Life, Death, and Strange Encounters

Isaac and I had been talking for the past two hours, only stopping once when I had to take an order. Well, to be honest, I was the one doing most of the talking because he insisted on asking me endless questions, as if trying to avoid me getting to know something about him. But it was fine with me if he wanted to play Mr. Secret, for the time being. So, I just told him about my school years with Lucy, my modelling and photography career, about my family, my likes and dislikes... Basically everything!

"So... I know what music you listen to, what colours you like, almost your whole life story... But I still don't know your last name or your age." Isaac was grinning at me.

I looked at him, amused. "Well, you know much more about me than I know about you, mister! You're an expert on avoiding answering questions about your life."

He sighed. "It's just that... I don't like talking about my life or my past. One day, I promise, I'll tell you. Just leave it be, for now. I like listening to you and asking questions. I'm not good at answering them."

I smiled and said softly, "Alright, but one day you'll tell me everything."

"I promise." He nodded with determination.

"You wanted to know my last name and my age. Well, I'm 21 and my last name is Winter. What about you? I know your last name, but how old are you?” I then added mischievously, “clearly, that’s not a difficult question to answer."

Some hidden emotion flickered in his eyes, but only for a second. To my amusement, he actually attempted a straight answer. "Well, I suppose I'm 24."

I burst out laughing. "You SUPPOSE you're 24? Alright!"

He smiled sheepishly, but didn’t add anything else.

I smiled back at him, determined that he was just trying to be funny with his strange answer. "You know, I like you much more than Jonathan. He creeps me out."

Isaac started to say something, but at that moment, Lucy came towards us with Cynthia close behind.

I straightened up in an instant. "Cynthia, good to see you! Lucy and I need to ask you a favour."

Cynthia smiled. "Yes, I know, Lucy told me already. Is this the handsome young man who wants to take my best employees away?" She gestured towards Isaac.

Isaac looked hesitant. "Well..."

My good-natured boss only laughed. "Oh, don't worry, darling, I'm glad you're taking these girls on a vacation! They have been working their butts off!" Her remark earned a chorus of laughter from everyone.

I turned to Cynthia. "But for how long will it be possible for us to be gone?"

She smiled. "Since it’s not a tourist season right now, it's not a matter of life or death if I let you two rest. I'm giving you three weeks off."

Three weeks? Wow, she really was in a good mood! Lucy and I squealed and hugged her. Cynthia smiled and wished us good luck on our vacation. After saying a polite goodbye, she left to check on more important matters.

Lucy and I looked at Isaac. My best friend grinned. "So, Isaac-boy, you will be stuck with us for the next three weeks!"

Isaac chuckled. "Nothing would make me happier."

"When are we leaving?" I asked him.

"If it's okay, we can leave tomorrow. I'll book the tickets right away, I don't think it will be a problem."

Lucy and I looked at each other and froze. "SHIT! WE NEED TO PACK!” was the best exclamation from both of us that could sum up our current thoughts.

Isaac's Point of View

Johanna and I had spent a great portion of her working hours just talking and drinking hot chocolate. I was really keeping her busy with questions about her life, trying to avoid answering any myself - they might have led to a catastrophe, since I had promised myself I would not tell her yet about who I was. Soon... Maybe the last day of her visit? And if that wasn't enough, I would have just come back to Estonia with her! I wouldn't give up!

"So... I know what music you listen to, what colours you like, almost your whole life story... But I still don't know your last name or your age." I grinned at her. It was funny, I knew almost every little detail about her, but not those two very important things.

She looked at me, an amused spark in her beautiful green eyes. "Well, you know much more about me than I know about you, mister! You're an expert on avoiding answering questions about your life." Shit, she saw through me! I'm not surprised, though, she was a clever one and it was quite obvious what I was doing.

I sighed and just decided to tell her the truth at least to some extent, assuring her that it was hard for me to talk about my life or my past but that I would fill her in one day. Fortunately, she agreed to wait, but on the condition that I would keep my word and not try to hide from her questions forever. She wanted me to promise that one day I’d tell her everything.

"I promise." I silently added: ‘I hope you won't run from me if I do.’

She then proceeded to answer my last question and finally provided me with an answer about her last name and age. What I didn’t expect, though, was to be asked the exact same thing. Damn! How was I supposed to answer that!? I couldn’t just tell her that I was two hundred years old, but looked forever twenty four! "Well, I suppose I'm twenty one."

Johanna burst out laughing and mocked my answer. Thank God, she thought I was just trying to amuse her with my way of words. Then she grinned at me and said something that made my heart burst with joy. "You know, I like you much more than Jonathan. He creeps me out."

I had a mental battle about whether I should tell her about Jonathan's ways or not, to make her see his true colours, but at that moment, Lucy came towards us with a middle-aged woman behind her. She straightened up in an instant. Was that her boss? "Cynthia, good to see you! Lucy and I need to ask you a favour." Yeah, I was right, that was her boss.

The girls proceeded to talk about their vacation and wanted to know how long it would be possible for them to be away from work. The charming older lady smiled and I hoped she would give us a positive answer. "Since it’s not a tourist season right now, it's not a matter of life or death if I let you two rest. I'm giving you three weeks off."

Three weeks? I had three weeks to make her fall in love with me!

Lucy and Johanna squealed and hugged her. Cynthia smiled and wished them good luck on their vacation, then left. After their boss was gone, Johanna and Lucy looked at me expectantly. My friend’s red-headed companion grinned and said "So, Isaac-boy, you will be stuck with us for the next three weeks!"

I answered that nothing would make me happier, which was the complete truth – I wanted to spend as much time with Johanna as possible.

"When are we leaving?" asked the girl of my dreams.

I would have liked to answer, ‘whenever you want, love, I wouldn't hesitate to leave right now!’ But out loud I said "If it's okay, we can leave tomorrow. I'll book the tickets right away, I don't think it will be a problem."

They looked at each other, suddenly bursting out in slight panic that they both needed to pack.

I chuckled at their exclamation. "Alright, I'm leaving you girls now, I need to go back to the hotel."

Johanna looked at me. "Okay, but where and when are we going to meet you tomorrow?"

I smiled at her. God, she was beautiful... I mentally smacked myself. I really needed to get a grip!

"I think it would be best if you gave me your number, so that I could call you and tell you what time is our flight. Then I'll just take a taxi tomorrow and come pick you up. How does that sound?"

She smiled. "Perfect."

Johanna gave me her number and I hugged her goodbye. She smelled wonderful, I had a hard time pulling away from her. I kissed her cheek, just to feel even closer to her for an instant. Then I hugged Lucy and told them I would call in the evening.

I made my way out into the cold winter air, but I didn't feel the freezing temperature. All I could think about was, ‘she's coming to stay with me for three weeks! She's coming to stay with me for three weeks! She's coming…’

Johanna's Point of View

The last hour of work after Isaac left was almost unbearable. Since the café was basically empty, Lucy and I spent our time discussing what to take with us on the trip. We were both dying with excitement.

Lucy was tapping her hand on the counter, looking nervously at the clock every five minutes. We had fifteen minutes left.

"Jo, do you think I should take my dark red corset top with me? You know, the one that all the guys love. Maybe I'll meet someone I'd like to impress."

"Yeah, you definitely should. Maybe we will go out, then it would be perfect." My friend agreed with the suggestion.

"I think it will be a bit warmer in the United Kingdom than it is here, but we should still take warm clothes with us. I'm taking my red coat and my striped scarf."

"I'll take my long black coat, then."

Lucy smiled. "You look like a vampire, wearing that. But a sexy one, none the less!"

I laughed. "Luce, you know I don't think myself to be sexy. But whatever you say, hon."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Jo, just shut up. Don't give me that "I'm not pretty" crap again!"

"Fine, I'll shut up."

"Thank you... So, we'll be gone for 3 weeks. We need to take lots of things with us. Where the hell are we going to put all of our bags?"

I thought for a second. "I think we shouldn't take more than two bags each, excluding handbags. We can buy anything we need on the spot, I'm sure. And maybe we should just ask Isaac what to take, since he knows what he already has at home, for example shampoos, towels, hair dryers and stuff like that, so we wouldn’t have to bring extra."

Lucy looked at me with mock admiration. "Jo, you're a genius!"

"Oh, just shut up."

The last fifteen minutes were finally through and we were free to run back to our apartment to start packing.

***

When we were back at our apartment, I decided to call Isaac myself, to ask for advice and also what time was our flight. He picked up after a few rings, sounding happy to see that I was calling.

"Yes, darling?"

I blushed at his way of greeting me. "Hello, Isaac. I wanted to know if you booked our tickets already."

"Yes, I did, in fact. The flight is tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. This means we should be at the airport at 12:30 p.m. the latest. I'll take a taxi and come pick you up at 12, if that's okay."

"It's fantastic. I also wanted to know, what should we take with us? I mean, clothes, of course, but could you provide us with towels, shampoos and such?"

"Of course."

"Thank God, I thought Lucy and I would have to pack our whole apartment!"

I heard him laughing at the other end.

"Glad to hear I saved you from such horrible fate. Now, could you please give me your address, because I have no idea where you live, except for the fact that it's in the Old Town."

I smiled and gave him our address. He promised to be there tomorrow, exactly on time. Then we hung up. Lucy and I spent the whole evening packing. It was quite fun, actually, deciding which clothes to take.

Lucy told me she wanted to find a guy from the United Kingdom, so we discussed which clothes would impress men the most. The outfits we picked out were not slutty, of course, but sexy enough. Lucy also insisted upon picking out some clothes for me that she claimed flattered my looks. She had made up her mind to help make Isaac fall in love with me, because she didn't want to see me suffer. I didn't object to the idea, but I couldn't help but doubt that it would succeed. As Lucy had said, he was a mysterious millionaire and I was... just a girl. That's exactly what I told her.

"Oh, stop the moaning and whining, Jo! We will succeed! Come on, LOOK at yourself. You're beautiful. And… I've been carefully examining his behavior around you. I must say, if he's not in love with you, he definitely is attracted to you! That's a big deal! Listen to my advice on what clothes to take with you. Appearance can make a big difference. I, as your friend, am able to see better, which clothes flatter your figure the most. So if you act flirtatiously and wear sexy clothes, he's as good as yours, I'm sure." Somehow, her reasoning seemed a bit too naïve, but I still decided to let her try.

"But I don't know how to be flirtatious! I've always been shy."

"Very funny, Jo, don't you remember the time when we went out and had a few cocktails and you-"

"THAT WAS BECAUSE I WAS DRUNK, STUPID!"

"Well, then let's get you drunk!"

"NO! I don't know what I could say or do when I'm drunk. What if I tell him how I feel? Oh the humiliation..."

"Oh, shut up! I bet my head that by the end of our vacation, you will confess your undying love for each other."

"Don't be so dramatic, Luce!"

"But it's the truth! Follow my advice and you'll make him fall on his knees before you."

I rolled my eyes at her poetic expressions. Lucy could be such a drama queen sometimes! "Fine, I'll let you dress me up like a Barbie, but just because I really believe that you see what fits me better."

Lucy squealed with joy. She had always liked dressing up and going out. I was more like the quiet artsy person, always drawing or writing in her notebook or doing photoshoots. The only time I let the wilder side out was when I was doing modelling work. Then I really let myself go free.

I silently made a promise to myself: I would fight for Isaac. I would grow to be a more confident person. I would make his knees grow weak. I had it in me, I knew it. I had just needed this wake up call from Lucy to fully understand it.