Sand Castle: Chapter 23

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 table," Tom explained it to me.

"Yeah, almost! Nothing can replace homemade food, especially the food cooked by your parents."

In the middle of the dinner, out of nowhere, Tom got up from his chair, took a little jewelry box from his pocket, he opened the box, and he got down on one knee in front of me.

"Nina, I love you more than I can say, and I can promise you that I will love you for the rest of my life, so I'm going simply to ask you, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes, I will!" I said without thinking, and I kissed him.

This time I said "Yes" to the right man. I said "Yes" to the man I love and to the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Tom is the one I can trust. I know that he will always be there for me, in good and bad times. He is a light that guides me through the darkness; he loves me as I am, imperfect, and he is my best friend, who knows all my secrets.

"Samantha, where is the champagne? We must celebrate this!" Tom's father said.

"I don't know! Look in the kitchen," Tom's mother said, confused but happy.

Everyone got up from the chairs to congratulate us: my parents, Tom's parents, his grandmother, Nicole, and Christian.

"Oh, my little Nina got engaged!" my mother said, with eyes full of tears of happiness.

"For six years, I have been waiting for this moment," Tom said.

"What took you so long to ask the question?" Christian asked him.

"I was waiting for a perfect moment," Tom answered.

"Come on, Tom! Be honest, you were afraid to be refused," Christian started to joke with Tom. "None of us can understand what a gorgeous girl, like Nina, is doing with you."

"Neither can I, but I will give my best to make her truly happy."

"Tom, you have already made me the happiest girl in the whole world," I said.

"I was carrying this ring in my pocket since the day Nina came back to my life. I almost proposed when we were in Croatia, but I decided to wait a little longer when our families would be with us together to share our happiness," Tom explained.

"You couldn't find a better moment from tonight," his grandmother told him.

This was my first Christmas with Tom, and this was the happiest Christmas in my life, so far. I have never seen my parents this happy in my entire life. They said they are happy, because they can see how happy I am with Tom. They have done so much for me, and now it was time for me to do something for them.

"Merry Christmas, mum! Tom and I, we have a little present for you," I said the next morning.

I gave her the document that proves that she owns her parents' property, which I sold to pay my tuition for college.

"What is this?" she asked, confused.

"I couldn't continue to live with the feeling of guilt that I stole something that belongs to you, and all these years, I was trying to find a way to return you your heritage. The grandparents' house and the vineyard are yours again, mum. When we were in Croatia, with Tom, we talked to the people to whom I had sold the property. They were difficult to convince, but we gave them an offer they couldn't refuse, and the property is yours again."

"Are you both out of your mind? You've spent a fortune on that shit hole? Tom, you are a reasonable man. How could you do such a stupid thing?" my mother asked him angrily.

"I'll do everything to make your daughter happy," Tom said to my mother, and he kissed my forehead.

"Please sell the property, and do something smart for yourself with the money," my mother said.

"We can't do that mum, the property is yours. And please don't be mad, all we wanted was to make you happy."

"I'm happy when I'm seeing you both happy. I'm glad, because that old house, and the worthless piece of land, helped you to find the way to your happiness, but I don't need it, and I don't want it. I'll sell it immediately, and I'll give you all the money back, only I'm afraid I won't be able to return you the full amount you have spent."

"Please don't do that. It's not polite to refuse someone's present. And dad, don't think that I've forgotten about you. I have a present for you too, but you'll have to be patient because your present will arrive from Germany in two days."

"Did you buy me a box of German sausages?" my father was joking.

"No, my present will make you much happier than German sausages."

Every time my father hears the word "Germany", he gets emotional, and his heart starts to beat faster. For him, "Germany" means Mia.

"I think you should tell your father what is coming for him from Germany. You don't want to cause him a big emotional shock, which can be too much for him," Tom told me when we were alone.

"I know."

Two days after Christmas, I took my father to a hotel three blocks away from our apartment, where his "present" would wait for him. In the past two days, I have been trying to prepare him by telling him that my present to him is a person he would like to see, but the only person he wants to see from Germany is my sister Mia. That is not possible, or that is what he thinks.

"Where are we going, Nina? Why couldn't your mother come with us?" he was asking me all the way.

When we arrived at the hotel, my sister Mia was already there. She was waiting for us in the lobby. When my father saw her, he started to cry like a baby. I should have listened to Tom, and I should have told him that Mia was my Christmas present to him.

"Mia, my dearest Mia! I'm sorry for everything," my father said through tears. "I love you so much..."

"Let's go to sit down," I suggested it.

"This is too much for me. I can't believe that you are here. Mia, I wish I was a better father to you..."

"I'm sorry because I wasn't fair to you, and I didn't let you be a part of my life. Nina told me how much you suffered and how much you love me. Since August, she was writing to me every day, and she didn't leave me much choice but to see you and to try to forgive you for abandoning my mother and me..."

"No, Mia, you are so wrong! I have never abandoned you, and I have never given up on you. I wanted to be a part of your life and to be with you at the most important moments of your life. I wanted to be with you at your wedding. I wanted to be with you when you gave birth to your children. I wanted to be with you every single day of your life. You are a mother now, and you have two children. Could you ever abandon them or stop loving them? I don't think so! With your mother, we had problems. Our marriage didn't work out for a long time, and if I've never met Nina's mother, the divorce was inevitable. Your mother, to punish me, took you away from me, to Germany. I was traveling to Berlin every three months just to see you, to talk to you, and to explain to you everything, but I never got a chance. When I realized that coming to Germany was pointless, I stopped, but I continued to write you letters every week..."

"What are you talking about? What letters?"

"Didn't you get them?"

"No, I have never received a letter from you."

"I can prove to you that I was sending you letters every week. In the letters, I was begging you to give me a chance to love you, to be a real father to you..."

"That won't be necessary. I trust you. It's all my mother's fault. I was a fool to believe her."

"How is she?"

"She's fine. After you, she remarried twice, and currently, she's looking for a new victim."

"Nina, my angel, I forgot to thank you for doing this for me. You both are my angels."

"I wanted to meet my sister too," I said.

"Our father brought you with him twice, in Berlin. Can you remember?" Mia asked me.

"Of course I can. I always wanted to be close to you, like with a real sister. We can't turn back time, but now we'll have a chance to start from here."

"Yes. Thank you for inviting me to come to New York, and paying for all the expenses."

"I hope you'll come to New York again, for my wedding."

"Nina got engaged three days ago!" my father said with great excitement.

"Really? Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

"When is the wedding?"

"I don't know. We haven't set a date yet. My fiancé is a musician. He'll be on tour until April, and our wedding will probably be in May. Don't worry, I'll send you an invitation."

"Where are your children, Mia? Did you leave them at home in Berlin?" my father asked.

"No, they are here. I left them in the room with their father. Would you like to meet them?"

"What a silly question? I'm dying to meet them."

"In that case, let's go upstairs."

Mia took us to her room, and when my father saw his grandchildren, he started to cry again. We spent the whole day getting to know each other, and we agreed to see each other tomorrow for lunch, but Mia said that tomorrow she wants to meet my fiancé and my mother. Tomorrow is a perfect day for all of us. Tom is free until the beginning of January when his tour starts. Unfortunately, I will not be accompanying Tom on his tour, but I will try to attend as many concerts as possible. Tom couldn't be any happier these days. All his concerts are sold out, and his new album is a second-week number one on the Independent Album Charts.

I'm working too, and if someone asks me what I'm doing for a living, now I can proudly say I'm an actress. Last month I finished shooting Tom's new videos, and with a part of the money I was overpaid, I founded my own small film production company, and this year I'll make two short films. In February, I'll do a one-woman play, and the next spring, I'll play the leading part in Danny's movie. Danny was that satisfied with my work on Tom's videos that he decided to rewrote the scenario for his future movie and adapt it for me.

In the past months, Tom has turned my life into a fairytale. But life is so unpredictable. How could I know that one peaceful Sunday would be the most important day of my life? That sunny day, while I was building a sand castle on a beach in a foreign country, a young boy approached me, and he changed my whole life. After one magical week spent with him, he became the love of my life, and six years later, he asked me to marry him. We have only one life to live, and life will pass quickly, but if I live a thousand years, a thousand years would not be enough to give him all the love I have for him, because what I'm feeling for him is more than love.

Life is not a fairy tale, and we both know it can't be like this forever. We can't always be happy like we were in the past months. Life is real, and sometimes it's tough, but when you have the right person next to you, everything seems easier. Like everyone else, in life, we'll experience pain and sorrow. No one knows what tomorrow brings, but as long as Tom is with me, I'm not afraid of anything.