Chapter 366: Holistart
Around the middle of the afternoon, they stopped for lunch at a Japanese restaurant that had been recommended by one of the hotel staff.
Neither Lukas nor João had much experience with sushi.
Joanna immediately noticed.
"You two have no idea what you’re doing."
"We know exactly what we’re doing."
"You tried to hold the chopsticks upside down."
Lukas looked at João.
João looked at Lukas.
Neither of them had a defense.
The food itself was excellent.
By the end of the meal, João had somehow become convinced he was an expert on Japanese cuisine despite having tried sushi for the first time less than an hour earlier.
The rest of the day passed quickly.
They visited more landmarks, explored different neighborhoods, stopped for snacks whenever something looked interesting, and took far too many pictures.
As evening slowly approached and the sunlight began turning golden between the skyscrapers, Lukas found himself smiling more than he had at any point since the Chelsea defeat.
Football was still there.
The loss still bothered him.
It probably would for a while.
But for one day, at least, he was able to forget about all of it.
For one day, he was simply a 16-year-old boy exploring New York City with the people he cared about.
And as they stood together watching the sunset paint the Manhattan skyline in shades of orange and gold, Lukas decided that wasn’t a bad way to spend the beginning of his holiday.
***
The following morning, Lukas woke before everyone else.
Well, almost everyone.
The previous day had been exhausting in the best possible way. They had explored New York from morning until late into the night, only returning to the hotel sometime after 1 a.m. By the time they had gotten back, everyone had been too tired to do much more than collapse into bed.
Joanna was still asleep beside him.
Lukas smiled faintly as he looked at her. Her hair was spread across the pillow, completely oblivious to the fact that the sun was already well into the sky outside.
He leaned over and placed a small kiss on her forehead.
She stirred slightly but didn’t wake.
Meanwhile, Lukas felt completely refreshed.
The advantage of spending countless hours inside the LTC was that rest had become second nature. By the time he woke up, he felt ready to run a marathon if someone asked him to as even the special training wasn’t feeling all too taxing on his body afterwards anymore.
Quietly climbing out of bed, he got dressed and stepped into the living room.
The television was on.
Just enough to provide background noise.
A sports channel was replaying highlights from Manchester City’s Club World Cup semifinal against Chelsea. The screen currently showed his goal, followed by the commentators praising his impact off the bench.
Javi wasn’t watching.
At least not actively.
Instead, he sat at the dining table with his laptop open, typing away while occasionally glancing at the screen.
Lukas walked over and poured himself a glass of water.
Javi looked up.
"You’re up early."
Lukas shrugged.
"Are you sure you got enough rest?"
"More than enough."
Javi nodded.
That answer sounded exactly like his son.
Lukas took a sip of water before looking at the laptop screen.
"What are you working on?"
"My dissertation."
Lukas groaned.
"You’re still working on that thing?"
Javi laughed.
"It’s called a doctorate for a reason."
The cursor continued blinking across several pages of academic writing.
For a moment Lukas simply watched his father work.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
"Dad."
"Hmm?"
"Why don’t you just come live with me in Manchester?"
Javi finally stopped typing.
He looked up.
"Of course I am."
Lukas blinked.
"You are?"
Javi stared at him.
"What, did you think I was going to leave you alone in Manchester?"
Lukas scratched the back of his neck.
"I don’t know. You’ve got your doctorate and your professors and your research and all that."
Javi waved dismissively.
"I can write a dissertation from anywhere."
He tapped the laptop.
"Most of this is already done. If I need to meet my supervisor or professors, I’ll fly back to Frankfurt for a few days. It’s not exactly difficult."
Lukas nodded slowly.
Javi continued.
"You should stop worrying about me."
Then he pointed at his son.
"Besides, you are the one moving to a new country at 16 years old. You’re my priority."
Lukas looked away.
It was one of those moments where he never really knew what to say.
Instead, he chuckled.
"You know, technically speaking, I could support both of us for the rest of our lives now."
Javi burst out laughing.
"Not a chance."
"Dad, I’m serious."
"So am I."
Javi pointed directly at him.
"There is absolutely no way I am abandoning a doctorate after spending nearly 4 years working on it."
Lukas grinned.
"Fair."
"I’m too stubborn."
"That much is obvious."
Javi laughed again before closing part of the document he had been working on.
"I only have a few months left anyway. Once the dissertation is submitted and defended, I’ll be done."
Lukas nodded.
That was good to hear.
Eventually the conversation shifted.
Javi leaned back slightly.
"So."
"So?"
"Have you decided whether you’re going to university?"
Lukas groaned immediately.
"Oh, not you too."
"What?"
"Everybody keeps asking me that."
"That’s because it’s a reasonable question."
Lukas sat down opposite him.
"I don’t know."
And it was the truth.
High school was manageable.
The club worked around it.
The academy worked around it.
Everyone understood he was still a student.
University was different.
Trying to combine an elite football career with a degree sounded significantly more complicated.
"I’ll figure it out later," Lukas said.
Javi nodded.
"That’s probably the right answer."
Then he paused.
"What about Joanna?"
The smile faded slightly from Lukas’s face.
He sighed.
"Still thinking about universities."
Javi immediately noticed the change in expression.
"You alright?"
"Yeah."
The answer came a little too quickly.
Javi raised an eyebrow.
Lukas leaned back in his chair.
"I’ll miss her."
The words came out quietly.
"But this is something she needs to do."
Javi remained silent.
"She’ll visit. I’ll visit. We’ll make it work."
Javi smiled.
"There you go."
Lukas nodded.
Then he changed the subject.
"So, how are you planning to spend the holiday?"
Javi immediately pointed at him.
"Nice attempt."
"What?"
"You changed the subject."
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
Javi rolled his eyes.
Lukas laughed.
Then he answered anyway.
"First, Spain."
"Spain?"
Lukas nodded.
"Joanna wants to visit one of the universities she’s considering."
"And?"
"And Erling invited me."
Javi blinked.
"Erling?"
"Haaland."
"Oh."
Javi still wasn’t used to hearing his son casually refer to world-famous footballers by their first names.
"He’s staying at a resort in Mallorca for part of the summer. He said I should come visit."
Javi shook his head.
"I still haven’t adjusted to that."
"Adjusted to what?"
"The fact that your contacts list probably looks like Football Manager."
Lukas laughed.
Javi listened as Lukas explained his rough plans for the summer.
Mallorca first.
Then Manchester.
Then Frankfurt to properly say goodbye to his former teammates and everyone at Eintracht before finally settling into his new life in England.
It all sounded surprisingly organized for someone who normally preferred figuring things out as he went.
"Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out already," Javi said.
"More or less."
Javi nodded.
"Well, don’t worry about Manchester. I’ll come with you when it’s time."
Lukas hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"Dad."
"Hmm?"
"What about Anne?"
A/N: Took a sabbatical... more Chapters coming this week... love you all
-Writ
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