much it may hurt me. I don’t want to hold him back, Mrs Ramos” she insisted gently.

“You don’t?” Paqui posed.

Emilie shook her head. “I love him too much to make him unhappy, but for the time being, I like to think he is happy with me” she added, peeking over her shoulder at her boyfriend who nodded his head, wordlessly offer her the reassurance that she was looking for. “I love him, Mrs Ramos, and I want to do the best for him, and for the twins” she added.

Paqui studied her, her expression thoughtful.

“Mama, this is where I want to be” Sergio added “I love being with Emmy, and I want to be with her, and the twins when they come along. I want you to be around too, but that can only happen if you can give me your word that you will try with Emmy” he noted, pressing a kiss to the back of his girlfriend’s head.

Paqui noted the small affectionate action before she looked back at her husband, not missing the fond smile he wore at the sight of their son. Sharing a nod with Jose Maria, she turned back to the couple, offering them a small smile. “I want to try, Emilie” she noted gently “I want to make the effort, for Sergio and the twins, can you allow that?” she posed.

Emilie looked at the older woman for a moment before she nodded her head. “I want nothing more than for this to be easy, Mrs Ramos” she noted shyly “I want things to be good” she added before she carefully offered her hand out.

Paqui eyed the younger woman’s hand before she hesitantly shook it, something which made Sergio grin. He knew it wasn’t a strong hold, his mother still had a long way to go when it came to trusting Emilie, but he was pleased to have made a start. He didn’t want there to be an issue between the two most important women in his life when Emilie gave birth.