Chapter Text
One day during spring break Raquel brought Paula to the local park. At the playground, they went on the swings, Paula went down all the slides and later decided to go on a walk. They were walking on a trail and Paula kept running in front of her to look at all the flowers and Raquel kept having to call for her to slow down. They continued walking till she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, she looked at the contact and saw that it was her ex-husband Alberto.
‘fuck’ she said in her mind, ‘what does he want now’ thinking about him made her space out. She watched her phone as the ringing soon stopped then she looked up to find Paula. “Paula” she called out and looked around for her “Paula?” she called again “Paula!” she said more urgently panic starting to rise to her chest. “Paula sweetie where are you!” she was franticly looking for her ‘where are you baby, where are you?!”
It's been 15 minutes since she lost Paula and Raquel has been running around in a panic looking for her asking if anyone has seen her babygirl. Tears already streaming down her face, fear and panic consumed her. ‘where are you Paula?’ Once she wiped her tears, she saw a tall man talking to Paula walking with her towards her direction. “mama!” the little one yelled and the man pushed up his glasses and looked up at her relieved, ‘relieved why is he relieved, that kidnapping ass!’
Raquel ran at full force pushing the man away from her daughter and punching him straight in the face making his glasses fly and pinning him to a nearby tree with his arms behind him. “mama what are you doing” the little one yelled trying to pull her off him but Raquel ignored her “what are you doing with my daughter you sick basterd” she spat through her teeth pushing him harder against the tree. “I- I-” he tried to say something, but Paula interrupted him “mama stop he was trying to help me find you” “sure he was” she shouted “No really! We even tried calling you, but you didn’t answer” she pleaded back, she loosened her grip on him to grab her phone and sure enough there were 3 missed calls from an unknown number. She remembered she put her phone on do not disturb to ignore Alberto’s calls but instead it just ignored her daughter’s cry for help.
She let go of him and he straightened himself and rubbed his now bruising face, “is that true” she questioned him without apologizing,
“yes” he replied looking at the ground.
“tell me what happened” she asked them both.
“well I ran forward looking at the flowers and when I looked back you weren't behind me”
“Paula I told you not to run off in the first place!” Paula then looked down guilty.
“Then what happened after” and she continued,
“well a man came up to me and ask me if I was lost” then Raquel looked at the man and he squinted back.
“he asked me if I wanted to come back to his house nearby and wait for you”
“he said what!” she shot a dirty look at him as he continued to squint at her and the ground.
“Mama wait, before the man could keep talking, Sergio came up to me saying “sweety there you are” and pulled me away from him and then told me his name and told me to keep walking because that man was trying to kidnap me.” she looked back at her daughter as she continued
“as soon as we walked away from the stranger Sergio gave me his phone to call you and when you didn’t answer we started walking back to where I last saw you and now here we are”
she looked at the man in disbelief and a little guilt for injuring the man that returned her baby. “Is that true?” he looked up at her eyes still squinted and nodded yes. “then why the hell do you keep looking at me like that” she spat back still angry and that made him falter “sorry what” he asked, “why do you keep looking at me like that and squinting at me?” she said with an angry tone. “I- I'm sorry it’s just that you, um knocked off my glasses when you punched me, and I can’t really see.” he said shyly, then it dawned on her she attacked an innocent man and blinded him.
“oh my god I'm sorry, I'm so sorry” she then searched for his glasses and found them cracked on the ground she picked them up and handed them to him “i’m so sorry I am so so sorry!” she could see his eyes go glassy as he looked at them, he responded with an “it’s okay” but she could tell that it really wasn’t and it wasn’t her place to ask, as he slipped them into his pocket. “is there anything I can do for you? Can I pay you back?” she still hasn’t even gotten the chance to thank him yet. “Well um, I drove here, and I don’t think it would be safe for me too drive back when everything looks fuzzy.” “no no no ill drive you wherever you need to go” she hastily replied “a cab would be fine, thank you” he said back but she insisted “no it’s totally fine if I drive you, It would be the least I could do.” “well If you don’t mind, a ride would be great.”
They walked towards her car and Paula would occasionally laugh at Sergio whenever he would almost accidentally walk into someone. From the outside, this would look like a normal family she thought to herself as Paula continued to laugh and tease Sergio as he blushed shyly. ‘What the hell am I saying, he’s just a stranger.’ But as they were walking, Raquel finally got the chance to look at him properly. He was tall with broad shoulders, overly dressed in a suit, he had medium length black hair, and a well trimmed beard. She had to admit that he was pretty handsome and that he had a shy personality that was super cute. ‘Pretty handsome! Raquel he’s freaking gorgeous. Cute! Come on Raquel he's freaking adorable.’ But when Paula told him a joke, he genuinely smiled with his perfect teeth and his dimples appeared, her knees went weak and she stumbled. They both looked at her and she just waved them off.
When they arrived at the car, Sergio gave her an address and she told Sergio to get into the front seat and he agreed and now she had a full view of him. ‘god he was so stiff’ she said to herself so she decided to play some music, “what music do you listen too?” “uh well um I listen to shirataki, it’s traditional Greek music and um” he hesitated before continuing, “and classical music” Paula then laughed at him and he blushed furiously.
“Paula!” she scolded. “that’s interesting, are you Greek?” she asked trying to make conversation, “well no, I just like it” “classical is good too” she looked at Paula through the mirror, “we all have our preferences” and she looked back at him in time to see his grateful but shy, adorable smile and how his shoulders loosened up, She couldn’t help but smile back.
“well since we can tell Paula wouldn’t appreciate your taste, how about we listen to my favourite artist?” she looked at all of them and they nodded “great, I guess we’re listening to Van Morrison” she cheered and then Sergio looked at her “umm, who’s Van Morrison” and she gasped loudly and the fear that came to his face when he hastily said “I'm sorry I know, I suck, it’s embarrassing” and closed his eyes tightly. ‘god this man Is so cute’ “No Sergio it’s okay, I was exaggerating, most people don’t even listen to him these day’s” she watched him as he said that and saw him shiver as she said his name and then opened his eyes and relaxed. She connected her phone and started playing “Brown eyed girl” and sang along, as she sang and drove, she could feel him watching her, not ogling like others, but with what she would describe as adoring eyes and a real smile on his face. She could only imagine what he was thinking.
(meanwhile in Sergio’s thoughts)
‘She is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Did heaven just send me and angel? What did I do to experience this angel singing? Her voice sounds like home, so warm. Her hair is so beautiful, she is so beautiful. Her eyes are like pools of honey. I am thankful I found that girl and got to experience this, this moment, this very special moment. Hold on, why am I feeling like this, I usually don’t like talking to people, what's happening?’
As they continued to drive, no one noticed how much time has passed as they have been laughing, and Raquel and Paula were singing as Sergio happily listened. It has almost been a 30 minute drive, but it wasn’t like Raquel cared, this was the most she's laughed in a long time and she has been enjoying it with good company.
Sergio’s mood has shifted a bit from before when he was super tense and quiet, he’s been relaxed, talking more than before and cracking an occasional joke. She can’t lie and say she didn’t enjoy his presence, it felt like something clicked and it feels like they’ve known each other for a long time though it's been about 40 minutes.
Five minutes later the sun began to set, and they were nearing Sergio’s destination, it was in a remote area and Raquel had to ask him multiple times if they were headed in the right direction. Just about a minute later, Sergio asked her to stop the car and that he would walk the rest of the way, but she refused.
“why would I let you walk, it’s getting dark!”
“it’s fine it’s just a little ahead” he replied
“exactly, just let me drive you there, please”
Sergio looked into her eyes with a serious look “Raquel please, stop the car” and she obliged “Sergio” she said as he gathered his things, he didn’t look at her but said “there’s a roundabout just up ahead, please get home safely and Raquel,” he finally looked up at her “thank you” and left but before he did she discreetly snook a 50 euro bill in his bag. She drove past him and that’s when she saw a gate with a symbol of two lions on it, ‘that looks so familiar’ but she didn’t give it much thought and turned on the roundabout and Sergio was already gone. Paula has been asleep since about halfway through their way there, so Raquel was driving alone with her thought’s, her thoughts about Sergio.
‘Sergio is such a sweety, but why did he act like that earlier’. ‘It was almost as if he was hiding something’ and Raquel wanted to be the one to solve it.
After driving home and going on with her dinnertime routine her thoughts stayed on him, his smile, his laugh, his kindness- oh gosh I forgot to thank him properly. As soon as she put Paula down she hopped into bed pulling out her phone and texting the unknown number.
“Sergio?”-R
A few minutes later he replied.
“Raquel?”-S
“Hi Sergio, I just wanted to say thank you for finding Paula”-R
“Hello Raquel, don’t worry it was no problem”-S
“I should also be saying thank you”-S
“What for?”-R
“Driving me and for the company”-S
Ah so he enjoyed my company she said to herself with a smirk.
“You saved my daughter and I pinned you against the tree, punched you and broke your glasses and your saying thank you?”-R
“what can I say, that was quite exciting it felt like I was being arrested.”-S
“omg I'm so sorry, but you know what your instincts are correct because I am a cop”-R
“no wonder it felt so real”-S
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is a middle aged man doing at a park in the middle of the day all alone”-R
It took him a minute to reply
“I was just there to get some fresh air and to read a good book”-S
“hmm sounds relaxing”-R
“Sergio can I say something?”-R
“fire away”-S
“I noticed that you were upset about your glasses, again I’m really sorry but I can’t help but think there was more to it than just broken glass”-R
“Raquel stop apologizing you were just being a mother and your instincts were right, those glasses did have a deeper meaning”-S
“you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to”-R
“no, it’s fine, it’s just that they were my first pair of glasses that my father bought for me even though we didn’t have much money”-S
“Your first pair!”-R
“Sergio I'm so sorry!”-R
“Raquel please it’s fine”-S
“I actually think that I have something that belongs to you”-S
And curiosity sparked her out of the guilt she was feeling
“what?”-R
“Just something along the lines of 50 euros”-S
“oh, about that, I knew you wouldn’t take my money, so I just snuck it into your bag”-R
“yes, your right, I'm not going to take your money. I intend to give it back to you somehow”-S
“how about dinner?”-R
“Dinner as in a date?”-S
“Yes?”-R
She threw her phone as soon as it sent, ‘fuck what did I just do, why isn’t he replying? I really messed up didn’t I' and when she heard her phone buzz again, she grabbed her phone.
“dinner sounds great”-S
She let out a breath
“so, about dinner...”-S
Her breath hitched again
“What place did you have in mind”-S
Another breath of relief
“how about the Hanoi?”-R
“The Hanoi, I couldn’t think of anything better, that’s my favourite café"-S
“me too!”-R
“How does Friday sound, 8:00?”-S
“That sounds great”-R
“Great”-S
“Goodnight Sergio”-R
“Goodnight Raquel”-S
She put down her phone and fell back onto her bed.
3 more days till she sees Sergio, 70 more hours till she sees him again. Wait, am I going to fast? No, I'm not I'm just going on a date with someone I just met. I'll know more about him soon, hopefully. Then she fell asleep.
On the other side of Madrid
“Andres, I told you I'm not moving to France and that’s final!”