You are my mums (a Lucy Bronze fanfic) - Book 2

Chapter 15 - Marry me?

Rosie's POV:

Rain was no where to be seen as we exitted the Trafford Centre and the sky had cleared. A few dark, wintery clouds were dotted about the night sky, but they didn't cover the luminous full moon handing above us. Thankfully, our chauffeur driven car pulled up next to the entrance, saving us from hopping over the many glistening puddles in the car park. Leah pulled Keira in for a short hug and said, "Love you mate". They exchanged a meaningful glance as Keira suggested, "See you soon?". Leah nodded her head and repeated Keira's words definitively, "See you soon". Keira would be seeing Leah soon - but much sooner than she thought

As we were about to shut the car door and drive off, Leah exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot". She passed another envelope through the open door, stepped back from the car onto the pavement and shoved her hands in her pockets. Keira lightly nodded at her and gently slammed the door on Leah and the rest of the world. It was just us in the car once more: me, Keira and the driver.

My mum read out the paper in a noticeably tired voice, "You'll be glad to know that this is the final place I'm asking you to go. I hope you've enjoyed the surprises so far, but I've saved the best for last. I apologise in advance for the long journey, but go to the place where we both had the best day of our lives". When Keira had realised where Lucy was asking us to go, she exclaimed, "She wants us to go to London!? Bloody hell...this surprise better be worth it". I asked, "Where in London?". Keira stared at me, probably shocked that I didn't know where they had the happiest day of their lives. Of course I knew exactly where it was, but I had to act clueless. She rolled her eyes at me, "Wembley...obviously".

And so the nearly 4 hour trip began. Despite the annoyance at the extremely long journey, I knew that it was the only right place to end the night. Nowhere else could even compete. In my head, I was working out if we were still on time. We had spent a while eating dinner with Leah so by the time we reached the car, it was 7pm. That allowed enough time for the journey, and any traffic we could encounter before the main event at midnight. I was praying for a smooth run down to London.

Keira suggested, "You don't think Lucy will be the final surprise do you? I mean, maybe she's booked for us to watch the fireworks in London". I shook my head, "I don't think so...remember that letter from Nike?". Keira retorted back, "It could've been fake". Trying not to give anything away that she had the right idea, I stated, "It didn't seem fake. There was a signature from the manager of the store in London". Keira looked down at her hands on her lap, "I know...I just want to believe that Lucy will be there waiting for us. I know it sounds stupid but it's the first New Year's Eve we've spent separate in the time we've known eachother". Empathetically, I said, "It's not stupid, I wanted to spend it as a family as well but I suppose work commitments take priority".

Keira leaned her head up against the freezing window and sighed, "That's the only thing I would change in our relationship. Sometimes we're both so busy with brand deals that it gets in the way with family life. You're growing up so fast, soon you'll be leaving home and we'll be wishing that we never went to that event for Nike or did that brand deal with Pepsi". She seemed sad while speaking, wishing that she had more time to spend with family instead of having to do hours of photoshoots with Sports Direct and other companies. I asked, "Do you ever regret becoming a professional footballer?". She paused for a moment before shaking her head slowly and unconvincingly, "I love football but at the start I didn't sign up for all the extras. When I was young, all I wanted to do was play. I didn't care about having fans or doing brand deals or even earning the amount of money I do now. All I wanted to do was play the sport I loved as a kid. Football has brought me so much happiness, including meeting your mum, but there have definitely been times where I've questioned it".

Previously as a fan, I presumed that footballers had the dream life. I expected them to be extremely happy because they got to play football professionally and earn money from it. Now as a daughter, I have noticed that it's not as easy as it seems. You don't just play football. You have the added pressure of the media, fans, competing for spaces within a team, dealing with hate, balancing family life with you career. When I first came to live with my mums, it shocked me how different their lives were compared to my expectations.