Chapter 51
ALEJANDRA
Serenamente - Bresh
Callum was chatting with his mother and his grandfather in the kitchen, and she felt like she owed him the space to just be with them. Not because she thought she was bothering anyone, but because she understood that feeling of homesickness.
She used the excuse—which wasn’t really an excuse—to step outside and call Sofia.
Her best friend had just sent a picture of her four-months old belly, and Alejandra needed to confess, at least to her, what had really been going on in her mind.
More than what she’d already admitted a couple of months ago.
Sofia answered quickly.
“Hello! How come I see an Instagram story of you in Wales? Who are you there with?”
“Callum,” Alejandra answered, a big smile spreading across her face as she looked out at the ocean.
She had made it. Barely. But she had sunk into the ocean a bit that day.
Testing the waters. Trying to see if she could go back to being herself.
The road seemed pretty steep, but somehow, it didn’t feel as impossible as it felt in the past days.
Therapy and that paddleboard session with Callum had somehow helped her stop with her self-pitying moment.
Seated on a bench, staring at the expanse that had always comforted her, and still did.
She felt calm, wrapped in a blanket against the cool wind of a Welsh evening, because even though she was extremely scared of it, she wanted to try.
“Care to update your best friend?” Sofia’s tone was rightfully annoyed.
“Yes. Sorry about that,” Alejandra sighed. “I just… I needed time to process things after I took off the sling.”
“I’m here.”
Another long breath.
“After I took it off, the doctor suggested I go to therapy since I told her I wasn’t sure I could go back to surfing.
Not because of the injury, but because… I’m scared, Sofi.
I—I drowned,” saying it out loud made her voice shake again.
“I managed to save myself, but it wasn’t easy, and I still have nightmares—”
“Breathe, Ale.”
She did. Deep, slow breaths.
“The therapist was in London. And after Ericeira, Callum and I had broken the no contact rule, and he said if I needed to go, see him, get support, whatever, I could.”
“So, you went?” Sofia asked, voice full of mischief.
“I went.” Alejandra chuckled. “And he’s been really good to me. I’m happy when I’m with him.”
“And Wales?”
“Well, the therapist said I should stay close to the ocean to start facing my fear. And he had to come back home for Calan Mai, and since Aberyst—” she butchered the pronunciation, and they both laughed, “is right by the sea, we killed two birds with one stone. We road tripped. Stopped in this town of books. It was amazing, Sofi, I bought you an old marine biology book.”
Sofia squealed through the phone. They were both book nerds, just in very different genres.
“We came here. I met his mom. She’s super young and fun. And his grandpa, who has Alzheimer. We came mostly for him.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” Sofia said softly.
“Last night we went to a pub, met a few of his friends. And then... his ex.”
“Dun Dun Duuuun,” Sofia hummed the fatality tune from Mortal Kombat. Alejandra laughed.
“Yeah. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, she was wrapped around him like a fucking burrito.”
“Tell me you punched her in the face.”
“Ilias is a bad influence on you, you know that, right?”
“Nah. Continue.”
“Callum looked super uncomfortable, so we left. But she kept shouting shit like ‘he’s mine, he was mine before he was yours.’ She was clearly drunk.”
“How does she look?”
“Blonde. Wearing a suit-dress. Reminds me a bit of Jamie. Turns out she’s a politician here in Wales.”
“Ugh.”
“And she’s far-right.”
“WHAT? Wait, how could Callum have dated someone like that? Is he from the far-right?”
Alejandra shrugged. “He said they grew apart. I haven’t mentioned I’m a proud, raging leftist from Spain yet.”
“You need to talk about that. It’s your future.”
“I don’t think he is, honestly. He looked horrified when she was all over him. And then...”
“And then?”
“And then he asked me to be his girlfriend. Said he doesn’t want us to be ‘just friends’, he wants more. Until last night we’d just been tiptoeing around it. We’d fuck, we’d spend the day like a couple, but we never said it.”
Sofia squealed again. “And how do you feel?”
“Happy. He understands me. He knows how to take me.”
“Evidently.”
“Not just sex-wise, Sofi. In everything. Today we went paddleboarding. I panicked a little at the start—because, god, I’m messed up—but he was so calm. We talked about the Blue Mind research. The one you did. My therapist gave it to me.”
“Really? Love her already.”
“You forgot to include a section on what to do when you almost drown and the ocean gives you panic attacks.”
Sofia paused. “Yeah, definitely a little too specific. But maybe I should add it. Is it that bad?”
“Right now, I can’t even think about swimming for long—my shoulder isn’t there yet. So, I’m pushing the thoughts away. But I have nightmares. When I dove today, well, I panicked a little. Luckily, Callum was there and he gave me a pep talk. And the ocean… it’s been my whole reason, and—”
“Breathe.”
She did. Again.
“I’m going to be rational here,” Sofia said.
“Okay, yes. You’re the scientist.”
“And I’m your friend. I’ve known you since we were kids. Pipeline wasn’t your first wipeout, Ale. Remember when it nearly cracked your skull open? You walked away with a reef cut and no panic. What’s different this time?”
Another breath. “I was stuck. My arm was caught in the reef. I had to dislocate it, break it, do anything I could to get free. My lungs were burning, I was short of oxygen. And, I think that’s the difference. I’d never been trapped under before. Not like that.”
“But you freed yourself. Ale, you knew what to do. Because you’re a pro.
You’ve trained your whole life for that moment.
You saved your own life. Most people wouldn’t have.
You trained wipeouts for years before Pipeline.
You know what’s under the water. You’ve never been the problem.
And the water has never been the problem. You know how to handle it.”
Tears streamed down her face as she looked out at the ocean, her safe space. Maybe Sofia was right. Maybe that was the root of it.
“Why the fuck do I pay a therapist when I have you?”
Sofia snorted. “Because she probably knows more about the brain than I do. But I have almost thirty years of best-friend training. And I know you. Just like you know me.”
“God, you’re making me cry.”
“Good. Crying’s good. I love crying.”
“And I love you,” she whispered. “Thank you for being my friend all these years.”
“Thank you for being mine, Ale.” A pause. “You will surf again. I know it. Just give yourself time. No rush. Be patient.”
“I’m not patient.”
“I know. But let’s try to be.”
They both chuckled, and Alejandra felt deeply blessed that life had brought Sofia into her path all those years ago in Conil.
They’d been two tiny girls dragging boards bigger than their bodies.
Sofia had tripped on her leash. Alejandra had helped her up.
And they’d been helping each other ever since.
“So, how’s the baby mama doing?” Alejandra asked, drying her tears, and thinking about the idea that Sofia was about to become a mom and bring another human being into the world. A perfect mix of her and Ilias.
“Trying to focus on Salacia, because if I think about my organs moving to make space for a human being growing inside of me…well, I might freak out,” Sofia chuckled.
“If you put it like that, it sounds horrible.” Alejandra scrunched her nose.
“It’s just science, biology, the reality of how babies come to life.” Sofia sighed.
“But do you have morning sickness?”
“Not that much. Sometimes. Mom moved in with me in Ericeira for the time being. It gives her a mission,” Sofia announced.
“And how do you feel about it?”
“It’s actually been pretty good. You know? She spends her days at the beach, then around town, takes care of the house and I have food in the fridge when I come home. I mean, it’s good.”
“How is she doing?” Alejandra asked softly. Maria had always been a very independent woman, disgustingly in love with her late husband. After his passing, she had focused on her daughters and granddaughters, and she hoped that could save her.
“Sometimes I find her crying, but it’s alright. She says she prefers to cry.”
“Like mother, like daughter.” Alejandra chuckled.
“She’s pumped at the idea of another grandson or granddaughter, and she’s buying us stuff. We are planning to move to a bigger house and to spend the last semester in Bogliasco,” Sofia explained.
“Maybe I could join too.” Alejandra smiled. “Not that I have much to do besides recovering.”
“I’d love to.” And they kept talking, catching up on the latest news, on what the future whispered to them.
It was good having her, it felt a bit like with Callum.
Sofia was another of her homes, a person that made her feel safe.
And she was glad life put them together back in the days, when none of them knew that life was more than Sailor Moon’s cartoons or ice creams.