The day was finally here. Pedri would make his return to Camp Nou, nine weeks after that game against Manchester United. Sofia and I were in my car driving to the game as it was being played in the afternoon. I left Blanca at home with Martina because I believed that the noise and many people would still be a bit much for her almost two years.
"You excited Sofi?" I asked her. "So much!" she squealed, wearing a little Pedri jersey that he had made sure to get her for this special day. I parked my car in the VIP parking that was included with the tickets and unbuckled my daughter from her car seat. Subconsciously, I searched for Pedri's green car and a warm wave went through my body when I spotted it. We made our way to the tribune and Sofia was beaming with excitement in her leather VIP seat.
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📍 Camp Nou isa.vasquez The magician 🪄 returns and we are ready! 🍿
feeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr Cuteeeeeee leaderbrocksports 💪🏼💪🏼 lauraigle Mi Princesa!!!! 👑
Fernando arrived and sat down next to us, as well as Pedri's manager Hector and we anxiously awaited the start of the game. Then, the players came out of the tunnel to warm up and a huge roar went through the stadium when Pedri appeared and we made sure to stand up and clap for him too - his gaze turned to the VIP tribune and when he spotted us he sent a quick nod to our small group and clapped his hands before focusing on his exercises. Sofia was following his every move and I was happy that she was enjoying herself so much.
The players returned back inside, only to walk out a while later while the Barca anthem was blasting through the stadium speakers, though the fans' singing was even louder. Pedri was obviously benched, not fully starting at his first game back. Ferran shot a goal that put us in the lead by the end of the first half and now we only waited that Pedri would enter the pitch at some point during the second half.
A few minutes into the last 45, we saw Pedri coming off the bench to start warming up and another roar filled the stadium. I had never been a huge football fan, but right now, my smile was brighter than the sun, I was so excited. And then in the 61st minute, the sideline assistant held up the sign that made our hearts beat faster: number 11 in red and number 8 in green. Pedri waited for Ferran to come off and gave him a high five and quick hug before jogging onto the field, accompanied by cheers. We stood up to clap again and Sofia was jumping up and down to finally see him "really" play.
It being a game against Atletico, it obviously got heated at some point and the yellow cards were flowing like shots on a student's night out. Pedri was spared though and eventually, the final whistle blew, giving us all three points for our 1-0 win. We waited for a bit and chatted with the relatives and friends of other players before making our way downstairs to the changing rooms to see our star boy.
Pedri was standing in the hallway, being congratulated by coaches and staff, when he saw us. Hector was the first to greet him with a handshake and a tight hug, followed by Fer. Sofia and I stood a bit in the back, I was holding us back a bit while my daughter wanted to drag me closer. Hector and Fer chatted a bit with Pedri and I told Sofia to be patient, but she was too excited. Hector moved on to talk to Xavi and I finally got a bit closer.
"Well done, welcome back" I said and smiled. "Thanks" he replied, a bit breathless, but looking very happy. "You were so good!!" Sofia exclaimed and hugged Pedri's legs, at which I laughed. "Thanks Sofi! That's just because the opponents weren't as good as you" he replied and picked her up after which she could hug him properly, slinging her small arms around his shoulder and neck. "Uncle Ferran!" she shouted and Pedri let her down to run to his teammate.
"Hey! Isa! You coming tonight? We're celebrating the magician! My place!" Sergi Roberto, who had just bumped into me asked as he was walking backwards to the locker room. "Um... I don't think so... But thanks!" I replied and waved at him. "What? Why aren't you coming?" Pedri asked me, a bit upset. "Um... it's Monday tomorrow... and... the kids..." I replied, weirded out by his sudden change of mood. "But we're celebrating me! You have to come!" he said, his voice starting to get louder. "Shhh!! What's up with you? I'm just not in the age anymore!" I hissed back. "Bullshit, Sergi is older than you, Jordi is, Busi is and they're all coming" he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "They're your teammates! That's different!" I replied, now also starting to get angry. "You're on my team! Gosh, you're so boring. It's your husband who's dead, not you!" he said angrily and bumped my shoulder as he stormed away to the changing room.
Me head felt like a kettle and I was ready to scream like one as my anger boiled up inside. How the hell did he talk to me? He had been so nice and sweet the past weeks, of course it wouldn't last. Idiot. "Sofi, let's go" I said and took her away from Ferran's arms as she was talking to him and Gavi. I didn't even acknowledge them and stormed away to the parking lot to drive away from here.
"Are you ok, mami?" Sofia asked me from her backseat as I started honking at the 73rd car that I thought was getting into my way. "Yes, everything's fine, darling" I said in a fake voice and gave her a forced smile. When I arrived home, I was still so angry and put down Sofia the moment we entered the apartment door. Martina and Blanca were playing a puzzle on the living room floor and she joined them while I stormed to my room, slammed the door behind me and let out a scream. I calmed down for a few minutes then, before going back to the living room.
"Hey, are you ok?" Martina asked and normally, I would have said that everything was fine, because a 15-year-old girl wasn't the person to vent to about my personal problems, but I didn't care in that moment. "He's so... infuriating! He thinks my world revolves around him! He let out such a stupid comment about how it's Rodri that's dead and not me when I told him I wouldn't come to Sergi Roberto's party tonight" I said angrily. "He... is Pedri?" she asked confusedly and I nodded energetically. "Oh no, I'm sorry... Boys are stupid" she mumbled and I had to smile a bit at her cute innocence. "They are" I huffed. "You want to eat some pasta with us?" I asked. "Yeah, thanks, that's really nice of you! My parents are away for a game of Marc..." she said.
Thirty minutes later and we were all chewing over our plates of pasta. "You know what would be iconic?" Martina asked me and I looked at her. "You showing up at the party tonight in your hottest outfit" she said and smiled at me smugly. "You're watching too much Netflix" I chuckled. "No, I mean it. You know, those iconic scenes where the girl comes in, wind through her hair, in her sexiest dress-" she started, but was interrupted by Sofia. "What is a sexy dress?" she asked and Martina's and my eyes widened in horror. "Just a really pretty dress" I replied, trying to straighten it out and shot Martina a look to pay more attention to her language.
"Ok, you get what I mean" she said then and I rolled my eyes jokingly. "I have no one to look after-" I started, but she cut me off. "I can stay" she offered. "And I'm really good at make-up" she added with a wide grin on her face. But she was right in some way, I did want to show Pedri that I wasn't boring like he thought. "Fine" I huffed. "Girls, bathroom now" I announced and my daughters followed my orders while Martina clapped her hands in ecstasy.
With her help, the girls were tucked into bed after twenty minutes and she looked at me expectantly. "Make-up time!!" she squealed and I rolled my eyes jokingly. "Why do I get the sense that you would have preferred an older sister rather than an older brother?" I chuckled as she was working on my face. "An older brother is great, but... He's so possessive over me. He's got all these hot friends from the academy but I'm not allowed to hang out with them" she said in a disappointed tone. "The right boy will come, don't worry. When I first met my husband, it was like everything lining up perfectly. He was the best choice I ever made" I told her, a smile on my face.
"Ok, here we go" she said and I opened my eyes to look at myself in the mirror and wow... "My eyeliner has never been so perfect" I mumbled, still looking at my face from different angles. "The red lip is not too much you think?" I asked. "You're a woman! If you don't wear it, I don't know who will!" she replied and I nodded in agreement. "Ok, then... I'll go look for a dress" I announced and walked to my room. I rummaged in the depths of my closet and pulled out a very short black dress with a very prominent neckline, showing a lot of cleavage. But I didn't care tonight - the "boring" Isa was staying at home tonight. Tonight, I was going to be bold. And have fun.
