Page 35 of Now and Forever

“Hello, girls!” she says.

The four women turn around and smile. They kiss hello.

“Girls, let me introduce you to Judith, Eric’s girlfriend.”

The women, but especially the blonde who tossed her hair, are stunned.

I’ve asked Eric not to introduce me as his girlfriend, but right now I want to make my status very clear: I’m his and he’s mine!

I decide to pretend I didn’t hear a thing and greet them enthusiastically. From that moment on, not one of them mentions Eric again.

The game begins, and I watch him run from one side of the court to the other. I don’t really understand basketball, so I need Frida to explain things as they go along.

Andrés plays point guard, and Eric plays forward, and I quickly realize his combination of height and speed makes him perfect for that position. I clap every time he scores a point or a counterattack. Oh God, my guy is so sexy!

During the break, I watch how Lora looks at him. She tries to get his attention, but her efforts are fruitless. Eric is concentrating on his teammates, and I like how he fully commits himself to what he loves.

Enjoying myself, I applaud loudly when the game starts again and, with Frida, get totally into it; in fact, I’m surprised when the game ends and our guys have won by twelve points. Olé!

I watch Flyn run to hug his uncle, who picks him up. Everybody begins to get up from their seats.

“C’mon ... ,” says Frida. “Let’s go.”

I go down past the other women and see Eric sitting, drenched in sweat.

He puts on a track jacket. His usual serious expression is back, and that causes my heart to leap.

That’s when I realize Lora and another woman are whispering and staring at my Iceman. I decide to make things clear to them once and for all. I go up to Eric, sit on his lap, and kiss him longingly, with passion and with gusto.

“Well, sweetheart, if I’d only known, I would have brought you to a basketball game sooner,” he says in a raspy voice, his lips just an inch or so from mine. I grin. “Does this mean I’m no longer being punished?”

I nod. He closes his eyes, sighs, and kisses me again.

11

While the men clean up after the game, Frida and the other women and I wait for them in the lobby. I get a kick out of their comments. Lora hasn’t said anything to irritate me again. Of course, she keeps looking at me with an odd expression. It’s clear knowing I’m Eric’s girlfriend has taken the fun out of it for her. Half an hour later, the men come out of the locker room, all fresh and clean.

“Hi, are you Judith? The Spanish girl?” says a serious fellow, so blond he seems albino.

I almost say “Olé!” but decide against it.

“Yes, I’m Judith.”

“Olé? ... Toro ... paella!” says one of the guys, and I laugh.

Two dark-haired guys come over to us, and they’re also curious about me. I’m the novelty, the Spanish girl. That amuses me, and I chat with them for a while. Suddenly, I see Eric coming out of the locker room. He looks irritated because I’m surrounded by all these guys, but I smile at him. I like these silly jealousies of his, especially when I see he stops to talk to Frida, Andrés, and the baby, waiting for me to go to him. We exchange looks, and then, with a gesture, he suggests I come over to him.

I pretend I don’t see him. I don’t want to be following him around like a little dog. He finally comes over to me, puts his arms around my waist in front of his friends, and gives me a kiss on the lips.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, Judith. So be careful!”

His friends laugh, as do I, and Björn takes my hand and kisses it in a gesture of greeting. I get inexplicably nervous but finally relax when I realize Björn isn’t going to do or say anything out of line. On the contrary, he is absolutely proper. Eric kisses me on the temple, and the two of them plan for us all to go to dinner at Jokers, Björn’s parents’ restaurant.

I check my watch. It’s seven thirty.

I let Eric guide me by the waist as he reaches over with his other hand to grab Flyn. We get in the car, and the boy, still excited from the game, can’t stop talking with his uncle. He doesn’t include me at any time in the conversation, but I manage to get a word in edgewise anyway.

When we get to Jokers, we park the Mitsubishi and see Frida and Andrés behind us and, behind them, Björn. It’s absolutely freezing, and we dash into the restaurant. An ungainly man comes out to welcome us, and Björn tells me it’s his father. His name is Klaus, and he’s a very charming guy. The moment he finds out I’m Spanish, the words “paella,” “olé,” and “toro” come tumbling out of his mouth, and I laugh.

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