Under the Stadium Lights

Miles Apart

The first night without Max felt strangely quiet.

Lia had imagined it before. She had imagined the empty apartment, the silence, the feeling of reaching for her phone and finding no new message.

But imagining something was different from experiencing it.

She sat on her couch with the television playing quietly in the background. A soccer match was on, but she wasn't really watching.

Normally, Max would have been sitting beside her, explaining every decision the players made.

She smiled at the thought.

Then the smile disappeared.

Her phone was on the table.

She kept looking at it.

She knew Max couldn't have arrived yet, but she still checked the screen every few minutes.

Finally, it vibrated.

**Max:** *Landed.*

Lia immediately picked it up.

**Lia:** *Already?*

**Max:** *Yeah. Everything went smoothly.*

She smiled.

**Lia:** *How was the flight?*

**Max:** *Long.*

A few seconds later, another message appeared.

**Max:** *But I'm here.*

Lia stared at those words.

*I'm here.*

It sounded simple, but she knew what he meant.

He had arrived in a new country.

A new city.

A new apartment.

A new job.

Everything around him was unfamiliar.

She wanted to call him.

Before she could type anything, her phone rang.

“Hey,” Max said.

His voice immediately made her feel better.

“Hey.”

“How are you?”

“Fine.”

“You're lying.”

She smiled.

“How do you know?”

“I know you.”

Lia looked toward the empty space beside her.

“I miss you.”

There was silence on the other end.

“I miss you too.”

For the next forty minutes, they talked about his journey.

He described the airport, the taxi ride, the apartment he had rented, and the small grocery store he'd found nearby.

Lia listened to every detail.

When they finally said goodnight, neither wanted to hang up.

“Tomorrow?” Max asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The call ended.

Lia placed the phone beside her.

The apartment was still quiet.

But somehow, it didn't feel quite as empty anymore.

---

The first week was easier than Lia expected.

Max was busy with his new job, and Lia was busy with her own life.

They developed a routine.

A short call in the morning.

Messages throughout the day.

A longer video call at night.

It wasn't the same as being together, but they tried to make it work.

On Friday evening, Max called her from his apartment.

“Look.”

He turned the camera toward the kitchen.

Lia stared.

“What am I looking at?”

“I cooked.”

She laughed.

“You cooked?”

“Yes.”

“What did you make?”

“Pasta.”

“That's not exactly impressive.”

“I made the sauce myself.”

“Okay. I'm impressed.”

Max smiled.

“You should be.”

“Did you burn anything?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“I don't believe you.”

He turned the camera toward the kitchen counter.

“See?”

Lia laughed.

“Okay. I'm proud of you.”

Max sat down.

“I wish you were here.”

Her smile faded slightly.

“Me too.”

For a moment, neither said anything.

Then Max asked, “What did you do today?”

She told him about her day.

It was ordinary.

Work.

Shopping.

Coffee with a friend.

Nothing special.

But Max listened as if every detail mattered.

That was what Lia loved most about him.

Distance hadn't changed that.

---

The following weekend, something unexpected happened.

Lia went to a soccer match with some friends.

It was the same stadium where she and Max had first met.

She hadn't planned it.

Her friends had bought tickets, and when she realized where the seats were, she almost changed her mind.

But she went.

As she sat down, she looked toward the empty seat beside her.

For a moment, she imagined Max sitting there.

She could almost hear him complaining about the referee.

The whistle blew.

The match began.

Lia tried to concentrate, but memories kept returning.

The first conversation.

The rain.

The umbrella.

The first time Max had held her hand.

She took out her phone.

**Lia:** *I'm at the stadium.*

Max responded a few seconds later.

**Max:** *Our stadium?*

**Lia:** *Yes.*

**Max:** *Without me?*

She smiled.

**Lia:** *I wanted to see if I could survive a game without your commentary.*

**Max:** *Impossible.*

She laughed.

During halftime, Max called her.

“What's the score?”

“Zero-zero.”

“Who's playing better?”

“You know I can't answer that.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't understand enough.”

“You've been dating me for months.”

“Exactly. I learned to pretend.”

He laughed.

The conversation was silly.

But Lia felt better.

It reminded her that distance hadn't erased who they were.

---

Then, slowly, the difficult part began.

Max's work became more demanding.

Some days he didn't finish until late.

There were meetings.

Deadlines.

New responsibilities.

At first, he always called.

Then one night, he didn't.

Lia waited.

Ten o'clock.

Eleven.

Midnight.

Nothing.

She sent a message.

**Lia:** *Everything okay?*

No response.

She tried to convince herself not to worry.

Maybe his phone was dead.

Maybe he had fallen asleep.

Maybe work had kept him late.

Still, she couldn't stop checking her phone.

At 1:17 a.m., a message finally appeared.

**Max:** *Sorry. Crazy day. Just got home.*

Lia stared at the screen.

She wanted to be understanding.

She knew he was working hard.

But she also felt hurt.

**Lia:** *You could have told me.*

The reply came quickly.

**Max:** *I know. I'm sorry.*

She typed something.

Deleted it.

Typed again.

Deleted that too.

Finally:

**Lia:** *Goodnight.*

She put the phone down.

She knew she was overreacting.

But that didn't make the feeling disappear.

---

The next morning, Max called.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“You are.”

“A little.”

“I understand.”

“No, you don't.”

“Then tell me.”

Lia took a breath.

“I know you're busy. I know your job is important. But sometimes I feel like I'm becoming less important.”

Max became quiet.

“You're not.”

“I know you say that.”

“I mean it.”

“Then show me.”

He sighed.

“I'll try.”

“I don't need you to be available twenty-four hours a day.”

“I know.”

“I just need to know I'm still part of your life.”

“You are.”

“Then don't make me guess.”

Max was silent for a few seconds.

“You're right.”

Lia hadn't expected him to say that.

“I should have called.”

“Yes.”

“I'm sorry.”

She softened.

“I forgive you.”

“Thank you.”

There was another pause.

Then Max said, “I love you.”

She smiled.

“I love you too.”

The argument wasn't completely solved.

But they had talked.

And that mattered.

---

A few weeks later, Max started making friends at work.

One of them was a woman named Emma.

Emma was friendly, confident, and worked closely with Max.

Lia first heard about her casually.

“Emma helped me with the presentation today.”

“Oh.”

“She's really good at what she does.”

“That's nice.”

Lia tried not to think about it.

But over the next few weeks, Emma's name came up more often.

It wasn't because Max was doing anything wrong.

He was simply talking about his new life.

Still, Lia couldn't help feeling insecure.

One evening, during a video call, Max mentioned that he and some colleagues were going out for dinner.

“Who's going?” Lia asked.

“Some people from work.”

“Emma too?”

Max looked at her.

“Yeah.”

Lia nodded.

“Okay.”

“You're quiet.”

“I'm fine.”

“You're doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“Pretending you're fine.”

Lia looked away.

“I trust you.”

“I know.”

“But I don't know her.”

“You don't need to.”

“It's just difficult.”

“What is?”

“Being here while you're building an entirely new life somewhere else.”

Max's expression softened.

“I wish you were here.”

“I know.”

“I mean it.”

Lia looked at him.

“I know you do.”

He reached toward the camera as though he could somehow touch her through the screen.

“If I could change one thing, it would be the distance.”

She smiled sadly.

“Then we'd have nothing to complain about.”

“I'd find something.”

“I'm sure you would.”

They laughed.

The jealousy didn't completely disappear.

But neither did the trust.

---

Three months had passed since Max left.

One Saturday morning, Lia received a message.

**Max:** *Don't make plans for next weekend.*

She stared at the screen.

**Lia:** *Why?*

**Max:** *Because I have a surprise.*

Her heart immediately started beating faster.

**Lia:** *What kind of surprise?*

**Max:** *The kind I won't tell you about.*

She smiled.

**Lia:** *I hate surprises.*

**Max:** *You love mine.*

She thought about the stadium.

The umbrella.

The restaurant.

All the small surprises he had given her.

Maybe this one would be different.

That night, they talked for almost two hours.

Neither mentioned the surprise again.

But after the call ended, Lia lay awake in bed.

For the first time in months, she allowed herself to imagine something she had been afraid to hope for.

Maybe Max was coming home.

Maybe, for a few days, the distance would disappear.

Maybe she would finally get to hold him again.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

Across the border, in a small apartment thousands of kilometers away, Max was doing exactly the same thing.

He looked at the plane ticket on his table.

Then he smiled.

The next weekend was going to change everything.