EUPHORIA || L. MESSI

Part 5: Football and Affection

By the time Sunday afternoon came, I was ready to go out for the match, with time to spare before Aine picked us up on her way to Camp Nou. I had finished my makeup some time ago, and simply chosen ripped black skinny jeans with a white off-the-shoulder bodysuit as my outfit. Riley had been ecstatic when I had told him we were going to the Barcelona match, both for the football and the prospect of seeing his friend Thiago again.

I was also excited, to some extent. Excited to see Aine. And excited to see Leo.

My excitement was probably unjustified, for deep down I knew that this was nothing other than a silly crush, but I couldn't help but admit that I was filled with butterflies in the pit of my stomach every time I heard his name.

The night prior to this, as I finished up my work, I got a notification that he had requested to follow me on instagram. Of course, I accepted, but within half an hour of that, I had ended up with over a thousand other requests - all of which I denied bar the one from Jordi Alba, who I had met the other week at Philippe's party, and Luis Suarez, who I had yet to properly meet for he had been too drunk to function.

I decided to watch some TV before we left, choosing to catch up with the episodes of The Bachelor that I had missed (that show was certainly my guilty pleasure), as Riley played on the floor with the toy cars my aunt had bought him for Christmas. I remember the look on his face as he opened them, and I was equally as happy for the boy as I for one didn't expect my extended family to spend such money on him, considering the way I had left things when I moved out to Spain.

Just as I was getting to the end of the episode, a knock sounded from the door, and with a smile I grabbed my jacket, happily following my son who bounded ahead with a smile and an excited chant of a football song.

-

The match was a whirlwind, to say the least. Aine had introduced me to some of the ladies there that I hadn't had the chance to meet the night of Phil's party, and Shakira and Raquel - Ivan's wife - greeting me happily as I had spoken to the two of them a fair amount before today. Riley had happily found Thiago, and the two had immediately forgotten about the football match, and between Riley's broken Spanish, and Thiago's lack of English, I managed to make out a jumbled conversation about dogs.

When the match had started, Aine and I, along with our children, had sat in sideline seats, and I spent most of the first half gushing over little Maria as she gurgled and giggled, my son entertaining her with silly faces. Once Alaves scored just under the 25 minute mark, the atmosphere changed amongst the fans in Camp Nou, who I very quickly realised worshipped their vice captain, cheering every time the Argentine touched the ball. Half time came and went, and within no time at all, a very distressed Philippe was being substituted.

Aine was clearly worried, for she could see the frustration on his face, made worse by his obvious understanding of why he had been substituted It was nearing 70 minutes and Barcelona were still losing, and I don't think any of the women sat near and around us could bear to to see their boyfriends and husbands so down.

Luckily, at 72 minutes, Luis scored, and I had expected the loud cheers of the fans, but the sheer sound of the celebrations from behind us still took me by surprise. Aine could see my shock, and it temporarily brought her some laughter, but I knew she was still worried about her husband, despite my reassurance that he was a grown man, and would be fine.

It took around 10 minutes for the next impact of the game to be made, and this time it was Leo from a free kick. As the ball found the back of the net, possibly salvaging three points, the roar of the crowd within Camp Nou was almost deafening. I couldn't help but smile as I watched everyone around us celebrate, including my son and Aine, who bounced Maria around on her knee, the toddler grinning and squealing along with her mother.