The season was moving along quite quickly, and before I knew it, it was the Christmas break. We were sitting 4th on the table, which wasn't ideal, and United were 3rd. Arsenal and Chelsea occupied the top two positions, but as they would be playing against each other the first round back, points were going to be lost.
For Christmas, Ona and I decided to go to Trondheim. She was adamant that we would go to Norway, rather than Spain. She wanted to not only spend Christmas with me, and my family, but also experience the Norwegian winter, and see the Aurora.
Over the last few weeks, there had been a lot of discourse surrounding Ona, and her lack of resigning with United. We had talked about it, quite thoroughly, and she was positive that she didn't want to sign any papers until all our options had been explored. She specifically said "our".
"What do you want to do?" I asked her, after she came home one day having not signed an extension.
"I just want to make sure I'm not rushing into anything. We could go anywhere, Eva. The world is so wide."
"Europe ain't too wide," I laughed.
"Are you happy at City?" she asked. I thought about this question, before answering.
"I'm happy with you," I answered. She smiled at me, before taking my hand and bringing me closer to her.
"Well, we need to work it all out together."
"Together?"
"Together." She said this all with such certainty that I believed her. I believed that it would all be okay. It would all be alright.
We flew across to Trondheim, a few days before Christmas, and spent time with my family. My parents, and whole extended family loved Ona. They loved who she was, and what she had done for me. My little cousins, who are twin girls and only eight years old, love spending time with Ona more so than myself. I don't really mind though. I love how they love her.
I held Elske in my arms, as Ona ran outside in the snow with Amalie and Astrid. I watched her smile, and throw snowballs, releasing her inner competitiveness. I could watch her for hours, but soon I was distracted.
"So," Mamma said to me. "Where is she going?"
"What?"
"We heard that she declined her contract."
"You did?"
"I keep up with the twitter," Mamma replied, and I could only laugh.
"Yeah, she declined."
"What does that all mean?" Mamma asked.
"It means I have no idea," I answered, softly.
"What will happen?"
"I have no idea." Mamma looked at me, before walking over and grabbing my hand. I took it, with more ease than I ever have been able to before, and stared into my Mamma's eyes.
"We will always be here, despite anything. You know that right?"
"I know," I answered, "but so will she." I stared outside to Ona as I said this.
The next morning, I went into the shed to fish out a couple of old belongings I hadn't used in years.
"Wake up," I said to Ona, as she was still asleep.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Not that early," I replied. "But time to get up."
"Where are we going?" she questioned.
"A surprise, but dress warmly." She reluctantly got out of bed, and I watched her as her tired body limped into the closet.
I grabbed her coat, placing it around her body, as she had layers of thermals on.
"Is this warm enough?" she said, jokingly.
"Plenty," I answered, grabbing her hand and walking downstairs to grab the keys.
I drove us both to the outskirts of Trondheim, trying to find the secret spot I would always come before. The place I would often come with Nora.
"We're here," I said, as we stopped in the middle of the forest. It was an exceptionally cold day, and I brought thermals of hot cocoa and tea.
"What are we doing?" Ona asked, but before I could answer, I brought to her the two pairs of skates.
"We're going skating," I replied. I hadn't worn my pair in almost 10 years, and I was counting on the hope that Ona would be the same size shoe as Nora.
"Skating?" Ona exclaimed.
"Yep," I replied.
"I am not sure if I know how to skate," she laughed.
"Probably not, but hold onto me," I said, smiling at her, and leaning in to place a small kiss on her lips.
I passed her the black skates, and I put on my white ones. As soon as Ona tried to stand up, she grabbed onto the car.
"Eva, I don't think this is going to work," she said, startled.
"Just grab my hand," I said, leading her down to the ice. We skated slowly down the ice track, before arriving at the frozen lake.
"Is this safe?" Ona asked.
"Yes," I replied. "This lake is hardly ever water. It stays frozen nearly all year. Cause of the altitude."
I guided her along the ice, trying to get her from slow skating to getting some speed. After a while, she got the hang of it.
"How long have you skated for?"
"Well, I started when I was 3, but I stopped when I was 13. First time skating since the winter of 2013."
"Wow, so a while then."
"Yep, definitely a while." What I often found though, with skating, is that it is like riding a bike. As soon as my feet slid back into my skates, and I got onto the ice, I felt I could skate forever. I felt I could be connected to the ice forever.
After a few hours, Ona started to get the hang of it. She was skating by herself, and even attempted to speed skate. I tried teaching her a bit of hockey too, but that didn't work as well as I thought it could. Ona's habit of falling on the ice was her biggest downfall in our 1 v 1.
Once we both had had enough, we sat in the trunk of the car, the snow at our feet, leaning after the back, the cold air breezing against our faces.
"Fun?" I asked her.
"I never knew skating could be this tiring," she laughed.
"I used to come out with Nora all the time," I then said, seriously.
"Did she like it too?"
"She loved it. She wanted to be professional. She was the best skater in Trondheim. Won a lot of medals and everything. Both for skating and hockey."
"Wow."
"And once she died, I came out here, for a year, nearly everyday. But, one day, I just couldn't. One day I just stopped. It all became too hard." Ona put her arms around me, and I leant into her body. Her presence always made me feel safer. Made me feel as if everything happened for a reason. I loved this girl, more so than I ever thought possible.
Later that evening, we got home, and I posted on my instagram.
Eva.valtersen22: beware when you take a spaniard skating... she likes to fall over @ona.batlle
Ona.batlle: correction, i do not like falling over. I just happen to fall over ;)
Christmas day soon came, and we sat around the fireplace, eating warm Norwegian food, and telling stories. Mamma loved, more than anything, to embarrass me in front of Ona, so as I digged my head into Ona's lap, she just laughed as mamma told her the stories from when I was a child.
"That's cute!" Ona exclaimed.
"Cute?" I questioned. "Me screaming at Pappa because he didn't give me a chocolate is not cute."
"But getting lost in the airport because of it is."
"And walking down the escalators with a chocolate bar that the lady at the counter gave you is," Mamma added.
"Haha!" I said, sarcastically. "Just wait Babe. When we go to Barcelona, I'm going to ask your family for all the embarrassing stories!" I had a cheeky glint in my eyes, and Ona couldn't help but lean in and just kiss me. I nuzzled into her, interlocking my fingers with hers, feeling the warmth that is Ona Batlle.
It was no sooner Christmas Day than it was New Year's Eve. We went out into the town for New Year's Eve, and although Trondheim is in no way big, it has spirit, and culture. The fireworks, although only minimal, are often the most exciting time of the year.
I brought Ona to the water, to witness the fireworks. As it was cold, I huddled next to my girl, her arms wrapped around my body.
"This is very different to a Barca New Year's Eve," Ona said to me, quietly.
"That it is," I replied.
"I like it though," Ona answered.
"I just like having you here, more than anything." She smiled at me, about to lean down. "Hey! No kiss until midnight." She chuckled, pushing me away.
"Then no hugs till midnight either," Ona joked. I puckered my lips, running back over to her, and jumping on her, wrapping my legs around her waist. Instead of pushing me off, playing along with the joke, she just held me. Held me so tight I felt as if she would never let go.
After a few moments, we heard everyone start counting. My feet soon touched the ground, and I looked up, into her eyes. Her dark, beautiful, brown eyes.
"Happy New Year," Ona said to me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"Happy New Year," I replied, leaning up and kissing her.
This was the start of my third year of knowing Ona. 2021. 2022. 2023.
My second year of loving Ona. 2022. 2023.
And my first year of knowing I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. 2023.
Or so I hoped.