Good Times: Xabi Alonso
This one goes to Diana. Feli xx
“It’s my grandmother’s 80th birthday the day after tomorrow and they invited us—me and Diana. They’re doing this huge celebration at the ranch and we’re going to go.” Xabi explained Mourinho as he tried to convince the older man to let him go.
“So you just want to take off for what, four or five days?”
Xabi nodded. “That would be the plan, yes.”
Mourinho considered the proposal for a moment, arms crossed, look fixed on Xabi’s face. “What about the match on Saturday?”
“What about it?”
“You’re not going to play, you know that,” he stated, “You can’t take your place for granted. If you go, you won’t be playing this weekend. There are a lot of good players working their butts off for a chance in the starting eleven.”
“I know that, I understand.” Xabi nodded, “And I don’t take my place for granted. I work hard every week at training to be where I am, and thank you every week, too, for putting me there. But I understand the consequences of taking off the whole week. And I’m prepared to watch the game on the stands.”
Mourinho nodded hesitantly, judging his options. After what seemed like an hour to Xabi, he said, “Okay, you can go.”
Xabi’s eyebrows rose, “Really?”
Chuckling at his disbelief, Mourinho nodded again, “Did you think I wouldn’t let you go?”
“Doubted it, but I’m glad you did, anyway. Thank you.”
After a little bit more of chitchat, Xabi walked away and got into his car, heading to his and Diana’s house to share the news with her.
When the door closed behind him, he called, “Diana! I’m home.”
Silence met him as he set his training bag on the floor. Where was she, he wondered, her text had said she’d be home all day long. Xabi walked through their house calling for his wife, looking for her, but nobody answered his calls. Maybe she’d gone to the store, Xabi figured.
Shrugging, he went to the kitchen to fix something for dinner while she was away, so he’d have not one, but two surprises waiting for Diana when she got back home.
He was setting the table when the doorframe swung open in the living room, diverting Xabi’s attention from the dishes. Diana was trying to close the door with her foot, her hands occupied with bags of overflowing groceries. Smiling, Xabi hurried to take the bags from her arms.
“Thanks,” Diana muttered as she closed the door and then turned to look at Xabi.
“Welcome home,” he said, his gaze lingering on her lips.
Diana smiled and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, then moved around him to take off her coat and leave her purse. “Did you have a good day?” She asked from the living room. Xabi had walked to the kitchen to leave the groceries.
“About that,” he started and walked to stand in front of her. Placing one hand on either side of her hips, he said, “Mou let me take off.”
Her mouth fell open, “Really?”
Xabi nodded, and was pleased to see a grin stretching across Diana’s lips. “We can go tomorrow at midday and we’ll be there around 6, if you’d like. Or maybe you’ll prefer to leave right away?”
“Whichever way you’d like. Tomorrow’s going to be cloudy, so it won’t be as hot as if we had the sun beating on us, yeah?”
Xabi kissed her once. “It’s settled then, we’ll leave tomorrow. Go pack your bags, D, and then come down for dinner.”
Diana looked at Xabi, surprised. “You made dinner?”
“Can’t a husband prepare the evening’s meal, for once?” He sounded offended.
Grinning, she held up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Of course you can. That’s amazing.”
“Well then, don’t waste my efforts and hurry up.” Teasingly, he slapped her bottom once. Diana yelped and looked at Xabi accusingly but didn’t say anything when he looked at her innocently, his eyes full of mischief.
“Bags are in the car, gas is full and we’re ready to go,” Xabi declared, closing the trunk of the car. “All we’re missing is you, Diana. Are you ready yet?”
“Almost,” She called, now running out of the front door and hurrying to the car. “Done.”
He kissed her cheek. “Good. Let’s go then, it’ll be raining soon and we don’t want to catch the worst of it on the road.”
The rain held off for three hours. The sky was a frightening black, but no water had come down yet. Diana and Xabi, with their windows closed, could hear the thunder cracking outside. Xabi pressed the accelerator as much as he dared, not wanting to have an accident but not wanting to be outside when the rain began.
It was a silly thought; they were well away from their destination—three hours away—and it was foolish to think they could make it before it started pouring. But Xabi tried anyway. He didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere when the sky could start falling at any given moment.
Not soon after, a few droplets started falling from the sky. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to wake up Diana, who’d been in a deep slumber for at least two hours.
“Is it raining too much?” She asked, rubbing the sleep off her eyes and sitting straight.
“Not too much, but enough, I’d say, to be careful.” Xabi replied, taking her hand in his and rubbing circles on her skin.
Diana nodded and smiled at Xabi, who was concentrated on the road ahead.
It wasn’t long before the mist became a storm, and the droplets of water hit the windshield a mile a minute. The noise the water made hitting the car was loud, boisterous and it scared Diana a little.
“Slow down, Xabi, we’re skidding.” She told him quickly when she felt the tires sliding on the road.
Xabi did as he was told, and they were soon travelling really slowly, not more than 50 miles an hour. “This is impossible; we won’t make it with all this rain.” He said after ten minutes of slow progress.
“We could always pull up somewhere and stay the night, and then keep going when they storm’s let on some.” She suggested, placing a comforting hand on Xabi’s shoulder. Diana knew how much he wanted to see his grandmother, how excited he was, and could almost touch the disappointment radiating off of him.
“We should do that.” He sighed, defeated. Ten minutes later, they found a motel. Pulling up, they checking in quickly and ran to their rooms to avoid getting too wet.
The room was mostly regular, with a double bed pushed up against a wall and a small TV perched on the wall. The kitchen, though small, looked practical. Diana loved the room as soon as she walked in.
“This place is great.” She muttered, looking around.
Xabi placed the bags he was carrying on the ground and closed the door behind him. “Looks good.”
“And you know what looks better?” Diana stood in front of him and placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating faster.
“What?”
Smirking, she kissed the corner of his mouth. “You.”
Xabi chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I do. Though you, you’re from another planet completely.” He kissed her fiercely, drowning out the sound of the rain in the background.
When they pulled away, Diana smiled and stroked his cheek softly. “I know you wanted to get there today, and I’m sorry we couldn’t, but I just want you to have a good time here. With me.”
“Diana,” he said gently, “I wouldn’t be having a good time if you weren’t with me, honey. I love you, and just being with you makes me happy. Yes, I wanted to see my grandmother, but I’m most definitely not complaining.”
“I love you too.” She kissed him, this time not stopping for anything—not even for breath.
