The Tortured Poets Department

Soon You'll Get Better

Alexia was there on her crutches when I arrived. "Have you been waiting for long?" I asked while hugging her. She shook her head against my shoulder. I barely felt it, but as she pulled away from me, she shook her head once again. "Coffee is on me, just because you had to wait" I said, smiling as I did. Alexia smiled back. She was not her usual happy self today.

"What do you want to order?" I asked, seconds later I continued with, "I want a cup of tea and a chocolate cake". Alexia stood by side, looking at all the different sweets and coffee options. "I think I am going for a latté" she said. "And with that?" I asked. Alexia answered that she wanted nothing else, and I respected her wishes. The chocolate cake was also big enough to share. "I will pay" Alexia said and started to pull out her wallet. I was, however, quicker than her and ordered before she had pulled her card out. I pushed her hand away and paid for our coffee.

I found a table for us outside, in the sun. "Are you doing okay?" I asked her. She had been looking for a bit down today, but that was understandable. "I have to go back to Barcelona for my surgery. Which means that I will miss the rest of the Eurocup" she said with a sad look on her face. "That must be awful for you" I said. Alexia nodded, not strong enough to answer me.

We continued to talk about lighter subjects, like the upcoming game and my upcoming album. Somehow, we got into the subject about my house in Barcelona, but our talk was cut short by the waitress arriving.

She smiled at me as our order arrived. I had made sure to bring two forks with me. Some may say that I was a bit smitten, I wouldn't though. Sharing a sweet treat was nothing out of the ordinary for me.

"You have a house in Barcelona?" Alexia asked, clearly shocked about that. "Yeah, but I don't get access to it until the end of September. I also need to decorate it and renovate it slightly before I can move in" I answered. A smile danced on my face. I was proud that I had bought myself a house and now came the fun part. Decorating and making sure it looked exactly as I wanted it.

Alexia and I sat at that café for a long time, almost three hours. A few fans came up to take pictures with me, but I gracefully declined. Right now, all I wanted to focus on was Alexia, and that was what I did. She was my sole focus during the entire afternoon.

"In Sweden we have this tradition to go out with our friends for a fika. A coffee and something sweet. I love this tradition, but it is harder to find something good to eat outside of Sweden" I confessed to her. "Es verdad?" she asked. Spanish was not my strong suit and I understood nothing. "I still do not understand Spanish, so you need to take it in English, Lex" I answered.

We then went out for dinner together. A small Greek place with barely any people inside. Alexia had a salad with grilled chicken on top while I decided on some grilled chickpeas with fries, pita bread, and tzatziki.

During the entirety of dinner we talked, then we had to leave for the stadium. I pulled the Alexia jersey on over the tank top and the real Alexia shot me a confused look. "I couldn't wear it all day" I answered. It was clear that Alexia found me confusing at times. I liked to think that some of the meaning got lost in translation.

"No puedes llevarlo todo el día?" she asked, in Spanish. "I don't understand what you just said, but I guess it has something to do with what I just said. Så nej jag kunde inte ha på mig den hela dagen" I answered her. Adding in some Swedish just to make her feel a bit confused. "And I don't understand Swedish. So, we are even now" Alexia said with a smile.

Together we took a taxi to the stadium, walking the final two hundred meters. A lot of people wanted to watch the game, and we noticed that because of the number of cars and people who passed us. We were walking slowly as Alexia was not allowed to walk fast, or maybe she was not able to.