The Meeting

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Leah and Team GB continued their success, making it to the final of the Olympics. One more game was all it would take for Leah's dream of becoming a gold medalist in the sport she loved to become a reality. To say I was proud of Leah would be an understatement, the courage it had taken for her to carry on with football after the way she was treated was nothing short of mesmerising.

Jacob was joining us today for the final game, he was unable to get time off work so he had been watching the games from home, of course sending never ending pictures of Bella. The final was being held in Paris this evening, Amanda and I travelled there by train to meet Jacob. We sat at a table seat, two chairs facing one way and two facing the other, separated by a table which allowed us to eat the lunch we had bought.

Around half way through our journey, a mother and daughter boarded the train. The little girl couldn't have been any older than 6, she had curly blonde hair and the biggest and brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. Her and her mum sat facing each other in the seats beside Amanda and I. The little girl was beside Amanda and the mother beside me, allowing the little girl to make eye contact with me and laugh as I stuck my tongue out or made a funny face. Her laughter echoed through the train carriage and caused those around us to laugh along. I had originally expected them to be French, a language of which I knew very little, so I didn't intend to speak to the little girl but after 20 minutes of funny faces, she spoke with a Scottish accent.

"What's your name?" She asked.
"Alex. What's yours?" I smiled back.
"Hannah. Do you want to play cards with me?" She asked, producing a pack of snap cards.
"I'm not sure, I don't want to upset you when I win." I replied playfully.
"You won't win." She scoffed, laughing at the same time.

We played multiple games of snap until the train pulled up in Paris, even managing to get Amanda involved towards the end. As we exited the train, I gave her a hug and told her to enjoy the games. I thought no more of it, just happy to have made Hannah laugh that day.

We met Jacob before heading off to the stadium, the three of us wearing Team GB tops and laughing as we tried to pronounce the French street signs along the way. We stopped at a bar just around the corner from the stadium, ordering some drinks as we waited for the gates to open. I decided to text Leah, unsure if she would have left her phone by now but hoping that she would see it.

A - Just me wishing you luck for the 400th time. I love you and I can't wait to see you!

To my surprise, she replied almost immediately.

L - I was just about to text you. You know how I never check social media before my games?

A - Yeah?

L - Well I accidentally opened it today, to the best possible sight. You are so cute around kids! I can't wait for our life together. I want all of that with you.

I was extremely confused, heading to Twitter to see that someone on the train had recorded videos of me making faces at Hannah and playing Snap on the train. I smiled and text Leah back.

A - She was so cute, I need to tell you about her! Her name is Hannah, from Scotland. I want all of that with you too Le, I love you.

L - I love you. Now stop making me smile at my phone, it's game day😤

A - Good luck ❤️

We finished our drinks and headed to the game, once again feeling nothing but pride that Leah was representing Team GB. We cheered the loudest I have ever cheered for any event. I don't know why I thought there was a chance she might hear me over the thousands of other voices.

USA scored early on and it was obvious that this had knocked the team off. They were a little bit scrappy for the rest of the first half. I was worried that Leah wouldn't be able to handle it if they lost but Amanda reminded me that there was a difference this time, she had me.

The second half started a lot better, they were pushing forward but kept getting blocked by the unwavering defence of the USA team. Eventually, a free kick just outside the penalty area which was taken beautifully by Stanway drew Team GB level with USA. It was hard for me to watch the ball when it wasn't at Leah's feet, my eyes just drew me back to her every single time. In the 78th minute, Leah played the perfect ball through to Mead who crossed it into the box and found the head of Bethany England. The stadium erupted and I watched as Leah ran from one end of the pitch to the other to celebrate with her teammates.

As the final whistle neared, every part of my body felt like it had its own pulse. Leah was so close to becoming a gold medalist. She was so close to making history with this team. After what felt like hours, the game came to an end as Amanda, Jacob and I threw our arms around each other in celebration of what this team had achieved. We watched as Leah's game face was replaced with happy tears and her eyes once again darted around the crowd looking for us. It was Bronze who pointed us out to her, her eyes lighting up as she saw her three biggest supporters waving ecstatically at her. She mouthed I love you in our direction and each of us took it personally, unsure which one it was meant for.

My girl was an Olympic Gold Medalist.

We didn't get to see Leah that night, only through FaceTime as the Olympics don't end with the last match. There was only one more day to go until we were reunited but I couldn't wait for that, I wanted to tell Leah and the world how proud I was of her. I opened Instagram, not needing Lydia to create this post for me. I picked out a picture of Leah and I that was taken as we moved into our new home.

AlexRyanMusic:

Watching you give your all for the sport you love over the last few weeks has been the highlight of my life. You have always been, and will always be, the person that can make me feel any emotion the strongest.

Thank you for giving the same love, passion and dedication that you give to your work, to me and our life.

Congratulations to everyone involved in today's final, but from me congratulations especially to my Leah.

❤️

I once again fell asleep cuddled into Leah's teddy, smiling at the image I had stored in my head of her mouthing I love you towards us in the crowd. I knew that I had one more sleep, one more night, until I would be wrapped up in the comforting arms of my forever person.