Thread: El Veterano ~ con Santos

Eva barely recognised her father after the two years they had spent apart. He had always been a tall and powerfully built man but the military had moulded him into something else entirely. His whole body was lean muscle, making him seem even taller. When he took her in his arms his body was hard and unyielding against her own, his features chiselled from flint beneath his beard. He delivered two smacking kisses to her cheeks and Eva had to fight the momentary irrational urge to struggle and flee. This man did not feel like her father, there was none of the familiarity that she had expected to feel. Quickly however, Calli came to her rescue. Eva's father put her down in order to embrace his wife. Eva kept her smile pasted on but in truth she had been too shocked by how alien he seemed to say anything in reply to him. Como siempre, tu eres perfecta, Calli. I am the most luckiest man to have you. I just want to go home and be with you two Calli hugged Fernando and kissed him back passionately. Now that he was here in her arms again she knew that she still loved him deeply. Maybe not with the kind of passion she felt for Rafael but still, a deep and enduring love. He had changed over the last two years but the taste of his lips and his style of kissing was the same. He smelled like home and it made her want to cry. She was truthful when she murmured into his ear. Te he echado mucho de menos, cada dia, mi amado esposo. Calli put her arm around Fernando's waist and smiled at Eva reassuringly as they walked together back to the house. Eva was holding her father's hand but Calli could see that her daughter was shocked by the changes in her beloved papa. Calli had of course been expecting Fernando to return much changed but even she was taken aback. Inside the house, family from both sides of their union all cheered as Fernando crossed the threshold into his home. The house was changed, as she had redecorated the open plan lounge and kitchen area with fresh, modern colours. Calli stepped back and allowed Fernando's mother to welcome him. This first night it would have been kinder on him for it just to be the three of them together but their relatives were not to be thwarted. Fernando's business partners in the boat were their also, including Rafael. Calli shot him one look that told her lover he had better behave impeccably and then proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the evening. Soon she was lost enough in the role of hostess to be too concerned about having her lover and husband under the same roof. Eva knew her duty also and made sure all their guests were happy and provided with food and drink. Finally it grew late and Calli started gently but firmly encouraging their friends and relatives to leave. Most took the hint and as their home emptied she retreated to the kitchen area with a large glass of red wine. Calli leaned against the countertop and watched Eva continue to politely usher people out of the door. Calli looked out through the kitchen window and saw her husband in their little garden with his closest friends, including Rafael. She bit down on the urge to go out there and join in their conversation. Fernando was going to be more comfortable in male company now. Instead she just sipped her wine and watched the men talking and laughing. It was disturbing and sad to look at her own husband and see a stranger. Eva helped her grandparents into a taxi and then returned to the house to convince younger revellers that the party was pretty much over. She had avoided her father for much of the evening, content to observe him from afar and reacclimatise herself to having him here in the house again. It felt like far longer than two years since her was here but then she had changed so much in that time. Girlish pastimes had given way to young womanhood and she had even been on a few dates with boys. Her bedroom reflected this as instead of the pinks and lilacs she used to have in there the colour scheme was a much more sophisticated blend of deep purple, silver and grey. Her toys and teddies had long since been boxed up and stored away. Eva felt guilty, knowing that she should make more of an effort to welcome her father home but she just didn't know what to say to him. He wouldn't want to talk about the war, certainly not with his young daughter and her own life and studies seemed very dull in comparison. Eva looked up and saw her mother staring wistfully out of the window. With a jolt of shame she remembered that this must be much harder for her mother. Eva walked into the kitchen and hugged Calli. Es tambin un extrao para ti mam? She asked quietly. Calli smiled and poured her daughter some wine. Cundo has convertido en una joven dama intuitivo? Well... I have known him far longer than you. Soon we will be a proper family again, you'll see. Tomorrow we will go to mass and give thanks for his safe return to us. Time you were in bed child. Eva groaned in adolescent frustration. Mam! Her bottom lip protruded mutinously and she raised an indignant brow. Pens que era una joven dama intuitivo! Eva grinned mischievously as her mother laughed and swiftly rejoined some younger cousins in order to avoid being told to go to bed. She felt very grown up in her dress and heels, sipping her glass of wine. Eva knew her mother kept a close eye on what she drank but all the same, she was a woman now.