Highfall (14 page)

28

Annika was reading on the plane.  She did not like flying alone and always took books and magazines with her to fend off the boredom.  At some point she shut the book, closed her eyes and began thinking.  It dawned on her that she no longer felt any attachment to her motherland.  Despite having lived in the country of her birth all her life, she felt much more comfortable and at peace in Amsterdam.  With a pang of guilt she had to admit to herself that, in all honesty, she would not like to live in her country any more - ever.  Maybe that made her a bad patriot, maybe that made her a bad representative of her small nation, but it was how she felt.  Truth to tell, were it not for Vasko, then most probably she would not have been flying back home for at least a few more years.

Annika tried to concentrate on the bright side of things.  She thought of how much Vasko had grown up.  From the shy boy she had once known, he had now turned into a real man, and a man who did his utmost to please her, who loved her with all his heart and who was always honest with her.  After almost losing her, Vasko had done everything possible - and impossible  - to win her back.  But given Annika's fiercely independent nature, he’d assigned himself mission impossible.

When the plane had landed and Annika was walking to passport control, she looked around and understood why this place held such little attraction for her.  People were gloomy, there was not a smile in sight, everyone looked unfriendly and, no matter how much time went by, the place still bore the unmistakable and seemingly indelible imprint of its former communist past.

But all her gloomy feelings dissolved as soon as Annika saw Vasko standing there waiting for her with a huge bouquet of flowers and a smile on his face.  She ran up to him and melted in his hug.  She had had no idea that Vasko was going to arrive earlier and meet her at the airport.

“Welcome home, my dear,” said Vasko as he kissed her and took her suitcase.

They hugged and headed off to the taxi.

Vasko had planned everything down to the last detail.  A few weeks before their trip he had made sure that the apartment they had shared before their break-up was vacant, and he’d reserved it for them.  He had asked a friend to ready it for them in advance so it was just as he wanted it to be when they arrived.

Vasko also took care of a great many other details, as Annika was to find out later.  If his finance career did not work out, he would definitely make a great event organiser or logistics manager, Vasko thought to himself.

When they got into the taxi and Vasko gave the driver the address they were headed to, Annika looked at him in amazement.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” she smiled, with eyes as big as saucers.

“This is just the beginning,” Vasko replied with a wicked look in his eyes.

Annika had no idea what to expect and was gripped by the excitement of anticipation.

When they entered their apartment, both were overwhelmed by memories.  They stood and looked around.  The apartment looked different from how it had been before, but somehow they felt they’d come home.  At the same time both felt as if ages had passed since the days when they had lived there together.

Their first evening in the city was better than any evening they had ever spent before.  Now they had no financial constraints and could afford everything they’d dreamed of back then.  Vasko took her to the expensive restaurant they used to pass by every day but had never dined in.  They bought posh English tea and a small cake from the city’s most upmarket patisserie and took them home.

They spent the evening sipping the tea, eating the heavenly cake and looking at the photos from their past life together.  Vasko had kept them all and had put them into one big album.

No wonder that, after the flight, the perfect day full of positive emotions and their quiet evening at “home”, they were both tired and fell asleep hugging each other as soon as they got into bed. 

****

The sounds coming from the kitchen awakened Annika.  She opened her eyes and it took her some time to realise where she was.  The smell of coffee invaded the bedroom and, with a smile on her face, Annika waited for the coffee to be brought to her in their bed.

Everything seemed so ideal that it scared Annika.  She always felt tense when everything was okay and thought that things couldn't stay like that forever.  The phrase “too good to be true” kept running through her mind and unfortunately her experience of life had borne out the theory all the time.  But today Vasko was going to prove the opposite...

Vasko came in with a smile on his face and a tray in his hands.  It was not only coffee but also a delicious English breakfast.  He put the tray on Annika's lap, kissed her lips and sat next to her.

“Aren't you going to eat anything?” asked Annika.

“No, I am too nervous to do that yet,” Vasko replied.

“What's the matter?”  The expression “too good to be true” started running through her head again.

“Nothing you need to know about until you finish your breakfast,” said Vasko with a reassuring smile.

“No way!  I can’t eat knowing that you have something important to tell me.”

“Who said it was important?” Vasko teased her.

“Your empty stomach, your eyes and your tense body,” Annika answered.

“Maybe...”

Annika put her tray aside stating that there will be no breakfast before he spits it out.

“Okay. Knowing how stubborn you can sometimes be, I guess I have no choice, do I?”

“Of course NOT!  If you want the bacon and eggs still to be warm by the time we get to them, you have to tell me now,” replied Annika, knowing that she had won the argument already.

Vasko was always softer and inclined to give in when they were arguing.

“Okay...”

Vasko took a small, tissue-wrapped box out of his pocket and handed it to Annika.

Annika grabbed it and started unpacking impatiently.  When she opened the box and saw what was in it, her breath stopped.

“Will you marry me?”

Annika looked at the diamond ring.  She was not ready to look at Vasko yet... Annika closed her eyes, sent her final goodbye to Stefan, promised not to think about him ever again, and only then did she look straight into Vasko's eyes and say:

“Yes!”

For Vasko, the few seconds before Annika spoke felt like an eternity.  He was not a risk taker and this was riskier than the bungee jump.  He was not at all sure she would say yes... and if she refused, he did not know what he would do... There was no plan B... only a well-organised plan A and a hope.

Annika hugged him tight and tears slid down her cheeks.  She had had to go to Amsterdam in order to find and retrieve the “better version” of Vasko.  She could count on this updated version now, no more betrayals, misunderstandings or long-distance tortures.  Things could only get better.  At least that's what she thought...

Vasko looked at his watch.

“Hurry up! We’ll be late if you don't.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“To church! Our wedding is in an hour.”

“What???  Are you kidding?”

“Were you kidding when you said yes?”

“No, I was serious.”

“So was I.”

Annika jumped out of bed and opened her suitcase.  She was absolutely certain that she did not have anything suitable for a wedding though....

One by one the contents of the suitcase were tossed on the floor: two pairs of jeans, a few blouses and T-shirts, leggings, lingerie, a wide red belt, denim shorts... and one long white skirt, which gathered dust from the floor when she walked in it.

That's it, she thought.  The skirt might work.

She put on the skirt and pulled it up to cover her breasts.  Then she put on the red belt and her boots.  Not bad... for a hippie sort of wedding.  She did her hair in a ponytail and put on a little light makeup.  The only things to bring some elegance to the outfit were the long pendant earrings, which almost touched her shoulders.  Annika looked in the mirror and decided that it was okay.  She never expected to have a “normal” wedding anyway!

29

“Dear parents-in-law,

I am very sorry for the way I am informing you, but please believe me when I say it was the best possible way I could think of.

Your daughter has just made me the happiest man on earth by accepting my proposal of marriage.  We have just had a very simple wedding today at St. Gregory’s church (just the two of us there, so there is no reason to feel offended).

By the time you receive this letter, we will be on a plane taking us to Costa Rica for our honeymoon.

In two weeks we will be back and look forward to having dinner with you and my parents.

Kind regards,

Vasko
”

A letter of similar content was written to Vasko’s parents too.  He posted them on their way back from the church and they had three hours before their flight. Their first flight as a married couple...

****

Vasko's mum opened the letter with a wide smile on her face.  Vasko did not write often and all his letters were precious to her.  She anticipated a warm text with “missing you”, “love you”, “hugs” and “kisses”.  Instead of that she read Vasko's brief piece of news.

It was a bolt from the blue.  She had been so happy to know that they had broken up.  She had had no idea that they had got back together again.

Her face turned red.  She was furious. “How could he?” she wondered.  What made her mad was the fact that she had found out about it after the event.  Now it seemed there was nothing she could do.  That thought alone caused two unexpected tears to run down her cheeks.

Vasko’s father came in and saw her standing in the middle of the room with a letter in her hand and tears in her eyes.  Naturally he got worried.

“What’s the matter, Elena?”

They did not have a warm relationship, so words like dear, honey or darling were not in their vocabulary.

“Here Ivan, look,” she answered with a cold voice and handed him the missive.

Ivan read it and smiled.

“Ah, okay! So that is why you are crying… Instead of being happy for our son, you find something tragic in all this?”

“Yes, I do!  He has married that bitch!”  She was bitter that Ivan did not support her in this attitude.

“The bitch he lived almost a year with, the bitch he loved so much that even time and distance didn’t change anything… yeah, you’re right, there’s a reason to cry!” he mocked her.

“Okay, whatever. I don’t want to discuss this with you.”

She stormed out of the room and slammed the door.  Ivan looked at the door, shrugged and did what he’d come in for.  He switched on the television.

Annika’s parents got their letter the same day.  Although things were less dramatic there, still the news was not received in total equanimity.

“First it was Stefan, then Amsterdam and now THIS!” Annika’s father bellowed.

“Come on, David, Vasko is a nice guy and she has a right to be happy,” Annika’s mum said, taking a more balanced view.

“I have nothing against Vasko.  As a matter of fact I like him too.  Come to think of it, I just thank God it is not Stefan.  That was also on the cards.”

“Uffff, don’t even remind me of him!” Annika’s mum rolled her eyes.

“But still, this eccentric behaviour, her drastic changes and crazy actions – they all stem from your genes, not mine.”

“Yes of course.  There’s only me to blame,” Annika’s mum smiled.

“Okay, let’s wait till they’re back.”