I smiled at them and they waved as the little girl’s father picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.
I watched them leave then turned my attention back to the beautiful monastery before I got down on my knees and clasped my hands in front of me.
Okay, well. It’s me Olivia. If I have anyone’s attention up there, I have a wish. Though I’m not sure if that’s how this works, but I thought I would give it a try. I need to know if I made the right choice. I know that I shouldn’t base this on sexual desire .... Or even talk to you about sexual desire, but I know I’ll never feel the same way I did with Alejandro. Not with anyone. My heart has Mitch’s name engraved on it but I feel like Alejandro was starting to make his way through. I don’t know. I’m babbling and taking up your time. Can I just please have a sign? When you get around to it? Thanks. Liv.
I pushed myself to my feet and took another look around before I turned and walked out.
I hadn’t prayed since I was a child, so chances are I blew it just then but it didn’t hurt to try I reasoned.
The next few days in Madrid went by in a blur. Cassidy and I had a great time and she found another girl that she eventually took back to the hotel. I was happy for her because she was usually shy about picking up girls, but in Spain she seemed to let her inhibitions go.
When the day came for us to finally leave Spain, I grabbed Cassidy and hugged her tightly.
“I can’t believe how much fun we had and how fast it went,” I said to her.
“I know,” she said, “we’ll have to do this again sometime.”
I nodded in agreement and we said our good-byes as she walked to the gate that would take her to JFK in New York. When I couldn’t see her anymore, I wiped the tears from my eyes and walked to the gate that would take me to O’Hare in Chicago. I always hated saying good-bye to my friends, but the promise of seeing her again made me happy.
I spent another fifteen hours on the plane to get home. When I got off of the plane and walked into the terminal, I was surprised to see Mitch standing there waiting. He had a big smile on his face and he was holding flowers and a teddy bear.
I ran into his arms.
“Hey Babe,” he said as he held me close. “I missed you.”
I looked up into his eyes, “I missed you too.”
“Did you have fun?” he asked as he traded me my bags for the presents he brought me.
“Yeah. I saw a lot of awesome stuff. I took pictures too. I’ll show you tomorrow though, okay? I’m super tired and want to get some sleep,” I replied as we walked toward the airport parking garage.
“Alright.”
Another two hours in the car and we were finally home. I knew that I should have showered because I was a sticky, sweaty mess, but I just threw myself in the bed and fell fast asleep.
A few months later I was in the kitchen making breakfast while Mitch was playing video games when there was a knock on the door.
“I got it,” Mitch said as he placed his controller on the coffee table and walked to the door.
I went back to washing the excess dishes in the sink when he opened the door.
“Uh, buen día. My name is César and I am wishing to speak to Olivia Kingsley please.”
I dropped the spatula on the floor and turned around to see César standing there smiling at Mitch.
“Who are you?” Mitch asked him.
“I am an acquaintance of Mrs. Kingsley. We met in Barcelona at the Running of the Bulls and she said that if I was ever in this area that she would like to take me to the Brookfield Zoo. So I was hoping she was in today,” he explained smoothly.
“Babe, you’ve got company,” Mitch said stepping back and letting him in.
“Hi,” I said softly.
“Olivia!” he said happily. “Would today be a good day to go to the zoo you spoke of?”
“If it’s okay with Mitch,” I replied gesturing to my fiancee.
“Yeah that’s fine. Are you gonna be home late though?”