by M. D. Melai
Water was spewing all around it as it landed in the circular pools. The lower level of the fountain was almost on the same level that we stood. It circled around the main part of the fountain to the other side. Three steps connected the bottom level to the second level of the fountain. This part was covered in water as well, but it had more geysers than the bottom one.
Built throughout the water were statues of various animals, mostly eagles. The main part of the fountain towered into the air. It was either built with white marble or limestone that was in a shape similar to a bell tower. Steps were connected to it on both sides so people could walk above the water and into the main part.
The very top of the structure held a chariot with four horses that were all in gold. Underneath the coverage was a structure of another chariot, made from the white marble, and from that flowed a three tier waterfall that flowed into the second level of the fountain.
It was absolutely breathtaking! As I sat there and watched the water go in different directions, Lucas told me that this fountain was modeled after the Trevi Fountain in Rome. I had never personally been to the Trevi Fountain, but I had seen pictures of it, and I could see the similarities.
“So, do you like it?” he asked after a few minutes.
“No, I love it! It’s gorgeous. I think this may be my new favorite place to run,” I said smiling.
“I agree. You ready to head back?” he said nudging me.
“I’ll race you!” I said as I took off and left him behind.
“Yeah, because that worked out so well for you last night,” I heard him reply behind me.
I knew I could beat him this time. I was a long distance runner, and with it only being a little over a mile back to the apartment, it would be easy to do.
He easily caught me and we ran beside each other for a couple blocks, but then my adrenaline kicked in and I left him behind. He wasn’t able to beat me in the end.
“Told you I would win!” I said ecstatically.
“Actually, I think I'm the one that won,” he retorted with a grin.
“What are you talking about?”
“Out of the two of us, I had the best view,” he said and kissed my forehead.
“So you were checking me out, huh?”
“Hell yeah I was. Can you blame me?”
For a moment I almost felt my smile fade, but I quickly caught myself and laughed at his comment as we walked through the front door. I flashed back to Emilio and me at the house back in New Jersey and our similar conversation.
“I think I’m going to go take a shower real quick. Want to join me?” he asked pulling me from my thought.
I turned around and glared at him. “I told you I wanted to take this slowly. We’ve only been back together since last night.”
“I know. I was just offering. It’s always an open invitation though,” he said with a grin as he took off his t-shirt and threw it at me. I couldn’t help but stare as he walked toward the bathroom. His back muscles were so strong and I almost reconsidered his offer—almost.
***
Over the next week, Lucas and I ran every day to the park. We were always in competition with each other on who could get there quicker and who could get back to the apartment first. I won a lot, although most of the time I think he let me win on purpose.
Work had been hellacious since most of the employees were students at the university. Their work schedule was starting to conflict with their studies, which left us shorthanded more days than not. I was having to work every day now, and sometimes all day long.
The first few days didn’t bother me, but by the time Thursday came around, I was close to pulling my own hair out. Why I had volunteered to work both shifts on Saturday and Sunday, I had no clue.
When I arrived home after work on Thursday, Lucas was cooking dinner for us. I could smell the food before I had even opened the front door. It smelt like he was making Mexican food when I entered the kitchen, and I was correct. He had made enchiladas with beans and rice. I thought it was humorous that he was making Mexican food while we were in Spain.
“Hey,” I said as I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Hello,” he said as he turned around and faced me. “How was your day?”
“You don’t even want to know. Remind me again why I volunteered to work this weekend?”
“Because you refuse to let me pay all the bills here and you don’t want Violet sending you anymore money,” he said matter of fact.
“Right,” I murmured.
“I don’t know why you won’t just let me help you out, and let Violet wire more money into your account.”
“Because I’m an independent woman, making her own way in life away from her crazy, psycho, overbearing family,” I said with a smile.
Lucas almost choked on his drink of water. “Well, in that case, hopefully what I have for you will cheer you up,” he said still trying to catch his breath as he tried not to laugh.
“Really? What is it?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you over dinner. I’m almost finished and then we can eat.”
“Do I have time to take a shower?” I asked.
“I think so. If dinner is done before, then I’ll wait,” he said before he kissed me and sent me on my way towards the bathroom.
During my shower I thought about what Lucas could have come up with to cheer me up. I never knew with him, but the only way he could do that was if he could get me out of working this weekend.
I joined Lucas in the dining room after I got dressed. He had the table set up with the enchiladas in the center and the rice and beans on two separate plates. The lights were turned off and several candles lit up the whole room.
“Wow. A candle light dinner,” I said very impressed.
“Yeah. I thought it could be romantic and also help with the electricity bill,” he said smiling, clearly proud of his idea.
I shook my head and grinned in response. That was very smart of him; although I was pretty sure we’d have to do this a lot in order to see a difference in the electric bill.
Over dinner we talked about what he had done all day long. After our morning jog, he came home, cleaned the apartment, went to the grocery store, and made a few phone calls. When he said that, I knew he meant he had to call and check in with everyone.
Lucas always had a lot to say to Violet, and he would just tell Emilio and then the Heinrichs that everything was going good. He didn’t want either one coming after him. I knew his days of staying here were limited. If he told everyone he wasn’t coming back, then that would send off a bunch of red flags.
I told him about my day, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t already heard four times this week.
“And I got yelled at by the manager twice for not getting orders out in a reasonable amount of time,” I sighed.
“Damn. That sucks. I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t have to work so much and that they would hire people who will actually be there when they are supposed to,” he replied.
“You know… if you want a job, I think there’s one available.” I smiled at him.
“I’ll get back to you on that,” he laughed.
“Okay. So changing the subject, what do you have that is supposed to cheer me up?” I asked. “I could really use it.”
“Right, I forgot,” he said before he rose from the table and headed back to the bedroom.
I heard him rustling around for a little bit before I heard the creaking of the hardwood flooring beneath his feet as he came back to join me in the dining room.
“Here,” he said as he handed me an envelope.
“What is it?” I asked excitedly.
“Open it and you’ll find out.”
I slid my finger into the envelope and in once swift move, I tore the envelope open. I opened it wide and found that it had a piece of paper in it. I glanced up at Lucas and he gave me an assuring smile and told me to pull it out. It was two separate pieces of paper. One had my fake name on
it, Caterina De Luca, and another name, Luke Matthews.
“Who’s Luke Matthews?” I asked.
“Me,” he said pointing to himself before laughing. “How else do you think I have been able to stay here so long without being tracked down?”
That makes sense now.
I nodded and went back to the papers.
They were airplane tickets.
To Ireland.
I looked up at him again and saw a huge grin spread across his face.
“We’re going to Ireland?” I asked.
“Yeah, this weekend!” he said.
“But I have to work this weekend. I can’t take off,” I explained.
“It’s already settled. I talked with your manager a few days ago and he said that you can have Friday through Sunday off. His daughter and niece are going to help him out. He said you deserved a break for all the work you have been doing lately.”
“I can’t believe this! This is exactly what I—” I paused for a second as I had a nervous thought. “Wait. This isn’t some sort of game to get me out of Spain is it? Has my family found me? Are they here to get me? Is that the reason you’re taking me to Ireland?”
So many questions shot through my head. What if they have found me? Was this the new place I was going to be living? What if this was just a stop on our way to the real destination? What if he was going to take me back to the Heinrichs?
“Lily, stop!” I heard Lucas say.
My mind stopped racing and I lifted my eyes to meet his.
“This isn’t any ploy to get you out of Spain. Your family has not found you, I promise. The last I knew they were still searching around Italy and in parts of Germany. And to also clear up the question that I know you have running through your head, this is no way a trick into getting you back home. This is just a vacation. I know how stressed you have been lately and you need to get away from here for a few days.”
I questioned whether or not he was telling me the truth, then that brought on a whole new batch of questions for myself. This was so unexpected, but it was exactly something Lucas would do: take me away and let me be free for a while.
“Sorry. It’s just after everything that has happened, I have to be cautious about everything,” I apologized.
“Lily, that’s one thing that you don’t have to be around me, cautious. I know how happy you are here and I wouldn’t do anything to make you go back. I want to help you and make you feel happy no matter where you go. In any case that we do have to relocate, I will go with you willingly. I’ll follow you around the globe if I have to.”
“Really?” I asked and he nodded.
“So,” I said continuing, “when do we leave?”
“Tomorrow, bright and early!”
***
We arrived in Dublin the next morning around ten. I slept through most of the plane ride since we had left early, so when we touched down, I was a little more coherent. Lucas and I made our way through customs and then to the front of the airport. Taxis were lined up in front, waiting to take people to their destination. Lucas guided me to the first one in line and the driver put our luggage in the trunk.
I slid into my seat and instantly felt like something was off. I did a double check making sure I had everything with me. My suitcase was in the trunk and my purse was with me in my lap. I had everything.
Lucas then slid into the seat on the other side of the car. He grabbed my hand and held it until I slid over closer and leaned in to him.
“Is it just me, or does something seem… off?”
He laughed for a second before he spoke. “In Ireland they drive on the opposite side of the road, so the driver sits on the right side of the car instead of the left.”
Lucas was right. The car was different, and it did feel weird when the driver swung open the right side door and climbed in.
“Where to?” he asked in a strong Irish accent. It was awesome, and I instantly started to wish that my accent sounded like that.
Lucas told him where our hotel was at and the driver slowly pulled away from the curb. The ride to the hotel was different. I had never been to a place where the people drove on the opposite side of the road. It was definitely an experience.
“Here we are. I’ll help you get the bags out,” the driver said as he put the car in park and headed around to the back. He opened the door for me and I thanked him as I stood and started to get out my euros.
“I got it,” Lucas said as he put his hand on mine, signaling for me to put my money back in my purse. “Here you go sir, and thanks for the ride.”
“My pleasure,” the driver said as he got back in the car and drove off.
Lucas and I walked into the hotel and up to the front desk. He gave the lady his last name and she handed us our keys before we went up to our room. I was used to hearing my new name being said by those around me, but to hear Lucas’s was different.
Everything about the hotel room was better than any other hotel I had stayed at in Europe, and when I opened the curtains to let in the light, I gasped at the sight in front of me. It was a beautiful view of a park.
“So, what do you want to do today?” he asked as his arms slipped around me, and his chin came to a rest on my shoulder.
“Well, I’m kind of hungry. Can we get something to eat?”
“Sure. I’ll unpack and then we can head out,” he said before kissing me on the cheek.
We found a restaurant not too far from the hotel. It was small and had only a select few tables. It looked more like a bar than a restaurant. I bet later, it would be much busier.
After we ate, we decided to go for a walk in the park we had seen outside our window. Everything was green and smelt wonderful. We walked hand in hand through the grass and finally made our way to a monument. I was curious as to what it was actually called, so I did a quick Google search and found out that it was the Wellington Monument. It had several steps up to the main bottom of it, and then it was built in a square format that went all the way up into a point. It was huge and magnificent. From what it said online, it was built to commemorate the victories of the first Duke of Wellington.
After sitting on the steps of the monument for a while and snapping a few photos, Lucas and I made our way into an area that held a bunch of trees. We saw a couple of deer spread throughout the trees, and as we got closer, we expected them to take off, but they didn’t budge. They were definitely used to people being around.
On the other side of the trees was a huge area with nothing but green grass and very few people around.
“Hey,” Lucas said, catching my attention as he pointed to something in the opposite direction I was turned.
As I followed his gaze, my breath caught at the pure beauty that came into view. It was the most magnificent site I had ever laid my eyes on.
There in the background was a huge hill full of all different types of green. There were patches of trees that displayed a dark hunter green and then there were patches of grass that were cut short and displayed a bright green. There were clouds just over the hill, and a little ray of sunlight was peeking out, lighting up the hill. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. All the colors were so vibrant and fit so well together.
“That is absolutely amazing!” I said almost as low as a whisper.
“It really is,” Lucas replied. “Come on, I think if we walk down a little further we could really get a nice picture.”
Moments later, we found ourselves in the middle of the field. Lucas was right; the view from here was stunning. I took several pictures, because this was a moment that I didn’t want to forget.
Later on that evening as we laid in bed, I thanked Lucas for bring me here. It was beautiful.
“I wish we could do this more often,” I said.
“Anytime, just say the word and we can go anywhere you want,” he said as he kissed my forehead and brought me into his chest.
“Paris?”
“Oh the city of love,” he replied.
I nodd
ed my head and then I kissed him gently before curling up in his arms and falling asleep.
***
The rest of the trip was amazing. We visited a castle, to which Lucas had been looking forward to seeing, and I got to see an old cathedral church that would be the perfect place to get married at, one day.
We even made time for shopping as we toured the streets of Dublin, and we ate at some amazing restaurants. I stocked up on souvenirs for everyone back in Spain from a place called Carroll’s. It held anything and everything anyone could want. I bought myself a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and scarf. Lucas walked away with a t-shirt as well, and a key chain that doubled as a bottle opener.
“I can’t believe we leave in the morning,” I said as we walked back into the hotel room that night.
“I know. This weekend has gone by too fast,” Lucas replied. “I hope it has been a good vacation for you.”
“It has. I wish that we didn’t have to leave, because I don’t want to go back to work.”
“Well, let’s hope that they have hired some new people, so you won’t have to work as much.”
“I hope so,” I said as Lucas pulled me in tight. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome,” he said hugging me.
It was quiet for a moment before he stopped and turned to face me. His eyes were intent on mine.
“I still love you Liliana,” he confessed. “I hope you know that.”
As I looked back into his eyes, love poured out of them. We had been through so much together already, and right now, I owed my happiness to him.
He had more than made up for his mistakes with me. He had gone above and beyond to show me how much he had cared for me. He had been here for me when I hadn’t realized I needed someone.
Our relationship now was simple and easy, and I knew that no matter what, he would be by my side. He would help me fight my battles, and he loved me for me, and never tried to hold me back. Lucas was love and freedom to me.
“I love you too,” I finally said right before I kissed him.
Chapter 17
Over the next month and a half things between Lucas and me had only grown stronger. He constantly made me smile, laugh, and feel special. He became my best friend and my companion.
