It’s summertime again, and Marcela has returned to Barcelona. As soon as she walked through the doors of the hotel, she began to feel nostalgia. She stayed at the same hotel in La Rambla, a vibrant neighborhood in Barcelona.

As soon as she arrived at the hotel, she made a post on social media about it. She would always do this so that her friends and family knew she was out of the country and/or arrived safely. After that, she would not post anything else until she returned to New York because she felt like she was really “getting away.”

As usual on her first evening there, she would always go to her friend’s restaurant for tapas to catch up with a few people. While she was out, she saw a message on her phone. To her surprise, it was from Daniel, whom she hardly heard from since last summer. The message stated that he saw her post about being Barcelona, and he would be there the next night for a layover on his way to Formentera. He was wondering if she’d like to meet up with him, since he would have a free night in Barcelona.

After reading the message, scattered thoughts were racing through Marcela’s mind. She remembered how amazing her time with him was last summer, but then also how they did not exactly keep in touch (with only a few messages exchanged within a year). Then there was also a bigger issue: she was now engaged to another man, Alan, even though she was unhappy with him and was relieved that due to a work project he was unable to leave New York and join her in Spain. Above all, the major question in her head had to do with the nonchalant demeanor of her last encounter with Daniel: was she fine with another fling, or did she want more from him? As hard as it was for her to admit this, she did feel somewhat bad that they did not remain in better contact because she did have feelings for Daniel, and maybe those feelings still existed. Since her attraction to Daniel outweighed her sensibility, she responded, “Yes, we can meet” (and of course with a smiley face).

After spending a few hours getting ready (it took her almost two hours just to choose an outfit), she waited outside the hotel for Daniel. Though the wait was only a few minutes long, her mind wandered in so many directions. There were so many questions in her head about Daniel, specifically if he was still single, what would happen between them, did he just want to meet as friends this time because he was bored and had extra time to burn before his flight in the morning, did he want to have a fun one-night stand to kick off his vacation to Formentera, or did he genuinely miss her and want to see her? Marcela’s pragmatic nature kicked in and told her to remain calm, enjoy the evening, and just see where things lead because she cannot predict the future, but she can ruin it by overthinking.

Daniel arrived in a moped he rented, she jumped on, and they had a wonderful ride on a starry evening in Barcelona. They even drove past the waffle house where they met last summer. Marcela was overwhelmed by nostalgia, which brought a grand smile to her face while she held Daniel tighter as he continued to drive.

After having dinner together, Daniel said that he needed to head back to his room because of his early flight in the morning. Marcela thought this was his way of brushing her off and that he was no longer attracted to her for whatever reason, but her negative thoughts were then proved wrong. Daniel must have read her expression (as it was almost impossible for her to have a poker face), and then said, “I’m not trying to end the night. I have some things to do for the trip, but you’re more than welcome to join me.” Marcela smiled to herself knowing exactly what he meant and that she would not be running errands with him.

Well, what an amazing night it was! They made love all night and barely got any sleep. When the alarm went off in the morning, they scattered around to get ready on time so that Daniel wouldn’t miss his flight. They got on the moped, and Daniel drove Marcela back very quickly to her hotel. All she could think of was this would be over in a few minutes, and she did not know when she would even see Daniel again, if ever. This thought caused a feeling of dismay in her heart, which she chose to ignore for the moment, but instead, she thought to do something else.

When they arrived at the hotel, and before any goodbye could be exchanged, Marcela blurted out how she had never been to Formentera but would love to visit there. Daniel then responded, “You can come stay with me, but the problem is that I have to take a flight soon, you don’t have a bag packed, and I need to leave here in five minutes if I want to catch my flight.” Then Marcela remembered that she did not unpack her carryon bag yet, which was all set for a weekend trip once she grabbed her toiletries from the bathroom. This would all take less than five minutes to do, so she explained this to him, and he said with a smile on his face that they should go for it.

Marcela bought her plane ticket on the cab to the airport, and they took the plane to Ibiza and then the subsequent boat to Formentera together. On the boat ride, she explained to Daniel that she would only be staying for the weekend because she did not want to intrude on his vacation plans, and he said that was fine, but when she arrived in breathtaking Formentera, a miniature paradise, she regretted saying that because she felt that she could stay there for an eternity with him.

They enjoyed their weekend together with days on the beach, nights out in Es Pujols, and endless love making. The beaches were the most beautiful Marcela had ever seen, the sea was so calm and peaceful even in the darkest of the night. For her, Formentera felt like the most romantic place in the world to be. But like all things in life, there is an end, and her weekend was coming to an end.

Marcela woke up early Monday morning to prepare for her flight back to Barcelona. She checked her phone and within the few days she had been in Spain, she did not receive even a single text from Alan, but she could care less because it would just make leaving him that much easier when she returned to New York.

Daniel was still sleeping as she was ready to leave, and she thought it might just be better to walk out without saying goodbye to avoid any type of emotional behavior that she felt would make her seem needy, but she couldn’t leave like that because it was just not who she was, so she went into the bedroom to wake him up. Daniel then said, “Thank goodness you woke me up. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll bring you to the boat.”

They had a short conversation on the way there just about their upcoming weeks. Marcela would be in Barcelona for the next two weeks and then off to Paris to see her daughter. Daniel would be on vacation for the next week in Formentera but then back to Miami to begin a new project, which would require him to travel again.

When they arrived at the dock, the boat was loading, so Marcela had to rush to get on before it left. Unfortunately, that meant a very “rushed” goodbye. They quickly kissed each other and said that they’ll stay in touch.

Upon her return to Barcelona, Marcela knew what she needed to do. With still no communication from Alan, she decided to text him. She sent him a text stating that she was in Barcelona and that he should be on the lookout for an expedited package from her. He responded with his usual monologue text messages, just talking about his work and things about himself, not even asking how she was doing or what she was sending him, which was typical of Alan because he was selfish. As usual, he ended the message saying that he loved her, which she felt was so disingenuous. She returned those words to him with the same sentiment. This would be the last text message she would be sending him. Her package would explain everything to him, which contained a letter (her monologue) and her engagement ring.

A week passed and not a word from Alan, thankfully, but unfortunately, Marcela had not heard from Daniel either. She was at her favorite breakfast spot, the waffle house, thinking about what happened in the last week and what would be her plans upon returning to New York at the end of the summer with her daughter. While she was eating her waffle, drinking coffee, and deep in thought, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Daniel! Before she could say anything, Daniel read her surprised expression and said with a smile, “What? I had to return to Barcelona to get home, and someone told me that there was this really great waffle house here.” They both started laughing, kissed, and he then sat down at her table to have breakfast.