First Flower

I want to be able to stare at her face for the rest of our lives

Maca's Pov

"I'm really happy too." She answers, smiling. I feel her arms wrapped tightly around my waist and I just felt so safe. Even though we slept together a bunch of times and allowed each other to know our most vulnerable sides, this kind of demonstrations of affection were rare between us, and only happen when we wanted to let our guards down, and now we could both agree that there was no reason to keep them up.

We stay in the couch for about two hours, talking about what we wanted to do with the house, and then we decide to finally tidy up the house. Zulema kept complaining about the smell of the house, and even though it didn't bother me that much, I told her that if we removed the dust and opened all the windows, the smell should go soon. And that's exactly what we do. We start taking the dust of every furniture and we mop the floor as well. We clean the windows and the bathroom, we let the bedding, the pillows and the couch's blanket aerate outside on the porch's bench.

After everything is cleaned, we decide that we should probably buy some groceries and some things that were missing in the house. Our cottage was very far away from all the movement of the actual region of Normandy, and that obviously suited us well. Nevertheless, it was the perfect place for us to live in, since the police would never think of looking for us there, not even Castillo.

The drive to the store goes by quickly, even though it's almost forty five minutes. We get to see a lot of beautiful green views, and with that I remembered how much I missed being around nature, back when I was in jail. Being confined in such a harsh and dull places, where the only thing we could see was the sky, it made me appreciate the small things a lot more after I got released.

"We should also see if we can find a hospital or a clinic nearby, you still haven't checked if the baby was alright." Zulema says as she is opening the door to get out of the car.

Her concerns about that made me smile. I planned on not bringing up that subject, since it would be dangerous for us to give our information, especially in a place like a hospital. But she was right, the baby should be our top priority.

We don't take too long on the supermarket, but we try to stock on everything so we don't have to come back any time soon, to avoid exposing ourselves.

As soon as we walk to the porch of the house, a sense of dizziness takes over my body and I try to run to the bathroom once I'm hit with an urge to throw up, but I can't even give two steps before I fall into the ground.

"Maca? Maca? What's wrong?" Zulema gets down and helps me get up, supporting me as we walk inside. I let go of her once the urge to vomit becomes unbearable. I kneel in front of the toilet and release everything I had inside, making my throat ache. I feel Zulema's presence beside me, as she pushes my hair back to avoid getting it dirty.

"You will be okay now, you'll see." She says whilst flushing the toilet after I finish, and turns on the tap. I brush my teeth and quickly splash some water on my face. The sensation of the cold water on my face gets rid of the remains of the dizziness I still felt. I can't help but to feel embarrassed for this situation. This was some kind of intimacy we've never experienced together before, and I didn't know what to make of it. We remain in silence for a few seconds, as I'm trying to catch my breath, and also avoiding establishing eye contact.

"Let's go, you have to lay down for a bit and try to get some sleep. I'm gonna search for a hospital and try to schedule an appointment."

Even though I feel tired I didn't feel like going to bed, but I simply nod and walk to the bed. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

Zulema's Pov

I'll never get tired of looking at her face.

As time goes by, I'm able to appreciate even more every single detail on her face, and watching Maca sleeping in our bed this day for some reason made me realize that I want to be able to stare at her face for the rest of our lives. I want to make her feel the way she makes me feel, and to thank her for finally giving me a home. And by 'home", I don't mean the physical space we find ourselves at the moment, but herself.

I'm taken from my thoughts once I'm startled by the phone ringing. Ekram's name appears in big and bold letters.

"I thought I told you to not call me for the next few weeks." I whisper, trying to avoid waking up Maca.

"We found her." Ekram answers without hesitation.

"Already? How?"

"That doesn't matter, you told us to be quick, we can meet you tomorrow, if you have the money."

"You know I do. Good. Was she happy to hear about me?" It's been so long since we were together, and I was afraid she didn't feel the same way about me as she did years ago.

"She seemed pleased enough. Look, I can't talk right now. We'll see you tomorrow." Ekram hangs up the phone without even waiting for my answer. Idiot.

Nonetheless, I smile with satisfaction, even though I feel a certain anxiety crippling inside of me. It'll be nice to see her again, after all this time. And I can't help but wonder how she'll react once she finds out about me and Macarena. And how Maca will react seeing her again.

I'm able to find a clinic and schedule an appointment faster than I thought, and once I finish doing it I look once again at Maca, who is still in a deep sleep. It's getting dark out, so I take a quick shower and lay next to her. Maca, even though being still asleep, reaches for me when she feels my presence next to her, so I guide her head to my chest, and she remains there. It only takes me a few minutes to fall asleep.