Interlude: A Realization

My phone went off in my pocket and woke me up from my nap.

An invite from Jesminder to a party over in the old ruins. I mean, I hadn't been there yet, so why not go check it out now?

Turns out I wasn't the only one who thought it was a good idea. I started dancing in the back of the group.

Up at the front were Paolo and two of his housemates. He wasn't kidding when he said they all liked a good party.

I was too tired to go say hello. Instead, I snuck off for a quick snooze on one of the other benches.

When I was sleeping, I heard footsteps pass by me and someone settling in on the other bench. I woke up and saw Joaquin fast asleep on the bench. Huh. Wouldn't have guessed him, that's for sure.

I got up to go pee - ugh, bushes, again. Ew.

By the time I'd made my way back over to the party, Joaquin had woken up.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." I joked as I sat down beside him.

"Same to you. Enjoying partying the Windenburg way?"

"Guess so." A lull in the conversation followed. "So...sounds crazy, but you wanna stargaze with me?"

He nodded and moved onto the ground.

I settled in beside him.

"This is nice."

"Yeah. Just like old times, con mi mamí y mis hermanos." 

"I didn't know you spoke Spanish."

"Brittany, darling, I'm from Spain. Well, Champs Les Sims, technically, but Spain by birthright."

So that's where his accent's from.  "Hm. How'd I miss that?"

"To be fair, I've only known you for a week."

"Has it only been that long?"

He chuckled. "I know what you mean. Es loco, ¿no?"

"But wherever you go, the stars are the same."

We pointed out stars, taking turns for a while longer before I looked over to him.

"So what was Champs Les Sims like? Growing up, I mean?"

He told me. Actually, a lot more than just that.

Joaquin, as it turned out, was the fourth of five boys raised solamente by his mom. She was from a little tiny town on the border of Spain and Portugal. She'd been training as an art teacher and on a yearlong study abroad program in Champs Les Sims when she found out two months in she was pregnant with Pedro, his oldest brother; she married his father two weeks later and never went home. Together they had five kids total in a little less than eight years. His mom ran the home, "and was good at it too." 

His dad, while loving, wasn't a particular presence in his sons' lives - always gone running business for the vineyard. They'd split up after Joaquin turned eleven.

"We moved to Girona after that. Sucked ass, I think, to go from everything familiar to a whole new place. My brothers all coped differently; Pedro con el vino, Nicolás con fútbol, Samuel con la computadora, and Gabriel con su arte. And me? I used humor. Guess that's why I'm a comedian now."

Eventually, he picked up the Spanish and went faster - way too fast for me.

"No fair. I only took a year of Spanish back home."

"Where is home, Brittany?"

I paused. Should I tell him? Like he'd believe me. Hell, I lived it and I barely believed it.

"A long ways away." True, but not giving away too much.

Joaquin said nothing. Eventually, I broke the silence.

"Sun's coming up. Everybody's going home. I'm pretty tired, Joaquin, but..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for talking to me."

"I don't think I've told someone that much before, you know." Joaquin got up and offered me a hand up off the ground

"Then I am honored to be the first." I smiled and took his hand.

As I lay down on my mattress, my last thought was: "You know, I wouldn't mind that sort of time with him again."

***

Author's note: So that makes it official - Joaquin is the targeted Generation 1 spouse. It was a tossup between him and Paolo, but in the end she rolled more whims related to Joaquin and they had a fuller friendship bar, so I went with him. And I've never seen him as a legacy spouse so it'll be a bit of a genetic experiment too.

For now, Joaquin will not be part of the household; I want Brittany officially in the PR branch of her career before I move him in. Lucky for them, that's only one promotion off.  Hopefully, two combined incomes will mean more money for house expansions/renovations sooner. Current priorities include a separate bathroom, a kitchen sink, and a computer. But we'll see how it plays out.