Vera's Book Corner

December 2018 The holiday season came so soon, and I couldn't believe it was already Christmas Eve. It's unbelievable how the time flies when we are happy. These holidays are very special to me because I'll have together with me the people I love most: Tom, his family, and my family. My parents came to New York to visit Tom and me, and they will stay with us until my birthday in February. Tom's parents invited us all to spend Christmas Eve with them in their apartment, and when I saw the table full of incredible meals, I couldn't stop wondering how they managed to cook all that food. "Don't worry, Nina. If we ever have to cook for nine people, leave everything to me," Tom said. "Because you are a son of two excellent chefs, that doesn't mean that you can cook like a chef." "Well, as you know, I'm not much of a cook, but I know some awesome places from where we can order food, almost delicious as the food served on the t

When we got out of the plane, I looked around, and I had no clue where we were. Tom didn't let me watch through the window during the flight. He was afraid if I looked, I'd find out where he was taking me. At our new destination, we arrived on a private plane, and the flight lasted around an hour. That makes me think that we were still somewhere in Croatia, probably in Dubrovnik or Split. All the time, Tom hears my stories about how beautiful the Croatian seacoast is, and I guess he wants to see it for himself. Tom took my hand, and he led me to the car that was waiting for us. The driver said, "Hello", he took our luggage, and he put it in the car. While we were driving in the car, I was looking at the landscape, and everything looked familiar to me. I know that I have been here before, but still, I couldn't tell where we were for sure. When we passed by the first houses and I saw the names of the shops in Italian, I realized that we were in Italy. "Tom,

August 2018 The strange thing about coming home is that everything looks the same. From the taxi window, I watched the streets of the city where I was born. Everything was as I knew it. The buildings, the trees by the road, the monuments, everything. Until today, I didn't know how much I missed and how much I loved my city and my country. But, above all, there are some people in this city who I miss and I love most. Last week, when I told my parents that I was coming home, they were surprised. We haven't seen each other for four years, and maybe they expected that I'd never come home again. I wish my parents knew the truth about everything that has been happening in my life in the past six years. If I was more open and honest with them, now there would be no need to explain to them why I went to New York, why I'm not working, and why I was engaged to one man, but now I'm coming home with another man. "Nina, my little Nina, it's really you," my fat