Chapter Text
Raquel entered Paula's bedroom to find the girl avidly reading her new book under her pink cover duvet. "Paula, cariño, enough reading, time to sleep"
"Mama, but it's Christmas break!" The girl pouted, closing her book. "I can sleep in tomorrow."
"We're going to check that Christmas market down the village, remember? The one with the ice skating?" Ice skating in Palawan was very confusing, with the sun beaming and the 30ºC in the shadow, but apparently, it was required to a complete Christmas experience wherever you were.
The shine in Paula’s eyes told Raquel she had won the fight with this simple card. The girl appeared to think for an instant, then replied with a mischievous smile “I can’t wait to see Sergio ice skating!”
Raquel burst out laughing. “Oh aren’t you a little devil?” She said as she dove into the bed, tickling the girl until she begged for mercy. Raquel snuggled behind her in the small bed and kissed the top of her head. “Are you excited for this Christmas?” She asked, and much to her relief, Paula nodded excitedly and flashed her a big smile. Raquel was worried: this was the first Christmas they would spend in Palawan, and despite the fact that everyone went over the moon to make everything as smooth as possibly for Paula, Raquel still worried about this type of occasions and the feelings that might surface in the girl. She was just a child after all.
“Do you think Santa Claus will bring you what you asked for?”
“Mama.” Paula gave her mother a narrow look. “I’m not a baby. I know there’s no Santa Claus.”
Raquel was caught by surprise. Paula was until very recently emerged in the unicorns, princesses’ and magic universe, but maybe now it was time to accept that her little girl was growing and rapidly approaching puberty. “I- But-but cariño, who brings the gifts then?”
“I know it’s you and papa Sergio” The girl said matter-of-factly. “And back in Spain it was probably you and Papa Alberto.” Raquel had to restrain herself from shuddering every time that name was mentioned, even now, across the world from a different reality than she had lived a long time ago. “Or you and abuela.”
Raquel observed her daughter, stating her conclusions so calmly, and felt a mix of pride and sadness. “Lo siento, Paula” She said softly, putting a lock of hair behind her ear. “That’s a lie most parents tell their kids. We just want you to believe in magic for as long you can. There’s very little magic in the grown-up world.”
“There’s love.” Paula said, looking up to her mother, who felt her heart was swelling up three sizes. “That can count as magic, right?”
“Yes, mi amor, that’s the most important magic of them all.” She nuzzled her nose on Paula’s. They kept cuddled for a while, until the girl broke the silence.
“Mama?”
“Hum?”
“Do you think Papa Alberto is spending Christmas alone?” Raquel froze. There it was, Alberto again, returning to haunt her life. But she had to be prepared for this, he was Paula’s father after all, and even if the girl couldn’t see him anymore she wouldn’t expect her to forget him completely. She took a deep breath and tried to come up with a decent answer that didn’t involve her hopes that Alberto would spend Christmas rotting in a lonely cell.
“No, cariño, I’m sure he’ll be spending it with Tia Marta and Tia Cecília, in Abuela Ana’s house.” She said calmly, and the girl seemed satisfied with the answer. A soft knock on the door made their heads turn together, and they saw Sergio hesitantly opening the door. “Someone is trying to delay her bedtime hours.” Raquel said with a smirk, and he smiled, entering the room.
“I heard Santa Claus does not bring good gifts to girls who do that.” He said, and Raquel patted the bed next to her for him to sit.
“You can cut it, papa Sergio.” Paula said, exasperated. “I’ve told Mama I know the truth.”
Sergio was even more surprised than Raquel. “Paulita, pero-“ He pushed his glasses up his nose as he always did when he was nervous. Mother and daughter shared a smile. “What-what if only Santa Claus knows what you want?”
Raquel supressed a laugh as Paula rose her eyebrows. “Oh I think I’ve made it perfectly clear I wanted a Polaroid.” She gave them a playful look, and then added. “It was the only thing I asked for.” Sergio, who rested his hand on Raquel’s back, gave her a gentle squeeze.
But obviously it wasn’t the only thing she was getting because Sergio always wanted to do everything possible to please Paula, leaving Raquel with the hard task of refraining him. She refused to have a spoiled brat as daughter. But at least the girl only had asked for one present, which showed they were on the right track.
“Well, it’s time to sleep, young lady.” Raquel said, and Sergio got up and held up a hand for her to take. He leaned to kiss Paula goodnight.
“You know what I really wanted for Christmas?” The girl said sleepily, as Raquel gave her a kiss too.
“What, mi amor?” Her mother asked, giving Sergio a playful look, knowing he was probably going crazy over the fact that there was something Paula wanted that he hadn’t bought.
“A baby…” Paula said, drowsily, and let out a sigh that indicated that she was already sleeping, leaving the two adults next to her in absolute shock.
Raquel felt her heart beating at her ears as Sergio stiffened by her side. Paula had never mentioned a baby, a desire to have a brother or sister, not even when she was younger and her parents’ marriage was still normal, not even when all her school friends had come to school sharing the family news.
She couldn’t make herself look at Sergio, who still hadn’t said a word. Should she expect him to laugh it off, considering it a sleepy child’s careless wishes? Should she expect a heartfelt, deep conversation about the subject they had never approached?
When long moments had passed and silence was crushing her, she finally gathered the forces to face him, only to find staring at a sleeping Paula. After a few moments his eyes met hers, and his gaze was impenetrable. “Let’s get to bed, shall we?” He said softly, kissing her in the cheek and exiting the room, leaving behind Raquel, a sinking feeling in her gut.
The thing was… She was pretty sure she already had a baby growing inside her.