chapter twenty-five: their future

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JULY 2021

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JULY 2021

"what's your dream wedding?" tom asks.

after mar poured her heart out and agreed with tom and his ventures to change her view on the town, they decided to stay on the beach for the night. they were lucky that that night was one of the least windiest nights of the summer. 

they stayed on the beach towel in front of the ocean, only being able to see each other through the moonlight. during their conversation, tom laid down and mar followed along. both laying staring up at the sky, watching the stars and loving how bright they were that night. 

they talked about anything that came to mind. about what mar wants to do now that her new career is in the entertainment industry and which actors tom would love to work with. they talked about their futures together.

they agreed, to themselves without telling the other, that they would be each other's worst breakup, that they are meant to be together. they're soulmates. 

"god, i have so many ideas," mar giggles. 

"have you really thought a lot about it?" tom looks to his side to see her smiling face.

"tommy, do you know anything about me? of course, i've thought about it, i've got a pinterest board and everything."

"okay, so tell me."

"i'll only tell you the things i know i want for certain. i want food trucks, instead of a formal dinner. that way, people get more of a choice. i want- no, need, a band. the sound of live music is amazing. i would love to have a brunch the next morning with all of the closest people i know, even though that now that i think about it, that group would be huge." mar laughs out the last sentence.

"that sounds wonderful." tom sits up to kiss mar on the lips. short, sweet kisses that mean the world. 

the sun starts to rise during their conversation. 

at 9 am, when the surfers start to arrive for their daily dose of the ocean, they decide to head home to fall asleep and maybe stay in bed for the rest of the day since it looks like it's going to rain. 

mar parks the car in the driveway and they both step out of the car. she goes to unlock the front door but it opens without her even touching it. on the other side of the door, stands matilde. holding her jacket in her hands with her hair messy.

"oh hey, good morning guys," matilde says, eyes wide from seeing them, not expecting to run into anyone after saying goodbye to stevie. 

"good morning, mati, where are you going?" mar asks, raising her brow at the girl.

"umm, so i spent the night," matilde giggles at the memory and her cheeks burn, "but, i completely forgot that i had to be up early to help my mom move some furniture to the family house in the country, so that's why i'm leaving so early." 

"did you sleep well?" tom asks. 

"yep, mhmm, oh for sure, the mattress ... was great," matilde replies sheepishly, "listen, i've got to go but stevie knows that i left."

"we'll see you later, mati, say hi to your mom for me, please," mar says, waving at her cousin as she makes her way to her car.

tom and mar walk into the house, smiling at each other after the events that occurred. they get upstairs and into their room to change clothes and get under the covers. they sleep for a few hours, waking up at around 2 pm, just in time to actually do something instead of sleeping all day.

they get changed once again, deciding to head into the city of lisbon to watch a movie, walk around and grab some dinner. 

they head downstairs to talk to the other two. 

"so, stevie, guess who tom and i saw this morning?" mar says, taking a seat at the kitchen table where stevie is eating some afternoon cereal.

"uhh, who?" stevie asks with her mouth filled with kellogg's chocolate special k.

"matilde," mar smirks.

"yup, not having this conversation this early," stevie stands up and takes her bowl with her, walking into the living room.

"it's 2 pm!"

"doesn't matter!!"

mar laughs at the girl. she follows her into the living room to find harrison and tom on the couches, watching a random movie that happened to be playing on the film channel. 

"tom, let's go, we can't be late for the movie. will you guys be okay on your own?" mar asks her best friends.

"yeah, yeah, august and carla are coming to pick us up in a bit to take us to your aunt's house for the rest of the day." mar smiles at harrison's reply. loving the fact that her family welcomed the two so easily. 

"okay, so we'll see you guys later, love you, have fun!!" mar says back before making her way to the car with tom.



"where would you want to live in the future?" tom asks.

"i want to stay in london, it's home no matter what. but maybe get a house here in lisbon for vacation and shit." mar replies. 

after saying goodbye to stevie and mar, the couple went straight to the local mall to catch a showing of black widow. since the movie ended at around 5 pm, they decided to head to lisbon for dinner. 

they've spent the last 2 hours walking around mar's favorite parts of the city. they even stopped by her grandparent's house to say hello and stay for a little chat. 

they are currently in the neighbourhood of chiado. stores are lined up the streets and the pavements are crowded with tourists and locals, appreciating the warm summer night. mar and tom walk hand in hand along the flocks of people. they are grateful that the sun is still out and setting, needing a reason to wear their sunglasses to disguise themselves a bit. 

mar stops at a couple of thrift stores to see if anything catches her eye before they make their way to a popular chicken stop for some light dinner after stuffing their faces with popcorn. they continue their conversation over dinner. they talk about their future, either together or what they want to accomplish on their own. 

the day was perfect. it was exactly what mar needed after what happened the night before. 

she loved this about tom. the way that he could make her happy with the simplest of things. he didn't need a big romantic gesture or waste a lot of money to cheer her up. he just needed himself. 

the next few days were spent with family and friends. the couple always had something to do and someone to see. they did everything together. 

they spent their time with mar's siblings and her niece. they attended a never-ending list of barbecues and parties that lasted until the early hours of the morning. they found hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bars that they knew they would return to the following summer. 

the small beach town looked different to mar. there were days where the clouds seemed darker but the light had changed. she felt more relaxed and happy. and she marveled in the fact that she could finally breathe. she could finally spend a day in town with almost no anxiety about vasco. she could stay in town feeling happy, once again. something she hadn't done since she was 18. 

it reached the end of the month. the roommates were due to return home to london to continue working.

but this was a summer that mar would definitely never forget. 

her smile // tom hollandWhere stories live. Discover now