The next morning, Alvaro turned his plan into reality. He drove to the river with Mia, after they dropped Roberto at the hospital. When they parked the car, he took Mia's hand.
"Mia, I have to tell you something. I didn't meet Javier on Wednesday, but Penny"
"Why didn't you tell me that" MIa asked in between.
Alvaro took her hand tighter. "Mia, I'm sorry, I should have told you. And I wanted to tell you as soon as I got back to school, but Ramiro told me about Roberto's and Clara's accident. I talked to her about the study. And I think I've made a decision. "
Mia had put her arm around Alvaro. "It's okay," she said and smiled at him. "What decision did you make?"
"I'm going to enroll in medicine. I'll have to tell it gently to Mom and Javier, but I want to do it."
Mia nodded. "To be honest, I didn't expect anything else. I'm very happy about it and I'm incredibly proud of you," she said as she fell around his neck.
Alvaro hugged her. "Do you think we can do it?" he asked, a little unsure. Mia smiled and said "I'm sure of that. I'll help you wherever I can"
"Thank you," said Alvaro. "With you by my side, I feel a lot more confident."
Both had to laugh and Alvaro took her hand again. "I hope it's the right decision. But it's exactly what my gut and my heart tell me"
Mia winked at him and said "A decision that comes from the heart can't actually be wrong"
He nodded. "I love you," he said softly. "But I couldn't bear to lose you on the way. I'd rather work as a waiter than lose you to a job."
"Alvaro you will not lose me. That will strengthen us and weld us together. And everyone will be immensely proud of you:"
Alvaro hugged her. "You give me the strength to do it" He laughed at her
They walked along the river bank for a while. The weather was dry but cool. Alvaro took Mia to a small kiosk and bought warm cocoa for both of them.
"I'm pretty sure Javier will accept your decision," Mia said.
"I think he's getting used to it" said Alvaro and they both had to laugh. His cell phone beeped and he looked at his display. "Dani and Toni are about to go. They are happy, writes Dani," said Alvaro.
Mia took Alvaro's hand again. They walked along a path that led to an artificial ice rink.
It was a small covered hall that only had artificial ice in winter so that you could go ice-skating.
"Have you done that before?" asked Alvaro, pointing to the hall. Mia looked at him "I've had rather bad experiences with ice " she said, half laughing, half meekly. Alvaro laughed. "Then it's time that we changed that," he said. He pulled Mia to the cash register to borrow ice skates for both of them. "I can't do that, Alvaro," laughed Mia.
"It doesn't matterit isn't difficult, it's like roller-skating," Alvaro replied. Before Mia knew it, she had ice skates in her hand and Alvaro pulled her to a bench to change her shoes. When they were both done, Alvaro took Mia by the hand. "Alvaro?"
"Yes?"
"I Can't do it, I repeat it" she laughed
Alvaro grinned and pulled her on. It was unfamiliar to skate on the blades. The floor was covered with rubber mats. They stepped carefully onto the ice surface. There were two mothers on the ice with their daughters and a boy who seemed to be practicing a few things. Mia clutched the edge with one hand and Alvaro with the other.
Alvaro looked Mia in the eye. " Come on" he asked Mia nodded.
She let go of the edge and Alvaro pulled her a little bit, then he drove off. Mia herself was surprised how easy it was. On the lake with Juanma, she had slipped over the ice in shoes, which on the one hand meant more support, but it was also harder to carry out the movements. The runners of the skates slid easily over the already quite scratched ice, but after a short period of acclimatization, Mia let Alvaro guide her over the ice without any problems. They both laughed and had a lot of fun.
Alvaro pulled Mia over the ice and let go of her, then passed her and hugged her. Mia threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Did you know about the place here?" she asked
"I knew there was something like this here, but I haven't been here for a long time." Said Alvaro "That's why I thought we'd have a look together"
He loved to see Mia's eyes shine. Both were out of breath and had red cheeks from the cold and the exertion.
After a while, they gave up the skates and made their way to the car. Alvaro had promised Dani to pick them up from the airport.
