Chasing Claudia

Doing something impulsive can be rewarding when it’s done right. Showboating during a game only to fall on your face? Not a good idea. Jumping out of a plane without a parachute? Suicide. Deciding to ditch your friends for a beautiful girl and go to another country? Could say it is rewarding. I knew Claudia wasn’t happy of going back to Rome and eventually Montreal to face her father. Ask her to pretend to be my new bride was the only way to get her out of her situation and to spend more time with her on our fake honeymoon. I even got a kiss from her; however that was a reward within itself.

We’ve made to Vienna early in the evening after a transfer at some border town. We had to run as fast as we can since we had to stop for customs before catching the Vienna train. Once we’ve made the other train, we were able to relax and enjoy Austria. We’ve decided on going to Vienna and head west, eventually meeting up with the boys in Spain. We decided on Munich, Zurich, Nice, and Barcelona, where I was supposed to meet up with the guys. I’ve emailed Brayden about my whereabouts while she hasn’t told her family yet about our “marriage”.

At the apartment we’re going to share, we were fortunate to have two beds instead of one. It wasn’t that I didn’t mind sharing the bed with Claudia but I was sure she felt uncomfortable sleeping with another guy, despite how innocent it may be. I walked into her room and wondered if she regretted her decision to not come home. By the looks of it, she doesn’t.

“Wow look at that view?” Claudia showed me what was going on outside. We didn’t have a massive view of the city but the fact that we’re in a different environment was enough.

“Glad you stayed.” I tilt my head to touch hers as we look in the view.

“I’m glad you chose this apartment.” We look around and it was nicely decorated; very modern and clean. “It beats staying at a hostel.”

“Well it makes it more fun since we don’t have to restrict ourselves in a single room.” I went to the fridge and grabbed slices of bread and some cheese. We picked some of that on the way to the apartment since we wanted to keep it simple tonight. “Ready for some dinner?”

“You’re planning to make grilled cheese sandwiches?” Claudia laughed as she joined me in the kitchen.

“Well it’s better than nothing.” I grabbed her and look into her brown eyes. I know we’re pretending to be a married couple of something felt right standing next to her. “So you’re ready to help me make some?”

“Sure. Let’s make some sandwiches.” She laughed as she pealed the slices off the wrapper and place it on the bread. After we made the sandwiches, we sat at the deco table in the living room.

“So what should we do tomorrow, since we have one full day here?” I asked while watching her taking a few bites off her sandwich.

“We can take pictures of our fake wedding and send the pictures to daddy dearest.” She rubbed her hands together like she’s The Brain from “Pinky and the Brain”. “Then we’re going to rule the world, one European city at a time! Bwahahhaha.”

“You really want to do that to your dad?” I wanted to make sure she wants to do this.

“Well I still have my wedding dress, even though I hate it.” With nothing more to agree on, we toast to it with our sandwiches.

The next morning, we found a museum in town to take a picture of us, pretending to get married. I asked a tourist to take a picture of us in front of the Liechtenstein Museum sharing our phony love for one another. I look down at her wedding dress that she hates. It looks beautiful on her. However, you can tell by her body language she prefer something else. My bet her would-have-been mother-in-law chose the dress for her.

We went back to the apartment and decided to surprise her by arranging a dance lesson for her. I checked on her laptop that they offer Viennese Waltz lessons for a small fee around town. It was one of her items from her wish list.

“Hurry, we’re going to be late!” I waited for her to put something else on. I kept my dark blue shirt and slacks on but she wanted to wear something other than that dress.

“Was putting my earrings on.” She stood there for a moment and I took in her dress. This dress suits her much better than her wedding dress. It was a gray spaghetti dress that hugged her figure very well. Her black shoes were high enough that we’re close to the same height. “How do I look?”

“Wow. That guy is missing out.” I opened a button so I don’t feel as hot as I am right now. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t always like this.” She took out her phone and showed me a picture of herself, no more than 10 pounds heavier than she is now and a brunette. “I always on the curvy side. Vito actually made fun of me for having an ass. So I did what any typical Italian girl would do… not listening to what he has to say. But I still toned up for myself. I’m comfortable at where I am now but he thought I should be skinnier.” Is this guy blind or what! She looks amazing now and even back then she was very pretty.

“Don’t worry about that. I was a chubby kid going up in Saskatoon.”

“I knew you’re from the West! I can tell by your accent.”

“I didn’t tell you I was from Saskatoon?” I was surprised that she didn’t even ask me what I do. Considering she’s from a big city like Montreal and how the Canadiens and Leafs hate each other, I’m surprised she doesn’t know who I am. “Anyway, let’s go.”

We walked to the Rueff Dance School in town where they were about to start class. By the look of it, she was very excited about it. She gave me a slight hug as we sat down and watch the instruction from the dancers. I know that I’ll probably step on her toes but it’ll be something she’ll love. The instructor picked me to show me how to do the Viennese Waltz and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. After the instructor used me as a guinea pig, I took Claudia’s hand and start to dance with her. Even though we’re supposed to look apart, we actually couldn’t take our eyes off each other. Something about it seems right being with her. She’s been an open book but still a mystery. I want to know more about her.