MasukLudwina smiled broadly at the thought of going to Italy with Andrea. He sounded like a perfect travel mate.
[Andrea, I randomly chose a country on the map for my next travel destination. I closed my eyes and let my finger picked a place on the map .... You know, it ended up choosing Singapore!!!]
Ludwina couldn't help telling this to Andrea. She was excited to wait for Andrea's response.
[You have chosen well.] A reply came from Andrea, made Ludwina smile, and then laughed softly.
[Won't you get bored seeing me in Singapore?] wrote Ludwina.
[Let me know when you're in town. Always love to have you around.]
Ludwina nodded to herself, then put her cellphone on the dining table. She heard her father clearing his throat. The man had been watching Ludwina smile to herself and squeal in delight.
"You seem so happy, honey. Who are you talking to?"
"Dad, do you still remember Andrea? He moved to Singapore because he got a job there. I went to Singapore for two weeks to see him."
"Oh, is that so?"
"I'm going to Singapore again tomorrow."
Her mother and father both exchanged glances.
"Why don't you just move there?" said Johann teasingly. "You just got back, and tomorrow you'll go there again?"
"But we don't have a house in Singapore, I can't just move there..." complained Ludwina.
"Are you serious, Win?" her mother asked in amazement. "Do you like that boy so much that you want to move to Singapore?"
Ludwina fell silent. She then nodded slowly.
"Then, what about Kevin?" asked Johann. "You and Kevin are already engaged from secondary school. You have to break off the engagement before you can date Andrea."
"I met Kevin with Andrea while I was in Singapore, and I don't think he's a problem," said Ludwina. "We even ate dinner at his new restaurant."
"Really?" Johann looked incredulous. "So, Kevin said he wants to break off the engagement?"
"I didn't talk to him about it. But it should be clear to Kevin that I don't plan to marry him since I came there to have dinner with another man. If Kevin objected to it, he would have said something. Kevin and I made an agreement if we were still single by the time are 25, we'd get married, and the agreement has been extended to age 30. If I am dating Andrea, that means the agreement is void, right?"
Johann shook his head. "You are ridiculous, and Kevin spoils you too much. The last time I met Kevin in Hong Kong, he still thought of you as his fiancée. He asked me whether he should propose to you this year or in 5 years."
Ludwina was really surprised at Johann's words. This was not possible! Kevin was her childhood friend and she never took their betrothal seriously. She honestly thought Kevin did too.
"You and Kevin are already engaged as children, before Wolfgang died ..." said her father quietly. "Actually, your mother and I no longer obliged you to continue the betrothal that was made when you were young .. but, if it turns out that Kevin and his family have not let you go, you better discuss this issue with Kevin, and later we can dissolve the engagement. I don't want our family relationship to be damaged."
Ludwina became pale. She opened her cell phone and looked for Kevin's number ... but at the last moment, she couldn't even make the call.
It would be better for her to speak directly to the young man and clear things up. She must know whether Johann's words about Kevin wanting to propose to her were true, or not.
Finally, she just sent him a Whatsapp message.
[Kevin, are you still in Singapore? We need to talk.]
[Nope. I'm already in Hong Kong. What do you need to talk to me about?]
[I'm going to Hong Kong tomorrow. This is important.]
[Okay.]
Ludwina hurriedly finished her dinner then excused herself into her room to book a ticket to Hong Kong for the next day.
Johann's words kept ringing in her mind, and that night Ludwina couldn't sleep at all.
***
Three days in Italy passed like a dream. Andrea and Ludwina enjoyed their visit to Rome, Firenze, which was also known as Florence, and Sienna. Everything showcased the charm of old cities from hundreds of years ago, which made them feel as though they had entered a time machine.Finally, the sad moment arrived when they had to pack and go home.After saying goodbye to Beth and Hans as well as Angela, Andrea and Ludwina drove back to Rome's airport and returned the rental car. From Rome, they flew to Amsterdam, and from there, they took the SQ back to Singapore.***"I've never gone home from vacation feeling this sad..." Andrea told Ludwina as he sat on his seat by the aisle."We'll go again sometime," Ludwina smiled reassuringly. "if you can take another leave. We'll make plans again. You've been an amazing travel mate.""Thank you. You too!"Ludwina was relieved that they managed to travel together without encountering any problems
"This afternoon, we'll be going to the small town of Pitigliano to shop for groceries, as well as have a look. We'll be going to Rome tomorrow, Firenze the next day, and we can go to Sienna on the last day," Ludwina spread the map on the table and pointed to several locations."Okay." Andrea agreed on whatever the girl suggested. He loved the fact that Ludwina knew Italy like the back of her hand.As they got out to the car, they saw a German couple in the apartment next door sitting, playing cards on their terraces while enjoying their wine. Both of them were probably in their 70s and looked very relaxed.All the way from Rome's airport to here, Ludwina and Andrea saw numerous camper vans containing retired couples who were on vacation like they were, which amazed Andrea, since it was rare for him to see elderly people in Asia going on vacation together like that."Hello, how are you? We're guests in the apartment next door. I'm Ludwina, and this is Andr
They woke up when the sun was up, and they both shyly made up the bed before taking turns to take a shower. Today's schedule was just to visit the Louvre Museum, and Ludwina had already booked tickets online, so they didn't have to queue for long.This was the fourth time Ludwina had visited the museum. But, it was the first time for Andrea. Ludwina helped explain what was in each section, so they didn't need to use a museum guide.In the Louvre, various prehistoric objects were stored, such as tools used by ancient humans, various mummies from Egypt, jewelry from the Egyptian and Roman times, ancient armor, and hundreds of legendary unique paintings.Andrea was surprised to find out that the infamous Monalisa painting was actually small in size, and that area was always crowded with hundreds of tourists. It was quite underwhelming.Ludwina and Andrea were more interested in seeing the other paintings, which were enormous and filled the display walls. Som
The sun rose outside their open window. In summer like this, it was nice to leave the window open and enjoy the warmth outside. Ludwina woke up because of the incoming light, and she felt her body was aching. When she looked around, the girl was shocked beyond belief.As it turned out, she was no longer sleeping on the bed, but on the floor, right next to Andrea, and even her head was lying on the man's chest."Oh, God...."Ludwina cursed her own sinful body. Last night, she fell out of bed because before she could sleep, she had been restless all night.Ugh, fortunately, there was Andrea underneath her when she fell. Otherwise, her body might have immediately hit the floor and had a lump on her head."I-I'm...sorry, I usually sleep like a princess, you know... I don't have a bad sleeping habit. I don't know why last night I fell out of bed..." she muttered apologetically.Ludwina complained, trying to sit up. 'Ouch... my feet and hands are
"What do you think about Paris so far?" Ludwina asked as they arrived at the Pullman hotel lobby."Graceful," Andrea said, not hiding his admiration. "My favorite city so far.""Good to hear that."'My favorite city, too,' thought Ludwina to herself.They went to the receptionist and immediately checked in. The staff checked the booking under Andrea's name on the list, and his expression abruptly changed."I am very sorry... I mistook your booking and prepared a deluxe room with a double bed." The staff shook his head, looking guilty. "Will that be alright with you?"Ludwina and Andrea looked at each other. The check-in staff incorrectly inputted the room they booked as a room with one large bed instead of two twin beds."Don't you have other rooms with twin beds?" Ludwina asked.The staff shook his head with an apologetic face."I am sorry, the last one was booked already, and the guests already checked in. Why don't we give yo
The next day Andrea kept his promise to carry Ludwina around the Rembrandtplein. It was some sort of plaza opposite the king's palace. It was quite large and filled with many tourists.They came in the summer, and there were lots of visitors flocking Amsterdam. The weather was quite friendly too, perfect for a stroll and sightsee.Ludwina told Andrea that if they came in spring, the chill of the wind would be quite annoying, although the scenery would be breathtaking with flowers.Many other tourists noticed the two when Andrea gave Ludwina a piggyback ride, but the girl just ignored it. She remembered that during the first month she met Andrea, almost every week, the young man carried her to the hospital for 'physiotherapy'."Ah... good times, ' She thought."You don't feel embarrassed being carried like this?" asked Andrea, looking back.Ludwina just laughed, "Why? Are you embarrassed? So, next time, don't lose the bet. Listen to what Ludw