As soon as she got into the hotel room, Elena took off her vest and flopped on the couch. Today has been a really long day. Because of the heat especially; taking a job in Madrid at the time of year wasn't a good idea. She sweated and didn't have enough strength to go to the bathroom and take a shower, but she had to sooner or later. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling then thought about the things she did today: she asked a few questions to some tourists then to the sellers for surveys and she also took more pictures than she should have. But now she was way too tired to get up again. She slept.
Two hours laters, she woke up, noticing that it was 6:30 and that she wanted to clean the hotel today because she was leaving Spain the next day. She got up on her feet and ran towards the bathroom. No less than 20 minutes later, she was all cleaned up, her hair trickling on her white top. She did good on bringing shorts and tops instead of pajamas because it would have been a pain to sleep in underwear. She headed to the kitchen to cook then went back in the living-room to turn the TV on. They didn't have international channels and it was damn unfortunate because Spanish people talked so fast that she couldn't even understand a single word they say. She heard her phone vibrating on the table and picked it up:
"Nate!", she exclaimed, all happy.
"You seem happy", he said.
Elena sat down on the couch and put her elbow on the back of it.
"Sorry I couldn't pick the phone earlier, there was this guy who followed me everywhere so I'd buy his... whatever-it-was."
She heard her husband laughing.
"You didn't punch him?"
Memories came back. When Nate and her met in Panama. Who would've thought they would end up like this?
"No, it wasn't worth it. It's not like I was going to meet him again."
"Wait, you're telling me you punched me because you knew we were gonna stick together?"
This time, Elena was the first to laugh. She had good reasons for punching him, he left her in a shitty place after all. If ever she didn't look for him and Sully, she wouldn't be there, she probably wouldn't be married either. Her life wouldn't be that great.
"So, how it's going ?", Nate asked.
"Except for the heat and other people lack of amiability, I think we can say that everything works out fine."
"Good thing you're coming back tomorrow."
"Yeah. I liked it when we came here together, but after spending a whole month alone, I'm not sure I can say the same."
"It's because I'm not there with you", he answered.
As she was preparing to say something, she sniffed a weird smell coming from the kitchen.
"THE MEAT!", she shouted, jumping from the couch.
She totally forgot about the meat she was cooking.
"What's going on?", Nate asked, sounded worried.
"Oh no it's nothing, it's just me who forgot that I was cooking something..."
A few minutes later, she was sat on the couch, again, with her phone pressed on her right ear, eating while watching the TV. She and Nate called each other 2-3 times a day, but it's been two days since they called each other because of their jobs.
"What are you doing ?", she asked with her mouth full.
She heard the sound of a book closing.
"Nothing."
"Liar, I've just heard you close a book. What were you reading ?"
"Oh you know, an old book about norse mythology."
Elena jumped on her couch.
"I can't believe it, you bought it ? I've told you to wait until I ask to one of my colleagues !"
"Well you know, it's good."
Elena sighed and scraped her plate.
"Do you know when your plane is gonna land ?"
"Around 2PM. With luck, the trip won't be too long and they won't be late."
"Okay, call me when your plane will be here."
"Uh why ?"
"Because I'll pick you up. Took my day off."
She laughed.
"You ? You're gonna pick me up ?"
"Hey, what kind of husband would I be if I left you waiting in an airport ?"
Even though it's been years since they're married, Elena wasn't used to the fact that she was a married woman. That she was somebody's wife and that she had a husband. Instead of being unpleasant, she liked this weird feeling each time he reminded her they were married. When they met, Nate wasn't the kind of guy to admit how he felt, he always joked about it, beating around the bush. But as time went by, he started to open up and even though it was still a little difficult, she knew he was doing everything he could. Elena smiled while looking at her wedding ring. And Nate knew she was smiling:
"Why are you smiling ?"
"I'm not smiling, what are you saying ?"
"Do you know what day we are?", he asked her suddenly.
She looked at the calendar on the wall.
"Uh, 13 ?"
"Ah crap... Damn time zones..."
"What?"
"It's midnight here. I had to be the first to wish you an happy birthday !"
She put her hand on her mouth, like she didn't want anyone to see that she smiled.
"Oh that's so cute, you want to be the first", she teased him.
She then heard Nate sigh.
"Oh so that's why you took your day off.. What did you plan?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise if you know"
"Of course"
At the same time, she received an other call. It should be her editor. Of course it was him, she didn't even call him in the week.
"Oh no, Nate I gotta go, I've got an other call."
"Okay, keep me posted, alright?"
"Will do."
She knew he wanted to say something so she didn't hang up right away.
"Come on, say it", she said softly.
"What "say it" ? I got nothing to say !"
"I know you want to say something so I won't hang up until you don't tell me what it is."
"I love you."
She bit her upper lip and smiled widely. She could even feel herself blushing. Damn, she was way too old for this ! But she couldn't help but feel this way each time he told her these three precious words.
"I love you too, Nate."
