Where We Are

“Is now a bad time?”

Maia, who’d been watching Iker walk away, startled slightly at the sound of Melena’s voice before she turned around, offering her a small smile. “No” she noted “But you do know that I just had a baby, right?” she posed, her voice slightly tentative. She knew that she couldn’t avoid it, even if it did have the potential to irk Iker, she knew that she couldn’t get out of having a conversation with Melena, but she wanted to get it over with quickly, not wanting to allow Iker the opportunity to get into his head.

Melena nodded. “I know” she noted “And I am aware that your intention is to take a year out to be with your daughter, but I just wanted to know what you plan to do after that. I know it is a way off, but it wouldn’t hurt to have an idea. I’ve got a few” she explained.

She knew that Maia was in no hurry, with Ella only being a couple of months old, it was likely that she hadn’t even begun to contemplate what she planned to do next, but still Melena wanted to ask, even if Maia didn’t have an answer. She wanted to encourage her to think about it.

Maia spared her a soft look, mulling over her words for a moment, before she shook her head. “I’ve not really thought about it” she admitted “I mean, the last few weeks, they’ve been pretty hectic with Ella coming along and things are only just settling down. I know that I want to go back work, but I also know that I want to put a limit on travelling. I want to stick around here more, Melena” she explained carefully.

She knew that it had to change, with both Iker and Ella to consider, she knew that she couldn’t leave things as they were, and whilst she loved her job, she knew that she had to put it on the backburner for a while, wanting to prioritize what mattered most to her.

Melena tilted her head slightly, surprised by Maia’s words, before she nodded, offering the brunette a small encouraging smile. “I will see what I can come up with” she mused “And I will get back to you” she added.

“Gracias, Melena” Maia noted appreciatively.

Melena flashed her a quick smile before she stepped away, something which allowed Maia to let out a soft sigh, her blue eyes scanning the room for any sight of Iker. Quietly passing her stare over the room, she let out another gentle sigh before she felt a nudge against her side, something which caused her to look up, her eyes settling on her father who stood beside her. “He ducked outside” he noted.

“Huh?” Maia spluttered.

“Your boyfriend” Hector clarified “He ducked out of the patio door looking decidedly grumpy. Is everything OK?” he asked.

Maia hesitated for a fraction of a second before she nodded her head, something which caused Hector to lift an eyebrow. “You sure?” he posed.

“Everything is fine, Papa” Maia mused, pushing some of her hair behind her ear “I just need to catch up with Iker. Can you excuse me?” she asked.

Hector nodded. “Of course” he noted “You’ll come and say goodbye to me and your madre before you leave?” he posed.

Maia offered him a swift nod before she stepped away from him, quickly making her way towards the patio door. Hesitating for a moment, she briefly contemplated leaving Iker to it before she placed her hand on the door handle, pushing it open before she stepped outside, her eyes quickly finding Iker who had sat down on the edge of the patio, his eyes fixed on the phone which sat in his hand.

Quietly closing the door behind her, she took a couple of steps towards him before she cleared her throat, something which caused him to look up, his dark eyes softening slightly. “You’re finished talking to Melena then?” he quipped, the tone of his voice a little hard to place.

Maia, who’d moved to sit down beside him, shook her head. “Iker...”

“It was about your job?” Iker cut in, peeking at her over his shoulder.

Maia blinked, surprised by his interruption, before she nodded. “She wanted to ask if I had made a plan for when I go back to work after my maternity leave” she mused quietly.

“And you told her what?” Iker asked.

Maia shrugged. “I told her that I’d not given it much thought” she noted “Ella’s only a couple of months old, Iker, and I’ve not exactly thought a year ahead of us. Right now, I am pretty content with how things are going” she added, not missing the frown which played at the corner of his mouth.

Iker allowed her words to hang around them for a moment before he shook his head, a small scoff falling out of his mouth.

Maia noticed the dismissive sound before she shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking” she murmured.

“You do?” Iker countered, his tone caught between irked and curious.

Maia nodded. “You think I am going to just let things go back to the way they were before” she pointed out “You think it’s just a matter of time before I tell you that I’ve got an offer to spend some time in some country and away from you” she added.

“Isn’t it?” Iker posed.

Maia let his question hang in the briefly before she shook her head, a bitter smile passing over her face. “What do you think this is?” she posed.

Iker simply shrugged, something which made Maia scoff. “You think I’ve ignored everything that you’ve said to me in the past few months?” she mumbled “Do you honestly think that I would consider just walking away from you again, Iker? I fucked up before, I will concede that, but I am not stupid enough to do it again. I want us, Iker, you, me and Ella, and if you think that I am selfish enough to repeat the mistakes we made before, then you really don’t know me, do you?” she hissed as she pushed herself up to her feet.

Iker shook his head. “You did it before” he countered, looking up at her.

Maia shook her head. “I messed then” she retorted “But if you can’t let that go and realize that this, now, isn’t then, then what is the point of trying to figure us out, Iker?” she muttered before she padded back towards the door, pulling it open before she stepped back into the house.

Iker listened to the small thud of the door as she pulled it closed before he let out a soft sigh, Maia’s words ringing in his ears. He knew that he had upset her, the tone of her voice and the frown on her face had confided it, but he didn’t quite know what to say. Her job was important to her, for as long as he had known her, she had adored her job, and a small part of him, no matter how stupid it seemed, still worried that it meant a little more to her than he did.