Chapter Six

~8 Months Later~

South Africa was booming with life. With his mom by his side, he and his daughters made their way to the hotel the national team and families were staying at. Olaya was sleeping in his mother’s arms, and Zaida was wide awake in his own. Both were already wearing Spain jerseys, paired with pink pants (upon Zaida’s request).

He saw some of his teammates milling around, and got the keys to the rooms reserved to him.

Floor 6. He grabbed his suitcase, and headed up. His mom smiled at him encouragingly. He’d been struggling the past few months. Trying to be a footballer and a father was putting a toll on him. He was exhausted, and tired of the dating world. It didn’t help that there was a woman named Nina that never was far from his mind. On Zaida’s birthday, she’d sent a present since she couldn’t attend the party (which he hadn’t understood, but his daughter had), and she’d also sent a Christmas present.

His eyes widened as he saw the woman in question, walking with Ariadna Hernández. They disappeared into a room, and came out seconds later without the suitcases they’d been pulling.

“Nina!” Zaida called before he could stop it.

The woman turned, and smiled as the toddler forced him to put her down. She ran to the other adult, who crouched down to receive the hug. “Hola Zaida! How are you?” she questioned. The toddler clung to her neck, “I’m good! Thank you for the presents. I wanted to save you some cake, but daddy said it would go bad before you got it.” She smiled, “He was right, but maybe we can get some cake later.” She nodded excitedly.

David walked over, hands shoved into his pockets, gazing at the pair. Ariadna smiled kindly at him. Nina reached up, fixing the ribbon in the toddler’s hair.

Just then Àlex came around the corner, and nearly ran into the group. “Oh, there you are Nina. Xavi lost his toothbrush in his luggage or something…do you have a clue where it is?” he asked. She rolled her eyes, turning her head to look at him, “Yeah, it’s in his main suitcase in that front pouch.” “What would my brother do without us?” he asked. She shrugged, “Have his teeth rot?”

She then stood to her full height, which he guessed to be around 5’4”, maybe an inch more.

“Come on Zaida, let’s put our stuff away,” he said, feeling his mom observing it all. He didn’t want to get her hopes up. After all, there was a reason that Nina was there at the world cup.

To his surprise, Zaida turned, latching onto the female’s leg. “I don’t want to!” she exclaimed. Nina looked down in surprise herself as the little girl clung to her jeans, her arms wrapping entirely around her calf. A fond smile then appeared, “Don’t worry, Zaida. This is my room right here. We’re neighbors. And we can have one of those promised tea parties.” “But I don’t want to go now,” she pouted.

The woman bent down, gently picking up the girl. “Well, sometimes we have to do things like that. But you need to be good for your daddy, sí?”

Zaida nodded, an walked over to him, leaving the Spanish striker absolutely stunned.


~~

Nina laughed as Gerard pranced around drunk, wearing a tie around his head, and his shirt inside-out. She was standing with Àlex and Pedro, occasionally talking and meeting with new players. She’d met captain Iker Casillas and his girlfriend Sara Carbonello, Pepe Reina, Sergio Ramos, and Juan Mata. The night before she’d met Jesus Navas and David Silva.

Xavi came over, pouting, “No one will play futbolín with me since they know I’ll win.”

“That’s arrogant,” she said, “but I’ll play with you…but only on teams.” He grinned, and went to tell everyone. Everyone wanted to play on a team with them, since they had heard (at least the Barça players) that she was good.

Xavi chose to play with Iker as she looked around at the volunteers.

She smiled as she saw a hand raised with expectant eyes. “Zaida, you want to play?” she questioned. The little girl nodded excitedly. “Well, you’ll make the perfect teammate,” she grinned, getting a chair for the little girl to stand on, since it was hard for her to reach the poles otherwise.

“I’m not going easy on you,” Xavi warned as Nina took the goalie and defender poles across from him as he took the offensive handles. “I don’t expect you to,” she smiled sweetly. But there was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes as Iker dropped the ball into play. She rarely played defense, so Xavi didn’t really know her style. And she was going to use that to her advantage. She hit the ball off of his shot, nearly scoring, had Casillas not reacted quickly. But minutes later, she managed to score. She and Zaida celebrated with a little dance.

The score went back and forth until it was tied nine to nine, the next point to declare the winner.

It was a fast paced round, shot after shot after shot after shot. Tack tack tack tack tack. Finally Nina saw an opening, and hit the ball, but frowned upon seeing not enough spin was put on it. Zaida had been trying her hardest all game, but rarely had many touches on the ball. But as she moved the pole with a jerk, the ball spun out and around, plopping into the goal, leaving two stunned Spaniards.

“Zaida, we won!” she exclaimed. “We did?” she asked. Nina nodded, “You scored the winning goal!” The girl squealed happily, and jumped into her arms for a hug.

She then turned to Xavi, smirking. He sulked off, Àlex patting his back whilst laughing.

“Daddy, we won!” Zaida exclaimed as David walked up. “I saw. That was a great goal, cariña.” He then looked at her, “Gracias.” It was said meaningfully. She smiled and nodded, not really sure what else to even say.


~~

Carles wanted to be festive, but it was the first time he’d been away from Adela’s hospital room for so long. And he’d be away for over a month. He hoped her condition didn’t worsen in his absence.

He couldn’t help but smile, though, at Xavi’s loss.

Nina was one of those people that could turn an impossible situation into something. Such as beating Xavi at futbolín with a child – that was difficult to do, yet she’d done it. It seemed he wasn’t the only one impressed, as he watched David try and pull himself together and talk to her. Once Nina went to go tease Xavi, he walked over to their star striker. “She’s something else, isn’t she?” he asked.

He nodded, watching and Nina and Zaida bot teased Xavi playfully.

“Who is she, even?” he asked. “Nina Trujillo…I only really know what Xavi has told me, since she doesn’t talk much about herself. She’s American, but works in Barcelona, and her father is from Spain, so she got citizenship through that new blood relation law. She works as a risk analysis or something like that. They met playing futbolín actually, and have been friends ever since.”

David turned, “Friends? They’re not dating?” Carles smiled knowingly, “We thought they were, but no. They’re just friends, according to them, and his family.”

He watched his friend look back at the female, a small smile appearing.


~~

David was relieved that Spain had won, and they would be moving onto the next round, coming out from Group H on top. They hadn’t done as well as they had hoped, having lost to Switzerland, but they had made it through nonetheless.

He felt that he’d improved though. He had scored both goals against Honduras, which had been an accomplishment. He had also netted the first goal against a strong Chilean side. But he had to look forward to the game against Portugal, where they would be facing another strong side. He didn’t have much for the man, but Cristiano Ronaldo was a good player, despite his lack of basic human tact.

He returned to his room, and found his mom, Zaida, and Nina sitting on one of the beds, having a tea party.

He smiled as he observed Nina sporting a tiara, and holding a fairy wand. His daughter was dressed in a pink tutu and also had a tiara on. Only his mother had escaped the costumes, and was watching to other two more than actually participating.

“Can I join?” he asked, announcing his arrival. “Daddy!” Zaida exclaimed, smiling widely at him.

He sat on the bed as well, causing it to dip. Nina smiled at him, and reaching over, placed the tiara on his head. “Now you can join us,” she deemed, winking at the little girl, who giggled excitedly. He smiled, and picked up one of the pink teacups. They played until Zaida fell asleep, and then headed out, leaving his mom to watch over her and Olaya.

“Thank you for watching her with my mom. She really enjoys your company,” he said as they walked down the hall at a leisurely pace. She smiled, “She’s a charming girl. When I was that age I loved to have people to look up to, not just family – it’s an honor to be that for her. By the way, brilliant goal…we watched the match. I think you guys will beat Portugal.” He sincerely hoped she was right.

“Are you planning on doing anything tonight?” she asked. “Sleep,” she said instantly. “Right now?” he asked, earning a slight laugh. “No, not right now,” she conceded.

“Would you like to go out for dinner?” he asked nervously. He saw the conflict in her eyes, something internal. A variety of emotions passed over her features, and he wondered if she was figuring out how to turn him down, or trying to figure out how to get rid of him. But at last she looked up, eyes once again clear, “Sure.” “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he said, worried she was doing it out of kindness.

“It depends – is this a date?” she questioned. He frowned, “Do you want it to be?” She smiled at him, and then started down the hall, him following behind.


~~

After getting off the phone with the hospital, he sank onto his bed. He was glad that she hadn’t worsened, but at the same time, she hadn’t improved either.

There was a selfish part of him, though, that wanted her to wake up when he was there. He wanted her to see evidence of his support. He knew that was wrong, that he should be happy to wake up at any time, but he wanted to see signs of life return to her with his own eyes. Her family had only visited twice, but he had been there for it all, the good and the bad. The moments of no brain activity, and the spikes that occasionally occurred.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, because it was nearly time to go and head out for the game against Germany. They had progressed through the knockout stages, beating Portugal with a goal from David. They had then beaten Paraguay as well, bringing to down to a match against Germany, who’d beaten Argentina. He felt sorry or his Barça teammate, Lionel Messi, who was out of the running for the World Cup. At the same time, he felt glad that he didn’t have to face his teammate and friend.
He exited his room, and found his teammates doing the same. Since the match was in the town the hotel was located in, Johannesburg, they didn’t have to go far.

Families were also heading out to the stadium. He watched as Nina walked by, Zaida riding along on her back. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the little girl trying to braid the grown woman’s hair as she walked along. Àlex and Ariadna were both talking with Xavi as David trailed behind with them.

He wished that Adela could have come to cheer him on.

Sure there was no guarantee that she could have even come, or would have come given the opportunity, but he was still hopeful. She could have been wearing his jersey, yelling his name. But instead she was motionless in a bleak hospital room, lost within herself, and they weren’t even sure if she would ever return to them. He hated even thinking about that possibility, but it existed. It was heavy on his mind at all times. Very heavy. But he was going to have to go into the game without such heavy thoughts, so he pushed it all to the back of his mind. He would play for her, not in memory of her.


~~

Nina sat in the stands, bundled up like many of the fans. She, Ariadna, and Àlex were making predictions about the score.

“I think 2-0 Spain,” Ariadna said, “with Villa scoring both.” “I think Villa will score one, and that’ll be the score,” Àlex replied. “I think 1-0 is going to be the score, but I’m not sure about David scoring. I think it might be Andrés or Xavi. The German defense is heavy, so midfielders will have more opportunity as the strikers are covered,” she answered.

The game ended up 1-0, the goal coming from Carles Puyol, a brilliant header, which won the match.

They were onto the final, which had been determined to be the Netherlands. They all knew that would be a difficult game, for the team was very though. With Zaida in tow, she headed back to the hotel. Dorita hadn’t come to the game to stay with a sleeping Olaya, but gave her a warm embrace upon their return. “We’re onto the final!” she said happily. Zaida was nearly asleep, so they got her dressed and into bed. “Go enjoy the night,” Dorita said, waving her goodnight.

She smiled, and walked out of the room, nearly running into David. “Both girls are asleep,” she said, closing the door quietly behind her. He nodded, running a hand through his damp hair, which he hadn’t put more gel in.

“Congratulations on winning,” she smiled as they slowly made their way down the hall. He opened the door to his room, silently inviting her in. She smiled, walking into the room, and sitting on the sofa that was in the lounge area. He sat down next to her, though with about a foot in between them. She arched a brow, and received a nervous smile. She realized he was just as out of practice at dating – if it was that – as she was.


~~

He had just gotten back to his room after celebrating with the team. They were in the finals, and it had been him to score that goal. He didn’t think he would ever be able to make such an important contribution, but he had, and they were moving onto the final.

He changed into his pajama pants, ready to settle into bed.

He was just climbing under the covers when his phone rang. He picked it up tiredly, “Hello?” ‘Carles?’ He sat up immediately, the voice so familiar, yet distant in his memory. “Adela?” he asked in complete disbelief. ‘I saw your goal – it was amazing. You’re Spain’s hero. You’re mine as well. They told me that you visited daily, if possible. I heard you sometimes, just talking to me. Thank you…’

“Adela, are you alright?” he asked. “The doctors are running tests and such, and I’m under moderation to make sure I don’t slip back or anything. But yes, I’m alright,” she answered.

“Adela, I’m going to win the final. Not for Spain. Not for Catalunya. For you.”

He meant it too, and waited for her reaction. “Why?” was the sniffled response after a minute. “For the same reason I scored today in your name. For the same reason I fight my hardest in each game. I love you, Adela. And that is what will give me the strength to help the team to victory.”