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It's not easy being married. I know that twice over now. It's especially not easy being married to a celebrity, and an athlete at that, one who moves around with his team or teams, depending on the season. When there's no World Cup on, Bulgaria should form Viktor's circuit solely, but everyone wants him. Wants him to speak at their conferences, play in their exhibition matches, star in their schemes, train their players, attend their events, accept their awards, kiss their babies, open their shopping centres, etcetera. It's never ending what he's wanted for, and he still has to train and actually be a seeker. It's so much work. His whole life goes into it. Everyday I'm more amazed he managed to learn anything at school or attend any lessons whatsoever.
And me? I'm left alone with the children. Alone in a big house. Sometimes I accompany Viktor on his travels, and I do have help of course, and his family and Yuri are in and out all the time, but still, I'm not married to them. I want my husband with me, like he promised. He promised we would always be together, but he's always away instead…Not that I want him to quit. No. Never. And when he is around, it's wonderful.
“It made me think of you.” he says, one day when he's home. ‘Popping out to the shops’ he said, when I went to take a nap. Well, he returned from the shops with a pink Firebolt, and now holds it expertly, standing on our kitchen doorstep, beaming like the dog that's got the bone.
‘The Aphrodite’ it's called. A limited edition people are killing each other over, naturally. The Goddess of Love..I don't care for the comparison because of my secret fear that he might one day suspect me and Yuri baselessly, but I'm not about to ruin the moment, so I smile and thank him, kissing and hugging my man so he feels as tall as a mountain. Compared to me he may as well be.
“Vitya, you're the best-”.
“Mmm…” he smiles against my neck, his hands on my waist, a cue he's thinking about the other things Aphrodite’s goddess of. Sometimes people make jokes about how many children we have, but the joke’s on them. Every baby is another star in the sky of our happy ending.
“-and I'll race you on that. But I prefer flying with you if I have to get into the air.”
“Hehe, you always know what to say, my love. Come then, let's go for a lazy flight on this pretty broom. We can watch the sunset from our favourite place.”
Our favourite place is a secret meadow high in the mountains. Very remote, very beautiful. Luckily, Yuri and his own brood are staying over, so they're happy to keep watch while we go be romantic in nature.
“You need to take me on a broom ride, meri jaan.” Parvati, resting with her hubby on ‘their’ sofa, pats his chest, her fingernails a pretty coral pink.
“I’m no athlete of the skies, zaika. I’d rather whip out my deluxe magic carpet.” Yuri yawns and turns on his side, hugging his wife close, their foreheads touching.
“You don't need to be an athlete. Just don't crash, and I'll have the time of my life.”
Kissing and giggling and more kissing commences. I like seeing them be so affectionate. Their happiness is another star in my sky. Another battle won.
Viktor tugs on my hand. “Let's leave before we burn alive in this hothouse, Lina.”
Flying with Viktor is like when boy and girl muggles ride motorbikes together. I sit behind him and hold onto his waist for dear life. Allegedly you don't need to do that, but I never will not, and he likes it. If he wasn't so good at it, I would never have realised that he is so good, because flying on a broom is always scary to me, always, but it has also always been our thing to do together.
“You ready?” He asks, looking over his shoulder just before taking off. He's using the Aphrodite Firebolt like he said, but he's so skilled that he negates the amusement that comes from it being pink.
“Always.” I reply.
The sun is a fuzzy yellow ball growing very large by the time we reach our meadow high up on a plateau. The flowers and wild grasses grow tall, their smell like inhaling wine, and the insects buzz so loudly you feel you're walking into a heaving party. Far, faaar down below and in the distance, is Sofia. It still feels weird sometimes to be living here, with him. My future, when I could even think of it, did not look like this. To posit it to me only a few years ago would have been a cruel joke to tell to someone living in a cage below ground and underwater.
Almost as soon as we touch down, Viktor tackles me to the ground, sending a flock of multicoloured butterflies into the gilded air. The soil up here is soft and warm as sand, another reason why we like it.
“Lina…you don't regret choosing me?” He asks, after pecking me on the lips, childlike and so so sweet. We are still in our twenties, our early twenties, in his case, but it feels like we've lived so many lives together already.
“Never, Vitenka. No regrets here. You're my hero and best friend. You always have been.”
My husband's eyes turn to liquid crystal, many facets sparkling in the light. He presses his lips to my forehead, his hand taking mine and placing it to his chest. His heart beats slow and strong, stronger than mine, stronger than Yuri's, stronger than anyone I know. “I have a long holiday coming. We must spend it like this. Heart to heart.” he says, hugging me tight, the butterflies dancing around our heads, the sun warming our backs.
“We will, my darling. We will.”