A BRIDGE AMONG TWO NATIONS (53/?)
Title: A Bridge Among Two Nations
Pairing: Schnidal (Bernd Schneider/Arturo Vidal)
Rating: NC-17
Character crew: Bernd Schneider, Arturo Vidal, Bruno Labbadia, Gonzalo Castro, Tranquillo Barnetta,Joachim Löw feat.
Deutsche Nationalmannschaft.
Disclaimer: Tout faux, F.I.C.T.I.O.N, Fake... every synonym related to 'false'
Warning: Some slang and swearing.Unbetaed.
Summary: Sometimes love is a bridge for communication among two totally different nations.
In this part - Arturo arrives to his mother's house with Bernd for the first time and introduces him to his mother Jacqueline and his sister Ámbar.
Previously on "Bridge"
Arturo stays calm in the airport making his procedures to come back to his homeland. Waiting for the luggage, finally he picks them up.
As long as he walks for take contact with his land at last, someone calls him for his half name in a peculiar German accent:
"Arturo Vidal Pardo"
Then he recognizes the person... his voice, his face, his lines...
"Mein Gott, Bernd!!"
Arturo runs away dropping all the handcases and bags and jumps over him recieving a lovely and spontaneous hug.
People looks at him at the airport. Some frowns, other not so much.
"Excuse me, Bernd... is just that I'm so happy to see you"
He giggles.
"Excuse me, I'm so ashamed"
"Nee, kein problem, Arturo. Kein problem"
"You were lucky. They weren't paparazzos around nor journalists..."
"Nope."
Then a rent-a-car were waiting for them.
"Behave, Bernd. Now we are going to my mum's house. It's not in San Joaquín, but I'll take you there during this week.
You know, my procedures."
"The test!! You'll do it very well."
Arturo taks with his mother by the phone in Spanish. Bernd grins with the voice tones Vidal uses while looking at the window.
Then, they arrive to his mother's house. He knocks the gate with his foot.
When he sees him with Bernd, she frowns.
"¿Quién es?" (Who is him?)
"Es mi colega" (He's my colleague)
"Pasen, pasen" (Come in, come in)
Damn liar! Arturo Vidal loves so much his mother, but he cannot lie to her... but the path is drawing and concreting.
The bridge is half reconstructed and half finished... is time for his family to know the truth...
...but not yet...
Silence around the place.
"Hola, hijo...¿cómo está?" (Hi, my son..how are ya?)
"Todo bien..."
Arturo frowns and realizes that Bernd is not following the protocol sequence.
"¡Saluda po' saco'huea!" he whispers. This means "Say hello, you bags of balls!"
"C...C...¿Cómo está señora? Disculpe..."
"¿Cuál es su nombre, caballero?"
"¿Nombre?"
Bernd says stuck with the word 'nombre', but 'nombre' is similar to 'Name' in German. He compares the words, so he realizes what is is and
finally he can continue:
"¿Nombre? ¡Oh! Es tut mir leid. Bernd Schneider" he says straighting his hand to Arturo's mother.
Both shake hands. Arturo is glad, he cannot hide the happiness, but the happiness can probably become sadness when the truth is told. So he
doesn't reveal yet his sexual orientation and decides to introduce Bernd to his sister. Her name is Ámbar.
"Ámbar. Él es Bernd Schneider"
"Hola"
"¿Hermana de Arturo? Schön wie Arturo..."
"Dijo que eres bonita como yo..."
Ámbar speaks in Spanish to his brother saying that the lunch is ready. Arturo later explains to Bernd what will be the lunch.
Pastel de choclo. (Literally is like 'Corn cake' but is not literally that)
"Hmmm...so süß..."
"Dijo que era dulcecito"
While Arturo and his mother talked to each other, Bernd
eats the pastel de choclo completely, leaving the clay pot so clean that he only left the chicken bones.
"Oh my God, Bernd... you ate it all!"
"You should taste cazuela, Bernd"
"Arturo's cazuelas are delicious" he says in German. But Ámbar just grins because he speaks German. So, Arturo answers to him:
"But you didn't taste the ones my mum makes...and also the meat tastes really different here in Chile..."
After that, the dessert...
Simple peaches and cream.
Schnix loved the cream so much that he wanted one more can. But Arturo knocks him on his foot, below the table and then he pats his thighs
and caress it really slow. But Bernd felt that and slapped his hand up.
"Respekt, Arturo, bitte! Du bist Respektlos mit dein Mutter..." (Respect, Arturo, please! You are so misrespectful with your mother!)
"BLÉZZ"
Vidal heavy duty full blushes...
After a long conversation in Spanish, seems Bernd that food took him by surprise and yawns.
"Absolut Respektlos ist das!"
"Es tut mir leid" he whispers.
"Ám...Ámbar... quiero a la cama... ir..."
"Dice que quiere dormir..."
"Ahí, en la pieza de alojados"
"Schlaf, Bernd, schlaf."
Schnix blew him a kiss and he locks the door.
Then, Arturo invites his mother to his bedroom.
(Note: this conversation will be in English, but the language spoken between them is Spanish)
"Well, mother... talk about ouselves. The Vidals. You know. The story..."
"Why?"
"Because...I need to know.To tell my colleagues and Bernd also."
"Things like what, son?"
"For example... how old were you when you get married?"
"Aww, son. How sensible question! Well. I get married so young. And all because I want to get things fixed..."
"Did you get married pregnant?"
"Your father made me the question two weeks before I told him I was expecting your elder brother. I was younger than you.
Just 22 years old."
"Damn, mum! Uff! I suppose it was so hard."
"I guess the Vidals never wanted me. They were so cold. Actually, there were exceptions.Your uncle...
No party, no nothing. Just the civil ceremony and that was all...
then brother was born... then your other brother...
everything was fine...until...you were born" Jacqueline said with her voice broke. She poured some tears.
"Relax, mother. I'm not guilty of anything..."
"I know...I know. But once when you were just months old you disappeared. I thought your father killed you.
I cried you for several days. But your older brothers said: 'Mama. He's alive.Easy'
And then someone... I think he was from Austria, Germany.I don't know.
He picked up you and left you at home when I came back from work,safe and unharmed. I was so thankful.I still remember that person. But I
couldn't find him anymore to express my thankful feelings."
"A German picked up, mum? Holla, holla. Mum... are you mad?"
"No... once in 1987, there was a tournament near our old town. A squad from...Germany or Austria, from the downtown. An amateur team from
their downtown came to play against the club where you started. Only once. Then they said that Digeder (Dirección General de Deportes\now
Chiledeportes) hadn't more money to bring youth teams from other countries."
"How old he was?"
"No more than...fifteen. Fourteen, thirteen more or less.
He had big blue eyes and black hair. He was so nice with me.He brought you back because you were crying a lot."
Arturo thought in Michael Ballack, but then he trashed that possibility, because he supposed he was only a myth from his mother to have
better material for his oral presentation.
"But then you father used to beat me more when you were eight years old. My hands were tired and full of blotches. I used to wash, as you can
remember..."
"Yeah. I know. Your hands always hurt. But my father slapped your hands because you didn't want to cook...once...he left you with marks."
"I still got that scar, look"
Jacqueline shows to Arturo the scar his father made her. It was a long cut on her left knuckles.
"It hurts with the soap, and when you rub, it burns a lot."
"How old I was when you dropped him out?"
"Ten, eleven more or less."
"Hmmm...I began to play soccer at that age, mum. How so late!"
"But you cannot change the history, my son" Frau Pardo responds grinning and trembling at the time
"And think that your father smell and sweat was only alcohol. It was horrible... thinking that I couldn't push him away...
That's how I get expecting your sister. I felt frightened. How I could tell him that I was pregnant...I was horrified about his words."
"But mum...does our relatives have any relationship or... offspring coming from Germany?"
"Sorry, son. But until the moment I didn't researched so much, and as long as I know, you're Chilean in a 100%"
"Well, mum. At last you told me...Daym...mum! Despite of all you are the best mother in whole world."
"Awww, son. Come here and gimme a hug. So glad to see you!"
Jacqueline and Arturo hugs each other. Mother and son once more, sharing love. The first love Arturo ever learnt.
tbc. July 13th,2010