Prague in July 2017
"Prague. The City of One Hundred Spires. The City of Love. Just standing in front of this magnificent structure, St. Vitus Cathedral, will melt anyone's heart. Its dark, heavy and massive structure will catch every tourist's attention. Locals say that its Gothic theme has a spiritual meaning way back to its construction days.
It is a fine day where you can see the sunlight directing towards the projector of this cathedral. The door is wide open as the visitors start to enter the cathedral. The spectators outside start to whisper and mumble to themselves. It is the talk of the town, the Wedding of the Century.
A lady nervously facing the crowd is starting to have cold feet. The amount of perspiration all over her makes her laced gown rub her skin tight. She is now walking in the aisle wearing a beautiful seductive white gown that everybody's staring at. She is now the center of attraction; something that she has been dreaming about. As she lifts her head, her eyes catch the man standing at the end of the aisle, a man waiting for her in front of the altar.
His face is serious and his green eyes are fixated on her and filled with tears. As she reaches him, the lady extends her right hand, showing off her elegant patent gloves to reach for the man's left arm.
and they live...
... happily ever after
- THE END -"
***
The I-beam from the word document continues to blink as I reach the finale of my draft for this article. I stretch my hands upward and relax my legs under the table while staring at the beauty of St. Vitus Cathedral. The coffee shop where I am writing is just across this magnificent beauty. Thanks to you, I finally get the idea of how to perfectly feature this magnificent structure. I found my perfect inspiration for my next book as well. Apparently, the publisher can no longer wait so I have to send the finished manuscript to the editors at the end of the day.
I reach for the white cup of coffee on top of the round table that matches the chair I am sitting at. As I take my first sip in a while, a man in his thirties approaches me and says something in Czech, "Chvilka je krásná".
I understood it was a greeting so I nod and wear a smile, "Yes, what is it?" I put down the coffee and fixed my eyes at him.
Scratching his head, I can see that he is not accustomed to the English language so with every basic knowledge I have, I talk to him in the Czech language, "How may I help you?" I asked in Czech.
I can see the delight in his face when he heard me speak his language, he bows and continues,
"A man wearing a suit asked me to give you this."
He handed over an old-rose-silver-bordered note with familiar penmanship,
"I'll see you tonight gorgeous. Happy 7th Anniversary.
I love you always. More than anyone."
~ Siegfried Cohen
Reading his note makes me giggle. I let out a squeal unaware of the man still standing beside me observing.
"Oh. Děkuji," I said to him.
"Will you please give me my check?" I requested as he is about to leave the scene. I gave him my credit card and left a tip on the table beside the cup of coffee. He smiled and went on his way. I put my attention back to the note I am still holding. His bold name in the letter made me think, "Sied never uses his full name unless it is important."
My heart jumps with just the thought of probably something important is on its way. My cheeks blushed as this thought entered my mind, "Maybe he will now pop the question up? Or maybe, tonight will be our first night together,” I giggled even more.
This dirty thought empowers my brain well. Finally, I'll get to taste his skills in bed. I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now. The same man approaches me to give me the receipt. As soon as he walks away, I stand up and look at the blue sky,
"Oh, whoever's patron! Thank you for answering my prayers! I can now finally get laid after 7 years of waiting."
Not knowing I was murmuring to myself, the guy slipped a soft laugh. He gave me a huge smile when I noticed him staring at me. He bowed like a gentleman and went back to the restaurant.
***
Prague is a beautiful city indeed. No city lights, no disturbing horns from a busy street, no skyscrapers, just wonderful structures that let you find peace. This is indeed a city of love: a perfect place for romance as others describe it. I look around downtown and saw wonderful artwork on the street, and when I say artwork, I mean couples expressing their love to one another.
After I received Sied's note, I hurriedly went back to the hotel and left my stuff there. I still have time so I decided to visit downtown to find something to wear on this special night. I giggle every time I think about what will happen. I scouted some of the famous clothes store downtown. Fortunately, I am quite knowledgeable about this stuff as part of my job.
So I went into the first store at the corner of this street. I spotted a floral dress with raffles but it felt more like a summer season. I passed by it and looked around the store some more. When my eyes weren't satisfied enough, I visited other stores. It took me an hour and a half and was about to lose hope when I glanced at this small isolated store near the coffee shop where I stayed earlier.
I almost jumped and asked myself, "Oh shoot! Why didn't I notice it earlier?"
I hurriedly crossed the street and stood in front of this small shop. I scrutinized this lovely coral one-piece dress in this mannequin. It is perfect for tonight's occasion. Its open-back slash lace from top to just an inch up from my butt will highlight my perfect back curve.
The old lady who probably owns the shop saw me from the inside. She warmhearted smiles at me and motions me to come inside. As I open the door, the chimes sing. I excitedly invaded the shop and roam my eyes around. The old lady greeted me with a smile, "Krásná".
I blushed and said thank you. We had a conversation about her store and found out that it is all she has after her husband passed away and her daughter married. She is now on her own. I feel so much admiration towards this old lady. She cheerfully offers me almost everything but the dress. She continues to guide me inside her small filled store. It isn't that organized but I noticed that the floor and shelves are clean. I can say that she always dust it off.
After we look around I didn't find anything interesting but the dress. When she noticed that my eyes are only fixated on the dress, she motioned her hands on it and I nodded. She scratched her head and lowered her gaze finding the right words to say.
Then she explained to me that it is actually not for sale. It is a memory of her daughter and she doesn't want to put it on sale. She said she only put it there because whenever she sees it, she feels that her daughter is just nearby. My heart sympathizes with this old lady when she begins to share the story about the dress. Still, I am a bit disappointed because I really want to have that dress but I just can't take that away from her, can I?
I fake a smile and say to her that I will find another one. She grabs my hand and offers me something good,
"If you can't find anything you want before the day ends, I can just lend it to you. But you have to return it to me, beautiful lady."
The offer is quite tempting and puts sparkled in my eyes. But would it really be okay to borrow it for free? I looked at the dress once again and noticed that I didn't have much time to look for more because I still have to send it to the Laundromat before wearing it.
"I don't have much time because I need it tonight and I only have a few hours to prepare before my date. But I can't take it for free. Why don't we do it just like this?
Let me rent the dress. It's a win-win situation," I did my best to explain it in their language and it seemed that she understood what I want. But her facial expression is doubtful. I plead with her with my eyes and show her how I really want to wear that dress.
After a few minutes, she finally gave me a yes, then she asked me to wait inside the fitting room while she gets the dress. After some time, the dress fits perfectly as if it is actually made for me. It is an off-shoulder coral dress that emphasizes my full bosom. Its cut fits perfectly with my curves. When I went out of the fitting room, the old lady's eyes opened wide and her lips wore a smile. She hugged me excitedly and said that I look perfect. She packed the dress for me. I bid my goodbye and went out of the store.
I went to the Laundromat to have it cleaned and then fixed myself in my hotel room.
I put on light makeup and match it with brown-red shade lips. I put down my straight brunette hair and let it flow gracefully past my shoulder. At exactly six-thirty in the evening, the dress arrived. I put it on and I look perfect. All I have to do is wait for my love.
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(Avery’s Thoughts)“Babe, did it come out now?” Jeff yells behind the door. While I am damn nervous to even peek at it. “It is only a minute, it needs another minute, babe. Please, don’t stress me out,” I yell back at him. “I’m sorry. I just feel so excited about the news. I can’t wait to tell mom and dad about our baby!” he says exhilaratingly. “Don’t jinx it!” I scream angrily. “Okay, okay, I’ll wait here patiently,” answers Jeff. I am here sitting on the bathroom floor, waiting for the result to come out from the pregnancy test kit. It has been almost three years since we got married and there was never a time that we didn’t try having a baby. But until now, there’s still nothing. I hug my knees and start crying silently, “What if it fails again? Am I infertile?” I ask myself. The kit finally ticks and now I have to face the truth. God knows we’ve been trying so hard that’s why I even ask Kendra to take full charge of the business for now. I stop all my physical activities
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(Avery’s Thoughts) Later this evening, all four of us will meet Jeff’s parents. And because of it, I am so dead worried and I can’t get this nervousness out of my system. So while Jeff is away meeting his parents ahead of time, I rush downstairs and go to our neighboring villa. I knock ceaselessly, but Kendra and Nik aren’t coming out. I move back to look up, and I see that the light is on, it means they are there, so I continue to rampage on their door. “Kendra, Kendra,” I knock nonstop, “Open up, please!” I scream a little loud. Then after five minutes of almost breaking their door down, someone finally opens the door for me. “Thank God you finally come out, what took you so l–” I am about to complain but when I see her glaring at me with her hair a little bit frizzy and wrap in a blanket, I know that I should be more careful with my next words. Then later on Nik comes down with a little sweat on his forehead. “Uh-oh, definitely bad timing, Avery,” I say to myself. Then Kend
(Avery’s Thoughts) “Hey, we are going to be late for our flight!” I yell when I notice Kendra still struggling with how to put all her stuff in one big luggage. “Wait up! This stupid luggage just won’t listen to me!” she frustratedly yells back at me. Kendra is not a patient and she hates dealing with this kind of stuff. So I go to her room to check up on her. And there I see her leg wrestling with her luggage just so she can close it up. “Stupid-little-luggage!” she yells and kicks before she pounds it hard in the end. And then she sits beside it looking at me with so much energy wasted. “Help me out, A?” she begs. I smile at her and then gently hit her on her forehead. “That’s why I’ve been telling you to pack a week ago,” I nag at her a little and she sticks her tongue out for a moment. “Hmm, let’s see what unnecessary things you put in here,” I tease her. Then I begin to take out some clothes and things she can’t wear to our destination. “Nope!” “–But I need it.” “–It’
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(Kendra’s Thoughts)Avery finally got discharged from the hospital and in the meantime, I invite them over to stay in my apartment instead of wasting all their money paying for a hotel room. I have two more spare rooms in my apartment so I guess it is fine. Kervin is still here, so they will look after him while I go out with Nik and enjoy our anniversary. I am about to finish dolling up when A enters my room. “Hey there, gorgeous,” she says while leaning on the side of the door. I am currently wearing my earrings when my side zipper comes undone. So she goes to me and says, “Here, I got this,” she says and helps me out. I can’t stop smiling. I am just happy to know she’s here. I am happy we get to do this again. I hear the zip sound finishes, “Okay, you are good to go, sexy K. Are you going to bring the house down tonight with your fiery red velvet bodycon dress?” she pokes my side. “Oh god, no. We will just eat and then go home since that bitchy wife already knew our annivers