Sand Castle: Chapter 5

Tom is the one who wakes up first, but this morning, when I opened my eyes, he was still peacefully asleep next to me. He is so calm and beautiful while he sleeps. Tom always sleeps in a fetus position on the left side of the bed. I could watch him sleep and wonder what he was dreaming of all day. When he's awake and when I'm staring at him, I'm making him nervous, and he feels uncomfortable. I've noticed that when he's nervous, he's running with his fingers through his hair, and he can't sit still.

I got up, took a shower, and then I got dressed, and I left the room without making too much noise. The grocery shop and the bakery are only five minutes of walking away from our room. I was walking really fast. In fact, I was practically running down the street because I wanted to be back before Tom wakes up. It was difficult for me to choose what to buy. Tom and I love different things. He loves the croissants with chocolate, and I love the ones with cheese; he prefers peaches, and I adore apricots; he's a passionate coffee lover, and I always drink tea…

When I returned to our room, he was still sleeping as I left him. I lay next to him, and I put my arm around his waist, but I wish I didn't do that because then I woke him up. He slowly turned around and opened his eyes.

"Good morning," I said.

"Hey! Good morning!"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Wait... You woke up before me?"

"Yes."

"That is a miracle!"

"Can you imagine? I bought breakfast too."

"What?"

"Your coffee is on the table, and it's probably cold by now."

"It will be better if I hurry."

"There is no need to hurry. The food won't go anywhere."

I said, and I kissed his face, then his nose, his big ears, and I continued kissing his neck, his shoulders, his legs, his feet... I kissed every single part of his body, from head to toes.

"I couldn't imagine a better start of the day," he said after we made love.

"Maybe you would be happier if the croissants and the coffee were not cold," I said, disappointed.

"It doesn't matter; I'm starving, and you know me. I'm never complaining about the food. I'm eating anything served on the table."

"I had plenty of time to buy food now."

"Wow, mozzarella, and tomatoes! We'll have a proper breakfast this morning," he said, looking at the table covered with food.

Tom was hungry. He ate the two chocolate croissants I bought for him, and half of mine with cheese. We're always having breakfast around noon when most people are having lunch. Most people sleep all night, but when we are together, Tom and I cannot to sleep. There is always something better than sleeping. If we fall asleep at dawn and if we sleep four to five hours, we're happy. Twenty-four hours a day is not enough for us.

"Do you have any plans for today?" I asked him.

"No."

"How so? You are the one who is always planning our day."

"I'm running out of ideas. Nina, have you visited "Italia in Miniatura"?"

"Yes, I have."

"Me too. I visited it on the first day when I arrived. Then, I think we've seen all the major tourist attractions."

"Find something new in your guidebook."

"I will. But there is something I should do first, if you don't mind. My mailbox is full of unread emails, and I need to write to my family and friends. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes!"

"I'll be quick!"

"Take your time. Who says we have to do something? We're on holiday. We should relax and spend the whole day on the beach."

"Yes, that's exactly what people are doing when they are on holiday. They're going to a beach, they're partying all night, they're having sex with strangers they won't even remember in the morning..."

"Yes, sorry, what was your name? Last night did we..." I was joking with him.

"How could you forget what we were doing last night? I was convinced that you enjoyed every second," he said with a laugh.

Tom went outside to smoke a cigarette. That was his favorite routine after breakfast. He never smokes in the room because he doesn't want me to inhale the smoke. When he returned to our room, he took his laptop and put it on the table. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he was reading and replying to his emails. Sometimes, while he was typing, he would lift his eyes from the computer to look at me, and he would catch me staring at him.

"I'm done. Are you ready to leave our room, Nina?"

"Yes, if you have answered all your emails."

"I have left a few more, but I can't leave you to wait for me all day. You are more important to me than all the emails in my mailbox."

"While you were answering your emails, I was thinking about what we could do today, and I have an idea. Do you want to spend a quiet day in the Parco Giovanni Paolo II?"

"That is exactly what I want! Are you reading my mind, Nina?" Tom was teasing me.

"So, do you like my idea?"

"I love it, and I accept it! Later, if we have some time left, we can go to a beach. I chose Rimini from all the cities in Italy, only because of the beautiful beaches," Tom explained it to me.

"And we're not spending enough time on a beach," I complained.

"Exactly!"

Visiting Parco Giovanni Paolo II was a perfect choice for someone like Tom, who loves to walk and enjoys the outdoors. The park is full of walking paths and large spaces for sports.

"Oh, no! Tom, do you see that group of people?" I said, petrified.

"Yes, what about them?"

"That's my group from school! They can't see me. I've told them I can't go to school because I'm sick."

"Then run!"

He took my hand, and we ran as fast as we could. I lied to my friends from the class that I have a horrible cold, and I won't be able to attend classes until next Monday. Having a cold in the middle of summer probably is not a convincing excuse for missing classes, but I couldn't think of anything better at that moment. Why did they have to come to this park today and ruin my day with Tom?

When we were far enough from my group, we stopped to catch our breath. Tom looked at me, and he kissed me.

"Maybe we shouldn't have run away from the park, Nina. We should have done what people do in movies when they're hiding from someone. They're kissing the first stranger they will see, and because there was no one closer to you than me, you had no other choice but to kiss me."

"There is always a choice. Do you see that eighty-something-year-old gentleman with the cane? He is close enough to us. I could have kissed him."

"Yes, but I'm afraid you could give him a heart attack, and you could be accused of murder. I'm a much smarter choice."

"Let's go back to the park. My friends are gone by now."

"No, it's too dangerous."

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to the park?"

"Yes. We can come back tomorrow or some other day, but I think we've seen the entire park today."

"As you wish."

"I want to go to the beach with you."

"Then I must inform you we want the same thing."

"Do you have your bikini today with you, or have you forgotten it like you did yesterday?" he continued to tease me.

"I have it with me."

"That's such a shame."

"Oh, no! Tom, I'm afraid I forgot my sun protection lotion today. My mother will kill me if I go on the beach without sun protection," I joked with him.

"In that case, we must return to our room."

"Yes! Immediately!" I said, and we continued toward the beach.

We had a meal in one of the many restaurants close to the beach, and for the rest of the day, we were drinking cocktails on the beach, eating ice cream, swimming in the sea, walking barefoot in the sand...

"This is heaven. Tomorrow, we will spend the whole day on the beach. What do you say?" Tom asked me while we were lying next to each other on the hot sand.

"That would be perfect. That's why I'm leaving you to plan our activities. Your ideas are always better than mine."

"Thank God, we solved the problem of what we'll do tomorrow. When we get back to our room, I won't need to spend the entire evening making plans. We can use the time on something better."

"Where did you get this scar?" I asked him, and I touched the scar on his right knee.

"I fell off my brother's bicycle when I was five, or six."

"Oh, poor you, it must have hurt you so bad," I said as I felt his pain, and I kissed his scar.

"It hurts me and now, but it's getting better after you kissed it. Will you kiss my scar again? Please?"

I kissed his knee again. If we were in our room, not in a public place, I would have kissed his knee a thousand times, and not just his knee. Today we stayed longer on the beach than usual. We stayed until sunset, and there were not many people around us.

"Did you get tired of me?" I asked him while we were sitting in the sand, watching the sun go down.

"What? No, of course not. Why are you asking me this?"

"We are together 24/7, and you've spent your entire holiday with me... I'm just wondering if you want to meet new people."

"No, you are a perfect companion. For the first time in my life, I went on a holiday without my friends or my family, and I thought, I'll have a great time alone, but without you, these days would not be the same. With you, I'm having more fun than I had in Rome and Florence while I was alone."

"Okay, I was just wondering..."

"Do you want to meet new people? Are you tired of me?"

"No! Oh God, no! I'm just sad because this will end soon. I'm sad because you will have to go home next week."

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Can you stay a few days more?"

"No. I wish I could stay, but I can't. I need to go back to rehearsals with my band, and I need to go back to work."

"I'll miss you when you go home. I'll miss talking to you, your songs, lying on a beach with you..." I said honestly.

"I'll miss you too, Nina. Listen, we can stay in touch. Maybe one day, we'll meet again. Who knows, we only live hours away from each other. Today we have airplanes, and nothing is too distant."

"Yes, one day when you'll become a big music star, you may come to Croatia and have a concert."

"And one day, maybe I'll see you on Broadway."

"Tom, last night, you wanted to go to a nightclub. If you haven't changed your mind, we can go tonight."

"Nightclubs are not my thing. Last night I suggested going out because we are always spending the evenings in our room, and I thought you wanted to do something different. Tonight, we'll go wherever you want, and we'll do all the things you choose to do."

"I told you last night what I want."

"Yes, you have."

"I'm a quiet girl who loves quiet evenings."

"In New York, when I'm having a day off, when I'm not working in my parents' restaurant, and when I'm not having rehearsals with my band, I'm happiest when I'm staying at home. Sometimes I go to concerts of the bands I like, or I wander around with my friends, but staying at home, in the company of a good book or watching a good movie, for me is priceless."

"We want the same things. Of course, we want different authors and different movie genres, but in general, we want the same things."

"That's why we're having such a great time together. We're so alike."

"Yes, we are."

"You make this holiday unforgettable for me, Nina, and I mean it."

"Yes. I feel the same way about you."

What will happen to us after this week? Will my life be as it was before I met Tom? Can everything get back to normal, and can we erase this week from our lives like it never happened?

On the way home, we took a slice of pizza from a small restaurant, and when we returned to our room, there were a few tomatoes and nectarines left from this morning. We went to bed early because we were both tired and needed to sleep. Tonight, we skipped our long conversations, making love, and singing Tom's breathtaking songs. Tom took me into his embrace, and he gently kissed the top of my head.

"Good night, Nina! Sleep well. You need to rest well for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll spend the whole day on the beach."

"Yes, for such an exhausting activity, I must rest well."

I laid my head on his shoulder, and I fell asleep immediately.